View information on the energy projects underway, tasks, and status. The School of Engineering and Computer Science is home to the Clean Energy Research Center, or CERC. The CERC is the home of multiple, clean energy research, development, and educational activities. The CERC fosters commercial partnerships, provides an educational platform for student research and hands-on clean energy demonstrations, while providing an entrepreneurial atmosphere within the OU R&D community to allow technology transfer and commercialization of new technologies.
Role and Services
- Technical Support to the OU INCubator (both client companies and internal OU projects)
- Energy Infrastructure Strategic Planning for both public and private entities,
- Renewable Energy Feasibility Studies,
- Energy Project Development Support,
- View a sample listing of studies and projects completed by Jim Leidel.
Mission Statement
Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) scientists, engineers and collaborators are conducting and demonstrating applied research and facilitating private sector investment to achieve a 40% energy reduction in existing industrial, commercial and institutional buildings in the Southeast Michigan tri-county region. The CERC effort will deliver energy efficiency solutions, innovation and new clean energy jobs today while providing significant natural resource, environmental and economic impact by 2020. The CERC is uniquely situated in the heart of the innovative Automation Ally, within the counties of Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne which comprise 40% of the State’s population and a majority of the State’s economic activity.
Description of the ProblemDuring the 20th century, energy efficiency of our cars, trains, planes and factory floors have systematically improved. However, during the past forty years the energy efficiency of our building stock has not improved. Buildings consume about 40% of the nation’s energy. Here in Michigan, this equates to about $12 billion in energy costs, much of which flows out of the State, to other parts of the U.S. and to foreign countries. Multiple projects have been completed or are in various stages of development. The projects will research and demonstrate technologies in energy efficient buildings, solar, combined heat and power (CHP), biomass, and wind energy. Click here for OU & US Energy Flow Diagrams
- Geothermal heat pump research and demonstrations
- Smart grid / smart metering demonstrations
- LED and emerging lighting technologies
- Solar thermal systems
- Solar PV systems
- Biomass heating and biomass CHP systems
- On?site solid fuel biomass densification lab
- On?site biodiesel production lab
- On?site ethanol production lab
