Sustainable Energy - Cheaper, Cleaner, and Safer

Professor Said Al-Hallaj: "The implications if we succeed are unbelievable," Al-Hallaj said. "You're coming up with a solution that is clean and advanced — (good for) energy, the environment and people who are burdened by high prices."

Sustainable Energy – Cheaper, Cleaner, and Safer

Reliance on foreign oil supplies is increasingly seen as perilous. This, along with the environmental hazards of coal and oil usage, is a driving force behind research into sustainable energy.

Ongoing research at IIT includes: solution of thermal management problems in electrochemical systems, hydrogen generation and storage, fuel cell improvements, novel photovoltaic systems, wind energy, and energy-efficient transportation systems. Working with Professor Said Al-Hallaj, IPRO and ENPRO teams have helped solve real energy-related problems while increasing their understanding of the need to design for environmental responsibility. His graduate students are working on all phases of these technologies from basic research to the most practical aspects of connecting components into efficient integrated systems. In the area of photovoltaic technology, Al-Hallaj’s group received a donation of intellectual property involving holographic concentration of the sun's rays. They have developed improved techniques for manufacturing the solar modules, analyzed the architectural market for solar energy, and created an attractive business plan for commercializing their technology. A different group built an integrated system for collecting solar energy, generating and storing hydrogen, and finally powering an electric sign using a fuel cell.

A current project that combines technical challenge, fun, and public relations involves use of a lithium battery with IIT’s patented thermal management system in a four-wheel scooter of the type people with disabilities use for mobility. A local real estate developer who was working with Said on energy-efficient buildings donated the scooter after learning of the battery technology. An industrial executive whose teenage son wanted to build a solar vehicle began a discussion of potential collaboration, which eventually evolved to fuel cells. A fuel cell company whose senior executives visited Said's laboratory volunteered a fuel cell for use in the project. Collaboration continues to be an essential part of sustainability.

In 2000 Professor Al-Hallaj put together IIT's first renewable energy conference featuring speakers from around the world sharing developments in the areas of solar energy, wind turbines, hydrogen production, and fuel cells. In subsequent conferences the level of awareness of and interest in sustainable energy has grown among government officials, industrial attendees, and academics. As a result, Said has been asked to help the state of Illinois create strategies for an eventual hydrogen economy. Numerous companies have visited IIT to discuss opportunities for collaboration in everything from battery-powered dragsters to urban wind turbines and photovoltaic technology.

Addidtional Resources

National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research (NCAUR).

Quest for energy alternatives heats up