southern company research and development

7/26/2019 Southern Company Research and Development

1/15

Southern Company Research & Development

Revolutionizing our energy future

Steve M. Wilson

GM, R&D


2/15

Innovation and R&D Overview

Seek to lead the industry in innovationand R&D for the production, deliveryand end-use of energy

Only utility with robust R&D program

Active collaborationwith other utilities,universities and vendors

R&D investment leveragedthroughDOE and others

Research portfolioto hardentechnology options and providesuperior customer value


3/15

Electric Power Research Institute

EPRI serves as a collaborative R&D resource to Southern Company Leveraged R&D investment through contributions of the entire industry

More than 90% of domestic power generation is represented

2016 budget = $390 million

Moves technologies to the commercialization stage

Platform for utility collaboration

Founding and full-portfolio EPRI member One of the largest participants by contribution and engagement

More than 80 technical advisors to guide EPRI R&D


4/15

Interacting with the Energy Innovation Center

EIC: Business Product Development Stage Gate Process

R&EA: Research and Development Technology Readiness Levels

TRL 9CommercialDeployment

TRL 8Commercial

Design/

ProgramDevelopment

TRL 7Pilot

Demonstration

TRL 6Prototype

Verification

TRL 5Integrated

System

Testing

TRL 4PrototypeTesting

TRL 3Critical

Function

TRL 2AppliedResearch

TRL 1Basic

Research

TransitionMonitor

Scan CommercializeAnalyzeDevelopAssess

Transition


5/15

University Intellectual Property Initiative

Objective Identify and bring to the EIC for consideration,

energy-related IP currently controlled by universitiesthat could produce new products or services

More than 25 universities already catalogued with IPlicensing/sales programs

Likely more than 1,000 pieces of energy-related IPavailable

Plan Direct contact with institutions underway

Culling available IP for energy-related innovations Prioritize resulting catalogue of options

Market assessment of top candidates

Initiate development programs

Maintain contact with institutions to capture future IP


6/15

Advanced Nuclear Research

SCS Selected for $40M DOE Award -Molten Chloride Fast Reactor (MCFR)

Answer MCFR technical questions

Demonstrate operations (electrically heated ~2MW)

Prepare license application ~30MW Test Reactor

MCFR meets Southerns goals of clean,safe, reliable and affordableenergy


7/15

Battery Energy Storage R&D

Demonstrate battery energy storage performance and integration Duration and lifecycle performance

Determine total cost of ownership

Explore applications for customer value Peak shaving

Energy arbitrage

Current Demonstrations LG Chem/ABB, 1 MW/2 MWh (w/solar PV)

Tesla PowerPack, 250 kW/1 MWh (commercial setting)

Greensmith, 5-20 kW/20-50 kWh

Encell (Nickel Iron), 10 kW/30kWh

Others

! Backup power

!Grid services


8/15

Tall Wind Research

Tall towers/large rotors could increase theviability of power from wind

Objectives: Deploy three LIDAR units across Georgia to measure

wind speed/direction up to 200m

Turbine performance modeling Measurements in north AL and Savannah, GA


9/15

Unmanned Aircraft Systems

More than 650 Southern Company UAS missions to date Generation plants (Fossil, Nuclear, Solar, Hydro)

Transmission (Maintenance and Construction)

Distribution (Maintenance and Storm Evaluation)

Public and Media Relations

Lake and Land Management Environmental Surveys

Autonomous and BVLOS Operations Comparative analytics

Inductive charging

Sensor Package R&D Non-destructive examinations

Imaging and listening across the spectrums


10/15

Neighborhood of the FutureConnected Community

First-of-its-kind facility to integrate technologies on a community scale

50 smart homes incorporating distributed generation to provide gridsupport and community generation

Technology focus

Smart microgrid with islanding capability

Community energy storage

Community renewable energy

Electric vehicle infrastructure

Grid-to-Home communication

Fiber connectivity


11/15

R&D Centers Across Southern Company

Energy Storage Research Center

Water Research Center

Heat Pump Research Center

M & D Centers

Mercury Research Center

DOE National Carbon Capture Center

Neighborhood of theFuture

Southeastern Solar Research CenterSolids Encapsulation Research Center

Situational Awareness Research Center

Power Quality and Energy Efficiency Laboratory


12/15

Water Research Centerat Georgia Power Companys Plant Bowen

Facility to research, develop, and demonstrate water useuse efficiency and treatment technologies

Collaborative effort between EPRI, SRI, SouthernCompany and 14 other utilities

23 test programs have been completedor started in the following research areas: Advanced cooling systems

Zero liquid discharge options

Modeling and best practices

Boiler and Wastewater treatment

Moisture recovery

Solids Management


13/15

Advanced Heat Pump Research Centers

Faith Academy, Mobile, AL

Notre Dame Academy, Duluth, GA

Harden emerging high efficiency heatpump technologies for regional use! Partner with manufacturers

! Provides HVAC load consistency

!Compare high efficiency heat pump technologies

! Showcase for customers, builders, and engineers


14/15

Southeastern Solar Research Center

Research facility for Regional solar orientation and performance optimization Accelerated aging for asset life prediction

Southern Research Institute Campus

Host site for $1.3M DOE project to expand accelerated aging studies Adds Sandia National Laboratory to team


15/15

Southern Company Research & Development

Revolutionizing our energy future

Steve M. Wilson

GM, R&D

southern company research and development

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