Ryo Amano, UWM Richard & Joanne Grigg Fellow and professor of mechanical engineering at UWM, will lead the initiative and work with nine community college partners in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. (UWM photo/Laura Otto)
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the University of Washington’s College of Engineering & Applied Science a $5.7 million grant to increase the number of Industrial Training Assessment Centers (ITACs) in the Midwest. These centers will teach workers energy assessment skills so the manufacturing sector can increase its use of technologies to reduce energy consumption.
UWM was selected as a lead institution in the DOE Clean Energy and Manufacturing Workforce Consortium, with the goal of helping manufacturers improve their competitiveness and reduce industrial carbon dioxide emissions at the heart of global climate change.
Ryo Amano, UWM Richard & Joanne Grigg Fellow and professor of mechanical engineering at UWM, will lead the initiative and work with nine community college partners in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Training of employees
In the training centers, students and employees interested in further training can learn how to use technologies such as heat pumps, hydrogen for electricity generation, biofuels, power flow analysis, various renewable energy technologies and cyber-physical modeling.
“The total amount of consortium funding is $14 million, so UWM’s share is large — more than a third,” Amano said. “But that’s not surprising, because UWM is known for its expertise in training the next generation of energy engineers. The growing number of ITACs is made possible by the DOE’s network of university-based Industrial Assessment Centers. And UWM has been home to the only Industrial Assessment Center in Wisconsin for nearly 30 years.”
Students at UWM’s Industrial Assessment Center conduct free energy assessments for industries to help them save energy costs, reduce waste, lower carbon emissions and stimulate the clean energy economy.
40 centers across the country
The UWM-led ITACs bring the total number of centers in the United States to over 40.
The ITAC funding announcement follows a $900,000 grant the Department of Energy awarded Amano last year to establish a Building Training and Assessment Center (BTAC). The goal of the BTAC funding was to establish centers for specific vocational training in the area of energy-efficient retrofits to existing buildings and institutional facilities. In addition, Amano has a $2 million grant for UWM’s Industrial Assessment Center.
The expansion of both DOE programs is supported with funding from the federal bipartisan infrastructure bill.
