Microgrids have a large impact
That feat was recognized recently when XENDEE’s computer-simulation software and Johnson’s approach to military microgrids won a TechConnect Defense Innovation Award at the Defense Innovation Technology Acceleration Challenges Summit — a conference of leaders in defense, security and technology industries, along with U.S. government and military officials.
Industry, military collaborations produce progress
Another goal is to produce designs “that make microgrids more modular and scalable,” Johnson said. “We want microgrids that can be increased in size seamlessly and adapt their functions as the needs of communities and other users grow and change.”
Two other LEAPS projects are putting the lab’s microgrid system concept-to-construction skills into action.
Collaborating with FastGrid, a company based in Queen Creek, Arizona, Johnson and his team have been able to see their designs and technologies employed in mobile microgrids that the company is producing and commercializing.
The FastGrid Solo is a microgrid that can be quickly disassembled, easily transported and reassembled, and it provides a fully independent system for clean power generation, with options for water purification and communications capability.
Working with the Office of Naval Research through its NEPTUNE Initiative (Naval Enterprise Partnership Teaming with Universities for National Excellence), Johnson’s team is also developing the interfaces and controls to combine advanced microgrid technologies in a fashion similar to the way LEGO building blocks fit together.
Those projects display the versatility and resiliency of the technologies and systems that LEAPS and its collaborators are creating.
These microgrids make use of renewable-energy sources — including solar power, wind, biodiesel fuels and lithium-ion battery storage — and feature advanced systems controls that help lower operation costs while ensuring more overall system dependability.
Building the workforce to modernize power grids
ASU notes that Johnson is developing many of these innovations at the one-acre Grid Modernization and Microgrid Test Bed on ASU’s Polytechnic campus.
His projects are also demonstrating advances in stronger fortifications to protect microgrid systems against theft, cyberattacks and extreme weather events.
Beyond all that, Johnson’s work includes efforts to bolster workforce development for the energy industry.
“As much as all the advanced technologies, we also need highly trained people if we’re going to help modernize the grid and provide power to off-grid communities,” Johnson said.
LEAPS has been conducting courses and other educational activities, including a “Microgrid Boot Camp,” to teach system design, operation, installation and maintenance to industry engineers and technicians as well as entrepreneurs and students. More than 100 have undergone instruction in the past two years — nearly all of them are U.S. military veterans.
Participants go through an intense hands-on one-week professional development course in computer simulation-based design and system integration.
Said Johnson, “If we can help provide power that is clean and renewable, that reduces the costs of energy and is transportable and adaptable to different environments, our work could go a long way toward meeting basic needs and providing a platform for economic development around the world.”
