Research Areas

As part of UD's Center for Carbon-free Power Integration, we conduct research and teaching on offshore wind power. We are interdisciplinary, with a primary administrative home in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, but with strong links to the College of Engineering (Mechanical and Electrical Engineering), Center for Composite Materials, and others. This site describes our research, teaching, and public testimony, gives an introduction to some offshore wind concepts and tools, and describes the contracted Delaware offshore wind project.

Vehicle to Grid Power

Electric-drive vehicles, whether powered by batteries, fuel cells, or gasoline hybrids, have within them the energy source and power electronics capable of producing the 60 Hz AC electricity that powers our homes and offices. When connections are added to allow this electricity to flow from cars to power lines, we call it "vehicle to grid" power, or V2G. Cars pack a lot of power. One typical electric-drive vehicle can put out over 10kW, the average draw of 10 houses. The key to realizing economic value from V2G is precise timing of its grid power production to fit within driving requirments while meeting the time-critical power "dispatch" of the electric distribution system.

Related Research and Partners:

Fuel Cell Research Lab

The Fuel Cell Research Laboratory is part of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Delaware. Our research is currently focused on Hydrogen PEM fuel cells and Direct Methanol fuel cells. Research issues in PEM cells include water management, reactant gas transport, evaluation of permeability of gas diffusion materials, and the manufacture and testing of custom fuel cells. For DMFC, we are evaluating the use of metal foams for distributing reactant to the electrodes, and novel methods to mitigate the effect of CO2 production. We have also embarked on a major project to research, build and demonstrate a fuel cell powered transit vehicle in the state of Delaware.

Mid-Atlantic Grid Interactive Cars Consortium (MAGICC)

The MAGIC Consortium was created to further develop, test, and demonstrate Vehicle-to-Grid technology. The Consortium includes core partners from academia and the electric, automotive, and communications industries, as well as participant observers from many different disciplines.