Date: Sep 17, 2013 Author: Malia Spencer Source: bizjournals (
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For researchers and entrepreneurs, opportunity lies in the energy sector.
On Tuesday, executives from Eaton Corp., FirstEnergy Corp., Consol Energy Inc., Plextronics Inc. and Kennametal Inc. told more than 200 people the challenges their companies face and what technology and innovation should be answering.
The panel was brought together at the third annual Energy and Innovation Conference, and was hosted by Catalyst Connection and the National Energy Technology Laboratory.
So what solutions should researchers be looking at?
• Energy storage. FirstEnergy is facing a transformation in the market not just from environmental regulations but also the transformation of generating sources, said Eileen Buzzelli, managing director of FirstEnergy technology. By adding more variable sources of power through renewables to the grid, and with the grid becoming a two-way system with dynamic demand, the need for integrated energy storage is great. This storage must also have a variety of sizes and capabilities.
• Additive manufacturing. For both Plextronics and Kennametal, advances in this type of manufacturing will be important. Both companies said they are exploring what this will mean. Kennametal is looking at partnerships, said Erica Clayton Wright, global public affairs manager. Plextronics is looking at how its product will allow 3-D printing of energy-efficient OLED lights, said Bob Kumpf, chief operating officer.
• Automated mining. Within the coal mining industry, a major innovation came in the 1970s in longwall mining, which reduced the number of miners needed from thousands on a wall to three or four. The next breakthrough will be completely taking humans off of the wall, said Samuel Johnson, director of water asset development at Consol.
• Effective water treatment. Consol is also interested in better ways to treat water, whether it is coming out of a mine or natural gas operations.
For academics and researchers, the key to getting technology into the market and commercialized by a company like those on the panel is understanding the difference between pure research and a company's need to turn a profit. It's not just good enough to solve a problem — a new technology must be better and more cost-effective then the next best option.
The panel noted that, many times, they see interesting technology but it is searching for a problem to solve.
Johnson and Wright said both of their companies will partner with a small company or a research project if the case can be clearly made that the technology will offer a clear advantage in the marketplace.
For companies looking to partner with universities or researchers, the panel noted these relationships should be long term and communication is key. Expectations must be managed and time frames understood, so that researchers who work on longer time frames can understand the shorter time lines of industry.
