With our goal of establishing the leading energy and autonomy research coalition in Vermont, the Center for Resilient Energy & Autonomous Technologies in Engineering (CREATE) will add to and expand its existing laboratories and facilities to facilitate research and externally funded project development related to it’s core focus areas in autonomy and power and energy systems research.
Current CREATE Labs:
Current CREATE Labs
AIR Lab (Autonomous And Intelligent Systems Research Lab)
The Autonomous and Intelligent Systems Research Lab (AIR Lab) is driving the future of intelligent systems. Our research on data-driven and model-free estimation and control algorithms enable engineered systems to adapt to complex, real-world environments, pushing beyond traditional boundaries. With a dynamic mix of ground robots, aerial drones, robotic arms, and power grid simulators in the lab as our validation platforms, we tackle some of the most exciting challenges in autonomy.
Lab Co-Directors:
Associate Professor Hamid Ossareh
Assistant Professor Luis Duffaut Espinosa
Hybrid Solar Test Center (HSTC)
The Hybrid Solar Test Center (HSTC) at the McNeil power plant serves as a cutting-edge facility for field-testing new approaches to autonomous energy system development, optimization, and control. By integrating solar PV inverters and batteries with advanced control systems, we push the boundaries of renewable energy integration.
Accelerated Testing Laboratory (ATC)
The new Accelerated Testing Laboratory (ATL) on campus provides our researchers access to a state-of-the-art environment for advancing and validating hybrid energy systems (HES) control and optimization technologies, including solar PV, battery storage, inverters, controllable loads, such as hydrogen electrolyzers, and hardware-in-the-loop grid simulators. Along with the off-campus Hybrid Solar Test Center (HSTC) at the Intervale in Burlington, these research facilities will power new discoveries and innovations in autonomous energy systems that enhance the future of sustainable power systems.
In Development:
Next-generation Energy Systems Simulation Testbed
The Next-generation Energy Systems Simulation Testbed (NES2T) facility will facilitate both research and education in energy system resilience and optimization through the evaluation of what-if scenarios on a digital twin of the Vermont power system, leveraging UVM researchers’ innovative power systems research and the operational knowledge of regional industry partners, grid planning information, and real-time data to increase the electric grid performance. The NES2T lab will enable the exploration of rare operating regimes in a simulation setting and then develop mechanisms, tools, and methods that optimize how the system can achieve the desired outcomes. These types of insights have never been more critical in light of changing technologies, state policies, customer preferences, and federal rules.