CHARLOTTE — A U.S. National Science Foundation award will accelerate UNC Charlotte’s efforts to modernize the energy grid. The Charlotte university will receive up to $160 million over the next decade for the NSF Grid Modernization Engine in the Carolinas, which will be called the Carolinas Grid Engine.
The NSF awarded 12 Regional Innovation Engines across 20 states on July 14. Those engines look to build and scale innovation clusters around critical technologies.
Carolinas Grid Engine will be a wholly owned subsidiary of UNC Charlotte, with Clemson University as a key academic partner. The engine will span 36 counties in the Carolinas and be supported by over 100 entities, including energy companies, government agencies, universities and community colleges, entrepreneurs, nonprofits and venture capital.
UNC Charlotte Chancellor Sharon Gaber says the early assessment is the NSF award will generate $2 billion in economic impact and create 20,000 jobs tied to new technology that is commercialized, startups and workforce development.
“This need and this infrastructure problem is so complex. It’s going to take universities, industry, workforce development to come together to say let’s work together and solve this,” she says. “We’re excited to be sort of the convener and entity that’s bringing people to the table. The goal is research that then becomes commercialized.”
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