Energy Ecosystem

The Energy Policy and Innovation Center (EPIcenter) at Georgia Tech was launched in the Fall of 2016 to conduct research, provide information, and coordinate related activities with policy and community leaders and innovators in the energy industry. By partnering with a variety of individuals and organizations, such as scientists, researchers, utility companies, and nonprofits, the Center explores the intersection of policy and technology and draws upon the extensive expertise in the Southeast.

The Center for Critical Mineral Solutions provides an interdisciplinary umbrella where critical mineral research and solutions can convergence, and sets the stage for regional collaboration and development. Our mission is to develop innovative solutions and train the future workforce for sustainable critical mineral production, which will be achieved through three interwoven pillars: research and development, strengthening collaborations with regional universities, and developing regional resources and economy.

The Georgia Tech Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics (COPE) is a premier national and resource center that creates flexible organic photonic and electronic materials and devices that serve the information technology, telecommunications, energy, and defense sectors. COPE creates the opportunity for disruptive technologies by developing new materials with emergent properties and by providing new paradigms for device design and fabrication.

Georgia Tech’s Direct Air Capture Center (DirACC), launched with the support of the Strategic Energy Institute (SEI), is co-directed by Professors Christopher W. Jones and Matthew J. Realff. DirACC has created a forum for collaborative research on NETs and DAC, bringing together researchers from across the Institute working in energy, sustainability, policy, and related fields who work in cooperation with our corporate Center members on pre-competitive projects relevant to DAC and NETs.

Established in 2014, the center for Understanding and Control of Acid Gas-Induced Evolution of Materials for Energy (UNCAGE-ME) was one of 10 new Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) financed with a four-year $11.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The focus of the UNCAGE-ME EFRC is to advance the understanding of how porous and electrochemical materials used for hydrogen production and carbon dioxide capture and conversion evolve and degrade when exposed to emerging contaminants.

The Institute for Cybersecurity and Resilient Infrastructure Studies (ICARIS) is a joint research collaboration between Georgia Tech and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.  The mission of ICARIS is to deliver the technologies, test beds, and talent necessary to secure the nation’s critical infrastructure.

The Department of Energy (DOE) established a University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaics Research and Education (UCEP) at Georgia Tech in 1992, one of two such centers in the United States. The Center, under the direction of Dr. Ajeet Rohatgi, reports through Georgia Tech’s Office of Interdisciplinary Programs. The mission of the Center is to improve the fundamental understanding of the science and technology of advanced PV devices, to fabricate record high efficiency solar cells, to provide training and enrich the educational experience of students in this field, and to give the U.S. a competitive edge by providing guidelines to industry and the DOE for achieving cost-effective and high-efficiency PV devices.

The Southeast DAC (SEDAC) Hub supports the deployment of Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies in northern Mobile County, Alabama. DAC is a process designed to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere by capturing CO2 directly from the air. The CO2 is then stored safely and securely. The SEDAC Hub is one of five Topic Area 2 projects chosen by the federal government to receive funding in order to establish a regional DAC hub.