Professors Jonathan Fan and Ram Rajagopal lead two of the four research projects that will receive funding from Stanford’s Strategic Energy Alliance.

Jonathan is the principal investigator for working on developing a new class of electrified cement kiln in which the heat for limestone decomposition and cement manufacturing is produced using high frequency magnetic induction. Uniquely, the flue gas stream from the kiln will be pure CO2, enabling the economical capture of CO2 without the need for air separations. The team hopes that their concept may serve as a platform technology for other hard-to-decarbonize industrial processes that depend on high grade heat.

Ram is the principal investigator for “ElectriPedia;" this research project aims to fill the critical gap–electrification information vital to policy and planning decisions – by creating “ElectriPedia,” a comprehensive electrification information framework. The system will use machine learning tools to extract and map electrification information from satellite imagery and building permit data. Some members of the research team have demonstrated the accuracy of machine learning with satellite images to map every solar rooftop in the United States and, subsequently, make policy suggestions for better financial incentives for installing solar panels. The researchers expect to produce information of immediate usefulness for stakeholders, including utilities, regulators, legislators, and manufacturers and installers of relevant equipment.

These Strategic Energy Research Consortium projects are funded collaboratively by the members of the Strategic Energy Alliance: ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, and Shell. The alliance seeks to accelerate the pace of the global energy transformation involving clean energy development, deployment, scale-up, and finance. Through their relationships with Stanford, alliance members can gain strategic direction and insight toward a low-carbon energy future.

Excerpted from 'Stanford’s Strategic Energy Alliance funds four new energy research projects for $4 million.'