How artificial intelligence can transform U.S. energy infrastructure with a new report from Argonne and partners
30 April 2024 - 5:38AM
Business Wire
In the face of accelerating climate change, the U.S. aims to
reduce the net carbon emissions of its economy to zero by 2050.
Achieving this goal will require an unprecedented deployment of
clean energy technologies. And a significant transformation of the
nation’s energy infrastructure.
It is an exceptionally complex and daunting challenge. But it is
not impossible if we harness the transformative capabilities of
artificial intelligence (AI) to help.
This is according to a groundbreaking new report issued by
leading energy researchers and scientists from across America’s
national laboratories. The report is titled AI for Energy. It
provides a bold framework for how the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) can use AI to accelerate the nation’s clean energy
transformation.
“AI can manage complexity and make connections across multiple
scientific and engineering disciplines, multiple model and data
types, and multiple outcome priorities. This can enable AI to
create solutions for the ‘grand challenges’ of massive and rapid
clean energy deployment that conventional methods cannot,” said
Rick Stevens, associate laboratory director for the Computing,
Environment and Life Sciences directorate at DOE’s Argonne National
Laboratory.
The report identifies grand challenges across five areas of the
U.S. energy infrastructure. These include nuclear power, the power
grid, carbon management, energy storage and energy materials. Three
common needs emerged across these challenges. The first is the need
for quick and highly reliable computer-aided design and testing of
materials and systems. The second is the need to improve
scientists’ ability to pinpoint uncertainties in their predictions
and how systems will perform. The third is the need for AI to
integrate data from multiple sources and formats.
If the U.S. can overcome these challenges, the benefits could be
significant.
“AI has the potential to reduce the cost to design, license,
deploy, operate and maintain energy infrastructure by hundreds of
billions of dollars,” said Kirsten Laurin-Kovitz, associate
laboratory director for the Nuclear Technologies and National
Security directorate at Argonne. “It can also accelerate design,
deployment and licensing processes. These can account for up to 50%
of the time it takes a new technology to get to the
marketplace.”
“Argonne is grateful for the opportunity to leverage its
expertise in helping drive the AI for Energy effort,” said Claus
Daniel, associate laboratory director for the Advanced Energy
Technologies directorate at Argonne. “We are excited to help DOE
drive U.S. global leadership in clean energy technology. And help
DOE achieve its mission to secure U.S. energy independence and
security for decades to come.”
You can read the entire AI for Energy report here.
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Christopher J. Kramer Head of Media Relations Argonne National
Laboratory Office: 630.252.5580 Email: media@anl.gov