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Jun 22, 2023

Valparaiso University part of solar energy project

Mirrors inside Valparaiso University's solar energy research facility Valparaiso University has been selected as a partner in a project with the Pennsylvania-based company Advanced Cooling

Mirrors inside Valparaiso University's solar energy research facility

Valparaiso University has been selected as a partner in a project with the Pennsylvania-based company Advanced Cooling Technologies to improve the ability to effectively store solar energy, according to a press release.

The project centers around concentrated solar power, a process that involves thousands of mirrors focusing sunlight on a single point and running sand through the light. Boards are used to slow down the sand so it is able to heat up.

The issue with these boards is they do not tend to last long because of how hot the light can get. The sunlight can reach temperatures of 1,400 degrees and above.

Advanced Cooling Technologies is being tasked with designing and producing new prototype boards. Once the prototype boards are made, they will be tested in Valparaiso University's solar energy research facility. The university will also serve in a consulting role for the company.

Luke Venstron and Peter Krenzke, professors and researchers in mechanical engineering, will lead the university's efforts.

Video provided in partnership with The Times, JEDtv and WJOB. Sponsored by Strack & Van Til.

"The goal for this project is to make concentrated solar with the end goal of producing electricity better," said Venstron.

The pair have spent the last couple of years researching how to store solar energy at a large-scale level. Earlier this year, they announced a breakthrough in their research efforts, storing energy for three years and releasing it with almost no loss.

The project will be funded by a Department of Energy grant. The amount of the grant is $200,000, with Valparaiso University receiving around $25,000 of it.

Peter Krenzke, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Valparaiso University, explains his and his colleagues' research on solar energy to U.S. Sen. Todd Young in front of the solar furnace they're using for that research. Young toured various programs Tuesday and spoke with community members about the CHIPS and Science Act.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young hears from Luke Venstrom, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Valparaiso University, who explains his and his colleagues' solar energy research during Young's campus tour Tuesday.

Paityn Krout, a biomechanical engineering student at Valparaiso University shows U.S. Sen. Todd Young a vial of nanoparticles used in her class.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young watches as a Valparaiso University student shows him a system that simulates the internal muscle movement in his own arm.

Sen. Todd Young fist-bumps a high-tech prosthetic arm held by Professor Lauren Sestito during his tour Tuesday of Valparaiso University.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young tries out a technology system designed to simulate surgery at Valparaiso University's biomedical engineering program.

Bethany Luke, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and bioengineering, explains the mechanics of a suit used by Valparaiso University students during U.S. Sen. Todd Young's campus tour Tuesday. The suit measures and detects the movement of certain muscles in the body.

U.S. Sen. Todd Young speaks during a roundtable discussion Tuesday at Valparaiso University.

A group of Northwest Indiana leaders gather Tuesday at Valparaiso University to hear from and ask questions of U.S. Sen. Todd Young.

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