Dimitri Saad awarded Chevron Fellowhip in Energy

Dimitri Saad was awarded the Chevron Fellowship in Energy for his research that investigates the role of heat batteries in reducing emissions from the industrial sector. The increase in the buildout of renewable energy systems can lead to a shortage in electricity supply due to the intermittency of renewable electricity. Such intermittency poses a problem for electrifying the baseload energy demand of industrial heating end-uses. One solution to such an energy dilemma is utilizing a heat battery – a system that uses electricity to store and supply heat for industrial processes. Heat batteries leverage available renewable electricity from solar or wind systems to heat refractory bricks to high temperatures. The stored heat can then be delivered as hot air or steam to industrial processes when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing.

The Chevron Fellowship is part of Chevron’s University Partnership Program. This program supports universities in the US by providing the necessary funding to support emerging energy research. Chevron supports its fellowship awardees by connecting them with Chevron stakeholders who can provide relevant industry perspective on their research topics.