As energy systems face increasing pressures from natural disasters, extreme weather, physical and cyber threats, and rising demand, it has become more important than ever to enhance resilience and reliability. This seminar will examine innovative methods for managing and converting high-temperature heat to support the use of on-site thermal batteries that address the evolving needs of data centers, factories, and other critical infrastructure. A central goal of this work is gaining control over the electromagnetic spectrum of thermal radiation—a field known as thermal photonics. By selectively enhancing or suppressing specific spectral bands of thermal radiation (from visible to far-infrared), we can improve the efficiency of energy flow and minimize waste. However, significant challenges remain: heat is distributed across a very broad spectrum, and practical issues such as scalability, cost, and material stability under high temperatures must be addressed. Meeting these challenges requires a multidisciplinary approach. In this talk, I will share how our research is tackling these obstacles and advancing technologies in thermal photovoltaics (TPVs) and solar industrial process heat. These developments have the potential to help factories and data centers meet renewable energy goals while improving resilience against grid outages.
Andrej Lenert directs the Lab for Efficient and Enduring Energy systems at the University of Michigan (UofM) conducting research at the intersection of nanofabrication, energy conversion, and transport of light and heat. He is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award, the 3M untenured faculty award, and the Henry Russel and 1938E Awards (UofM). He earned a BS in 2008 from the University of Iowa and MS and PhD degrees in 2010 and 2014 from MIT, where he studied with Evelyn N. Wang. He trained as a postdoctoral fellow at UofM with Pramod Reddy and Edgar Meyhofer prior to joining the Chemical Engineering faculty in 2016.