Quotes from Department of Energy tour of CIVS

April 16, 2024

Purdue University Northwest CIVS U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan Geri Richmond-U.S. Department of Energy

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Department of Energy Undersecretary Geri Richmond

“That’s why it’s exactly the reason I am excited to be here, beyond the students, it’s also about the contact that you have with the steelmaking industries and the way that you guys are all really prototyping and leading in this area (to reduce energy use and greenhouse emissions), trying to make sure that we have steelmaking with much less environmental issues that we have.”
“I have read about the things CIVS and this institution are doing, and now I am even more impressed. My story to take home to the Department of Energy is that it should be proud, and I am very proud to see what you are doing. It is so cool how my brain can go right in the middle of a blast furnace when you are simulating hydrogen and to see what the energy flow would look like. If you do not do things like CIVS does to simulate what happens under different conditions, you have to go to the lab and try over and over again. What CIVS has developed is a simulation system, artificial intelligence and machine learning to simulate what can happen, as well as go back and validate the research. I have done a lot of simulations in my own research, but nothing to this level.”
“The fact that you are decarbonizing the steel industry by working with companies and students in areas such as using hydrogen, using electric arc furnaces, just to see the simulations of it is great. I am very proud to see what you are doing and particularly to think about how my brain could go right into a blast furnace and see what the flow of hydrogen would look like. This is great. I love projects like this. It shows that our taxpayer money is going to a good place and training more workforce in the meantime.”
“What Purdue Northwest is doing is an important contributor to why the MachH2 Hydrogen Hub was chosen. We want to make sure that you have workforce development, novel ideas and new ways of looking at things. CIVS fits that perfectly while also coupling with industry. Institutions like this are the kind we want to make sure are integrated into the hub.”

Congressman Frank Mrvan

“When we talk about decarbonization, we talk about the ability of our steel industry to thrive. We talk about renewable energy or cleaner energy. We talk about the PNW students at the CIVS lab being able to be an example and a key component of that for the world to see, for the world and our nation to see right here in Hammond, Indiana. We’re creating jobs. We’re creating cleaner air and cleaner water. The students are able to access technologies that will lead for generations.”

“It all has to do with investment from the Infrastructure Bill, from this administration, and from the Department of Energy. This is what we have to offer. The world can see the CIVS lab. So when we bring resources back to Northwest Indiana, CIVS, and Purdue Northwest, they are well spent. We have the industry, the workforce, the education and everyone coming together to make a greater product and to show the world we can do it.”
“Northwest Indiana wins. Our steel industry wins throughout the country. A headline yesterday was we produce more steel in our region than anywhere else in the nation. We’re very proud of that. We welcome you to be able to show off how our educational institutions, our industry and our student body are working together for a thriving industry and for our workforce.”

At the conclusion of their tour, Rep. Mrvan thanked Dr. Richmond for “taking the time to see firsthand the incredible steelmaking and research capabilities of Purdue Northwest and Cleveland-Cliffs in Northwest Indiana.” The congressman then urged all parties to “continue working together to ensure that our region and incredible workforce drive innovation in the steelmaking process and support the strength of our economy and national security.”

PNW Chancellor Chris Holford

“As an institution, one of the things that makes us so successful is how we are integrated into the industry around us, as evidenced by CIVS and the Steel Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization Consortium (SMSVC) which was established by CIVS. This close collaboration addresses issues that are important to those industries and helps facilitate economic and workforce development. Our goal is not only to train today’s workforce but also to train the future workforce ten years out. As we transition to hydrogen combustion at an industrial scale, you will also see the innovation and commercialization at a smaller scale. Industrial decarbonization and hydrogen consumption will fuel technological advancement that translates into other industries around us, and a lot of that work will be going on right around us in Northwest Indiana.”
“Our goal is to be training not only today’s workforce but the future workforce ten years out, because as we transition to more and more hydrogen combustion at an industrial scale, you’ll also see the innovation and commercialization at a smaller scale. “So industrial decarbonization and hydrogen consumption will fuel technological advancement, which will eventually translate into the automotive industry and other industries around us, and a lot of that work will be going on right here in Northwest Indiana.”
“We have a tight relationship with the companies and industries around us. We were designated as an innovation and economic prosperity institution and are the only non-R1 in the state of Indiana to accomplish that. I think it comes from the relationships we built over the last couple of decades with the industry around us. More than 90% of the projects we do on this campus are applied in nature. So it’s not just knowledge. It’s application and improvement from our activities. We have a strong commitment as an institution to making industry in the Region better and to providing opportunities for workforce development, providing our students who graduate the opportunity to be in a thriving economy in Northwest Indiana.”

Chenn Zhou (NIPSCO Distinguished Professor of Engineering Simulation and founding director of CIVS and SMSVC)

“CIVS is proud to collaborate on groundbreaking initiatives that research, test, and develop energy solutions in order to improve the quality of life for communities both here and around the country. At CIVS, we use cutting-edge technologies to solve real-world problems that can be implemented at large scales. We are grateful for the continued support of DOE and local industry partners, especially our SMSVC member companies, our academic and national lab collaborators, and local communities on these important initiatives.”

References

The quotes are from the following news articles:

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