Department of Mechanical Science & Engineering 1

Distributed Energy Generation (DG)

100m 100m

Catalytic surface

Electrospray injectorsCombustors

DG increases efficiency to 55% compared to 30% from conventional methods (Sen,2006)Smaller units ( e.g., wind mill < 100 KW, Energy generator with micro-combustion < 5-10 KW) can improve efficiency further

Wind Photovoltaic Energy generator

Department of Mechanical Science & Engineering 2

Distributed Manufacturing for Distributed Energy Generation• Specific Challenge

– Reduce unit manufacturing and transportation cost, Improve energy efficiency

• Idea for Meeting the Challenge– Distributed manufacturing of small-scale renewable and non-conventional

energy generation process equipment and accessories• Approach

– Develop modular and autonomous systems including machines and factories to produce small energy generation units

• What is the Manufacturing Challenge?– Machining complex features in a variety of materials including metals,

ceramics and composites with a high relative accuracy – Developing smart plug-and-play architecture for distributed manufacturing

systems Utility requirements may best be provided through a “bus-like” structure expendable resources will need to be replenished with simple cartridge-based

refills, including tooling, materials, and packaging Sensor-based diagnostic systems with associated maintenance systems