Binational Laboratory on Smart Sustainable Energy Management and Technology Training (Mexico City Campus)

Monterrey Tech received resources from Mexico's National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) and the Ministry of Energy (SENER) through the CONACYT-SENER Energy Sustainability Fund to implement this Binational Lab to further prepare human capital on energy topics and strengthen their research capabilities.

Mexico's Secretary of Energy and the President of Monterrey Tech launched the Binational Laboratory on Smart Sustainable Energy Management and Technology Training at an event hosted by Monterrey Tech, Mexico City campus.

According to the Binational Lab launch press release, this Lab includes the following categories:

• Attracting, educating and reconverting the best talent (technicians and professionals)
• Building international research networks
• Strengthening infrastructure for the development of scientific applied education and research
• Physical and virtual laboratories for education and research purposes

Arizona State University is a partner of Monterrey Tech to implement this initiative. Other partners are the National Institute of Technology of Mexico, the Electric Research Institute, and University of California at Berkeley.

Specifically, ASU's role focuses on conducting joint research on electric power systems and high voltage direct current and strengthening energy research and modeling capabilities of Tech's energy scientists and doctoral students. ASU and Tech structured a three-year work plan.

The main activities conducted are the following:

1. Deliver a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) workshop. ASU and Tech professors offered a workshop on HVDC in Mexico City. Representatives of key Mexican energy agencies attended this workshop, among others.
2. Receive Tech’s doctoral students for research stays. Four Tech’s Ph.D. students will come to ASU for a six-month stay. They will take courses at ASU and conduct research with Dr. Vijay Vittal’s group on HVDC, energy transmission between the U.S. and Mexico, and energy markets.
3. Receive Tech’s students for a summer session. ASU’s Decision Theater received since early June three Tech doctoral students for a summer session to learn more on modeling energy systems.  
4. Receive Tech’s professors. Dr. Pedro Ponce will come to work with ASU’s professor Raja Ayyanar on renewable energy integration to the grid. Tech’s professor Osvaldo Micheloud will come to ASU. He leads the HVDC activities on the Tech’s side.

Additionally, Dr. Hector Moreira (ASU) and a team he put together in Tech-Mexico City campus, are developing the ASU-Tech Energy Decision Center for Mexico, which includes a mathematical model and a Decision Theater infrastructure. This model received resources from the SENER-CONACYT Fund and from the Inter-American Development Bank. The model development is in progress and includes 10 interconnected energy sectors. This model allows decision makers to visualize in-real time, the effect of different energy policies in terms of GDP, jobs creation, tax revenue, carbon emissions, among other indicators.