Fundamentals of Advanced Energy Conversion
Course facts
- Payment: Free, no certificate
- Credits: Non Credit
- Learning style: Self-paced, start anytime
- Resources: Lecture Notes; Problem Set Solutions; Problem Sets; Projects with Examples
MIT OpenCourseWare details
- As taught in: Spring 2020
- Department: Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Nuclear Science and Engineering
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Thermodynamics, chemistry and transport applied to energy: fuel cells, batteries, solar, wind and carbon capture, with solved homework.
How efficiently can energy be converted and stored, and what limits it? This class applies thermodynamics, chemistry and transport to energy systems, including gas separation, chemical thermodynamics and electrochemistry. It then studies fuel cells, batteries, photovoltaics and power cycles, followed by solar thermal, geothermal, wind, biomass and carbon capture. A term project analyzes storage technology in depth.
What You Will Achieve
- Analyze conversion efficiency using thermodynamics
- Apply chemical and electrochemical thermodynamics to fuel cells
- Compare batteries and other energy storage options
- Assess an energy technology through independent analysis
Program Overview
Thermodynamics Tools
The first lectures build methods.
- Thermodynamics and tools to analyze conversion efficiency
- Liquefaction and gas storage
- Chemical thermodynamics
Electrochemical Systems
The next lectures examine devices.
- Electrochemical thermodynamics
- Fuel cells at finite current
- Batteries and energy storage
- Solar photovoltaics
Power and Renewables
The later lectures survey other sources.
- Thermo-mechanical conversion
- Geothermal energy
- CO2 capture and storage
- Wind energy
Course Completion
Job Outlook
These skills are used in energy engineering, in research and in industries working on power, storage and low-carbon technology.
Good for: Mechanical engineering students with thermal-fluids background who want to analyze energy technologies.
Keep in mind: Two lectures and one homework were cancelled, and half the term moved online during the pandemic, so coverage has small gaps. There is no listed textbook, and the project works best with a partner.
Bottom line: An analytic survey of energy conversion, with solutions and a practical project format.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the project topic?
Storage, stationary or mobile, at different scales: students choose thermal, chemical, electrical or mechanical storage, apply it to a bike, car, building or grid, and do design analysis.
How much of the term is homework?
Five homework assignments with solutions are published. There were originally six, and one was cancelled.
Do undergraduates and graduates differ?
The class has undergraduate and graduate versions that share the same material but not the workload, with additional assignments for graduate students.
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