Edison Helps Present Industry Vision to Decarbonize Economy

The two leading research and development organizations for electric and gas utilities — the Electric Power Research Institute and Gas Technology Institute — today released a “research vision” for an initiative to accelerate the development and demonstration of low-carbon energy technologies.

Southern California Edison is among the utilities sponsoring the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative and will participate in events this week to highlight the initiative’s new research plan, which outlines preliminary research, development and demonstration priorities for the next five years.

“We must address the critical issue of climate change,” said Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, the parent company of SCE. “Achieving carbon neutrality will require an economywide approach and advances in research and development. We are proud to work with the members of EPRI and GTI to create innovative, affordable solutions to help achieve carbon neutrality.”

The joint project is backed by more than $111 million in funding from 39 sponsors. LCRI’s mission is to advance technologies in key areas to support a clean energy transition. The research vision covers eight focus areas:

• Renewable fuels
• Hydrocarbon-based processes
• Electrolytic processes
• Delivery and storage
• Power generation
• End use of low-carbon resources
• Safety and environmental aspects
• Integrated energy system analysis

The research areas represent the greatest opportunities for the electric and gas industries to commercialize and deploy low-carbon energy carriers and fuels as well as the cross-cutting technologies needed to support their production, transport, storage and utilization.

“Our research vision is a culmination of more than a year of work and engagement with hundreds of advisors across the energy industry,” said Neva Espinoza, vice president of Energy Supply and Low-Carbon Resources for EPRI.

The research vision is a living document that will be updated with lessons learned through project execution, global participation and collaboration. The 39 LCRI sponsors represent a broad spectrum of the energy industry. They are leaders demonstrating a commitment to meeting emissions-reduction goals and advancing the innovative technologies needed to get there.

“Continued collaboration and leverage will advance the technologies needed at scale to transition our energy system to low carbon by midcentury in a safe, resilient, affordable and customer-focused manner,” said Mike Rutkowski, GTI senior vice president of Research & Technology Development.