Vermont Clean and Resilient Energy Consortium welcomes Norwich University

The Vermont Clean and Resilient Energy Consortium, led by Norwich University and the University of Vermont, will bring together manufacturing and electric utility companies, as well as state and local Vermont government officials, to develop and deliver clean energy.

The nonprofit consortium will seek funding for clean-energy research and economic and commercial development, according to a statement from the University of Vermont, and will collaborate on projects to support clean-energy delivery, renewable energy, decarbonization, and energy resiliency.

Burlington Electric, Renewable Energy Vermont, Green Mountain Power, Vermont Electric Power, the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies, GlobalFoundries, and the Vermont State Colleges System are the consortium’s energy groups.

The nonprofit consortium will seek funding for clean-energy research and development, as well as collaborate on projects that promote clean-energy delivery, renewable energy, decarbonization, and energy resiliency.

In January, the University of Vermont, Vermont Gas Systems, and GlobalFoundries announced the Vermont Green Hydrogen Partnership.

At the GlobalFoundries Fab 9 campus in Essex Junction, Vermont, devices known as electrolyzers, powered by renewable electricity sources such as wind and solar, will extract hydrogen from water without producing new carbon emissions, resulting in green hydrogen.

Green hydrogen can be mixed with natural gas and used in boilers, furnaces, and other appliances without any modifications. Green hydrogen will be blended exclusively into GlobalFoundries’ on-site systems in Essex Junction for the pilot project.

Green hydrogen, according to Vermont Gas Systems, is a critical strategic innovation for displacing fossil gas and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in support of Vermont’s Global Warming Solutions Act.

Norwich University’s energy consortium membership, according to Dr. Karen Hinkle, associate provost for research, connects the university with academic and business leaders across the state who are making significant energy resilience contributions and discoveries.