Meet the Centre for Urban Energy (CUE)
Nestled in the heart of Toronto’s downtown core, you’ll find TMU’s Centre for Urban Energy (CUE). The CUE is home to researchers looking to create sustainable and innovative clean energy solutions and technologies for urban environments that can be home to millions, like Toronto.
Established in 2010, the CUE unites industry and government partners, researchers across Canada, and FEAS students who are all committed to studying energy in urban spaces. Combining multiple disciplines from engineering to science to infrastructure management to environmental studies, the CUE has a team of 32 members and manages projects worth close to $2 million.
Dr. Bala Venkatesh, the CUE’s inaugural academic director, explores and manages research projects at the centre. Through these projects, he is looking to solve some of society’s most pressing energy problems while providing high-quality training to the students at the centre. To put it simply, Venkatesh says his goal is, “To do amazing research.”
One of these innovative research projects includes assisting Hydro One, the provincial transmission company, in finding ways to manage and distributed energy resources more efficiently. “This project asks, ‘how do you manage our resources in a way that ensures everyone gets high-quality electricity on time?’ So, this research with Hydro One is helping us to prepare for the future as our society moves towards deeper electrification,” described Venkatesh.
The centre is also collaborating with Toronto Hydro to devise methods for managing energy storage units. “This project is looking at how to manage and schedule those units all while making sure that there is reliable service to customers,” said Venkatesh. “There is an economic opportunity for the utility, and there is a business case for the utility to own and operate these units.”
With many more projects being done at the centre, from developing methods to manage electric vehicles for the private sector to assisting Toronto Community Housing in moving towards a zero-carbon future, the CUE’s research primarily focuses on transforming and greening energy systems while recognizing technical and economic perspectives.
Also housed in the CUE, you’ll find the Clean Energy Zone (CEZ). This incubator designs sustainable energy innovations from electric vehicles to renewable energy to net-zero city buildings. The Clean Energy Zone has supported over 50 startups since its founding in 2012. It has raised close to $13 million in funding, with over 200 FEAS students moving through the Zone since it opened.
While the CUE’s projects have an economic, environmental, and societal impact, Lalitha Subramanian, project manager at the CEZ, describes the tremendous experiential learning opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. “We have many students who get to work on industry-leading projects,” said Subramanian. “At the centre, they’re gaining competitive skills that will allow them to transition to the job market well.”
With all the sectors going through a transformative period, with growing awareness of their environmental impact, Karen Ho-Cespedes, Manager, Research Projects at the CUE, describes how the centre is helping to create solutions for energy problems plaguing our society today and preparing the leaders of tomorrow to think innovatively.
“Seeing the students coming out of the centre after work alongside industry leaders and researching makes our future look very promising,” said Ho-Cespedes. “It is great to be part of a centre that is training the next generation of engineers, entrepreneurs, and change-makers.”
