New Zealand renewables firm Infratec and the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology have signed an agreement to accelerate New Zealand-based research into materials and storage for low carbon energy.
The recently signed Memorandum of Understanding will advance academic research, education and development, with the partners working together to develop training facilities such as research sites and product demonstrators with New Zealand academia.
The partnership will see Infratec, a subsidiary of community-owned electricity lines company Alpine Energy, host graduates from the MacDiarmid Institute as interns with a particular focus on supporting existing student research, applying new technologies and helping provide industrial exposure.
The internship programme also aims to help graduates to further their academic or industrial careers.
In the long term, Infratec says it hopes to share real site data with researchers and academics from the MacDiarmid Institute, a network of researchers, to inform the design and operation of new technologies.
The company said that new knowledge and technologies would benefit customers, and the partnership may help to facilitate relationships between New Zealand and foreign universities in countries where Infratec works – such as collaborative research or educational programmes.
Infratec chief executive Greg Visser said, “This exciting MOU strengthens existing relationships between Infratec and academia which have seen us teaching, writing papers and supporting research with universities around the world.
“We’re also excited to get more smart science graduates into our organisation, to show them what it’s like working in the field and to help enhance our product offering to our customers.”
“The MOU will create new opportunities for academia in low carbon research, enhance the already leading energy research being conducted in New Zealand, and ultimately deploy new technology into the electricity grid,” Visser added.
MacDiarmid Institute co-director Professor Justin Hodgkiss said: “Working with a company like Infratec that is deploying new technology in renewable energy microgrids enables our researchers and graduates to have greater impact when bringing our research-based tech – such as solar, new batteries and other low carbon energy technologies – to market.
“Award winning projects like the one delivering mini-grids on four of the Cook Islands (Atiu, Mangaia, Mauke and Mitiaro) show a commitment to technical excellence and community development that aligns well with our institute.”