# The Grid Gets Smart

**Source**: https://aph.caltech.edu/news/the-grid-gets-smart
**Parent**: https://aph.caltech.edu/people/jrgreer

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The Grid Gets Smart

# The Grid Gets Smart

April 25, 2022

Adaptive electric vehicle chargers and advanced battery designs are some of the ways Caltech researchers are building a more sustainable electric grid. [Steven Low](https://eas.caltech.edu/people/slow), Frank J. Gilloon Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences and Electrical Engineering, invented the [Adaptive Charging Network (ACN)](https://ev.caltech.edu/). But Low and others warn that this grid is unprepared for the challenges of the 21st century. “The current grid will very soon hit a wall where, when we add renewable energy, it sits unused because the demand isn’t there at a time when the solar is running,” says [Adam Wierman](https://eas.caltech.edu/people/adamw), Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences; Director, Information Science and Technology. That is why Caltech researchers are working on ways to break down that barrier to help empower an energy transformation. [Julia R. Greer](https://eas.caltech.edu/people/jrgreer), Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Materials Science, Mechanics and Medical Engineering; Fletcher Jones Foundation Director of the Kavli Nanoscience Institute, is pushing the limits of the batteries themselves.  [[Caltech story](https://magazine.caltech.edu/post/smart-grid-renewable-energy-electric-vehicles)]

Written by

Briana Ticehurst

Professor Julia R. Greer

Professor Adam Wierman

Professor Steven Low

Professor Kimberley See

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