Transforming how communities use electricity
The Center for Advancing Community Electrification Solutions (ACES) at Lehigh University will focus on creating efficient, reliable and self-sustaining energy systems
image: The ACES leadership team includes Arindam Banerjee (third from right), Paul B. Reinhold Professor and department chair of mechanical engineering and mechanics and Shalinee Kishore (second from right), Iacocca Chair and professor of electrical and computer engineering.
Credit: Lehigh University
Lehigh University has announced the establishment of the Center for Advancing Community Electrification Solutions (ACES), a new university research center addressing community needs in electrification.
Led by Shalinee Kishore, Iacocca Chair and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Arindam Banerjee, Paul B. Reinhold professor and department chair of mechanical engineering and mechanics, ACES will focus on electrification across three common energy-intensive sectors that affect a range of communities: transportation, water and buildings, as well as adaptations to the supporting local power grid.
ACES’ work will focus on the development of “electricity-sheds” within a community to optimize power use, storage and delivery. An electricity-shed (conceptually similar to a watershed) is a region, community or industrial area that requires supporting power grids to provide locally generated electricity to meet electrification needs for local buildings, transportation and water systems. Electricity-sheds must be efficient, secure and flexible while working within an integrated electricity system.
“ACES aims to deliver energy independence and efficiency to a range of communities through electrification,” Kishore said, “which relies on electricity to meet energy needs and is a growing force in our economy. It is predicted that electricity needs will grow significantly in the next several decades as we switch to power many of our energy-intensive processes through electricity and with increased demand from energy-intensive computing in data centers.”
Kishore notes that work originating from the ACES Center may be applied to understanding communities that are seeing the increased use of electric vehicles, increased dependence on electric pumps to run water distribution systems and higher electricity demands due to power requirements of smart manufacturing facilities and AI data centers.
ACES will combine technology solutions with community needs, helping to reduce energy costs and promote energy security and independence. Faculty affiliated with the center will conduct interdisciplinary research in engineering, economics, social science, policy and data science to assess how to optimize functions and community impact of electricity-sheds. With strong partnerships and workforce development initiatives, ACES will lead the way in making electrification scalable and accessible.
“Electrification of different sectors should not be done in silos, particularly since electrification makes them more and more tightly coupled to the power grid and therefore to each other,” Kishore said. “Our ACES team will leverage Lehigh's expertise and experience to understand the coupling between these different types of electrical loads and how the grid can be improved to jointly handle them.”
In addition to ACES, the university has recently established the Center for Community-Driven Assistive Technologies (CDAT) in 2025 and the Center for Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience in 2024. The new university research centers directly align with the priorities outlined in the Lehigh Strategy, Inspiring the Future Makers. One of the strategy’s initiatives is investing significantly in interdisciplinary research, acknowledging that critical problems require a holistic approach.
“Each of these URCs addresses critical needs in society,” said Nathan Urban, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “Demand for electricity in this country is increasing for the first time in more than a decade. By taking a systematic and interdisciplinary approach to electricity generation, storage and demand, the work of ACES faculty will be important in ensuring that communities across the country can meet their local and regional needs economically and efficiently. I look forward to seeing the groundbreaking research that these centers will foster and the impact these centers will have.”
In February 2025, Lehigh was named an R1 research university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Universities with this designation conduct the highest level of research activity within the Carnegie Classification.
Read more:
Lehigh’s First University Research Center to Focus on Catastrophe Modeling
Lehigh University Announces Two New Research Centers to Address Community Health, Energy Systems
For media inquiries regarding the center, research, or expertise, contact inmedia@lehigh.edu.