Illinois

Power outages can cost Illinois businesses and households millions, especially in manufacturing-heavy regions where a reliable power grid is essential. Berkeley Lab researchers are helping utilities understand these economic impacts with tools like the Power Outage Economics Tool (POET). Originally designed for Commonwealth Edison, this tool can be used by decision-makers to guide smarter grid investments and infrastructure upgrades, helping ensure reliable electricity and reduce the impact of future power interruptions. The U.S. Department of Energy is supporting the national deployment of POET, allowing users in any state to evaluate the economic impact of power interruptions and the value of investments in the power system.

Berkeley Lab researchers lead a team within the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) in designing and building a new kind of particle detection system. DUNE is an international flagship experiment to study fundamental particles called neutrinos, which are central to some of the biggest mysteries in physics. The DUNE collaboration has more than 1,500 scientists and engineers from over 200 institutions and 35 countries, and is led by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois. Fermilab has estimated that DUNE and its support infrastructure, the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility, will have a total economic output of $4.3 billion between 2022 and 2030.

In Illinois, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory leads the U.S. contributions to upgrade the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Through the High-Luminosity LHC Accelerator Upgrade Program, Fermilab oversees the construction of powerful focusing magnets that will enable new discoveries at detectors used by thousands of collaborating scientists. A Berkeley Lab team fabricated all of the superconducting cables used in the U.S.-built magnets, which are being integrated and tested at Fermilab. Fermilab employs around 2,000 people and has a total economic output of more than 1 billion dollars in Illinois.