UMass Boston Awarded $5.3 Million DOER Grant for Energy Innovation

UMass Boston received a $5.3 million grant from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to fund the initial phases of a renewable seawater heating and cooling system. The project aims to decarbonize the university’s campus by leveraging the thermal energy of the Atlantic Ocean to replace traditional fossil fuel-based heating and cooling systems.

DOER Funding for Seawater Thermal Energy

The $5.3 million allocation from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources provides the necessary capital for the university to begin technical development and planning. According to the grant terms, the funds will support the initial phases of implementing a seawater heat pump system, which extracts heat from the ocean during the winter and rejects heat into the water during the summer.

This system represents a shift away from the campus’s reliance on carbon-intensive energy sources. By utilizing the constant temperature of the surrounding seawater, the university intends to reduce its overall greenhouse gas emissions and lower long-term operational costs for climate control across its facilities.

Decarbonization Goals at UMass Boston

The project is part of a broader institutional effort to align with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ goals for reaching net-zero emissions. The seawater heating system is designed to replace aging infrastructure that currently depends on natural gas and other fossil fuels for heating and cooling.

Technical implementation involves the installation of heat exchangers and high-efficiency heat pumps. These components allow the university to move thermal energy between the ocean and the campus buildings, significantly reducing the amount of electricity and fuel required to maintain indoor temperatures.

Environmental and Economic Impact

The use of seawater as a heat source is generally more efficient than traditional air-source heat pumps because water maintains a more stable temperature than air. This stability allows the system to operate with higher coefficients of performance, meaning it provides more heating or cooling per unit of electricity consumed.

Beyond the immediate carbon reduction, the DOER grant supports the feasibility and design stages required to scale the system. The university expects the transition to renewable thermal energy to insulate the campus from the volatility of fossil fuel prices while providing a scalable model for other coastal institutions in the region.