ComEd to build new substation at Argonne National Laboratory

LEMONT - ComEd said it is building a new 138-kilovolt substation at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.

The substation is the latest collaboration between ComEd and Argonne to ensure reliable energy for critical research, the two said in a news release. Argonne's researchers are looking for groundbreaking discoveries in energy, transportation and medical treatments, such as vaccines to help fight COVID-19.

Argonne's Lemont campus is home to six facilities used by thousands of scientists from around the world each year. These facilities include world-leading computing equipment, a giant X-ray microscope larger than Wrigley Field and 10 billion times brighter than medical X-rays, and the forthcoming Aurora exascale supercomputer, which will be one of the world's most powerful computers used to accelerate breakthroughs in cancer treatments and neuroscience.

This substation will be the third substation ComEd has delivered on the Argonne campus.

"As the needs of our customers change, we work with them to upgrade infrastructure to ensure they have reliable energy to meet their needs," said Gil Quiniones, CEO, ComEd. "The work at Argonne is critical in unlocking new technologies that will expand clean energy, lead to new medical treatments and fight climate change."