Supporting Actionable Energy Solutions

Akshat Kasliwal (MS ’19) has devoted his career in energy and sustainability toward the implementation of triple-bottom-line solutions on larger and more systemic scales. His experiences have ranged from working for Shell and Ford Motor Company to advising power-sector stakeholders on infrastructure investments and strategy at PA Consulting.

An ongoing project of his has been supporting Invenergy’s development of its 800-mile Grain Belt Express. Spanning from southwestern Kansas to Indiana, the high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line will carry clean, affordable and reliable power to millions of people, notes Kasliwal. It is projected to create thousands of jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by millions of tons and add low-cost power to utility portfolios.

“[I find it] very gratifying when my work is able to support and facilitate actionable real-world solutions that simultaneously maximize benefits to people and the planet, without compromising on profitability,” he says.

Kasliwal adds that “my two years at SEAS were the best of my life, in that they were all that I had hoped for (and much more).” SEAS enabled him to refine his knowledge of the technical and engineering aspects of infrastructure systems, as well as understand the financial, commercial and political facets of the energy and mobility sectors. He describes the projects he was involved with at SEAS—on topics such as flying cars and autonomous vehicles, circular economy and Scope 3 emissions—alongside being part of an academically and socially diverse cohort, as “life-changing experiences that taught me transformative lessons.”