UCI SMART Industrial Assessment Center

What UCI SMART Industrial Assessment Center does

The UCI SMART Industrial Assessment Center (SMART ITAC) is a federally funded university program operated by the University of California, Irvine and housed within the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (CALIT2). Established in July 2021 under the U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Assessment Centers Program, the center is one of 32 universities nationwide selected to deliver no-cost energy efficiency assessments to small and medium-sized manufacturers within a 150-mile radius of UCI (Orange, Ventura, Imperial, and Riverside counties), with eligibility defined as fewer than 500 employees, gross annual sales under $250 million, and annual energy bills between $100,000 and $3.5 million across SIC codes 2000-3999. The center operates satellite locations at California State University Northridge (CSUN) and Cypress College, and in November 2023 expanded into Central California through a partnership with Kern Community College District.

SMART ITAC's core technology is a structured energy assessment methodology consisting of 4-6 weeks of pre-assessment analysis followed by a one-day on-site facility visit by teams of approximately eight engineering faculty and students, covering pumps, fans, compressed air, steam, process heating, and measurement of electrical parameters, temperatures, pressure, and emissions. Assessments typically identify 10-20% energy and productivity savings with a targeted 2-year financial payback, and the program has expanded into commercial building assessments through the BEACON sub-brand with Cypress College for buildings under 100,000 square feet with utility bills exceeding $50,000. The center also runs a workforce development program including the CALIT2 Research Fellowship and an ITAC Excellence Award-winning hydrogen blending research project that produced publication in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.

The business model is government-funded professional services rather than commercial revenue generation. UCI received nearly $2.25 million as part of a $60 million DOE investment to establish and operate the center, supplemented by a $25,000 ITAC Excellence Award in August 2022. All assessments are provided at no cost to eligible manufacturers and commercial buildings, with funding flowing through DOE grants and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocations. The center is directed by G.P. Li (UCI CALIT2/INRF Director) with co-directors at CSUN (Bingbing Li) and Cypress College (Carlos Urquidi), and program management by Chelsea Choudhary. Growth is driven by expansion of the national IAC program rather than commercial sales, with the center expecting at least 20 manufacturer assessments annually plus commercial building assessments through the pilot program.

Name

UCI SMART Industrial Assessment Center

Legal name

UCI SMART Industrial Assessment Center (Sustainable Manufacturing Alliance for Research and Training Industrial Assessment Center)

Website

https://smartiac.calit2.uci.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The UCI SMART Industrial Assessment Center is a DOE-funded university program at UC Irvine that provides no-cost energy efficiency assessments to small and medium-sized manufacturers and commercial buildings within 150 miles of UCI, delivered by engineering faculty and student teams as part of a national 32-university federal network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Efficiency Consulting Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Engineering Services (541330)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAIAM

Instrumentation, Controls & Automation Engineering Consulting

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Engineering & Technical Consulting

SECONDARYEUAEAHAN

Third-Party Certification, Code Compliance & Regulatory Inspection (ASME/API/ISO)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Energy Infrastructure & Services (EPC, O&M, Field Services)/Inspection, Testing & Certification (ITC) / NDT for Energy Infrastructure

Keywords

• Energy efficiency assessments
• Industrial energy consulting
• Manufacturing decarbonization
• Commercial building assessments
• Workforce development training

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government-Funded Assessment Services: The center operates as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Assessment Centers Program, funded through DOE grants. Services are provided at no cost to eligible small and medium-sized manufacturers and commercial buildings. UCI received nearly $2.25 million of a $60 million DOE investment to establish and operate the center.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The UCI SMART Industrial Assessment Center (SMART ITAC) is a DOE-funded program that provides no-cost energy efficiency assessments to small- and medium-sized manufacturers and commercial buildings within 150 miles of UC Irvine. Engineering faculty and student teams conduct one-day on-site evaluations and deliver detailed engineering and economic reports identifying 10-20% energy and productivity savings opportunities, typically targeting recommendations with a 2-year financial payback. The program also delivers a hands-on student training and workforce development program for engineering students from UCI, CSUN, and Cypress College.

Product overview

The UCI SMART Industrial Assessment Center (SMART ITAC) is a DOE-funded program housed at UC Irvine's CALIT2 that provides no-cost energy efficiency assessments to small- and medium-sized manufacturers and commercial buildings within 150 miles of UCI. The core offerings consist of two assessment services — Manufacturing Assessment and Commercial Building Assessment — delivered by teams of engineering faculty and students who conduct on-site evaluations and deliver detailed reports identifying energy savings opportunities. The program also operates a Student Training & Workforce Development Program that provides hands-on experience to engineering students from UCI, CSUN, and Cypress College through actual assessments, the CALIT2 Research Fellowship, and the ITAC Student Research Award (including the Hydrogen Blending project). The BEACON sub-program, a collaboration with Cypress College, extends the center's reach into commercial building assessments and technician/engineer cross-training. The portfolio is unified under the SMART ITAC umbrella but segmented into assessment delivery, student development, and research initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BEACON (Building Energy Assessment for Commercial Optimization towards Net-Zero): A collaboration with Cypress College for commercial building energy assessments and training

Products and services

• SMART ITAC Manufacturing Assessment No-cost energy efficiency assessment for small- and medium-sized manufacturers within 150 miles of UC Irvine. Engineering teams conduct 4-6 weeks of pre-assessment analysis and a one-day on-site visit, then deliver a detailed engineering report identifying 10-20% energy and productivity savings, typically targeting recommendations with a 2-year financial payback.
• SMART ITAC Commercial Building Assessment No-cost energy assessment for commercial buildings within 150 miles of UCI, targeting buildings under 100,000 square feet with annual utility bills greater than $50,000. Delivered as part of the DOE's pilot expansion of the Industrial Assessment Centers program into commercial buildings, including through the BEACON sub-program with Cypress College.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10-20% energy and productivity savings identified
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Kern Community College District (KCCD)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2023KCCD was awarded a DOE grant to establish a Central California ITAC to conduct energy assessments, foster regional partnerships, and provide workforce development. UCI SMART ITAC partnered with KCCD to help establish their new IAC center and train staff.
• U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 July 2021The DOE awarded UCI nearly $2.25 million as part of a $60 million national investment to establish Industrial Assessment Centers at 32 universities. SMART ITAC operates as part of the DOE's Industrial Assessment Centers Program, providing no-cost energy assessments to manufacturers.
• California State University Northridge (CSUN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSUN serves as a satellite center for SMART ITAC, providing student fellows and faculty expertise. The partnership addresses workforce development in energy efficiency for engineering students.
• Cypress CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCypress College leads a regional consortium of community colleges providing students advanced training in state-of-the-art energy systems. The college's air conditioning and refrigeration program is accredited by HVC Excellence.
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNREL sponsors research-based internship opportunities for SMART ITAC students. Students work on-site at NREL in Colorado over the summer, gaining hands-on research experience in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies.
• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLADWP is a partner in supporting energy efficiency assessments and workforce development in the Southern California region.
• Kern County CollegemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKern County College's new branch of SMART IAC program was trained by UCI's SMART IAC team in January 2025. UCI students led instructional presentations, facility tours, and simulated energy assessment experiences.
• Panasonic AvionicsminorOthersSMART ITAC students visited Panasonic Avionics facility to learn about cutting-edge sustainable technologies and aviation industry innovations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• North Carolina State University Industrial Assessment Center: DOE IAC at NC State providing identical no-cost energy assessment services to manufacturers in the Southeast US. Shares the same federal funding structure, engineering student team delivery model, and methodology framework as UCI SMART ITAC.
• Oregon State University Industrial Assessment Center: DOE Industrial Assessment Center at Oregon State University providing no-cost energy assessments to Pacific Northwest manufacturers using the same engineering faculty-student team model. Operates within the same national IAC network with shared methodology and federal funding structure.
• Georgia Institute of Technology Industrial Assessment Center: Long-standing DOE IAC at Georgia Tech delivering identical no-cost industrial energy assessments to manufacturers, with a comparable satellite model and engineering faculty-student delivery approach. Directly comparable in mission, methodology, and customer profile to UCI SMART ITAC.
• University of Texas at Austin Industrial Assessment Center: DOE IAC at UT Austin serving Texas manufacturers with the same no-cost energy assessment model and engineering student delivery approach. Operates within the same national IAC network as UCI SMART ITAC with comparable mission and customer profile.
• Colorado State University Industrial Assessment Center: DOE IAC hosted at Colorado State University delivering no-cost energy assessments to manufacturers across Colorado and surrounding states. Operates with the same federal grant funding model and engineering student delivery approach as UCI SMART ITAC.
• Purdue University Industrial Assessment Center: One of the original four DOE Industrial Assessment Centers founded in 1976, Purdue IAC operates the same no-cost energy assessment model for small and medium manufacturers. It is the largest and most established IAC nationally and serves as the methodological anchor for the entire 28-university network that UCI SMART ITAC is part of.

Broad incumbents

• Ameresco: Leading energy services company (ESCO) providing comprehensive energy efficiency, renewable energy, and decarbonization solutions to industrial, commercial, and government customers. Offers paid energy assessments and turnkey implementation services that parallel and extend the assessment-only scope of UCI SMART ITAC.
• Resource Innovations: Energy efficiency and decarbonization consulting firm (formerly Energy Solutions) delivering commercial energy assessment, program evaluation, and implementation services for utilities and government agencies. Operates the commercial paid version of services that IAC programs like UCI SMART ITAC provide at no cost.
• ICF International: Global professional services firm with a substantial energy and environment practice delivering energy efficiency consulting, decarbonization strategy, and program implementation. Engages with DOE on energy programs and provides advisory services overlapping with IAC assessment methodologies at commercial scale.
• CLEAResult: Largest pure-play energy efficiency services firm in North America, offering commercial energy assessment, program design, and implementation services to utilities, governments, and businesses. Represents the scaled commercial counterpart to the IAC model that UCI SMART ITAC operates, providing paid versions of similar industrial energy assessment services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smartiac_uci
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/calit2iac
• Instagraminstagram.com/smart_iac

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UCI SMART Industrial Assessment Center