Michael Slowinske leads a team that identifies safety risks in emerging technologies and drives standards development activity that supports safety science. He has extensive experience in energy and explosion risk mitigation. During his 29-year career at UL Solutions, he has represented the company on the U.S. National Committee for the International Electrotechnical Commission System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Explosive Atmospheres (IECEx), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and other international standards committees and working groups.
Energy transition
As Director of Principal Engineering, Michael and his team guide the Energy and Industrial Automation (EIA) business unit to address the unique safety considerations of renewable energy and energy storage technologies. They provide technical oversight for testing, inspection and certification services to help customers demonstrate that their products comply with applicable safety standards. To empower innovation in new green technologies, EIA works with customers throughout product development to determine compliance with applicable requirements. In addition, as a former manager of the Hazardous Locations (HazLoc) operation, Michael contributed to the development of award-winning service offerings to help customers in the oil and gas industry reduce their explosion risk, thereby reducing carbon emissions and advancing toward net-zero targets.
Standards development for green technologies
Michael’s team collaborates across UL Solutions and UL Standards & Engagement to write standards for new technologies that drive the energy transition. Recent work includes an Outline of Investigation for certifying source interconnection switches used in microgrids. These switches are critical in managing power flow between utility grids, solar panels and energy storage systems. Michael also works with manufacturers to understand their needs relating to updates to standards such as direct current (DC) power requirements, which are common to many renewable technologies.
“We aim to enable the new technologies of the energy transition. If UL Solutions is involved early when the technology is new, we can set the safety standards and partner with manufacturers to help them meet those standards so the technology can be rolled out at a large scale.” – Michael Slowinske
Panels and boards
- Member, Securing Solar for the Grid Industry Advisory Board, U.S. Department of Energy
- Member, U.S. National Committee for IECEx
- Member, NFPA Technical Committee on Finishing Processes
- Member, NFPA National Electrical Code® (NEC®) Code Making Panel 1 (CMP-1)
