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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Williston Basin CORE-CM Initiative Final Report

The University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) is leading the Williston Basin Carbon Ore, Rare Earth, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative to drive the expansion and transformation of coal and coal-based resource usage within the Williston Basin to produce rare-earth elements (REEs), CMs, and nonfuel carbon-based products (CBPs). This project is the first phase in a long-term program and set the stage for future work by assessing resource, market, technology, and infrastructure knowledge; identifying knowledge gaps; developing a series of plans to be carried out in future work; and initiating stakeholder engagement. Composed of several tasks, the project sought to identify, characterize, and assess several necessary aspects vital to make this future work a reality. The project’s fundamental task was to characterize the Williston Basin CORE-CM resources. Over 2500 samples from multiple sources were utilized to begin the assessment. Several locations were identified in western North Dakota where sample analysis identified the total REE (TREE) concentration as being over 500 parts per million (ppm), which is at a concentration level that would be suitable to consider for mining and extraction. Current operating coal mines have sufficient concentrations of TREEs for consideration. However, the current data across the basin are still not adequate to fully characterize REE and CM content nor give reliable estimates of the total resource potential. Waste stream reuse was also considered, and several streams were identified which ranged from potential energy sources to chemicals to material wastes. This includes streams that result from oil and gas production. These streams are not fully characterized, and further data are needed before they can be accurately assessed. Infrastructure within the Williston Basin is suitable for expansion of a new industry to mine, extract, and concentrate REEs and CMs. The development of this industry will not only preserve many existing jobs in the coal-mining industry but produce many new jobs. The supply chain for REEs and CMs is currently controlled outside of the United States in nations such as China, but the potential to develop the supply chain within the basin is considered possible. Processing of the mined materials for REEs and CMs needs further research. The technology and knowhow exist outside of the United States, and within the country much of the knowledge has been lost and must be regained. To develop the supply chain and regain lost processing technology, the creation of technology innovation centers (TICs) is crucial. The Williston Basin contains several similar centers and entrepreneurial assistance for other industries that can be applied in the development of REE and CM innovation centers. Education to develop the new skill sets required is also needed. Outreach is important for the development of the REE and CM industry within the basin. Understanding throughout federal and state governments, state agencies, industry, and resource end users is vital for the industry to form and grow. Through this project these groups have been contacted through bulletins, presentations, webinars, and annual symposiums. The report is a summary of the work conducted and throughout refers to a series of appendixes which contain more thorough and specific information about each section.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2024

Efficient Anomaly Detection Driven By Different Machine Learning Architectures And Models

The rapid growth and ubiquitous adoption of the internet and cyber-physical systems (CPS) have fundamentally transformed modern communication, work, and human-system interactions. While networks now form the backbone of critical digital ecosystems, enabling seamless data transmission across diverse, interconnected systems, this increased connectivity also expands the attack surface, making real-time detection of network intrusions and anomalies a pressing challenge. Detecting unusual activities within network infrastructure requires advanced data traffic analysis to differentiate between legitimate and malicious interactions. Traditional approaches to network anomaly detectionâ??such as rule-based and signature-based systemsâ??often depend on predefined patterns to identify known anomalies, limiting their effectiveness against emerging, stealthy, or previously unseen threats. These conventional methods suffer from high false alarm rates and fail to adapt to the ever-evolving nature of network traffic, particularly in large-scale, decentralized environments where data volume, velocity, and variety are constantly increasing. This dissertation presents artificial intelligence (AI)-driven approaches to anomaly detection that leverage graphics processing unit (GPU)-enabled high-performance computing (HPC) platforms for processing massive network traffic data and monitoring the components of cyber-physical systems (CPS) for potentially hazardous conditions. The research advances several key contributions: (1) Designing efficient machine learning techniques for CPS condition monitoring and anomaly detection; (2) enabling federated learning (FL) frameworks that enable distributed detection while preserving data privacy and system resilience; (3) exploring graph-based methodologies combining graph neural networks (GNN) and graph machine learning (ML) approaches for the Internet of Things (IoT) and automotive network security, and (4) performing distributed edge computing optimizations that integrate FL with scalable technologies for reduced communication overhead. Through extensive experiments, these methodologies demonstrate that complex anomaly detection and condition monitoring tasks can be achieved while balancing computational efficiency and detection accuracy through fine-grained network information processing. The frameworks developed in this research establish a robust foundation for network anomaly detection, providing scalable, adaptive, and privacy-preserving solutions for safeguarding CPS and IoT networks in an increasingly interconnected digital landscape. The practical implications of these research findings are significant, as they can inform the development of next-generation network security systems and contribute to the protection of critical infrastructure against sophisticated cyber attacks.

Marfo, William↗
DOE OSTI2025

Data-Driven Clustering and Classification of Outage Patterns with Insights into their Links to Extreme Events

At a global level extreme events have increased in both scale and impact. These events have the potential to affect the electrical grid infrastructure and cause a wide range of outages, which can lead to a disruption in daily patterns, cost millions of dollars and also the loss of life. Currently, to track these outage events there have been various approaches developed ranging from regional to national level quantifications for what defines an outage. However, this variation in methods can potentially lead to subjective decision-making and a lack of proper management in relation to the event. While previous work has made strides in determining spatio-temporal patterns, minimal attention has been given to the type and number of outages an area may be exposed to. The differences in incurred cost and the overall severity of an event between a transformer box malfunction and a hurricane are drastic, and by finding historical signals, we can allow for more efficient management, potentially saving lives and millions of dollars. Here, we leverage unsupervised machine learning techniques to delineate outage patterns among 22 counties within the United States and find that there are clear, segregated clusters (0.93 silhouette) of data which are related by event behavior and underlying cause. This finding will allow for energy stakeholders, policy makers, and researchers to gain a deeper understanding of the extent and severity of historic events and to better prepare for electrical grid infrastructure planning and management.

Koob, Benjamin [ORNL]↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hybrid classical-quantum communication networks

Over the past several decades, the proliferation of global classical communication networks has transformed various facets of human society. Concurrently, quantum networking has emerged as a dynamic field of research, driven by its potential applications in distributed quantum computing, quantum sensor networks, and secure communications. This prompts a fundamental question: rather than constructing quantum networks from scratch, can we harness the widely available classical fiber-optic infrastructure to establish hybrid quantum–classical networks? This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of ongoing research endeavors aimed at integrating quantum communication protocols, such as quantum key distribution, into existing lightwave networks. This approach offers the substantial advantage of reducing implementation costs by allowing classical and quantum communication protocols to share optical fibers, communication hardware, and other network control resources—arguably the most pragmatic solution in the near term. In the long run, classical communication will also reap the rewards of innovative quantum communication technologies, such as quantum memories and repeaters. Accordingly, our vision for the future of the Internet is that of heterogeneous communication networks thoughtfully designed for the seamless support of both classical and quantum communications.

Fiber-optic communication↗
DOE OSTI2025

Adoption of AI in the Utility T&D Sector: Use Cases, Consequence, Assessment and Benefits

Digital transformation and utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) in the electric grid are fundamentally changing the industry’s approach to common problems and enabling a broader paradigm shift in grid planning and operations. The change in approach is circularly both enabling and driving modernization, with load growth and reliable management of data center and AI infrastructure shifting away from planning approaches with relatively predictable behaviors and toward a mix of consumer and industrial choices that surpass human cognitive abilities to process. This movement has potential to condition humans to not understand the system on which the AI depends, while requiring it for development of the necessary infrastructure. Approaches which would address most likely grid conditions and events, such as faults, aging of equipment, and weather, now must also account for large loads which shift not based upon weather or time of day, but the computational load. Quantifying computational load is independent of the traditional grid forecasting variables, where a data center’s aggregate load is determined by user and AI system behavior and decoupled from normal grid planning and operations. AI is both the cause and solution for these challenges, with new grid planning tools integrating massive amounts of decisions into frameworks.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Analysis of Supply Chain Challenges in the U.S. Solar Industry: Focus on Build America, Buy America Act and Inverter Supply Issues

The United States (U.S.) solar industry has been undergoing significant transformation, driven largely by meeting U.S. climate goals while simultaneously maintaining national security. At the forefront of this movement is the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act. The IRA has driven investment in clean energy generation deployments while the BABA Act, enacted under Division G, Title IX of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) establishes domestic content procurement preference for all federal financial assistance obligated for infrastructure projects. While these pieces of legislation aim to reduce reliance on foreign-made solar components and increase domestic production, the sector continues to face notable supply chain challenges. These are particularly pronounced with inverters, a critical component in solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. This report explores the current state of these supply chain challenges, with a specific focus on the impact of the BABA requirements and the associated complexities in inverter manufacturing and supply.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

High-Efficiency, Medium-Voltage-Input, Solid-State-Transformer-Based 400-kW/1000V/400A Extreme Fast Charger for Electric Vehicles

Range anxiety and long battery charging time continue to be critical challenges to mass adaptation of EVs. A major identified gap to wider adoption of BEVs is the ability and availability to refuel quickly or to fast charge. Studies have shown that in areas where drivers have access to 50-kW or 120-kW fast charge stations, annual electric vehicle (EV) miles traveled (i.e., eVMT) increased by over 25%, even in cases where fast charging was used for 1% to 5% of total charging events. Charge stations of higher power not only alleviate the “range anxiety” and reduce the driver’s waiting time, but also requires less investment. Michigan Energy Office completed a study in early 2019 titled “Electric Vehicle Charger Placement Optimization in Michigan: Phase I – Highways”. This study finds a system with 150kW chargers, though more expensive individually, actually has lower total system cost when compared to a 50kW charging system when serving the same battery size EV. To be truly competitive to the ICEV refueling experience, even higher power stations are necessary. However, high power charge stations would create large power draws from the grid. If this occurs during peak demand periods, grid capacity could be overloaded. This problem needs to be addressed to reduce the impact on the electric utility infrastructure. The main goal of this project is to develop a 400-kW/400-A XFC system targeting total efficiency of 96.5 percent from the MVAC grid to a vehicle. The novel SST power cell topology, combined with a new silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET device, enables a 3.5 percent improvement in system efficiency, a 50-percent smaller equipment footprint, and four times less weight than today’s DCFC systems. The SST technology would directly utilize MVAC at 4.8-kV or 13.2-kV. This would eliminate the line frequency transformer (LFT), which steps down medium-voltage AC to 3-Phase 480-V line-to-line voltage in current DCFC systems.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

A2SD: Accelerating Scientific Innovation Through Autonomous Discovery Systems

The 2025 Advancing Autonomous Scientific Discovery (A2SD) workshop convened researchers from academia, national laboratories, and industry to explore the transformative role of autonomy in scientific discovery. The workshop highlighted a convergence of artificial intelligence, robotics, and computational workflows into autonomous systems capable of accelerating the scientific process. Presentations and discussions spanned autonomous experimentation, intelligent workflow orchestration, digital twins, and agent-based systems for managing complex research ecosystems. Key challenges discussed included interoperability across heterogeneous infrastructures, near real-time data management under FAIR principles, reproducibility, and the integration of human oversight. The workshop also emphasized the need for modular software interfaces, federated learning models, and education initiatives to support a next-generation scientific workforce.

Taufer, Michela [University of Tennessee, Knoxvill↗
DOE OSTI2026

Cross-sectoral impact of emerging technologies on U.S. manufacturing resilience and competitiveness

Introducing new technologies in one energy-intensive industry can affect how other industries operate and stay resilient, yet these cross-sector interactions are often underappreciated in conventional technology roadmaps. In practice, industrial systems do not evolve in isolation. They are linked through shared upstream and downstream dependencies, such as electricity and fuel supply, critical materials, transportation networks, and enabling infrastructure. As a result, large-scale technology deployment in one sector can reshape resource availability, infrastructure demand, and operational risk in others. These interdependencies mean that technology deployment decisions in one sector can create unintended bottlenecks or cascading benefits in others. Here, this article argues that a cross-sector, system-of-systems perspective is essential for evaluating and scaling emerging technologies in energy-intensive industries. By framing industrial transformation as an interconnected systems challenge rather than a set of isolated sectoral decisions, the study highlights how interdependence shapes technology feasibility, adoption pathways, and resilience outcomes. The article illustrates how cross-sector linkages can amplify both risks and benefits, and it emphasizes the importance of integrated planning approaches that account for shared dependencies, cascading impacts, and co-optimization opportunities. Adopting this broader perspective can support more robust technology roadmaps, improve strategic coordination across industries, and strengthen the long-term resilience of the industrial sector as a whole.

Nain, Preeti [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Revisiting the Terawatt Challenge

Richard E. Smalley, in 2003, defined the Terawatt (TW) Challenge as “Adapting our energy infrastructure to simultaneously address diminishing oil resources and rising levels of atmospheric CO 2 .” Smalley, best known for the discovery of C 60 , for which he received the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, continued to address the challenges of anthropomorphic and natural global energy flows until he passed away in 2005. Smalley challenged the world to transform the energy sector. He envisioned electricity transmitted by high-voltage direct current (DC) lines from massively deployed solar plants in sunny areas and remotely sited nuclear plants. He also envisioned using advanced batteries for local storage of energy. To meet the needs of ~10 people in a world with a dwindling oil supply, Smalley asserted that the world would need to transform its fossil-fuel-driven 14-TW (average power) energy used in 2003 to a largely renewable-energy-driven 30–60 TW (average power) in 2050. This would be possible only if solar-electricity costs could be drastically reduced. The challenges associated with this transition have been called the “Terawatt Challenge.” Fifteen years later, solar-module costs have been reduced by tenfold and annual deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules has grown by a factor of 100,from ~1 gigawatt (GW) in 2004 to ~100 GW in 2018, with a total of 500 GW installed worldwide, producing 2% of the planet’s electricity. As global installed solar generating capacity approaches1 TW, we revisit Smalley’s TW challenge to identify what has changed and quantify the TW Challenge for a baseline scenario and for two scenarios designed as upper and lower bounds determined by the degree we implement electrification and storage. In this paper, we show that the energy choices we make today will dramatically affect the magnitude of future global energy requirements.

SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Williston Basin Core-CM Initiative (Phase 1 Interim Report)

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) is leading the Williston Basin Coal Ore, Rare Earth Elements, and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) Initiative, an initiative to drive the expansion and transformation of coal and coal-based resource usage within the Williston Basin to produce rare-earth elements (REEs), critical minerals (CMs), and nonfuel carbon-based products (NFCBPs). This project is the first phase in a long-term program and will set the stage for future work by assessing resource, market, technology, and infrastructure knowledge; identifying knowledge gaps; developing a series of plans to be carried out in future work; and initiating stakeholder engagement. Composed of several tasks, the project seeks to identify, characterize, and assess several necessary aspects vital to make this future work a reality.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electric Grid Supply Chain Review: Large Power Transformers and High Voltage Direct Current Systems

The report “America’s Strategy to Secure the Supply Chain for a Robust Clean Energy Transition” lays out the challenges and opportunities faced by the United States in the energy supply chain as well as the federal government plans to address these challenges and opportunities. It is accompanied by several issue-specific deep dive assessments, including this one, in response to Executive Order 14017 “America’s Supply Chains,” which directs the Secretary of Energy to submit a report on supply chains for the energy sector industrial base. The Executive Order is helping the federal government to build more secure and diverse U.S. supply chains, including energy supply chains. The need to modernize and increase the capacity of the U.S. power grid is increasing due to growing population, aging infrastructure, grid resilience requirements, operational flexibility needs, and a growing portfolio of renewable energy. As part of the Paris Climate Agreement the United States has committed to reducing its net greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels in 2030 and has set a goal of 100 percent carbon pollution free electricity by 2035 (The United States of America Nationally Determined Contribution, 2021). Meeting these targets will require a significant expansion of the power system to integrate a large amount of new renewable resources (United States Department of State & United States Executive Office of the President, 2021). However, many critical components supporting the power grid have limited to no domestic manufacturing capacity and face complex challenges in supporting a rapid expansion of the grid to meet multiple objectives, including decarbonization goals. This report focuses on two key grid components: large power transformers (LPTs) and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Navigating Integration: Key Challenges for Data Centers, Nuclear Stakeholders, and Utility Operators

he exponential growth of data centers—driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing—is reshaping the U.S. energy landscape, presenting urgent challenges and transformative opportunities for data center developers, nuclear energy providers, and utility operators. As data centers are projected to consume up to 12% of U.S. electricity by 2028, stakeholders must address rapid deployment needs, grid congestion, and the demand for reliable, high-quality power. This presentation explores the multifaceted barriers to integrating data centers with nuclear and utility infrastructure, including land use constraints, public perception, regulatory complexity, and workforce alignment. It highlights the distinct priorities and operational cultures of each sector, and the friction that arises from misaligned planning horizons and risk tolerances. We examine collaborative strategies such as co-siting, hybrid power-purchase agreements, unified community engagement, and innovative financing models.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Cyclic moisture reactivation of calcium sorbents for long duration thermochemical energy storage

The transition to a flexible and reliable energy infrastructure, using electro-thermal energy generation technologies such as geothermal, concentrated solar power, and nuclear, usually demands simultaneous advancement of thermal energy storage (TES) to support on-demand electricity generation and industrial applications while mitigating the inherent intermittency of renewable energy sources and power outages from direct energy generation. Among TES technologies, thermochemical energy storage (TCES) based on calcium looping emerges as a compelling high-power energy storage candidate due to its high reaction enthalpy, compatibility with elevated operating temperatures, and abundance of low-cost materials. However, the long-term durability of calcium-based sorbents for TCES is hindered by surface sintering and particle aggregation, leading to performance degradation over repeated thermal cycles. This study explores a moisture hydration-based strategy to regenerate a degraded calcium sorbent and mitigate performance degradation for long duration TCES. The addition of moisture transforms calcium oxide into calcium hydroxide and produces intercalation water layers, associated with a regenerated surface area and reduced calcium oxide crystallite size. Both these effects are beneficial in restoring the sorbents' reactivity for carbonization. Additionally, an optimized hydration-assisted reactivation protocol balances the recovered energy storage capacity with heating penalty required for moisture removal from hydrated samples, resulting in an enhanced energy storage capacity up to 176% compared to benchmark sorbents that undergo cycling without reactivation after 60 cycles. In conclusion, these results highlight the potential of hydration-assisted reactivation to enhance the long-term performance of TCES, providing an effective pathway to advancing electro-thermal storage technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Transforming Uinta Basin Earth Materials for Advanced Products (TUBE-MAP)

The objectives of this project were to quantify, assess, and plan to enable the transformation of Uinta Basin earth resources, such as coal, oil shale, resin, rare earth elements, and critical minerals into high value metal, mineral, and carbon-based products. The specific major goals were 1) basinal assessments and initial planning (Task 2), 2) basinal assessment for waste stream reuse with associated plan development (Task 3), 3) basinal strategies development for infrastructure, industries, and business (Task 4), 4) technology assessment, development, and field-testing plan (Task 5), 5) technology innovation center plan (Task 6), and 6) stakeholder outreach and education plan (Task 7).

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2024

Shunt-Connected FACTS and Synchronous Condensers

In recent years, the electric-transmission system has undergone a significant transformation marked by a greater integration of renewable-energy sources like wind and solar, the phasing out of thermal generation plants, and a concerted effort towards electrifying energy consumption. To keep pace with the integration of renewable-energy sources and the escalating demands of industries and households, it is imperative to expand and modernize the existing power infrastructure. These upgrades are essential to maintain grid stability, enhance power delivery, and boost overall efficiency of the system. However, challenges have emerged with the growing complexity of power grids, particularly in the realms of voltage control, transient stability, and power-quality management.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantum Sensing for Energy Applications: Review and Perspective

On its revolutionary threshold, quantum sensing is creating potentially transformative opportunities to exploit intricate quantum mechanical phenomena in new ways to make ultrasensitive measurements of multiple parameters. Concurrently, growing interest in quantum sensing has created opportunities for its deployment to improve processes pertaining to energy production, distribution, and consumption. Safe and secure utilization of energy is dependent upon addressing challenges related to material stability and function, secure monitoring of infrastructure, and accuracy in detection and measurement. A summary of well-established and emerging quantum sensing materials and techniques, as well as the corresponding sensing platforms that have been developed for their deployment is provided here. Specifically, the enhancement of existing advanced sensing technologies with quantum methods and materials is focused on, enabling the realization of an unprecedented level of sensitivity, placing an emphasis on relevance to the energy industry. The review concludes with a discussion on high-value applications of quantum sensing to the energy sector, as well as remaining barriers to sensor deployment.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Intelligent, grid-friendly, modular extreme fast charging system with solid-state DC protection

The development of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is crucial for the widespread adoption of electric transportation. However, implementing such infrastructure is a complex task that requires consideration of factors such as space limitations, adherence to industry standards, grid capacity, and other technical and policy issues. This project seeks to create a framework for the efficient design of compact medium voltage (MV) extreme fast charging (XFC) stations for EVs. The station design involves the use of a solid-state transformer (SST) that connects to the MV distribution network, delivering power to a shared DC bus. This innovative approach eliminates the need for a step-down transformer to provide low-voltage service by connecting directly to the MV distribution network. Eliminating the low-frequency transformer not only reduces the system footprint and losses but also eliminates inrush currents during grid black-start. Additionally, placing power electronics directly on the distribution system allows for high-bandwidth filtering and power factor correction. The inclusion of a shared DC bus enables multiple charging dispensers and DC storage/generation units to connect, forming a DC microgrid. This setup facilitates power sharing with minimal conversion stages. The project showcases a DC distribution network protected by intelligent solid-state (SS) DC circuit breakers (DCCB) capable of isolating the smallest section of the faulted circuit much faster than existing mechanical solutions.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗