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Small Nuclear Reactors for Maritime Ports

Maritime ports are entering a period of sharply rising electricity demand as operations are electrified, shore power adoption grows, and energy-intensive industries expand near ports. This report evaluates the feasibility of small nuclear reactors at U.S. ports, which could offer stable baseload power and reduced dependence on regional grids. The report describes the current state of advanced reactor technologies and other factors important for future deployment such as safety and operations, siting requirements, regulatory environments and policy, and other co-benefit considerations. A structured evaluation across a diverse group of U.S. ports highlights the wide variation in feasibility. Fifteen ports were analyzed through port interviews and data collection to assess the port-specific conditions that most impact advanced reactor deployment. The analysis found that the most feasible ports for deployment have favorable geotechnical stability, supportive regulatory environments, and substantial energy loads in a grid-constrained environment. Additionally, an initial reactor size matching was done for the ports based on their reported energy consumption across different modes of operation. However, further analysis and detailed data will be required in the future to determine the optimal reactor-port matching. The economic viability to adopt this technology will be dictated by competitive cost of nuclear-generated electricity compared to other alternatives. Overall, small nuclear reactors present a promising but highly site-dependent pathway for ports seeking resilient, high-capacity energy solutions that support future energy demands. This report identifies key areas for future research and highlights ports that warrant further evaluation to assess the viability of small nuclear reactor implementation. By establishing these priorities, the analysis provides support for the development of informed strategies for potential advanced nuclear technology deployment. The inclusion of ports in this report does not imply their endorsement of nuclear energy generation, and the authors are grateful for the information, expertise, and perspectives they contributed.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Deploying Software-Defined Networking in Operational Technology Environments

Software Defined Networking for Operational Technologies, referred to as OT-SDN, is a leading technology to secure critical infrastructure and command and control (C2) systems. As the name implies, OT-SDN networks are programmable, which allows system owners to utilize the characteristics of their physical process to inform the security of their network. There are best practices for deploying OT-SDN into an environment, whether it is all at once or over time (hybrid) that the network is converted to SDN technologies. Through the development of data mining tools and standardized process control, OT-SDN can be deployed reliably. These tools will minimize or eliminate any communication failures during the transition and provide the network owner with complete documentation of their environment. This documentation could enable or facilitate the network owner to pass any audits or policy checks (Authority to Operate) before being allowed to utilize the OT-SDN infrastructure.

Software Defined Networking, Operational Technolog↗

Promoting the Regulatory Acceptance of Combined Ion and Neutron Irradiation for Material Degradation in Nuclear Reactors

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies (AMMT) program within the Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy has developed its current recommendation for promoting the use of combined ion and neutron irradiation data for the accelerated qualification of nuclear reactor materials. This plan is intended to provide a collaborative path forward that can be adopted by academia, national laboratories, and industry, and has been developed with input from the regulatory research arm of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). In the context of nuclear energy, the U.S. Department of Energy is responsible for nuclear energy-related research and development and promotion of nuclear technologies, while the NRC is an independent regulatory agency responsible for the safety of the civilian use of nuclear technologies. These two agencies thus have distinct but interconnected roles regarding the development and deployment of nuclear technologies. As the needs for the nuclear energy industry continue to evolve in the 21st century, it is critical to set the pace for timely industry adoption of new technological solutions that also can be accepted by regulatory agencies. New ways of collecting and utilizing data for regulatory purposes have become a necessity.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Evaluating Tools and Technologies for Monitoring Baleen Whales During Offshore Wind Foundation Installation

Impacts to baleen whales are of particular concern in the context of offshore wind development because of their conservation status, the overlap of their habitat with current and planned offshore wind energy facilities, and their expected sensitivity to low-frequency sounds, such as those produced during pile driving. Therefore, this report focuses on monitoring technologies capable of detecting this species group. The scope of this report is to assess the current state of technologies and methods for monitoring baleen whales in low- and no-light conditions in conjunction with offshore wind foundation installation. This work considers the performance of various sensing technologies that can be used to observe the presence of baleen whales near offshore construction activities. The scope of work includes: 1. Technology Performance Metrics – Identify metrics that can be used to assess technology performance. 2. Technology Evaluation – Synthesize the past performance of technologies with respect to the performance metrics based on available literature. 3. Technology Characterization Framework – Describe a potential framework to characterize technology performance with a standardized approach. 4. Technology Research and Development Needs – Identify future needs and opportunities for research, development, and deployment to improve technologies.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Michigan Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Deployment Plan: H2 FCEV Roadmap 2022

This report describes a roadmap for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in the state of Michigan. This plan provides links to relevant information to assess, plan, and initiate hydrogen and FCEV deployment to help meet the energy, economic, and environmental goals for the State of Michigan. Policies and incentives that support hydrogen and fuel cell technology will increase deployment, thus increasing production and creating jobs throughout the supply chain. As deployment increases, an economy of scale will develop and manufacturing costs will decline, positioning hydrogen and fuel cell technology to compete more effectively in a global market without incentives. Policies and incentives to purchase and support the deployment of FCEVs, FCEBs, and hydrogen refueling can be coordinated regionally to maintain this advanced clean transportation sector as a global exporter for long-term growth and economic development. Overall, the execution of this plan will maintain Michigan's role as a global showcase for regionally manufactured transportation technology while reducing NOx and CO 2 emissions and as new jobs are created for businesses and industry.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Field Validation of MVA Technology for Offshore CCS: Novel Ultra-High-Resolution 3D Marine Seismic Technology (P-Cable) (Final Report)

The objectives of the proposed study were to deploy and validate a specific monitoring technology, high-resolution 3D marine seismic (HR3D), appropriate for large-demonstration and commercial-scale offshore CCS sites. The project accomplished successful acquisition two HR3D seismic surveys. The first HR3D dataset was over the offshore injection site of the Tomakomai, Japan integrated pilot CCS project, which at the time of survey acquisition was actively injecting CO 2 . The first survey also represented a successful international collaboration between the DOE NETL program and Japan’s national CCS program and was the first successful acquisition and use of HR3D over an active CO 2 injection site (Meckel, Feng et al. 2019). The Tomakomai HR3D survey successfully tested a novel 4-streamer HR3D system array in which, for the first time, no cross-cable (aka “P-Cable”) was utilized and only four GeoEel streamers were used instead of the standard 12-streamer configuration. Consequently, this was not, strictly speaking, a deployment of the “P-Cable” system of (Planke and Berndt 2004) but rather a modified version, thereof, and it is the first known demonstration of the modified system configuration. One very positive outcome from the Japanese collaboration earlier in the project was the ability to learn from the Japanese how they used tail buoys with GPS to determine the position of the seismic source and receivers in time and space. Based on that experience, GCCC designed and built six GPS receivers that could be used to position the streamer receivers and the seismic source via tail buoys. A fundamental advance that was made on the original design, was the ability to directly power the tail buoy GPS units and transfer data through the streamers (i.e., vs. the batteries used at Tomakomai). The bulkiness of the GPS batteries caused drag and episodic surging of the buoys, which affected data quality by lifting up the tail end of the streamers so the receivers were not at the same depth. The units were tested onshore for accuracy and functionality, and the design was subsequently and successfully tested in marine acquisition mode during the SLP survey acquisition. The marine acquisition test and survey satisfied Subtasks 2.2.2, Novel Positioning Technology Selection and Subtask 2.2.3, Novel Positioning Technology Deployment. Results of the novel positioning technology selection (Subtask 2.2.2) were considered successful and will be incorporated in future HR3D seismic acquisition projects to reduce costs, improve deployment safety at sea, and integrate both seismic and data recording via a single data transfer through the streamers to the recording system. The project also established a permitting process through NETL NEPA compliance, which included an Environmental Assessment in a marine setting and is required for conducting these types of surveys using Federal funding. The permitting process charted a “boilerplate,” which can allow future surveys related to other funded projects to move forward more expeditiously. Future improvements that could be considered are more robust seals on the GPS module and stronger materials (especially joints) on tail buoy fabrication. These would increase fixed costs, but would be advisable and probably more economic long-term if multiple HR3D surveys are planned. Project Accomplishments include: • Pre-survey Sensitivity Study • Marine geochemistry methods and data analysis • Successful HR3D seismic dataset acquired @ Tomakomai active CO 2 injection marine site • Developed advanced seismic processing techniques • No NRMS anomalies detected in overburden; Demonstration of containment • Repeatability study • Second survey collected @ San Luis Pass, TX • 4D application using positioning techniques developed in the project for monitoring were successful

3D seismic GPS positioning↗

A Review on Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide: Sorbent Materials, Process Engineering, Industrial Scale-Up, and Future Perspectives

The relentless accumulation of anthropogenic greenhouse gases has driven atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations to approximately 426 ppm, necessitating the aggressive deployment of negative-emission technologies to achieve net zero by 2050. Direct air capture (DAC) offers a scalable, location-independent approach to atmospheric carbon removal; however, it is fundamentally constrained by the significant thermodynamic barriers associated with capturing CO 2 from ultradilute ambient conditions, requiring minimum thermodynamic energy inputs substantially higher than those for postcombustion point sources. This comprehensive review critically examines the technological landscape of DAC, focusing on the interdependent triad of sorbent material design, contactor engineering, and regeneration thermodynamics. We evaluate the fundamental boundaries of adsorption, emphasizing that an optimal adsorption enthalpy and isosteric heat of adsorption must balance the high CO 2 uptake capacity with the energetic penalties of sorbent regeneration. A systematic, comparative analysis of state-of-the-art sorbents is presented, encompassing mesoporous silicas, zeolites, carbon-based materials (CBMs), metal−organic frameworks (MOFs), porous organic polymers (POPs), and polymeric membranes. Special attention is devoted to surface functionalization strategies, particularly amine grafting and impregnation, which transition capture mechanisms from physisorption to chemisorption to enhance selectivity under ambient moisture and low partial pressures. Furthermore, we assess the operational merits of various reactor configurations, including gas−solid, gas−liquid, and membrane contactors, alongside regeneration cycles such as temperature, vacuum, pressure, and moisture swing adsorption. Finally, the review bridges fundamental materials science with industrial application by chronicling the scale-up milestones of pioneering entities and providing a strategic roadmap for advancing DAC technology readiness levels toward global deployment.

Adsorption↗

Advanced Power-Hardware-in-the-Loop Evaluation of Inverter-Based Resources (IBRs)

Power-hardware-in-the-loop evaluation of IBRs has become more and more important as it provides reliable testing results to investigate the real responses of inverters with interconnected systems. A successful laboratory PHIL testing gives confidence of the hardware system to be deployed and de-risk technology integration prior to field deployment. So far, there are two important applications for PHIL evaluation: (1) test stability and functionality of large utility inverters into the system when it interconnects to the distribution systems/microgrids; and (2) test the collective grid service that inverters can provide to the grid. For the first application, the PHIL evaluation has high requirements for the stability and accuracy of the PHIL interface as the close-loop in digital real time simulator (DRTS) should replicate the actual current and voltage dynamics in the inverter. This is challenging because of the delays, sensing errors, nonlinearities of inverters, and hardware bandwidth limitations of the elements in the HIL loop. For the second application, multiple inverters will be tested resulting in multiple PCCs, which naturally causes competing dynamics and oscillations among hardware inverters if traditional PHIL interface is used. Therefore, new PHIL interface should be developed to compromise between stability and accuracy and represent the dispatched grid services for the hardware inverters. In this presentation, we will share our latest work in developing PHIL interface in these two applications to address the two key challenges.

DERMS↗

Implementing the Inflation Reduction Act: What We Expect and How We Might Get There

This presentation summarizes findings from three related studies: Evaluating Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law on the U.S. Power System; The Roles and Impacts of PV-Battery Hybrids in a Decarbonized U.S. Electricity Supply; and Optimal Design and Deployment of Wind-Solar Hybrids in Low-Carbon U.S. Power System. The compilation of results from these three studies indicate that the Inflation Reduction Act could drive significant deployment of variable renewable energy technologies, but the level of deployment depends on our ability to build new transmission projects (among other factors). Hybrid systems can help, to an extent, to facilitate greater shares of wind/solar with lesser amounts of transmission expansion.

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law↗

Closing the Gap: A Global Perspective [Slides]

Against the backdrop of negotiations at COP26, a group of internationally recognised research and technology organisations launched a collaboration, with the intention to identify the national and international technology-led opportunities to decarbonise fossil fuel basins globally. This study will evidence the opportunities available to players across the entire energy ecosystem. Governments and funders will be able to spread costs and investment risk, energy companies will develop a greater understanding of the global transition and possible opportunities to develop pilot projects worldwide, and there will be greater incentive to the supply chain once they are aware of the global applicability of certain technologies and technology solutions. Through the analysis and comparison of national energy systems, a number of Net Zero Deployment Strategies and Technology Priorities have been identified, that are shaping the direction of the construction of net zero integrated energy systems globally. These have been considered to design Recommendations for International Collaboration to accelerate the global energy transition.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Practical Approaches to Embed Energy and Environmental Justice into DOE Technology Portfolios (August 2021–August 2024)

This document serves as a resource to science and technology offices within DOE seeking to incorporate energy and environmental justice (EEJ) into their programs and portfolios. It provides background information on EEJ principles, how those principles apply from early-stage technology development through deployment and commercialization. Through providing foundational information about justice and equity, and how they apply to technology development and program facilitation, this document provides information to take tangible and interim steps towards these goals.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Project Report: School Retrofit Demonstration of Lighting and Outlet Controls with LED Upgrades

A technology demonstration project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) was hosted by Boston Public Schools (BPS). This project evaluated wireless controls technology for lighting systems and plug loads (energy consumed by devices plugged into electrical outlets), implemented along with LED lighting retrofits in two classrooms. This study assesses technology readiness and effectiveness to determine the deployment potential of the technology in schools.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Science & Technology Review - July 2021 Issue

In the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lawrence Livermore researchers mobilized to address emerging challenges and develop capabilities for detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus and fighting COVID-19, the diseased caused by the virus. As described in the article beginning on p. 4, the Laboratory’s Innovation and Partnerships Office provided technology transfer expertise to deploy existing, in-development, and new technologies to help detect SARS-CoV-2 and treat COVID-19.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Pumped Storage Hydropower Augmented with Pressurized Air: The Ground-Level Integrated Diverse Energy Storage (GLIDES) System — GLIDES System Configurations and Use Cases

Energy storage is essential for cost-effective integration of variable renewable energy sources to support a low-carbon grid. It is also a key enabler of a modern grid infrastructure for demand management. However, several main challenges remain for different kind of energy storage technologies in grid scale deployment. Currently, the largest source of utility-scale storage and long-duration storage in the US is pumped storage hydropower (PSH). Prospect of growth in conventional PSH faces challenges that have limited its deployment over the last three decades, including high capital costs and long deployment timelines. Batteries have high energy densities and are the primary technology of choice for small-scale energy storage. Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is another large-scale energy storage technology, but there are few plants deployed worldwide. They suffer from their low round trip efficiency (RTE) due to the use of high-pressure air compressors. To address some of the challenges associated with these various storage technologies, the Ground-Level Integrated Diverse Energy Storage (GLIDES) is a modular PSH technology that was invented in 2015 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It utilizes gas compression to store electric energy. GLIDES stores energy by compressing gas using a liquid piston in high-pressure vessels. In doing so the vessels act as the upper reservoir in conventional PSH. Initially, the vessels are filled with gas to a prescribed pressure. To store energy, GLIDES uses a hydraulic piston pump to pump water into the pressurized vessels. As the water volume increases inside the vessels, water acts as a hydraulic piston compressing the gas on top of it. This process can be thought of as pumping water from the lower reservoir to the higher reservoir in PSH, increasing the water head. To dispatch the stored energy, the high-head water in the vessel is discharge through a high head Pelton hydraulic turbine that is connected to an electric generator. Employing high-pressure vessels enables GLIDES to reach water heads ~10-80 times higher than conventional PSH, achieving ~40 times higher energy densities, and overcomes the geographic limitation of conventional PSH. Although its energy density is much lower than that of batteries, GLIDES holds the potential advantages of having long service life, ease of system integration and being less hazardous over batteries. GLIDES prospective scalability could make it suitable for wide range of applications from behind the meter storage in buildings to grid-scale storage. It also makes it suitable for installations in densely populated urban areas where energy storage is most needed and real estate is limited. Over the last 5 years, work has focused on increasing GLIDES’ energy density, decreasing its initial capital cost of the system, and increasing its revenue potential. Several designs were developed and prototyped to verify and demonstrate the improvement in energy density. The latest prototype achieved energy density of 1.21 kWh/m 3 . Our analysis showed that it could achieve up to 1.7 kWh/m 3 with a mixture of air and carbon dioxide as the gas being compressed.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

IACMI Project 4.10: Blade Finishing Automation (Final Report)

IACMI Project 4.10, the Innovative Wind Turbine Blade Finishing with Advanced Automated Technology project, performed research addressing the challenges and opportunities associated with automating wind turbine blade finishing operations, including blade trimming and grinding. These activities, developed and conducted in close cooperation with wind industry partners, included: • The development of new automation technology and systems; • The integration of automation technology and components; • The improvements of sensor technology and their deployment in automation systems • The elimination of extensive manual programing for the automation of wind blade finishing; • The rethinking of the approach to specific work tasks for automation systems; • The demonstration at scale of innovative wind turbine blade finishing automations systems. The IACMI Wind TA team worked with GE Renewable Energy and LM Wind Power to establish the metrics of the automated blade finishing system developed in the project. In addition, the project team helped to integrate the advanced automated systems into wind turbine blade production facilities. This project was divided into two phases. Phase I provided project management, preliminary techno-economic model development, early US wind turbine industry outreach, and early research into robotic solutions for automated wind blade finishing. This second phase continued with project management, as well as final techno-economic model development, advanced research into robotic solutions for automated wind blade finishing, as well as specifications and procurement of a robotic system for automated wind blade finishing. The 4.10 project leveraged the capabilities and facilities established through the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The IACMI Wind Technology Area (TA) designed and prepared for deployment a robotic automated wind turbine blade finishing system at the NREL/IACMI Composites Manufacturing Education and Technology (CoMET) facility. The results of this project led to follow-on funding to build upon and expand research in automated wind turbine blade finishing.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Mexico Clean Energy Report

This report provides an assessment of Mexico's clean energy resource potential and pathways for rapidly deploying renewable energy technologies to enable Mexico to reach its goal of 35% renewable energy by 2024 within the current legal and regulatory framework. An appendix to the report includes the results of the 2024 Renewable Energy Integration Study, and technology chapters on wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower, transport electrification, and green hydrogen, detailing current state, resource potential, and deployment opportunities and recommendations. Additional sections include transmission, a section on the challenges and solutions for the integration of variable generation resources, and a summary of benefits.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Advanced CO 2 Capture Solvent Systems for Dynamic Power Generation

RTI International, in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Carbon Capture Simulation for Industry Impact (CCSI 2 ), Electricity Power Research Institute (EPRI), and West Virginia University (WVU), successfully completed a joint research effort in developing a cost-effective, resilient, load-following advanced CO 2 capture technology for natural gas power plants. The project’s objective was to develop a CO 2 capture process that maximizes the net present value (NPV) of the electricity sale by minimizing the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) under dynamic plant loads and high renewable penetration environments. The two key innovations developed in this project were the use of (i) advanced water-lean solvents (WLSs) and (ii) process intensification equipment, such as a rotating packed bed (RPB) absorber and dual-stage flash regeneration. The process’s low CO 2 capture cost is realized through WLSs’ low energy required for solvent regeneration, which lowers the operating cost while RPBs intensify the absorption process and reduces the power plant capital cost. A suite of advanced computational and simulation packages was implemented to guide the process design, validate the dynamic response of the capture plant, evaluate system-wide performance, and maximize the power plant’s profit. The project also engaged with power producers and other stakeholders to ensure its technical relevance and techno-economic viability. The development of this highly disruptive CO 2 capture technology could accelerate the industry adoption and thereby lower the greenhouse gas emissions of the U.S. power sector. Deployment of this technology can increase the reliability and decrease the cost of electricity generation in the U.S. by enabling the use of low-carbon fossil fuels to balance fluctuations of renewable energy availability.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Validating a Tethered Balloon System and Optical Technologies for Marine Wildlife Detection and Tracking

The interactions between marine wildlife and marine energy devices are not well understood, leading to regulatory delays for device deployments and testing. Technologies that enable marine wildlife observations can help to fill data gaps and reduce uncertainties about animal–device interactions. A validation test conducted in Galveston Bay near La Porte, Texas, in December 2022 used a technology package consisting of a tethered balloon system and three independent sensor systems, including three-band visible, eight-band multispectral, and single-band thermal to detect three marine-mammal-shaped surrogates. The field campaign aimed to provide an initial step to evaluating the use of the TBS and the effectiveness of the sensor suite for marine wildlife observations and detection. From 2 December to 7 December 2022, 6 flights were conducted under varying altitudes and environmental conditions resulting in the collection of 5454 images. A subset of the images was classified and analyzed with two collection criteria including Beaufort wind force scale and TBS altitude to assess a range of observations of a surrogate from near-shore to offshore based on pixel count. The results of this validation test demonstrate the potential for using TBSs and imaging sensors for marine wildlife observations and offer valuable information for further development and application of this technology for marine energy and other blue economy sectors.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗