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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Bioremediation of Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds: DOE Experiences and Lessons Learned

From the mid-1980s to the present, the Department of Energy (DOE) has developed, tested, and deployed diverse bioremediation strategies for chlorinated volatile organic compounds (cVOCs). A systematic review of these projects after decades of activity provides an opportunity to identify crosscutting themes and lessons learned. The knowledge provided by a DOE bioremediation retrospective represents a resource to support current and future bioremediation operations, and future decisions related to cVOC bioremediation. This systematic review examined the design, objectives, performance and outcomes for remediation projects at DOE sites including Savannah River, Hanford, Idaho, Mound and Pinellas. The results were used to identify emergent themes to provide actionable insights. The bioremediation retrospective technical team first developed standardized criteria to support the systematic review. Then, the evaluation was performed using a sequential process that was informed by local technical experts who identified and provided the structured information that served as the basis for the evaluation. The participation of these experts was invaluable to the effort. Importantly, DOE cVOC bioremediation efforts were implemented based on the foundational knowledge developed by U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) strategic and applied environmental technology development and certification programs, as well as technical, policy and regulatory guidance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (ITRC), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), industry, and universities. To maximize the value of the DOE cVOC bioremediation retrospective, the systematic review strategy focused on identifying important DOE-specific experiences, trends and lessons learned that would extend the knowledge available from these other key entities.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2026

Examples of State and Utility Actions on Proactive Planning and Investments

As states across the U.S. confront rising electricity demand, clean energy deployment, grid modernization imperatives, and the integration of large new loads, some regulators and utilities are shifting away from reactive, “just-in-time” investment approaches toward more proactive planning and investment frameworks. This report compiles examples of jurisdictional and utility actions that reshape planning processes, cost recovery mechanisms, and performance oversight to anticipate—rather than simply respond to—future grid needs. Several themes emerge from state actions examined in this report. First, legislatures and commissions are increasingly directing utilities to proactively upgrade their distribution and transmission systems, reflecting a shift toward a forward-looking system that aligns planning with state policy goals. Second, states are establishing long-term, iterative planning frameworks that often feature multi-year horizons, biannual or annual compliance reporting, structured opportunities for stakeholder engagement, and emphasis on collaboration among utilities, regulators, and stakeholders. Third, states are actively investigating innovative cost recovery mechanisms designed to support accelerated electrification and grid modernization, while balancing consumer advocates’ concerns regarding the ratepayer financial risks of premature investments. Fourth, performance metrics and reporting requirements are being developed to ensure transparency and accountability for proactive investments. Fifth, methodological improvements in planning—such as aligning load forecasting assumptions, incorporating sensitivities, and considering load management potential across building, vehicles, storage, and demand response—are recurring areas of stakeholder focus across jurisdictions. Overall, these developments signify a growing recognition among state regulators, utilities, and stakeholders that proactive planning—supported by clear definitions, consistent and transparent methodologies, robust performance metrics, and innovative cost recovery mechanisms—is a tool that can be used to address the scale and urgency of contemporary grid needs.

electricity market↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Missing Correlation Between the Potential Rate Impacts of Rooftop Solar and the Timing of State Net Metering Policy Revisions

Data supporting the article “The Missing Correlation Between the Potential Rate Impacts of Rooftop Solar and the Timing of State Net Metering Policy Revisions” (https://www.nlr.gov/docs/fy25osti/93543.pdf). Residential solar photovoltaic (PV) output in most states is credited at the retail electricity rate, a policy commonly known as net metering. Twelve states have replaced net metering with alternative rate structures that reduce PV adopter bill savings. Proponents of these revisions argue that net metering increases the electricity rates of customers without PV. Here, we analyze the degree to which the timelines of net metering revisions have correlated with potential electricity rate impacts. We estimate that potential rate impacts at the end of 2023 were less than 1% of typical customer bills in 37 of 44 states that have offered net metering. There are no statistically significant differences in average or median estimated rate impacts between states that have and have not revised net metering. Nine of the states that had revised net metering did so when estimated impacts were less than 1% of typical customer bills. Many states have retained net metering into higher PV deployment levels with increased risk of potential rate impacts. Only two states-California and Hawaii-retained net metering beyond estimated rate impacts of 5%, and both have revised net metering. These findings do not suggest a clear, consistent link between net metering revision timelines and potential rate impacts. The timing and nature of net metering revisions are ultimately policy decisions based on state-level priorities and considerations.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multimetallic Layered Composites (MMLCs) for Rapid, Economical Advanced Reactor Deployment (Final Report)

This project focused on the development of multi-metallic layered composites (MMLCs) for advanced fission reactor technologies. There are many instances where one alloy or material simply cannot meet all the demands thrown at it by a reactor system, or cannot allow it to perform as strongly as one would like. Instead of focusing all our effort on developing one perfect alloy, we seek to leverage the design principle of “separation of functionality,” used in many other arenas in design, to boost performance beyond single alloys alone. One illustrative example shows the power of this approach for molten salt-cooled reactors: A three meter tall, three meter diameter reactor vessel made of Incoloy 800 was quoted at $\$$500k in 2018. A Hastelloy N vessel was quoted at $\$$5M. An MMLC vessel, in which a layer of Hastelloy N would be weld-overlaid onto Incoloy 800, was quoted at $\$$700k, and it would achieve the same performance. The potential economic gains of leveraging this approach are therefore substantial. At a minimum, each MMLC would contain one core structural layer and one coolant-facing corrosion-resistant layer. Sometimes, MMLCs required buffer layers, as the structural and corrosion-resistant layers were metallurgically incompatible. In other words, they didn’t always play nice, thus separating layers compatible with both functioned as intermediaries to keep the composite together. However, in doing so we inevitably produce new interfaces, where new issues can arise. Therefore, this project focused on what happens at these interfaces from a combination of high temperatures, irradiation, corrosion, and time. After all, a reactor makes money when it is operating, and outages of any kind erode its economic viability. First, we set out to experimentally prove that MMLCs for at least two advanced reactor systems can be made, today, in US domestic facilities. In this respect we were successful – one MMLC (a Ni-201/Incoloy 800H composite) was successfully made and drawn into two-inch coolant piping. Others were attempted, though new issues relating to cracking in vanadium layers for one and radiation damage performance of the corrosion-resistant layer in another prevented us from moving further in those specific arenas – these are engineering problems which deserve continued focus after this project. Additional experimental work focused on long-term corrosion testing of the outermost layers of the salt-cooled and liquid lead-cooled MMLC concepts, which would then be fed into predictions of how long the MMLCs could last. Next, computational (thermodynamics and atomistic) simulation studies studied how much we expect the interfaces to “blend,” due to the mixing action of neutron irradiation. This eats into both the margin for the structural layer of each MMLC, as dilution from the corrosion-resistant layer into the structural layer would decrease the total load-bearing capacity of an MMLC of finite size. On the other hand, dilution of the corrosion-resistant layer into the structural layer further reduced the margin of corrodible material, reducing the lifetime of the MMLC or necessitating extra thickness to be imparted to the MMLC to meet its functional requirements. Work here focused on irradiation-induced segregation to predict new phases which may embrittle the MMLCs, as well as quantifying irradiation-induced mixing at each interface. The results showed that mixing is expected, but it is both steady and therefore predictable, and not lifetime-limiting for most MMLC concepts – it simply has to be accounted for in calculations of reactor performance when utilizing an MMLC. Then, full-core simulations using the experimentally-derived corrosion data, the computationally discovered irradiation-induced mixing data (partially validated by experiment), and existing, benchmarked core designs for large and small sized reactor concepts (one salt-cooled, one lead-cooled) were conducted to quantify any expansion of reactor operating envelopes achieved by utilizing these MMLCs. This new framework, called REX (Reactor Envelope Expansion), incorporates a combination of core neutronics, thermal hydraulics, and the material performance data derived from this project to see how using an MMLC expands advanced fission reactor operating envelopes. It was discovered that in some cases, MMLC utilization does indeed increase the maximum operating temperatures and cycle lengths of reactor concepts, while in other cases it does not. Finally, our tech-to-market (T2M) strategy was not necessarily to create specific embodiments of MMLCs for immediate sale (because getting into the nuclear market is incredibly slow and laden with regulation, this is a long-term goal), but rather immediate stimulation of US industry using the design approach of MMLCs derived from this project. In this respect we were successful, as one of the PhD students funded on this project co-founded Allium Engineering, Inc., which created a stainless steel / low-alloy steel MMLC to function as chloride corrosion-resistant rebar for embedding into concrete structures. Allium Engineering continues to be successful, having recently opened their first factory as of this writing.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

​​Hydrogen Transportation and Distributed Energy Systems Seismic Risk Assessment for Cascadia Subduction Zone Airport Facilities​

Portland International Airport in Oregon is exploring operating a fleet of 28 fuel cell electric buses to support airport operations and possibly provide backup power during outages. In this report, we evaluate the risk of hydrogen deployment at an airport considering the potential for seismic activity. We present a seismic risk assessment for pressurized piping for a generic hydrogen refueling station at the airport. Only pressurized piping was considered in the risk analysis because of its vulnerability and availability of fragility information unlike the other components. Seismic capacity of other components should be included as more information becomes available. To characterize the seismic hazard, we considered the initiating event frequency of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake event based on data from the literature. Seismic stressors that translate to the site from an earthquake event are expressed as peak ground acceleration. Site disturbance is characterized as a function of soil conditions, represented by different shear wave velocity values, which affect how seismic waves propagate and impact structures. Pipe fragility curves as a function of seismic capacity were used to correlate ground acceleration and failure probability. These fragility characteristics were combined with site-specific soil conditions to calculate the probability of pipe rupture during a seismic event. It should be noted that multiple simultaneous failures due to an earthquake event as a common cause are not considered. Some epistemic uncertainties such as self-exciting shocks, aftershocks, and the time variant nature of the ground motion are not considered either.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2025

The state of the art for neutron irradiation experiments from the perspective of the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR)

Irradiation experiment campaigns are critical to advancing nuclear energy technologies by providing data on material performance under relevant radiation conditions. Successful irradiation experiments require integrated design efforts that balance technical goals with facility constraints. Here, this paper presents an expert-informed overview of irradiation experiment design at the High Flux Isotope Reactor. It addresses the nuclear materials research and irradiation experiment communities to guide them toward developing technically sound, facility-compatible campaigns. The High Flux Isotope Reactor is a multipurpose reactor supporting isotope production, neutron scattering, and materials testing. Its high, steady-state neutron flux is ideal for irradiation experiments, but successful execution demands coordinated thermal, structural, and reactor physics analyses. The paper outlines the complete development workflow from concept definition and design optimization to safety qualification and post-irradiation examination. Standardized capsule platforms are also discussed in terms of flexibility, specimen capacity, and thermal performance. Common failure modes such as unanticipated geometric variations, can impact temperature-dose profiles and compromise data reliability. Therefore, detailed thermal modeling and accurate as-built characterization are essential for meaningful post-irradiation data interpretation. Key recommendations include early engagement all stakeholders, clearly defined design expectations, and alignment of specimen geometries with post-irradiation examination capabilities. This approach reduces design iterations, enhances data quality, and supports more efficient use of irradiation resources. Strategic and well-planned irradiation testing not only improves individual campaign success but also accelerates the deployment of advanced nuclear technologies. By closing critical data gaps and reducing development risks, the nuclear materials community can more effectively contribute to the future of clean, resilient energy systems.

Experiments↗
DOE OSTI2025

Yes, No, Maybe So: Human Factors Considerations for Fostering Calibrated Trust in Foundation Models Under Uncertainty

High-stakes analytical environments require analysts to evaluate evidence and generate conclusions to inform critical decisions often under conditions of uncertainty. Probabilistic decision-making based on incomplete or inaccurate information can reduce productivity, compromise national interests, and endanger public safety. Researchers are developing expert systems built on foundation models (FMs) to support analysts’ decision-making processes by enabling human-artificial intelligence (AI) teaming, in part through the quantification and expression of uncertainty information. As FMs continue to mature, it is imperative to correspondingly consider analysts’ needs for appropriately interpreting and using uncertainty information. However, prior research indicates that it remains unclear how analysts engage with FM-generated uncertainty information and the extent to which these interactions influence trust in, and reliance on, expert systems. We plan to review the state of the science and conduct an exploratory, qualitative study to (a) understand how properly communicated uncertainty can foster calibrated trust and appropriate reliance and (b) identify approaches for effectively conveying FM-generated uncertainty information during analytical workflows. We will administer semi-structured interviews with analysts from a specific high-stakes analytical environment to collect their current experiences with job-related uncertainty and their impressions when viewing FM-generated uncertainty information. During the interview protocol, participants will be presented with several different FM outputs and invited to discuss their thoughts and beliefs about the uncertainty information displayed. Participants may provide insights into how trust and reliance may be influenced by uncertainty. The results of this study will help us to better understand how analysts currently interpret and use uncertainty information. Our findings may inform human factors recommendations for effectively conveying uncertainty information to foster calibrated trust in, and appropriate reliance on, expert systems. Interaction designers and FM developers can use this knowledge to enhance human-AI teaming and ensure the responsible deployment of FM-based expert systems in analytical workflows.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

EVI-LOCATE User Manual

One of the longest stages in the deployment of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) is the initial planning of the infrastructure itself. Engineers and fleet experts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have supported dozens of charging infrastructure site plans over the past couple decades, including the generation of site schematics, determinations of electric capacity, and estimates for likely costs. As the market for electric vehicles (EVs) has matured, this approach should no longer require a time and personnel intensive process. In order to shorten the time taken to develop site plans and cost estimates, NREL developed a tool that fleet managers, facility managers, electricians, EVSE installers, and members of the public can use to develop initial schematics and ballpark pricing for charging station installations. The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure - Locally Optimized Charger Assessment Tool and Estimator (EVI-LOCATE) provides a structured and consistent way for users to enter information about their planned EVSE project in a relatively simple web-based format. EVI-LOCATE then calculates electrical equipment capacity, wiring runs, and project costs. It produces a site diagram optimized around surface characteristics with differential trenching costs for softscape such as grass compared to hardscape such as asphalt that can be adjusted by users in the tool. It also stores the resulting site plans and costs in a dashboard for access at a later date, including plan revisions if necessary. This document guides users through the EVI-LOCATE screens and associated questions. It contains tip text boxes throughout on how best to interface with the tool and find additional information or context. The appendices contain the assumptions and calculations underpinning the tool. Much of the information for EVI-LOCATE was gathered through industry engagements with EVSE installers, invoices from completed EVSE installations, Gordian's RS Means construction data, and the General Services Administration blanket purchase agreement for EVSE. For a visual tutorial of the tool, users can watch EVI-LOCATE Step-by-Step Video. The tool itself is available at https://evi-locate.nrel.gov.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

ACCELERATED DEPLOYMENT OF NOVEL MATERIALS BASED ON RELIABILITY INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT USING CUMULATIVE DAMAGE MODELING

There is currently no widely agreed, detailed general method for licensing a novel plant incorporating novel materials (or materials being deployed in novel environments); in many such situations, there are no directly applicable engineering code cases for decision-makers (including regulators) to rely on. This paper discusses a framework for solving this problem that is based on the Reliability and Integrity Management (RIM) approach delineated in ASME BPVC Section XI Division 2. NRC Regulatory Guide 1.246, Rev. 0, endorses, with conditions, the subject portion of the 2019 ASME Code. The proposed framework is meant to support development of a licensing case by addressing certain remaining technical challenges. The framework discussed here is compatible with the Licensing Modernization Project, but applying it in a specific case will call for advances in the state of practice, if not the state of the art. The RIM approach calls for applicants to (a) allocate reliability targets to plant structures, systems, and components (SSCs), (b) show that they are able to relate the currently observed physical condition of each SSC in the program to its failure probability well enough to determine whether the target reliability allocations are being satisfied, allowing for uncertainty related to the novelty of the materials/designs/operating environments, and (c) be able to demonstrate that the proposed program of surveillances will reliably detect unacceptable degradation of an SSC before SSC failure occurs. A modeling approach potentially applicable to item (b), based on cumulative damage modeling rather than failure rates, is briefly illustrated.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Predicting the High-Temperature Oxidation Response of Nickel Superalloys Using CALPHAD-Enhanced Machine Learning

Structural materials such as Ni-based superalloys used in high-temperature power cycles are routinely exposed to toxic environments including high temperature and pressure, aqueous and gas corrosion, etc. Here, we present a physics-informed machine learning approach to predict the oxidation response of diverse Ni-superalloys. First, a high-fidelity experimental dataset is curated from typical oxidation mass-change experiments in air, covering 25+ elements and different physical behavior such as parabolic growth, non-parabolic growth, and oxide spallation. Second, the dataset is featurized using thermophysical, chemical, and mechanical properties obtained from high-throughput CALPHAD calculations. Third, several machine learning models are developed to identify key features related to mass-change characteristics and model the mass-change curve for various alloys. Finally, the model is deployed to rapidly screen over a new composition space and down-select candidate alloys with high oxidation resistance for experimental validation.

CALPHAD↗
DOE OSTI2026

Prairie State Generating Company 2D Seismic Interpretation

The objectives of the Illinois Storage Corridor (ISC) project are to accelerate commercial deployment of carbon capture utilization and storage at two individual sites and receive approvals for Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI permits for construction at each site (ISC Project Narrative, 2020). As part of this project, and as part of the subsurface geologic characterization, two-dimensional (2D) seismic data was acquired at both sites. This report summarizes the findings from two phases of 2D acquisition and seismic interpretation at the Prairie State Generating Company site near Marissa, Illinois. The seismic data indicates the presence of three faults that completely transect the storage and confining units. The initial 2021 2D seismic acquisition revealed the presence of a feature two miles east of the Lively Grove #1 characterization well. The feature is a polyphase fault with a component of strike-slip motion, forming a small positive flower structure. The second phase of 2D seismic acquisition in 2022 constrained the maximum extent of the fault, indicating it has a relatively limited length. Other 2022 seismic lines revealed the presence of two other faults that transect the storage and confining units in the southwest and northeast portions of the 2D seismic acquisition area. The 2021 and 2022 2D seismic surveys have identified three specific locations within the project area that may have an elevated risk of out of zone CO 2 migration due to faulting. Further technical work will be needed to quantify this risk and determine how and if this risk will impact the placement of CO 2 injection wells across the project area.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2024

Customer enrollment and participation in building demand management programs: A review of key factors

Increasing the efficiency and flexibility of electricity demand is necessary for ensuring a cost-effective and reliable transition to zero-carbon electricity systems. Such demand-side management (DSM) resources have been procured by utilities for decades via energy efficiency and demand response programs; however, the key drivers of program enrollment and customer participation levels remain poorly understood — even as governments and grid planners seek to scale up the deployment of DSM assets to meet climate targets. Here we systematically review the evidence on multiple factors that may influence customer enrollment and participation in building DSM programs, focusing primarily on residential and commercial buildings. We examine the contexts in which relationships between DSM factors and outcomes are most often explored and with which methods; we also score the strength, direction, and internal consistency of each factor's reported impact on the enrollment and participation outcomes. We find that studies most commonly assess the effects of economic incentives for load flexibility on program participation levels, often using simulation-based methods in lieu of measured data. Few studies focus on program enrollment outcomes or regulatory drivers of either enrollment or participation, and gaps are also evident in the coverage of emerging DSM opportunities like load electrification. Removal of structural barriers (e.g., the lack of controls infrastructure) and the use of third party services (e.g., load aggregators) are the factors with the largest positive impacts on DSM outcomes, but no single factor emerges as clearly most impactful. For a given factor, the range of reported impacts typically varies widely across the relevant studies reviewed. Our findings provide a snapshot of the state of knowledge about building DSM and customer decision-making, and they expose key gaps in understanding that must be filled if building DSM is to expand as a critical resource for operating clean power grids.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dual-frequency (Ka-band and G-band) radar estimates of liquid water content profiles in shallow clouds

The profile of the liquid water content (LWC) in clouds provides fundamental information for understanding the internal structure of clouds, their radiative effects, propensity to precipitate, and degree of entrainment and mixing with the surrounding environment. In principle, differential absorption techniques based on coincident dual-frequency radar reflectivity observations have the potential to provide the LWC profile. Previous differential frequency radar reflectivity (DFR) efforts were challenged by the fact that the measurable differential attenuation for small quantities of LWC is usually comparable to the system measurement error. This typically renders the retrieval impractical, as the uncertainty can become many times greater than the retrieved value itself. Theoretically, this drawback can be mitigated following two interconnected approaches: (1) increasing the frequency separation between the dual-frequency radar system to measure greater differential attenuation and (2) increasing the radar operating frequency to reduce the instrument measurement random error. Our recently developed 239 GHz radar was deployed during the Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE) along with a variety of collocated remote sensing and in situ instruments. We have combined Ka-band (35 GHz) and G-band (239 GHz) observations to retrieve the LWC from more than 100 vertical profiles of shallow clouds with typical amounts of LWC smaller than 1 g m -3 . We theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that the Ka-band and G-band pair of frequencies offers at least a 65 % relative improvement in the LWC retrieval sensitivity compared to previous works reported in the literature using lower-frequency radars. This new technique provides a missing capability to determine the LWC in the challenging low liquid water path (LWP) range (< 200 g m -2 ) and suggests a way forward to characterize microphysical and dynamical processes more precisely in shallow clouds.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Defining Infrastructure Feasibility for Hub-Scale Offshore Atlantic Carbon Storage in the Northeastern United States

In the Northeast U.S., deep rock formations along the Atlantic outer continental shelf may have the potential to sequester 150–1136 million metric tons of CO2. However, the design and infrastructure necessary to develop offshore carbon storage in this region is not well defined because there has been little oil and gas exploration and no commercial production. Consequently, an infrastructure feasibility design was completed for a hub-scale offshore CO2 storage system along the Northeast U.S. Atlantic. The design included development of a detailed, site-specific geological model for a location near the Great Stone Dome geological structure in the Baltimore Canyon Trough off the coast of Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey. A field injection system topology design was completed to portray a design with eight wells in two clusters connected by central manifolds. Reservoir simulations were completed for the injection system that showed the hub may be able to inject 17 million metric tons (MMT) of CO2 per year for thirty years, but injection rates varied substantially across the eight wells. A CO2 pipeline design determined feasible routes from the east coast shoreline to the injection field. Finally, the CO2 injection system design included subsea injection trees, manifolds, and power umbilicals. This is the first study to define large-scale carbon storage design and infrastructure options for the offshore Atlantic, which can help to progress this region towards field characterization and early-mover deployment for future decarbonization in the region.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2026

PVDeg: Enhancing Usability and AI-Driven Multi-Mechanism Degradation Modeling

PVDeg version 0.7.0, released in December 2025, introduced major enhancements to improve usability and performance. This update reorganized tutorials and tool notebooks to create a more intuitive experience, enabling users to easily follow and adapt workflows for their specific analyses. In addition to structural improvements, both the notebooks and core logic underwent significant optimization for efficiency, robustness, and style. These refinements were supported by new testing frameworks built on nbval and pytest, adherence to PEP8 standards, and extensive code refactoring, which collectively simplify onboarding for new developers. Looking ahead, version 0.8.0 will deliver advanced AI-driven capabilities. The primary focus is to further develop and automate the degradation workflow, designed to analyze PV module degradation across diverse locations and system configurations. By integrating large language models (LLMs) to scan literature and compile a comprehensive database of materials and degradation rates, this feature will enable modeling of multiple materials and mechanisms within a single, streamlined workflow. Users will be able to evaluate degradation impacts on different system architectures under varying environmental conditions, facilitating informed decisions on bill-of-materials optimization for specific deployment scenarios. These advancements position PVDeg as a powerful, user-friendly tool for accelerating PV reliability research and system design.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Bridging Control and Deployment: A Cross-Layer Analysis of Scalable Building Cluster Control

Building cluster control has emerged as a promising approach for enabling flexible and coordinated operation of distributed building systems, yet its transition from pilot demonstrations to routine grid-interactive operation remains limited. This paper argues that this gap cannot be explained by control algorithms alone. Instead, it arises from interacting barriers in communication infrastructure, data and semantic interoperability, uncertainty management, stakeholder participation, market design, and policy support. Accordingly, the paper reviews both technical and non-technical barriers to building cluster control. Technical challenges include heterogeneous devices and protocols, communication latency and reliability, distributed decision-making, and uncertainty propagation across aggregated loads. Non-technical barriers include user participation, stakeholder coordination, incentive allocation, and data governance. Existing solution approaches are synthesized, including semantic interoperability frameworks, edge and hierarchical communication architectures, distributed and transactive control strategies, uncertainty-aware optimization, policy mechanisms, and market reforms. Based on this analysis, two research directions are identified: testing infrastructures that can evaluate control performance under realistic multi-building conditions, and abstraction methods that allow building clusters to interact with other energy sectors through standardized flexibility representations. Overall, the paper provides a structured review of how building cluster control can move from isolated demonstrations toward reproducible, market-compatible, and grid-relevant implementation.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Standardized Protocol for Real-Time APIs as Required by Title 23 CFR 680.116(c)

Improving the ability of drivers to easily locate working and available chargers is key to improving the public charging experience. Electric vehicle charging providers who are recipients of federal funds through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program, and other funding programs as identified under Title 23 of the U.S. Code must deploy and maintain an application programming interface (API) to access information about charging stations they operate.1 This includes information about individual charging ports, pricing, and availability in accordance with the Federal Highway Administration’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Standards and Requirements, 23 CFR 680.116(c), herein referred to as the minimum standards (Federal Highway Administration 2023). Specifically outlined in the minimum standards, states and other designated recipients are required to ensure that charging station information including location, connector type, power level, real-time status, and real-time price to charge are available free of charge to third-party software developers through an API. These requirements are intended to enable effective communication with consumers about available charging stations and help consumers make informed decisions about trip planning, including when and where to charge. This document provides a standardized protocol for how to structure data, data update frequency, and practices for making the data required to be shared via API usable for improving public transparency and the customer experience. These are recommendations only and do not modify the Federal Highway Administration’s minimum standards in any way.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Automated Waterbox Inspection for Nuclear Power Plants Using Computer Vision - Based Change Detection

Nuclear power plant waterboxes require regular inspection for leaks, missing components, and structural damage during maintenance outages. Traditional manual inspection is time-consuming and poses safety risks from confined space entry. We developed an automated computer vision system for drone-based waterbox inspection in partnership with Florida Light and Power. Our approach uses feature detection and matching to identify critical changes between baseline and current inspection images, automatically flagging additions (leaks/debris), removals (missing plugs), and translations (displaced components) while compensating for drone movement and environmental variations. We systematically evaluated six feature matching methods, from classical approaches (SIFT+BF) to state-of-the-art neural networks (SuperPoint+SuperGlue), using both standard benchmarks (HPatches) and waterbox-specific validation with real-world augmentations. SuperPoint+SuperGlue achieved superior performance with 7.82 pixels RMSE and 100% success rate—2.8x better accuracy than our baseline. While the pre-trained model has commercial licensing restrictions for nuclear deployment, our findings validate this architecture for custom training. We implemented a real-time GUI demonstrating the SIFT+BF approach for immediate deployment, processing drone feeds at 30 FPS with color-coded change visualization. Future work includes training a custom SuperPoint+SuperGlue model on waterbox data and integrating Vision-Language Models for automated reporting and maintenance guidance.

46 - INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AN↗