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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 OSTI2022

Roadmap for Deployment of Modularized Hydrothermal Liquefaction: Understanding the Impacts of Industry Learning, Optimal Plant Scale, and Delivery Costs on Biofuel Pricing

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a promising technology for converting abundant organic wastes into fuels. Previous techno-economic analyses (TEAs) of HTL have been used to estimate the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of biofuel products, but these analyses often assume a bespoke plant design where each plant operates under unique process conditions and neglect transportation costs. However, transportation costs must be included in realistic TEAs, and further, a mass-produced fixed-scale modular plant design approach may be more effective than case-by-case plant design, provided that there is sufficient market capacity to benefit from modularization. This study estimates fuel price behavior in the presence of transportation costs and benefits stemming from modular plant design. This analysis indicates that a modular process capable of handling 60 dry tons per day (DTPD) is optimal, resulting in a ~25% reduction in MFSP (from $4.70/GGE, fully upgraded) at complete market feedstock utilization compared with case-by-case design. The associated cost reductions are attributable to learning benefits and modularization. Several HTL deployment “roadmaps” are then explored, with each roadmap consisting of different periods of case-by-case design followed by adoption of a modularized approach. A period of nonmodular industry growth up to market saturation of ~7% followed by implementation of modular plant design strikes a balance between the investment risk and learned cost reductions associated with modular plant design. However, if bespoke plants built during this period of nonmodular growth saturate more than 23% of available feedstock, learned cost reductions are significantly diminished. Here, this study points to the potential benefits of modularized and decentralized waste-to-energy processes when the modularization follows an optimal deployment strategy.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Enhancing Operational Performance and Productivity Benefits in Breweries through Smart Manufacturing Technologies

This article uses case studies to demonstrate the potential of smart manufacturing (SM) and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to enhance operational performance and productivity in industry. The analysis highlights benefits such as cost reduction, production flexibility, shorter product time-to-market, energy/water efficiency and environmental impact reduction, and increased productivity. To illustrate the effectiveness of SM and IoT approaches, the authors sought out manufacturers currently implementing or seeking to implement SM and IoT technologies. The authors identified beer brewing (NAICS Code 312120) as a rapidly expanding industry whose members appear eager to implement SM technologies to optimize production lines by revealing bottlenecks and identifying performance-reducing nodes. This article presents two case studies based on SM and IoT technologies in breweries. It briefly describes a systematic framework introduced elsewhere by the authors and uses it to assess the energy productivity and competitiveness of SM applications in breweries. This article addresses questions concerning the information and communications technology infrastructure needed to build smart breweries and how corporations simplify the installation and deployment of SM and IoT components. This article was originally published in the Proceedings of the 2019 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Security-Constrained Unit Commitment for Electricity Market: Modeling, Solution Methods, and Future Challenges

This paper summarizes the technical activities of the IEEE Task Force on Solving Large Scale Optimization Problems in Electricity Market and Power System Applications. This Task Force was established by the IEEE Technology and Innovation Subcommittee to first review the state-of-the-art of the security-constrained unit commitment (SCUC) business model, its mathematical formulation, and solution techniques in solving electricity market clearing problems. The Task Force then investigated the emerging challenges of future market clearing problems and presented efforts in building benchmark mathematical and business models.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Commercial Building Energy Code Field Study: Data Collection Methodology and Protocol

In support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Commercial Buildings Energy Code Field Study, this data collection methodology and protocol provides guidance on all aspects of undertaking a compliance study, from development of a sampling plan to recruitment to code requirements and compliance checks for each energy code measure specified to be collected. The protocol also includes a data collection form that captures all key information needed for analysis of commercial energy code compliance. This methodology was developed by the Institute for Market Transformation in coordination with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the U.S. Department of Energy Building Energy Codes Program with the objective of assisting states, jurisdictions, utilities and others as they seek to measure and demonstrate compliance rates with energy codes in commercial buildings, as well as to target areas for improvement through increased energy code compliance and broader energy-efficiency programs. It is also intended to facilitate a consistent and replicable approach to research studies of this type and establish a transparent data set representing baseline construction practices across the U.S.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Commercial Building Energy Code Field Study: Data Collection Methodology and Protocol

In support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Commercial Buildings Energy Code Field Study, this data collection methodology and protocol provides guidance on all aspects of undertaking a compliance study, from development of a sampling plan to recruitment to code requirements and compliance checks for each energy code measure specified to be collected. The protocol also includes a data collection form that captures all key information needed for analysis of commercial energy code compliance. This methodology was developed by the Institute for Market Transformation in coordination with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the U.S. Department of Energy Building Energy Codes Program with the objective of assisting states, jurisdictions, utilities and others as they seek to measure and demonstrate compliance rates with energy codes in commercial buildings, as well as to target areas for improvement through increased energy code compliance and broader energy-efficiency programs. It is also intended to facilitate a consistent and replicable approach to research studies of this type and establish a transparent data set representing baseline construction practices across the U.S.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Preliminary Screening Techno-Economic Analysis of Industrial SOFC/SOEC and Reversible SOC Integration

National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) provides system-level process, cost, and market analyses on solid oxide cell (SOC) based technologies. Specifically, techno-economic analyses (TEA), market assessments, and other technology evaluations serve to guide the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (R-SOFC) Program technology goals and objectives. These studies are key to describing how the technologies contribute to improving domestic energy infrastructure in a clean, efficient manner. This effort seeks to elucidate the potential integration opportunities between reversible SOCs and industrial systems which would aid in SOC commercialization and deployment. These preliminary screening-level results show what opportunities exist for power generating SOFCs, hydrogen producing SOECs, and point-source carbon capture. Improvements can be seen through changes in cost of electricity, cost of hydrogen, and cost of carbon capture.

reversible SOC↗
DOE OSTI2025

Equipment List Comparing Balance of Plant Containing a Heat Pump against a Reference Electricity Generating Plant

Approximately two-thirds of U.S. energy consumption in the industrial and transportation sectors relies on fossil fuels. These sectors require high-quality heat, i.e., thermal energy at very high temperatures, for molecular transformation processes. The Integrated Energy Systems (IES) program aims to assess the economic potential of utilizing nuclear-grade heat from Advanced Reactors (ARs) to meet the high-quality heat demands. By having industrial processes (IPs) supplied with nuclear-generated heat, manufacturers could benefit from more stable and potentially lower energy costs, reducing reliance on volatile fossil fuel markets. The main outcome of the FY24 research was the thermodynamic assessment and gap analysis of steam generation for IP applications. The study completed in June 2024 demonstrated that the required steam temperatures could be achieved by integrating a heat pump into an AR power plant. After identifying the thermal demands of target IPs, multiple balance of plant configurations for the Xe-100 reactor by X-energy, incorporating a heat pump, were analyzed. Their technical feasibilities were assessed, including the design of suitable axial compressors for these applications. Comparative performance analysis showed that thermal efficiency alone is insufficient to evaluate system suitability. To address this, a new indicator (heat factor) was introduced in the report released in September 2024 to quantify the low-quality thermal power needed to produce one unit of high-quality heat for the IP. Results showed that integrating heat pumps into Rankine cycles enables higher steam temperatures, though at the expense of increased thermal energy input. This report builds upon and completes the foundational work previously undertaken. It focuses on the design of two Balance of Plant (BOP) configurations, both based on Rankine energy conversion cycles: “Case 1”, which involves electricity generation only, and “Case 2”, which combines electricity and high-temperature heat generation for industrial use. For each configuration, a comprehensive equipment list was developed, detailing all major components such as turbines, compressors, heat exchangers, pumps, and control systems. These lists will serve as the basis for future comparative cost analyses, with the goal of assessing the number and type of components required to integrate a heat pump into the Rankine cycle and to establish a heat transport system capable of delivering thermal energy from the nuclear plant to an industrial facility. Using the constitutive equations presented in the June 2024 milestone, the operating conditions of all BOP components for both “Case 1” and “Case 2” were evaluated. These parameters—such as temperature, pressure, mass flow rate, and steam quality—served as the basis for calculating the associated thermal and mechanical power flows. The net power required from the heat pump to raise the steam temperature to the target level was also determined. The thermodynamic performance of the configuration was then assessed using the heat factor metric. The key outcome of this analysis is a comparative table that presents the equipment that was used in the “Case 1” and “Case 2” configurations. This study offers a preliminary comparison of the two designs, providing insight into the impact of integrating a heat pump in terms of component requirements and thermal efficiency. This equipment list, together with the evaluated operating conditions, also serves as a foundation for the economic analyses scheduled for the current fiscal year.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Reinventing wastewater treatment plants: energy neutral treatment and enhanced fertilizer production through a novel resource recovery center

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are typically energy intensive, mainly due to the secondary treatment processes such as activated sludge (AS) for treatment of organics as well as nutrients like nitrogen. Nitrogen removal presents a big problem for WWTPs. The main form of nitrogen in wastewater is ammonium, and an AS process uses oxygen to convert ammonium into nitrite and nitrate which is then converted to nitrogen through denitrification process. During anaerobic digestion (AD), organic nitrogen gets degraded, resulting in an effluent stream (centrate) with a high nitrogen content, mostly in the form of ammonium. This contributes 15-30% of total nitrogen to the wastewater influent which further increases energy consumption for aeration. The project aims to transform this conventional municipal WWTPs into energy-neutral, resource-recovering facilities by integrating three core technologies: • Cloth Media Filtration (CMF) to replace conventional primary sedimentation (CPS) and increase the diversion of organics from the energy intensive secondary treatment to AD. This results in reduced energy demand for aeration in the secondary process while simultaneously increasing the biogas production in the anaerobic digesters. • Anerobic Digester to increase biogas and ammonia production. • Membrane Evaporation (ME) to recover ammonia from AD centrate and produce marketable fertilizer. The benefits of proposed WWTP process modifications were evaluated using techno economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). For CMF portion of the research a statistical analysis was employed to develop data-driven tools that could be used to enhance and optimize its performance in terms of energy savings and effluent quality. The main objective of this project is to reduce the energy demand for secondary treatment at municipal WWTPs by at least 50%, increase anaerobic digester (AD) biogas and ammonia production by 100% and 120%, respectively, and recover 90% of ammonia from the AD. Integrated CMF, AD, and ME was shown to work synergistically toward achieving these decarbonization targets through energy-positive treatment and fertilizer recovery techniques.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Study of Emerging Ancillary Service Markets in Non-Restricted Regions of the Western Power Grid (CRADA Final Report)

Rising penetrations of renewable energy generation in the Western United States pose new requirements for ancillary services, which are the services required, in addition to energy service, in order to maintain the system reliability. This project combines the research capabilities of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder) to provide more accurate information to market participants and regulators about the present and future size and composition of ancillary service markets in the non-restructured regions of the West. This information would provide market participants and state and federal regulators with a more transparent view of future ancillary service markets, and allow for more efficient system planning in both the private and public sectors of the electricity market.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

WBS 1.2.3.405 - Life Cycle Assessment of Storage Technologies

Recent commitments by the Biden administration have established targets to achieve a net-zero energy system by 2050. Meeting these targets will spur a rapid transition to clean energy technologies and a commensurate need to develop and deploy energy storage technologies at scale. Pumped Storage Hydro (PSH) is expected to be part of this solution because its ability to provide grid flexibility and stability and enable the dispatching of disparate variable renewable energy technologies. Despite PSH being a mature technology with a history of deployment dating back several decades, there is very little information on the greenhouse gas (GHG) implications of PSH as compared to other storage technologies. The objective of this project is to perform a full lifecycle assessment (LCA) of new PSH projects in the U.S. This LCA includes all project phases (resource extraction, construction, operation, maintenance, end-of-life). The functional unit for this study is 1 kWh electricity delivered by system to grid substation connection point and the estimated lifetime for our base case is 80 years. Data used in this study are based on over 30 potential PSH projects that are in preliminary planning phases and are represent a wide range of potential closed-loop PSH systems in terms of location, technology, and capacity. The project approach, data sources, and modeling assumptions have been informed by a technical review committee of stakeholders that include experts from academia, national and international government, industry, and utilities. The GHGs and energy return on investment (EROI) from PSH will be compared to other storage technologies (e.g., stationary battery storage). Results from this project will improve the PSH community's understanding of the environmental impacts and sustainability of new PSH projects and how PSH compares to other storage technologies. The approach used in this project relies on open-source programming. The analysis framework (source code and data) and will be made publicly available at the end of the project. In addition to reporting results for the base case, we will perform rigorous sensitivity analysis to identify the major drivers, understand impacts of different configurations, and future energy markets. Results from this project will be published in a suitable journal.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY,HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Chapter 10: Economics and Perspectives of Hydrogen Electroproduction Techniques

Techno-economic analysis (TEA) plays a critical role in assessing the cost of a technology relative to the current market, in identifying high impact areas for research and development investment, and in informing relevant stakeholders. In this chapter we discuss three main topics: (1) an overview of TEA, its processes, methods, and considerations for developing a good TEA framework; (2) description of the U.S. Department of Energy's H2A Production Model which is used for evaluating their portfolio of hydrogen production research; and (3) a synopsis of currently published H2A case studies illustrating the application of techno-economic analysis to hydrogen production technologies. These technologies include polymer membrane and solid oxide electrolysis, photo-electrochemical, methane steam reforming, coal gasification and use of biomass (via gasification or bio-derived liquids) and solar thermal routes to hydrogen. From the analyses comparisons between various technological approaches can be made in terms of costs, implementation, investment and versatility.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

Analysis Program 2022 Annual Progress Report

The VTO Analysis Program supports mission-critical technological, economic, and interdisciplinary analyses to assist in prioritizing VTO technology investments and to inform research portfolio planning. These efforts provide essential vehicle and market data, modeling and simulation, and integrated and applied analyses, using the unique capabilities, analytical tools, and expertise resident in the DOE’s national laboratory system. VTO Analysis projects also demonstrate additional capabilities and expertise provided by research partnerships that may include academia, the private sector, and non-profit organizations.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Analysis Program (2023 Annual Progress Report)

This document summarizes the progress of VTO Analysis projects supported during the fiscal year 2023. The VTO Analysis Program supports mission-critical technological, economic, and interdisciplinary analyses to assist in prioritizing VTO technology investments and to inform research portfolio planning. These efforts provide essential vehicle and market data, modeling and simulation, and integrated and applied analyses, using the unique capabilities, analytical tools, and expertise resident in the DOE’s national laboratory system. VTO Analysis projects also demonstrate additional capabilities and expertise provided by research partnerships that may include academia, the private sector, and non-profit organizations.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Electrification Analysis: All Aboard America!

This one-page highlight details the key takeaways from a project that utilized NREL's Fleet Research, Energy Data, and Insights (FleetREDI) data analysis pipeline, an electrification analysis for the Bustang motorcoach fleet operated by All Aboard America! Holdings Inc. (AAA). NREL installed logging devices and collected operational data on nine 40-foot Bustang motorcoaches operating on fixed routes from May 2022 through August 2022. The analysis determined that partial fleet electrification may be feasible with electrified motorcoach options currently on the market. While this fleet faces significant challenges to electrification given current market options due to demanding range requirements and relatively limited charging opportunities, vehicles operating on the shorter, lower-grade routes along the I-25 corridor show more immediately available electrification potential. Increases in available battery capacity and the availability of fast-charging locations along I-70 routes are likely critical for electrification of the full fleet.

AAA↗
DOE OSTI2021

BETO 2021 Peer Review - WBS 4.1.2.32: Bioeconomy Scenario Analysis

The Bioeconomy Scenario Analysis project uses systems thinking and analysis to assess current and/or prospective techno-economics, research and development, deployment strategies, policy, and market conditions and their impact on the potential development trajectories of the bioenergy industry over time. Results from this project include identification of opportunities and constraints to industrial development, quantification of multiple metrics (energy, economic, environmental) and informing researchers, decision makers, and industry of the steps needed for a sustainable, nationwide biofuels industry. Analyses from this project enable the creation of a bioenergy industry by (1) inciting policy-makers to explore scenarios for nationwide biofuels production, identifying policy actions consistent with pathways for growth; (2) improving industry’s understanding of industry growth potential under different technology and investment conditions, better targeting their development efforts; and (3) providing universities and other interested stakeholders with tools and analyses that can be adapted to meet research and teaching objectives, connecting students with careers that build the industry. One of the many modeling tools used in this project, the Biomass Scenario Model (BSM) is a publicly-available, unique, validated, state-of-the-art, award-winning, fourth-generation model of the domestic biofuels supply chain which explicitly focuses on how and under what conditions biofuel technologies might be deployed to contribute to the U.S. transportation energy sector. We use models like the BSM to examine the implications of policies and incentives as well as their potential side-effects. The BSM uses a system-dynamics simulation to model dynamic interactions and transitions across the supply chain; it tracks the deployment of biofuels given industrial learning and the reaction of the investment community in the context of land availability, projected oil markets, consumer demand for biofuels, and government policies over time. Under expected market conditions, analyses using the BSM suggest that the biofuels industry may require significant external actions in the early years to thrive. Interventions that accelerate the industrial learning process (e.g. operation of pre-commercial and commercial facilities) have been identified as having strong influence in starting the growth of a commercial biofuel industry. Policies which are coordinated across the whole supply chain in BSM foster the growth of the biofuels industry and production of tens of billions of gallons of biofuels may occur under sufficiently favorable conditions.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Valuation of Wind Energy Turbines Using Volatility of Wind and Price

The limitedness of the nonrenewable local energy resources in Israel, even in the background of the later gas fields’ findings, continues to force the state to devote various efforts towards ‘green’ energy development. These efforts include installations, both for the solar and for wind energy, thus improving the diversity of energy sources. While the standard discounted cash flow (DCF) method using the net present value (NPV) criterion is extensively adopted to evaluate investments, the standard DCF method is inappropriate for the rapidly changing investment climate and for the managerial flexibility in investment decisions. In recent years, the real options analysis (ROA) technique has been widely applied in many studies for the valuation of renewable energy investment projects. Taking into account the above background, we apply, in this study, the real options analysis approach for the valuation of wind energy turbines and apply it to the analysis of wind energy economic potential in Israel, which is the context of our work. We hypothesize that due to nature of wind energy production uncertainties, the ROA method is better than the alternative. The novelty of this paper includes the following: real world wind statistics of the Merom Golan site in Israel (velocity 3.73 m/s, with a standard deviation of 2.03 m/s), a realistic power generation estimation (power generation of 1205.84 kW with a standard deviation of about 0.5% in annual value which is worth about 1.3 M$ per annum), and an economic model to evaluate the profitability of such a project. We thus discuss the existing challenges of diversifying renewable energy sources in Israel by adding wind installations. Our motivation is to introduce a method which will allow investors and officials to take into account uncertainties when deciding in investing in such wind installations. The outcomes of the paper, which are obtained using the method of Weibull statistics and the Black–Scholes ROA technique, include the result that market price volatility adds to the uncertainties much more than any wind fluctuations, provided that the analysis is integrated over a long enough time.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Life-cycle analysis of microalgae-based polyurethane foams

Polyurethane plastics are essential in many consumer and commercial products such as insulation, furniture, automotive interiors, and clothing. Pathways for producing polyurethane from microalgae offer an opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts and can incorporate processes that avoid the use of toxic isocyanates typically used in conventional polyurethane production processes. In this study, the greenhouse gas emissions, fossil energy, and water consumption of biobased polyurethane and biobased non-isocyanate polyurethane were evaluated via life-cycle analysis using the R&D Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Technologies model. Microalgae-based polyurethane foam was found to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions of up to 79% compared with conventional polyurethane foam production. The greenhouse gas reductions for the non-isocyanate microalgae polyurethane pathway are slightly lower at 58% compared with conventional polyurethane foam. However, it offers additional benefits by reducing toxicity potential compared to the isocyanate polyurethane pathway. The analysis also included a biorefinery-level analysis to evaluate the impact of incorporating polyurethane production into fuel-processing microalgae biorefineries. The sensitivity analyses conducted in this study reveal that improved algae cultivation strategies can lead to decreases of up to 127% and 80% in GHG emissions from the baseline process of Bio-PU and Bio-NIPU, respectively. Likewise, implementation of renewable electricity can result in up to 128% and 74% lower GHG emissions compared to the baseline production of Bio-PU and Bio-NIPU, respectively. Finally, the analysis evaluated different coproduct handling methods including displacement and allocation (based on mass, energy, and market-value). The results suggest that it is important to consider both the displacement and allocation methods as these led to significant differences in the environmental impacts.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗