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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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At least 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2013

Distributive, Non-destructive Real-time System and Method for Snowpack Monitoring

A ground-based system that provides quasi real-time measurement and collection of snow-water equivalent (SWE) data in remote settings is provided. The disclosed invention is significantly less expensive and easier to deploy than current methods and less susceptible to terrain and snow bridging effects. Embodiments of the invention include remote data recovery solutions. Compared to current infrastructure using existing SWE technology, the disclosed invention allows more SWE sites to be installed for similar cost and effort, in a greater variety of terrain; thus, enabling data collection at improved spatial resolutions. The invention integrates a novel computational architecture with new sensor technologies. The invention's computational architecture is based on wireless sensor networks, comprised of programmable, low-cost, low-powered nodes capable of sophisticated sensor control and remote data communication. The invention also includes measuring attenuation of electromagnetic radiation, an approach that is immune to snow bridging and significantly reduces sensor footprints.

Frolik, Jeff↗
DOE OSTI2024

Deploying Mobility-On-Demand for All by Optimizing Paratransit Services

While on-demand ride-sharing services have become popular in recent years, traditional on-demand transit services cannot be used by everyone, e.g., people who use wheelchairs. Paratransit services, operated by public transit agencies, are a critical infrastructure that offers door-to-door transportation assistance for individuals who face challenges in using standard transit routes. However, with declining ridership and mounting financial pressure, public transit agencies in the USA struggle to operate existing services. We collaborate with a public transit agency from the southern USA, highlight the specific nuances of paratransit optimization, and present a vehicle routing problem formulation for optimizing paratransit. We validate our approach using real-world data from the transit agency, present results from an actual pilot deployment of the proposed approach in the city, and show how the proposed approach comprehensively outperforms existing approaches used by the transit agency. To the best of our knowledge, this work presents one of the first examples of using open-source algorithmic approaches for paratransit optimization.

Pavia, Sophie↗
DOE OSTI2025

Virtual Power Plants: Pilots, Challenges, and Innovations Shaping Future Development

Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) aggregate distributed energy resources (DERs) to provide grid services traditionally delivered by centralized power plants. This article reviews the current state of VPP deployment, highlighting business models, compensation mechanisms, and global pilot projects. While VPPs offer benefits such as grid flexibility, resilience, and cost savings, challenges remain in communication infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, market access, and customer engagement. To address these, we propose a scalable, privacy-preserving hierarchical VPP architecture that coordinates with distribution utilities and preserves customer data. We also present the Integrated T&D Control Room of the Future as a key test bed for validating and accelerating VPP adoption. These innovations can help transition VPPs from pilot programs to integral components of a modern, reliable power grid.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Reference Station Risk Assessment for Refueling Heavy-Duty Vehicles Using HyRAM+

The deployment of heavy-duty (HD) hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that are entering the market now is driving the need for expanded HD hydrogen refueling station infrastructure to meet demand. This expansion must prioritize safety and reliability, necessitating careful consideration of the associated risks. In this study, we use a light-duty (LD) hydrogen refueling station as a comparative tool to quantify the risks for a HD station, which is essentially a scaled-up version of a LD station.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2026

Demonstration of Grid Services Using Mixed Grid-Forming and Grid-Following Technologies at the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility (Final Technical Report)

This Final Technical Report summarizes the analytical, modeling, and engineering work performed to evaluate grid-forming (GFM) inverter capabilities within a large hybrid renewable energy facility. The project focused on assessing the ability of advanced inverter-based resources to provide essential reliability services through coordinated operation of grid-forming (GFM) and grid-following (GFL) technologies. During Budget Period 1, the project developed a comprehensive framework of GFM performance metrics, including angle support, voltage regulation, frequency response, damping behavior, and current-limiting performance. Extensive electromagnetic transient (EMT) studies and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing were conducted to validate GFM behavior under a range of operating conditions, including weak-grid scenarios, voltage disturbances, and multi-resource interactions. The project also established validated modeling approaches, plant-level control integration strategies, commissioning frameworks, and high-speed measurement infrastructure to support future field demonstration. Although the project concluded prior to field demonstration, the results provide a utility-scale foundation for evaluating, modeling, and deploying grid-forming technologies. The methodologies and tools developed contribute to industry understanding of inverter-based resource behavior and support future power system reliability under increasing renewable penetration.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2022

NASA’s Strategic Analysis Cycle 2021 (SAC21) Human Mars Architecture

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Mars Architecture Team (MAT) was challenged to develop a mission architecture capable of transporting humans to the surface of Mars and back as fast—and as soon—as practical. This challenge represented a significant departure from previous approaches that minimized Earth-launched mass and maximized in-space transportation efficiency, often resulting in roundtrip missions of three years or more in duration. In the interest of crew health, MAT’s cross-Agency team of subject matter experts was challenged to develop an architecture capable of shortening crew time away from Earth to about two years. MAT was given specific mission constraints, such as number of crew, as well as mandates to minimize surface infrastructure as much as possible and to incorporate nuclear transportation options. The resulting MAT-developed concept, referred to here as the Strategic Analysis Cycle 2021 (SAC21) architecture, leverages Artemis elements and emerging commercial capabilities for cargo and logistics launches, and features a hybrid Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP)/Chemical transportation system able to complete the 1.8 billion kilometer round-trip journey to Mars and back in 760 to 850 days transit time for the 2039 Earth departure opportunity. Three Mars Descent Systems (MDS), each capable of landing about 25 metric tons of useful cargo on the surface of Mars, would be pre-deployed in advance of crew departure from Earth; two of these MDS’s would deliver a partially fueled Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), a fission power system, surface mobility, and additional MAV propellant. To minimize surface infrastructure, only two of the four Mars crew would descend and live in an MDS-landed pressurized rover, exploring the martian surface for 30 martian days, or sols, before returning to Mars orbit aboard their MAV and rejoining the other two crew on the Deep Space Transport for the Earth return voyage. Specifics of many of these architecture elements are detailed in separate technical publications; this paper outlines the end-to-end integrated architecture performance and concept of operations, including synergies with Artemis lunar architecture elements. It is important to note that NASA does not have a formal human Mars program and no decisions have been made; the architecture described here is intended to fill in an often-overlooked corner of the trade space, helping to complete the menu of options available to decision-makers as they chart the course for humans to Mars.

exploration↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA’s Strategic Analysis Cycle 2021 (SAC21) Human Mars Architecture

[Note: this is the presentation for a companion paper with the following abstract] The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Mars Architecture Team (MAT) was challenged to develop a mission architecture capable of transporting humans to the surface of Mars and back as fast—and as soon—as practical. This challenge represented a significant departure from previous approaches that minimized Earth-launched mass and maximized in-space transportation efficiency, often resulting in roundtrip missions of three years or more in duration. In the interest of crew health, MAT’s cross-Agency team of subject matter experts was challenged to develop an architecture capable of shortening crew time away from Earth to about two years. MAT was given specific mission constraints, such as number of crew, as well as mandates to minimize surface infrastructure as much as possible and to incorporate nuclear transportation options. The resulting MAT-developed concept, referred to here as the Strategic Analysis Cycle 2021 (SAC21) architecture, leverages Artemis elements and emerging commercial capabilities for cargo and logistics launches, and features a hybrid Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP)/Chemical transportation system able to complete the 1.8 billion kilometer round-trip journey to Mars and back in 760 to 850 days transit time for the 2039 Earth departure opportunity. Three Mars Descent Systems (MDS), each capable of landing about 25 metric tons of useful cargo on the surface of Mars, would be pre-deployed in advance of crew departure from Earth; two of these MDS’s would deliver a partially fueled Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), a fission power system, surface mobility, and additional MAV propellant. To minimize surface infrastructure, only two of the four Mars crew would descend and live in an MDS-landed pressurized rover, exploring the martian surface for 30 martian days, or sols, before returning to Mars orbit aboard their MAV and rejoining the other two crew on the Deep Space Transport for the Earth return voyage. Specifics of many of these architecture elements are detailed in separate technical publications; this paper outlines the end-to-end integrated architecture performance and concept of operations, including synergies with Artemis lunar architecture elements. It is important to note that NASA does not have a formal human Mars program and no decisions have been made; the architecture described here is intended to fill in an often-overlooked corner of the trade space, helping to complete the menu of options available to decision-makers as they chart the course for humans to Mars. Note: Slide 9 contains a ~2 min video, best viewed when downloaded. Once downloaded to begin video you may be requested to hit options and Trust this document.

Long-duration spaceflight↗
DOE OSTI2024

Safe Operations at Roadway Junctions: Intelligent Roadway Infrastructure as Functional Interlocking

Automated vehicle (AV) technology is quickly maturing, and the corresponding infrastructure systems that evaluate traffic and communicate to vehicles requires sophisticated sensing and perception technologies, referred to as intelligent roadway infrastructure (IRI), to complement emerging AV capabilities. IRI provides signals to vehicles, indicating right-of-way for vehicles and communicating to approaching AVs that no other vehicle is failing to yield. This capability, denoted as safety-affirmative signaling, provides a green light or a green arrow as appropriate and affirms through communication links to connected vehicles when it is safe to proceed. About 36% of collisions occur at intersections, with most occurring upon left turns (22.2%) or crossing over (12.6%), and only a small percentage (1.2%) while turning right at an intersection. Of all intersection crashes about half (52.5%) of those vehicles were traveling through a signalized intersection 2. Safety-affirmative signaling would guarantee safety of AV fleet vehicles, by providing the interlocking principle, a term from automated train control that only allows progression through a railway intersection after affirming no opportunity for a crash exists. IRI through safety-affirmative signaling would bring performance and safety to complex roadway intersections where AV transit fleet service is most needed, as well as safety benefits to traditional, non-automated vehicles and vulnerable road users. The implementation of IRI has functional, programmatic, and technical challenges. Research work performed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in an integrative approach encapsulating these themes, and termed infrastructure perception and control (IPC) is motivated by improved performance (travel time), improved safety (reduced collisions), and improved energy efficiency (less fuel burned and minimized production of greenhouse gases). IPC is intended not only for roadway and intersection applications but also in extension to inform complementary buildings and grid systems to enable better co-management, as vehicles and their charging needs become increasingly integrated into the built environment. The NREL IPC project presents an open-source framework, architecture, and supporting technology to implement IRI, addressing critical issues such as fusion of data, reliability, standardization of data interfaces, and confidence of detection. The framework is informed by previous experience in U.S. Department of Defense research technology, specifically in the use of radar to detect, identify, and track aerial threats. These principles combined with multi-sensor fusion provides for a complete digital twin with known and measurable confidence and accuracy from which safety-affirmative signaling can be developed and deployed.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,MATHEMATICS AND COMPUT↗
DOE OSTI2024

Adaptive Solar Energy and Power Storage Platform for Multimetered Properties

Veritel Energy LLC has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of its innovative adaptive solar energy and power storage platform designed for multimetered properties in Phase I of its DOE SBIR grant. The project centered around the development and initial deployment of proprietary hardware and software system that manages and distributes site-generated renewable energy to multiple tenants efficiently. This system integrates seamlessly with existing building infrastructure and utility systems, making it a viable solution for aging multifamily properties often located in at-risk communities. The pilot system was installed in a multifamily building with a single master-meter, and functioned as a pilot to demonstrate a scalable model for renewable energy system adoption across similar properties. This installation not only showed potential for significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions but also improved the economic viability of renewable installations by allowing property owners to recoup investments through increased energy savings and tenant billing. The Phase I project set the groundwork for further enhancements and testing in Phase II which will aim to apply the technology to projects with dozens of sub-meters, further contributing to the decarbonization of the built environment.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

NEAMS Technical Area Support in MOOSE

The Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework is a foundational capability used by the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program to create over 15 different simulation tools for advanced nuclear reactors. Due to this ubiquity, improvements to the framework in support of modeling and simulation goals are critical to the program. These improvements can take many forms, including optimization, improved user experience, streamlined application programming interfaces (APIs), parallelism, and other new capabilities. The work described in this report was conducted in direct support of the simulation tools and has already been deployed. The capabilities outlined in this report include implementing hash table matrix assembly for efficient sparsity pattern construction for contact in BISON, developing re-step testing infrastructure for ensuring the viability of overlapping domain coupling between SAM and Pronghorn, allowing unique preconditioners for single-input multi-system solves, supporting multi-system in MOOSE’s workhorse executioners, and many more smaller feature enhancements and bug fixes.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

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

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

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Toward Drilling the Perfect Geothermal Well: An International Research Coordination Network for Geothermal Drilling Optimization Supported by Deep Machine Learning and Cloud Based Data Aggregation

The EDGE project, supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office under award DE-EE0008793, established a data-driven framework for improving the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and reliability of geothermal well drilling. The project focused on developing scalable data infrastructure, advanced machine learning and probabilistic models, and integrated analytics tools to support continuous drilling optimization. A central objective was to reduce geothermal drilling costs by up to seventy percent while minimizing the risk of well failure through predictive diagnostics and adaptive planning. Over the project period, a comprehensive data repository was designed and deployed, incorporating records from over one hundred geothermal wells across varied geological settings. This repository supported both structured and unstructured data and adhered to FAIR data principles, enabling provenance tracking, quality control, and standardized metadata. The project introduced automated ingestion pipelines and a cloud-hosted platform that facilitated access to raw, processed, and derived datasets. This infrastructure served as the foundation for model development and analysis. Machine learning workflows were developed to predict key drilling metrics including rate of penetration, non-productive time, and total drilling costs. Self-organizing maps and dimensionality reduction methods were used to uncover operational patterns and outliers, while supervised learning algorithms such as random forests and deep neural networks were applied to forecast performance outcomes. The models were validated on heterogeneous datasets from both U.S. and Icelandic fields, demonstrating variable but significant predictive accuracy. The results indicated that finer temporal resolution, inclusion of lithological data, and consistency in operational annotations could substantially improve model performance. The project also implemented process mining techniques to reconstruct state-transition models from drilling event logs. These models enabled the identification of deviations from optimal workflows and provided insights into recurring failure modes. Analysis of non-productive time highlighted the impact of equipment failures, geological challenges, and human factors, offering opportunities for targeted mitigation strategies. The EDGE Dashboard was developed as a web-based expert system integrating data visualization, model outputs, and user-driven queries. It provided an accessible interface for operators to explore historical data, evaluate predicted outcomes, and compare drilling scenarios. Initial feedback from project partners suggested that the dashboard could serve as a foundation for more advanced advisory and optimization tools. Overall, the EDGE project demonstrated the feasibility and value of applying modern data science techniques to geothermal drilling. It delivered a set of interoperable tools and models that can support more efficient, lower-risk well development. The findings point toward a viable path for transitioning from advisory analytics to semi-autonomous drilling systems, contingent on continued collaboration, expanded datasets, and field validation. The project results have immediate relevance for drilling operations, data management practices, and future geothermal R&D efforts aimed at achieving reliable, cost-competitive geothermal energy at scale.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
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↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

OSAM-2: Plans and Progress for the First Demonstration of Structural Manufacturing in Space

OSAM-2 began as a NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate Tipping Point project in 2016 in which an investment made in ground development and demonstration and/or flight demonstration will result in: Significant advancement of technology’s maturation High likelihood for utilization of technology in commercially fielded space application Significant improvement in ability to successfully bring space technology to market Topic area was “Robotic In-Space Manufacturing and Assembly of Spacecraft and Space Structures” Made In Space, Inc. (now Redwire) proposed Archinaut One, an in-space robotic precision manufacturing and assembly system for larger-than-deployable structures Manufacturing / assembly in the operational environment allows manufactured parts to be designed for that environment (and not for launch loads and need to deploy) In 2020 NASA budget language, NASA began using On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing Mission 2 (OSAM-2) for Archinaut One Restore-L + SPIDER (SPace Infrastructure DExterous Robot) became OSAM-1 Note: Slide 7 contains video animation, best viewed in presentation mode, run time 2 mins 25 secs.

In-Space Manufacturing↗
DOE OSTI2025

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence in Federal Projects

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform grid operations. As energy demand rises, weather patterns shift, and foreign threats to critical infrastructure grow, it is essential to harness advanced technology to modernize the grid and increase overall resiliency. This paper examines the integration of AI in federally funded grid infrastructure projects. By analyzing project data, it evaluates the penetration and use cases of AI technologies within key funding initiatives and explores opportunities and challenges associated with their deployment. This analysis categorizes AI adoption in recent federal grid investments, establishing a baseline for measuring near-term impacts and identifying promising AI applications. The research found that 16% of recent federal energy projects included AI integration, and approximately 75% of these projects used AI for more than one primary application.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (ANNUAL REPORT | PLAN YEAR 2023–2024)

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), invests $\$$7.5 billion to build out a national electric vehicle (EV) charging network and created the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation (Joint Office) to “study, plan, coordinate, and implement issues of joint concern between the two agencies.” The BIL represents a historic effort to electrify the U.S. transportation system, which has significant potential to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and help tackle the climate crisis. The U.S. transportation sector accounts for one-third of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions—the largest share of all primary sectors, including electricity production, industry, commercial and residential, and agriculture. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, one of the BIL funding programs, was launched in February 2022, providing nearly $\$$5 billion over 5 years to help states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (hereafter referred to as “states”) create a network of EV charging stations beginning with designated Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs), with an emphasis on the Interstate Highway System. The funding is made available to the states in allocations each year pending FHWA certification of the state’s annual deployment plan. The NEVI program is in its third year, so there's a lot to celebrate. As of July 2024, 39 states have released solicitations for their NEVI programs and eight states have opened their first NEVI-funded stations (61 ports in total), which have already powered thousands of charging sessions for EV drivers across America. Additional stations are in the pipeline with more than 2,500 additional ports having been awarded or conditionally awarded by the states. All states released their Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 deployment plan updates to reflect the new minimum requirements and guidance, and several states added newly designated EV AFCs in their FY 2024 deployment plan updates, bringing the total AFC network of EV corridors to more than 81,000 miles.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Integration and Optimization of Loads, and Renewables for Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings

Deploying advanced building control strategies in small- and medium-sized commercial buildings (SMBs) is critical but constrained by two major challenges: (1) the lack of sensor and control infrastructure (SCI) and (2) the significant engineering effort required for implementation and configuration. While these barriers limit large-scale adoption in SMBs, they remain underexplored in the literature, which has largely emphasized feasibility over scalability.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS2008

James Webb Space Telescope - L2 Communications for Science Data Processing

JWST is the first NASA mission at the second Lagrange point (L2) to identify the need for data rates higher than 10 megabits per second (Mbps). JWST will produce approximately 235 Gigabits of science data every day that will be downlinked to the Deep Space Network (DSN). To get the data rates desired required moving away from X-band frequencies to Ka-band frequencies. To accomplish this transition, the DSN is upgrading its infrastructure. This new range of frequencies are becoming the new standard for high data rate science missions at L2. With the new frequency range, the issues of alternatives antenna deployment, off nominal scenarios, NASA implementation of the Ka-band 26 GHz, and navigation requirements will be discussed in this paper. JWST is also using Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) standard process for reliable file transfer using CCSDS File Delivery Protocol (CFDP). For JWST the use of the CFDP protocol provides level zero processing at the DSN site. This paper will address NASA implementations of Ground Stations in support of Ka-band 26 GHz and lesson learned from implementing a file base (CFDP) protocol operational system.

Johns, Alan↗