Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “competition process”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Water Atomized H13 Tool Steel Powders for Binder Jet Additive Manufacturing

ORNL (Contractor) and Ametek, Inc. (Participant) collaborated to determine the feasibility of adopting water atomized H13 tool steel powder for binder jet additive manufacturing (BJAM) for tooling applications. The capability to utilize water atomized powders can substantially reduce powder expenses for BJAM, enabling process competitiveness with casting whilst enabling new applications of high-temperature, net-shaped components.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Collaborative or competitive phase transformation processes in an additively manufactured-maraging steel M300

Although retained austenite is present in minor amounts in as-built additively manufactured-maraging steels, its evolution during ageing is key to controlling the final microstructure. This study investigates the relationship between austenite reversion and precipitation evolution during ageing, particularly whether these processes compete or cooperate. Using Scanning/Transmission Electron Microscopy, Atom Probe Tomography and Thermo-Calc® PRISMA simulations, the presence and evolution of retained austenite, Ni 3 Ti and Fe 7 Mo 6 intermetallic phases was characterised across different ageing conditions. Experimental results revealed the presence of non-enriched austenite in the as-built condition. Nevertheless, with increasing ageing temperature, Ni and Mo segregation became evident. High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy revealed that Ni 3 Ti precipitation primarily occurred within the martensitic matrix, while Fe 7 Mo 6 nucleated preferentially at the austenite-martensite interface. PRISMA simulations indicated early and rapid precipitation in solute-enriched areas (i.e., intercellular regions), with Ni 3 Ti forming prior to Fe 7 Mo 6 . Both experimental and simulation results suggested Ni diffusion controls retained austenite growth, while Ti and Mo drive Ni 3 Ti and Fe 7 Mo 6 precipitation, respectively. The evidence reported in this work supports a both collaborative and independent phase transformation mechanism, where austenite reversion and precipitation co-evolve.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Cadmium Telluride Photovoltaics Accelerator Consortium Solicitation: Request for Proposals Information

Cadmium telluride photovoltaics (CdTe PV) is a leading PV technology built on U.S. innovations that currently holds significant market share within domestic utility scale PV systems. In order to keep pace with a highly competitive and innovative global PV module market, CdTe manufacturing needs readily adaptable advances at the cell and module levels that simultaneously enable higher conversion efficiencies and manufacturing cost reductions without risking long-term module durability. In pursuit of this goal, the Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) has asked the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to launch and support a Consortium to accelerate domestic CdTe technology development through a competitive solicitation process. NREL will competitively select a CdTe Consortium with the goals of enhancing U.S. competitiveness and expanding domestic CdTe PV material and module production through 2030. NREL will provide coordination and oversight through development of technical scopes, review of technical proposals, subcontract support, and review of deliverables along with research support to the Consortium. The new Consortium is expected to include major U.S. companies and universities that possess strong technology development, transfer, and validation capabilities. The research and analysis output of the CdTe Consortium will inform purchasing, design, deployment, and operations decisions of companies in the domestic CdTe PV supply chain, leading to increased material and module production in the U.S.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Integration of Omics into a New Comprehensive Rate Law for Competitive Terminal Electron-Accepting Processes in Reactive Transport Models: Application to N, Fe, S, and Contaminant Transformations in Stream and Wetland Sediments

Surface waters represent important sources of alternate energy and drinking water in the United States, and characterizing the biogeochemical processes that affect surface water quality is relevant to the DOE-BER mission. Sediment biogeochemical processes regulate the release of carbon (C), nutrients, and contaminants to surface waters and thus influence water quality. Sediment biogeochemical processes are dynamic and affected by the deposition and remobilization of solid material and changes in environmental conditions driven by water discharge variations. Wetlands are important natural filters of surface waters which may either trap, metabolize, or mobilize nutrients and contaminants. Despite their importance, biogeochemical processes regulating nutrient and contaminant release and C transformation in stream and wetland sediments cannot be predicted accurately by current mathematical models. These reactive transport models largely rely on detectable changes in geochemical conditions to activate metabolic processes, do not accurately account for the competition between microbial processes, and poorly constrain effects of hydrological perturbations on biogeochemical processes. In this BER-SBR exploratory project, metagenomic and geochemical signatures were combined to identify microbially-mediated redox processes in anaerobic stream and wetland sediments from the Savannah River Site (SRS, ANL SFA) and East Fork Poplar Creek (EFPC, ORNL SFA) that play important roles in C, uranium (U), and mercury (Hg) transformations. In addition, sediment incubations were conducted to examine the competition between anaerobic respiration processes Finally, new rate laws were developed for reactive transport models that rely on complementary metagenomic and geochemical signatures to identify the underlying anaerobic microbial processes in stream and wetland sediments, describe the competition between the dominant metabolic processes involved in nutrient release and U and Hg mobilization, and more accurately quantify carbon transformation and the response of microbial processes to changes in redox conditions associated with hydrological forcing. These rate laws were optimized in batch reactors with SRS wetland sediments, where iron and sulfate reduction dominate. Anaerobic carbon remineralization processes followed the expected thermodynamic sequence of microbial respiration with depth in both sediments, except that geochemical signals indicated that sulfate reduction was inactive in EFPC sediments and moderate in SRS wetland sediments. Estimates indicated that microbial iron reduction contributed to at least half of the production of reduced iron in these sediments. Incubations demonstrated that nitrate reduction, denitrification, and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium were active in the natural EFPC sediment and activated upon nitrate amendment in these nitrate-rich sediments. In turn, these processes were outcompeted by the addition of either iron oxides or sulfate as alternative terminal electron acceptors. Although geochemical products of sulfate reduction were not detected in the incubations, the abundance of sulfate reduction genes increased with depth in the sediment and was equally more pronounced in treatments amended with either iron oxides or sulfate. Simultaneously, anaerobic sulfide oxidizing bacteria coupling sulfide oxidation to DNRA (and not conventional denitrification) were apparently enriched over time, regardless of the treatments. These findings indicate that sulfate reduction is important in freshwater stream sediments and probably catalyzed by a cryptic sulfur cycle involving nitrogen species, in which the sulfur products from sulfate reduction are immediately removed by side reactions and not detectable by geochemical measurements alone. Similar experiments in SRS sediments, however, demonstrated little interaction between nitrogen and sulfur cycling microorganisms. Sulfate reduction was impacted by the addition of more thermodynamically favorable electron acceptors, suggesting either that iron-reducing microorganisms outcompeted sulfate-reducing microorganisms for organic substrate, depleting the stock of electron donor available for sulfate reduction, or that the cryptic sulfur cycle was shunted by the precipitation of FeS generated as a result of the abiotic reduction of iron oxides by dissolved sulfide. A diagnostic modeling exercise was conducted to further investigate the competition between terminal electron accepting processes. As conventional kinetic models typically do not account for cryptic cycles and used inaccurate formulations to describe competition between microbial communities, new metabolic rate laws were developed that explicitly express the electron acceptor-specific enzyme of each energetically favorable metabolic process based on gene abundance detected in the incubations. The model was tested with the sediment slurry incubation data to determine whether substrate competition could explain the decrease in sulfate reduction observed in the presence of iron oxide competitor. The model was able to reproduce geochemical concentrations really well in each treatment once the model was calibrated with the unamended control, suggesting that microbial competition was indeed driven by thermodynamic considerations. Overall, carbon remineralization processes and rates will be reproduced much more realistically with the new metabolic rate laws.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Whole Algae Hydrothermal Liquefaction and Upgrading: A review of progress and challenges and insight into the future

This report summarizes the research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to evaluate the economic viability and environmental impact of using microalgae to produce fuels and other products via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL). Over the past several years, PNNL has examined key aspects of feedstock cost and availability, formatting and conversion techniques, and the utilization of all HTL products. Investigations of feedstock cost led to opportunities to work with cost-advantaged algal feedstocks that can be provided at minimal cost for HTL processing. Cost-advantaged algae include wastewater-grown algae and harvested algal blooms. Although farm-cultivated algae offer the best possible biomass composition and scalability for HTL processing, the cost of the feedstock is too high to yield an economically competitive biofuel. Processing cost-advantaged feedstocks creates other unique challenges in adapting HTL to upgrade biomass with higher than typical ash content and less preferred composition (low lipid). Despite the challenges, HTL of cost-advantaged algae results in economically competitive pricing scenarios and significant advantages in reducing net emissions below 70% of the petroleum baseline. The utilization of a variety of potential non-fuel products from algal HTL, such as the use of HTL solids as a cement additive, provides a significant reduction in net emissions by offsetting emissions from other carbon-intense products. This report presents an analysis of the research conducted at PNNL to develop an economically and environmentally beneficial process for algae HTL.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2025

U.S. Department of Energy Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) 2024 Manufacturing Process Innovation Awardee: Bergey Windpower Co.

This fact sheet describes the 2024 Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) award received by Bergey Windpower Co. for manufacturing process innovation. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) CIP awards cost-shared subcontracts and technical support to manufacturers of small and medium-sized wind turbines. Managed by NREL on behalf of DOE's Wind Energy Technologies Office, CIP helps advance wind energy as a cost-effective, distributed generation technology option.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integration of genome-scale metabolic model with biorefinery process model reveals market-competitive carbon-negative sustainable aviation fuel utilizing microbial cell mass lipids and biogenic CO 2

Producing scalable, economically viable, low-carbon biofuels or biochemicals hinges on more efficient bioconversion processes. While microbial conversion can offer robust solutions, the native microbial growth process often redirects a large fraction of carbon to CO 2 and cell mass. By integrating genome-scale metabolic models with techno-economic and life cycle assessment models, this study analyzes the effects of converting cell mass lipids to hydrocarbon fuels, and CO 2 to methanol on the facility’s costs and life-cycle carbon footprint. Results show that upgrading microbial lipids or both microbial lipids and CO 2 using renewable hydrogen produces carbon-negative bisabolene. Additionally, on-site electrolytic hydrogen production offers a supply of pure oxygen to use in place of air for bioconversion and fuel combustion in the boiler. To reach cost parity with conventional jet fuel, renewable hydrogen needs to be produced at less than $\$2.2$ to $\$3.1$/kg, with a bisabolene yield of 80% of the theoretical yield, along with cell mass and CO 2 yields of 22 wt% and 54 wt%, respectively. The economic combination of cell mass, CO 2 , and bisabolene yields demonstrated in this study provides practical insights for prioritizing research, selecting suitable hosts, and determining necessary engineered production levels.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Kansas City, Missouri, Streetlight Electric Vehicle Charging: Strategies and challenges for site selection of streetlight electric vehicle infrastructure in Kansas City, Missouri (Final Report)

Public streetlight charging, whether on streets in central business districts or residential areas, provides easy charging access for apartment residents and homeowners alike. While most electric vehicle (EV) drivers charge at home, they do so in garages or on driveways they own. For renters and residents of multifamily housing (MFH), however, this may not be an option. EVs have a lower cost of ownership compared to conventional vehicles, and a used EV may be an affordable option for a lower-income household. But without easy access to charging, even a low-cost used EV may not be an option for a prospective buyer. An affordable curbside charging network has the potential to expand EV adoption into neighborhoods that have to date seen minimal interest and uptake of the technology and associated charging infrastructure. Streetlight charging networks can provide an economical, scalable, and effective approach to providing equitable and convenient charging. Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) is dedicated to the mission of creating resource efficiency, environmental health, and economic vitality in the Kansas City region and beyond. Since 1983, MEC has provided resources, outreach, and training to make alternative fuels and energy efficiency commonplace. MEC led a streetlight charging pilot project that installed limited EV charging infrastructure on the streetlight system in Kansas City, Missouri, to demonstrate and test the benefits of curbside charging for EVs at existing on-street parking locations. The project aimed to cost-effectively expand the charging network in Kansas City to support residential charging and provide infrastructure in one or more charging deserts throughout the city. This pilot evaluates the impact and overall success of streetlight charging based on community feedback, utilization of charging infrastructure, technical feasibility, and cost. The project has pursued a data- and community-driven site selection process designed to identify sites with high demand and high opportunity for EV charging. This project was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and awarded to MEC through a competitive proposal process. The novelty and complexity of this project required an organization that could facilitate collaboration across levels of government, community members, and industry partners. For the past 25 years, through Kansas City Regional Clean Cities, MEC has worked with numerous public and private fleets on a variety of projects to improve the environmental performance and efficiency of the regional vehicle fleet. To advance affordable, efficient, and clean transportation efforts, DOE Clean Cities and Communities coalitions create local networks of public and private sector stakeholders and engage communities. Rooted within their local communities, the coalitions serve as experts and ambassadors, bringing to bear the collective knowledge, experience, and practical know-how of the entire network from within DOE, its national laboratories, and diverse stakeholders in the field. MEC and its project partners made in-kind contributions to leverage federal dollars for the benefit of the Kansas City community. Findings from this project will help determine the best applications for streetlight charging technologies to maximize funding impact and serve community needs. The team evaluated locations based on expected charging demand, technical feasibility, safety considerations, and enhanced charging network siting needs. Throughout the project, the team gathered feedback and evaluated ways to make public charging for EVs available to all community members. The insights will help Kansas City and other communities streamline future efforts to support EV drivers through public charging in the city right-of-way. Furthermore, this project will inform citywide guidance for future installations. MEC is committed to a transparent and publicly accessible approach that encourages the collaborative evaluation of streetlight charging. The project has engaged the community to proactively identify and evaluate the benefits and impacts of streetlight charging. It was a priority for the project to ensure the benefits of this pilot are distributed equitably to all members of the Kansas City community and that new charging opportunities and associated resources are available in diverse neighborhoods across the city. The charging infrastructure supports an affordable curbside charging network that will enable more drivers to choose EVs and provide easy charging access for all community members interested in driving an EV. The community feedback received through this project informed future resources and opportunities to make EVs more accessible to all members of the Kansas City community. MEC worked with several community partners on this project, including Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST), Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL); the city of Kansas City, Missouri; Evergy; Black and McDonald (B&M); LilyPad EV; EVNoire; and Westside Housing Organization (WHO). Project partners contributed to the cost match required for DOE grants through capital expenditures, personnel, and other in-kind contributions. Detailed descriptions of project team organizations can be found in Appendix A. Project Partners. Analysts at NREL and MST/PennState developed site maps based on demand and equity considerations. MEC conducted outreach to community members to garner input on project design and site selection, and received approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) for Evergy’s EV charging station ownership. MEC worked with all partners to gather additional siting criteria and developed a site selection evaluation checklist, and partners conducted site visits to proposed installation sites. Next, B&M, Evergy, and the city executed all site agreements, conducted site-specific engineering design, acquired associated permits, and issued notices to proceed site by site or in small batches. Finally, from January to April 2023, the project team installed 23 EV charging stations built on Kansas City’s streetlight system in six council districts. Evergy will own, operate, and monitor the stations for 10 years, sharing charging data with MEC for at least 1 year.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Competitiveness Assessment of Decarbonizing Electricity and Process Heat Supply to a Campus with a Small Nuclear Reactor

This paper analyzes the competitiveness of siting a small nuclear reactor to support decarbonization of sites requiring tens of MW of electricity and/or process heat to support centralized heating and cooling system. This paper focuses on campuses as representative of sites with collections of buildings and research facilities with decarbonization needs represented by buildings heating, and electricity consumption by electrical loads which may include cooling via chilled water (e.g., for air conditioning and to cool down computer clusters). A nuclear reactor can be considered to decarbonize a site’s high-temperature steam generation used mostly for building heating needs, climate control, and hot water, by supplying process heat capabilities, while electricity decarbonization would be achieved mostly by the grid. However, a secondary application can be considered to maximize reactor utilization and avoid ramping down the reactor if the steam demand varies significantly throughout the year. Chilled water generation through steam-driven systems was identified as an attractive secondary option for the site analyzed, due to potential for plant design simplification, while electricity generation could be considered as well to reduce electricity purchases for a wider range of site applications. For a campus with peak 60MW thermal power demand, a small nuclear reactor with similar thermal power rating would almost eliminate CO2 emissions from steam generation and reduce electricity imports for chilled water production. A preliminary techno-economic feasibility study shows that a small nuclear reactor design that is optimized to support process heat can represent an economically feasible option when compared with other decarbonization alternatives.

Stauff, Nicolas E.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Modeling the Conformer-Dependent Electronic Absorption Spectra and Photolysis Rates of Methyl Vinyl Ketone Oxide and Methacrolein Oxide

Criegee intermediates are important atmospheric oxidants, formed via the reaction of ozone with volatile alkenes emitted into the troposphere. Small Criegee intermediates (e.g., CH 2 OO and CH 3 CHOO) are highly reactive, and their removal via unimolecular decay or bimolecular chemistry dominates their atmospheric lifetimes. As the molecular complexity of Criegee intermediates increases, their electronic absorption spectra show a bathochromic shift within the solar spectrum relevant to the troposphere. In such cases, solar photolysis may become a competitive contributor to their atmospheric removal. In this article, we report the conformer-dependent simulated electronic absorption spectra of two four-carbon-centered Criegee intermediates, methyl vinyl ketone oxide (MVK-oxide) and methacrolein oxide (MACR-oxide). Both MVK-oxide and MACR-oxide contain four low-energy conformers, which are convoluted in the experimentally measured spectra. Here, we deconvolute each conformer and estimate contributions from each of the four conformers to the experimentally measured spectra. We also estimate the photolysis rates and predict that solar photolysis should be a more competitive removal process for MVK-oxide and MACR-oxide (cf. CH 2 OO and CH 3 CHOO).

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Relaxor ferroelectric polymer exhibits ultrahigh electromechanical coupling at low electric field

Electromechanical (EM) coupling—the conversion of energy between electric and mechanical forms—in ferroelectrics has been used for a broad range of applications. Ferroelectric polymers have weak EM coupling that severely limits their usefulness for applications. Here, we introduced a small amount of fluorinated alkyne (FA) monomers (<2 mol %) in relaxor ferroelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene-chlorofluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE-CFE) terpolymer that markedly enhances the polarization change with strong EM coupling while suppressing other polarization changes that do not contribute to it. Under a low–dc bias field of 40 megavolts per meter, the relaxor tetrapolymer has an EM coupling factor (k 33 ) of 88% and a piezoelectric coefficient (d 33 ) >1000 picometers per volt. These values make this solution-processed polymer competitive with ceramic oxide piezoelectrics, with the potential for use in distinct applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Formation of wide-blocky calcite veins by extreme growth competition

Liassic limestones on the coast of Somerset in the UK contain dense arrays of calcite microveins with a common, but poorly understood microstructure, characterized by laterally wide crystals that form bridges across the vein. We investigated the mechanisms of formation and evolution of these ‘wide-blocky’ vein microstructures using a combination of high-resolution analytical methods, including virtual petrography, optical cathodoluminescence and scanning electron microscopy techniques (e.g. energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, back-scattered electron imaging, cathodoluminescence and electron back-scattered diffraction), laboratory experiments and multiphase field modelling. Our results indicate that the studied veins formed in open, fluid-filled fractures, each in a single opening and sealing episode. As shown by the optical and electron back-scattered diffraction images, the vein crystals grew epitaxially on grains of the wall rock and we hypothesize that their growth rates differed depending on whether the crystals were on a wall rock grain substrate that fractured intergranularly (slow growth rates) or transgranularly (rapid growth rates). Our multiphase field models support this hypothesis, showing that wide, blocky crystals only form where there are significant differences in the growth rate and are dependent on the type of seed grain. These results provide strong evidence for extreme growth competition, a process that we propose controls vein-filling in many micritic carbonate reservoirs, as well as demonstrate that the characteristics of the fracture wall can affect the filling processes in syntaxial veins. Supplementary material: The description and images of the studied thin sections are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5172371 . High-resolution optical microscopy mosaics (under plane-polarized- and crossed polarized light) of the thin section collection in PetroScan file format are available on request from the authors.

Geology↗
DOE OSTI2022

CABLE Big Idea RDD&D Workshop (Workshop Summary Report)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) held the CABLE Big Idea RDD&D Workshop April 7–9, 2021. The virtual workshop brought together approximately 250 leading scientific and technical experts to gather information on the state of the art in conductivity-enhanced materials and their applications. These stakeholders included scientists, engineers, manufacturers, materials experts, utility companies, and other entities within the conductor material and electrical product manufacturing supply chains. The two main goals of the workshop were to 1) start building and strengthening a research ecosystem around conductivity-enhanced materials and 2) inform AMO’s future portfolio of research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) investments and other program activities in the area of conductivity-enhanced materials. CABLE—or Conductivity-enhanced materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric and thermal applications—was was established as an Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy initiative as a result of a competitive internal process to identify and prioritize potentially high-impact research topics. Since then, conductivity-enhanced materials have been identified as an important element of the shift to an electrified and decarbonized industry sector, and CABLE remains a Big Idea. The CABLE effort is led by AMO and supported by eight other offices within DOE. The first major effort under CABLE was the development of several subtopics for DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs in 2020. Another major activity was the launch of the CABLE Conductor Manufacturing Prize in March 2021.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Incentivizing Cold-Climate Efficiency in Juneau (Final Report)

This is the final technical report for the DOE EERE BTO project Incentivizing Cold-Climate Efficiency in Juneau. The project implemented a community energy campaign to deploy heat pumps and efficiency for residents of Juneau, in Southeast Alaska. The project helped Juneau make progress towards its renewable energy goal of reaching 80% renewable energy for space heating by 2045. The Incentivizing Cold-Climate Efficiency in Juneau (ICE-Juneau) project began in 2020 and concluded three years later in 2023. During that time, a group of implementation partners and a research advisory team instituted a beneficial electrification campaign to promote energy savings and carbon reduction in residences of Juneau, Alaska. The campaign, Thermalize Juneau, focused on the installation of single head ductless mini-split heat pumps along with other efficiency upgrades. Thermalize Juneau was the first campaign of its kind in Alaska. After several months of planning, registration opened to the public in early 2021, and over the course of six months 164 participants enrolled. Campaign staff provided education to homeowners on heat pumps and efficiency, and each participant received a one-on-one heat pump assessment using a custom Microsoft Excel-based calculator that estimated energy savings for their residence based on building characteristics and past utility bills. Participants could also obtain a free energy audit from one of the two local energy auditors to further inform their decision. A heat pump installer, electrician, and builder were selected via a competitive RFP process. Participants who felt ready to install a heat pump or other efficiency upgrades received a site visit and custom quote from each of these contractors free of charge, and if they still felt energy upgrades were right for them, could move forward with an individual contract. Participants received a $400 heat pump installation rebate, offered by the installer if 40 heat pump installations occurred through the campaign. Overall, the campaign facilitated 75 heat pump installations (including participants that went with another contractor or heat pump model) and 30 efficiency upgrades (including participants that went with another builder or did DIY upgrades). The campaign created 3 new jobs as the heat pump installer hired an administrative assistant and two apprentices over the course of the campaign. It also helped Juneau work toward achieving its renewable energy goal of 80% renewable energy for space heating by 2045 by upgrading houses from fuel oil to heat pumps powered by the hydropower electric grid. Researchers conducted four surveys to inform Thermalize Juneau and future energy campaigns. The first surveyed existing and prospective heat pump owners in Juneau to identify barriers the campaign could address and inform recruitment efforts. Entry and exit surveys provided information on participant demographics, goals, outcomes, and suggestions for improving future campaigns. And a final survey of community members who had not participated in Thermalize Juneau gave insight on ways future campaigns could include a greater diversity of participants so they could realize similar benefits. Researchers also used pre-campaign energy modeling to predict energy savings, which was then compared to the savings estimated through aggregation of heat pump assessments and energy audits, and later to actual energy savings of 10 participants who installed a heat pump and were able to provide complete energy use data sets. In addition to energy savings, and to assist the electric utility in future planning efforts, researchers analyzed the overall change in electric use across participants with energy data and heat pump installations. They also completed a life cycle cost analysis, showing positive net present values for those displacing a fuel oil appliance, and a more mixed case for those switching from electric baseboard. This project proved the feasibility of energy campaigns, with a goal of beneficial electrification, in cold, remote locations. The Thermalize Juneau team compiled a Guidebook to Thermalize Campaigns, available online. In addition to documenting what occurred in Alaska’s first thermalize campaign, it provides tips and resources for other communities wishing to implement a similar program.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Hands-On PV Experience (HOPE) Workshop, Final Technical Report FY22-FY24

The Hands-On Photovoltaics Experience, or HOPE, is a one-week school held at NLR each summer to educate graduate student photovoltaic researchers in the fundamentals of photovoltaics (PV) as well as specific cell technologies and measurement & characterization techniques. The program brings students from universities across the U.S. and their faculty advisors to spend a week in an in-depth, intensive program, including hands-on lab experiences in solar cell fabrication and testing. This program is intended to educate the students and increase collaboration among the students, their advising faculty, and staff at NLR. Our survey results consistently indicate high satisfaction with this program and good student outcomes post-HOPE. HOPE is a selective program with a competitive application process and is limited to 12-20 students each year. Keeping the program small enables a high level of interaction among the students and individualized attention from the faculty and staff.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantifying T Cell Cross-Reactivity: Influenza and Coronaviruses

If viral strains are sufficiently similar in their immunodominant epitopes, then populations of cross-reactive T cells may be boosted by exposure to one strain and provide protection against infection by another at a later date. This type of pre-existing immunity may be important in the adaptive immune response to influenza and to coronaviruses. Patterns of recognition of epitopes by T cell clonotypes (a set of cells sharing the same T cell receptor) are represented as edges on a bipartite network. We describe different methods of constructing bipartite networks that exhibit cross-reactivity, and the dynamics of the T cell repertoire in conditions of homeostasis, infection and re-infection. Cross-reactivity may arise simply by chance, or because immunodominant epitopes of different strains are structurally similar. We introduce a circular space of epitopes, so that T cell cross-reactivity is a quantitative measure of the overlap between clonotypes that recognize similar (that is, close in epitope space) epitopes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Overview of the Neutron Radiography Reactor (NRAD) for Neutron Imaging and In-Core Experiment Capabilities at Idaho National Laboratory

NRAD is a 250-kilowatt TRIGA research reactor that first went online at INL in 1977. (TRIGA stands for Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics.) Historically, NRAD was utilized as a neutron radiography reactor that provides comprehensive, non-destructive information about the internal condition of irradiated nuclear fuel. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has multiple nuclear fuels research and development programs that routinely evaluate irradiated fuels using neutron radiography at NRAD. In recent years, NRAD has gone through a transformation from the single purpose radiography reactor for which it was designed into a multipurpose research reactor, and expanding its in-core irradiation capabilities to support a broader mission for the US Department of Energy (DOE) Nuclear Energy (NE) programs, Basic Energy Science (BES) Programs, as well as Fusion Energy programs. NRAD is a designated user facility under the DOE Nuclear Science User Facility (NSUF) program, and is available for access for general public via a competitive proposal process. More information about NSUF and NRAD are available from the website: https://nsuf.inl.gov/Home/Facility/654.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Bulk Anion Recognition Kinetically Holds Back Interfacial Adsorption

The competition between bulk and interfacial phenomena underlies many key processes in complex chemical phenomena and transport. While competitive processes are often framed in a thermodynamic context, opportunities to leverage transient species found away from equilibrium can provide a kinetic handle to achieve unconventional reaction outcomes. In this work, we outfit an iminoguanidinium headgroup capable of selective SO 4 2– complexation with alkyl tails of varying complexity to probe competitive bulk and interfacial reaction pathways and tune kinetic pathways for selective chemical separations. Using sum frequency generation (SFG) vibrational spectroscopy we unexpectedly find that adsorption of ligands to the air–aqueous interface was dramatically slowed down for species with increasingly hydrophobic tails. Underlying this phenomenon, we show that the formation of bulk colloidal species with differing propensities for SO 4 2– inhibited surface adsorption via a kinetic bottleneck in the exchange of molecular extractants with colloidal aggregates. This kinetic effect could open up avenues to access unconventional selectivity via complexation of strongly coordinating species in the bulk phase, allowing for more weakly coordinating species to transport via interfacial mechanisms. Furthermore, this work broadly probes nonequilibrium phenomena in chemical separations that arise through unexpected interfacial events that are neglected in traditional equilibrium descriptions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗