Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “collaborative partnerships”

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 523 records · Page 29
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

New opportunities in produced water management: A market-based approach to produced water trading

Produced water (PW) is a byproduct of oil and gas (O&G) production. Obtained alongside the more valuable energy products, PW is usually characterized by high levels of salinity and often contains many contaminants (chemicals, soluble and insoluble oil, organics, etc.) making it unsuitable for release without substantial treatment. Couple this with the fact that PW is typically obtained at multiple times the rate of oil or gas, and the added transport, treatment, and disposal costs become a serious challenge for operators. These realities have led to ad-hoc practices including cooperation between industry competitors to recycle, share, or otherwise mitigate PW costs. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in partnership with the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) is pursuing novel technology solutions to address PW issues that complement or improve ad-hoc practices adopted by operators. In this paper, we observe that well-established market management practices used in electrical power generation have natural analogues in the PW supply chain. These parallels open up a new line of research where we view PW management as a market equilibrium problem, and explore solutions that foster active and data-based collaboration among operators through market structures similar to power markets, with the ultimate objective of improving PW management costs and recycling rates. Here, we make a case for our observations, present a PW market clearing optimization model that shows how such a market system could operate in the O&G space, and provide an illustrative case study for demonstration.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Building Capacity to Use Earth Observations for Water Resource Management Applications: A Summary of NASA’s DEVELOP Program and Projects in Central and South America

NASA’s DEVELOP program engages individuals and organizations in 10-week feasibility studies to apply NASA Earth observations (EO) to decision makers’ needs. Since 2018, DEVELOP conducted 21 projects in Central and South America, eight of those in collaboration with Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana (SICA) and its member state partner agencies. These projects addressed a diverse set of community needs across multiple themes, including five that explored the use of both spaceborne and airborne EO to assess coastal water quality related to SDG monitoring of natural resources in Belize and Honduras, evaluating evapotranspiration and water balance in Argentina, and characterizing vegetation water use for informed water management in Panama. This poster introduces DEVELOP, its approach to capacity building, key partnerships, and project results highlighting the capabilities of EO for enhanced decision making in the area of sustainable water management.

Capacity Building↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

3GPP Telecommunications Technology on the Moon

Under NASA’s Artemis program, NASA is planning to send astronauts back to the Moon in the next couple of years. Near term missions will be analogous but much more sophisticated versions of the last couple of Apollo missions. However, unlike Apollo, this time NASA intends to put the infrastructure in place to support long term human presence and eventual industrialization of the Moon. To make this vision a reality, NASA plans to collaborate with commercial and international partners as much as possible as opposed to developing, building, and operating equipment on its own. Lunar infrastructure will eventually be built over time by many organizations, public and private, to support sustained human exploration, science, and industrial activities. Obviously, this vision for the future will be impossible without a robust lunar communications and navigation system that can support many users with varying degrees of services. On Earth, most people are very familiar with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 5G mobile telecommunications technology. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation office would like to see a lunar communications and navigation network with similar capabilities to the cellular communication networks most of us enjoy today. Building such a network will require participation by many organizations. This paper will provide an overview of NASA’s interest in using 5G and beyond on the lunar surface; it will also describe current work based on 3GPP standards within NASA or funded by NASA, such as Nokia’s upcoming Tipping Point demonstration of 4G / LTE on the lunar surface.

Bernard Edwards↗
NASA NTRS2010

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission: Overview and U.S. Status

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission is an international satellite mission designed to unify and advance precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational microwave sensors. NASA and JAXA will deploy the GPM Core Observatory carrying an advanced radar-radiometer system to serve as a physics observatory and a transfer standard for inter-calibration of constellation radiometers. The GPM Core Observatory is scheduled for launch in July 2013. NASA will provide a second radiometer to be flown on a partner-provided GPM Low-Inclination Observatory to enhance the near real-time monitoring of hurricanes and mid-latitude storms. JAXA will also contribute data from the Global Change Observation Mission-Water (GCOM-W) satellite. Additional partnerships are under development to include microwave radiometers on the French-Indian Megha-Tropiques satellite and U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites, as well as cross-track scanning humidity sounders on operational satellites such as the NPP, POES, JPSS, and MetOp satellites, which are used to improve the precipitation sampling over land. Brazil has in its national space plan for a GPM low-inclination radiometer, and data from Chinese and Russian microwave radiometers could potentially become available through international collaboration under the auspices of the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and Group on Earth Observations (GEO). The current generation of global rainfall products combines observations from a network of uncoordinated satellite missions using a variety of merging techniques. GPM will provide "next-generation" precipitation data products characterized by: (1) more accurate instantaneous precipitation measurement (especially for light rain and cold-season solid precipitation), (2) more frequent sampling by an expanded constellation of microwave radiometers including operational humidity sounders over land, (3) intercalibrated microwave brightness temperatures from constellation radiometers within a unified framework, and (4) physical-based precipitation retrievals from constellation radiometers using a common a priori cloud/hydrometeor database constructed from GPM Core sensor measurements. As a science mission with integrated application goals, GPM will (1) provide new measurement standards for precipitation estimation from space, (2) improve understanding of precipitation physics, the global water cycle variability, and freshwater availability, and (3) advance weather/climate/hydrological prediction capabilities to directly benefit the society. An overview of the GPM mission concept, NASA program status, science activities in the United States, as well as a wide range of international scientific collaborations in radiometer inter-calibration, retrieval algorithm development, and ground validation will be presented.

Hou, Arthur Y.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Power Sector Transformation Pathways: Exploring Objectives, Factors, and Technology Innovations to Inform Power Sector Pathway Decisions

The power and heating sectors are responsible for around 30% of global CO2 emissions and this share is likely to grow as countries move towards electrification of the transportation and building sectors. Therefore, enabling forward-thinking, long term strategies in the power sector is a crucial area for international collaboration and support. The rapid transition of power systems toward modern, low-carbon pathways and technologies will be necessary to meet key climate goals while also enabling other critical objectives such as economic development, energy access, and energy system resiliency, among others. Many developed and developing countries are well-poised to champion power sector transformation (PST), however, further support is needed to identify pathways and implement critical near and long-term actions. To address this need, the Low Emission Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP) together with an expert team including Agora Energiewende, Energy Innovation, European Climate Foundation, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research , Prayas Energy Group and LEDS Latin America and Caribbean Platform, developed a framework identifying four key pathways that can be integrated and combined to support low-carbon PST. These four pathways are: (1) Distributed Energy Resource Revolution, (2) Bulk Power Transformation, (3) Transmission and Distribution Interactivity, and (4) Distributed Transactional Future. To support exploration of pathways, this study examines PST objectives and factors that may lead countries or jurisdictions to place a greater relative emphasis on certain pathways as well as a framework and complementary tool for considering the emphasis in a hands on manner. The report provides case studies on application of the approach to bring life to the topic. The case studies include Haiti, Kenya, Mexico, Southeast Asia, and the European Union, among others. The report also presents actions to-be-taken in the near-, medium- and long-term to support the realization of pathways and long-term transformation of the power sector. The report, together with a complementary spreadsheet tool developed under the effort, can be used to enable stakeholder engagement and visioning for the power sector over the long-term, taking into account key factors and potential innovations. It can also be used to understand and inform relevant analysis tools and models based on which pathways are emphasized, and to identify key actions in the near- and medium-term to avoid lock-in of carbon-intensive technologies.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
NASA NTRS2014

The NASA Solar System Exploration Virtual Institute: International Efforts in Advancing Lunar Science with Prospects for the Future

The NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), originally chartered in 2008 as the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI), is chartered to advance both the scientific goals needed to enable human space exploration, as well as the science enabled by such exploration. NLSI and SSERVI have in succession been "institutes without walls," fostering collaboration between domestic teams (7 teams for NLSI, 9 for SSERVI) as well as between these teams and the institutes' international partners, resulting in a greater global endeavor. SSERVI teams and international partners participate in sharing ideas, information, and data arising from their respective research efforts, and contribute to the training of young scientists and bringing the scientific results and excitement of exploration to the public. The domestic teams also respond to NASA's strategic needs, providing community-based responses to NASA needs in partnership with NASA's Analysis Groups. Through the many partnerships enabled by NLSI and SSERVI, scientific results have well exceeded initial projections based on the original PI proposals, proving the validity of the virtual institute model. NLSI and SSERVI have endeavored to represent not just the selected and funded domestic teams, but rather the entire relevant scientific community; this has been done through many means such as the annual Lunar Science Forum (now re-named Exploration Science Forum), community-based grass roots Focus Groups on a wide range of topics, and groups chartered to further the careers of young scientists. Additionally, NLSI and SSERVI have co-founded international efforts such as the pan-European lunar science consortium, with an overall goal of raising the tide of lunar science (and now more broadly exploration science) across the world.

Institute↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Eleven Countries, an Integrated Spacecraft: the Story of International Collaboration that Built the Orion Spacecraft and Powered the Success of the Artemis I Mission

The quest to return humans to the Moon in the next step towards humanity's exploration of space is more alive than ever. After a great deal of achievements, failures, and lessons learned, the Artemis I mission set o to the Moon on November 16, 2022, with the goal of testing a new rocket, the Space Launch System, and a new spacecraft, Orion: designed, assembled, and tested across two continents, and 11 countries. Behind this mission, decades of experience with the International Space Station, Autonomous Transfer Vehicle operations, and many other program collaborations built the know-how on how to succeed together in the toughest environment | deep space. The Artemis I mission proved to be an incredible success, meeting 161 total mission objectives, including 21 developed during the flight based on outperforming spacecraft. It was also a case-study in international collaboration, given that ESA, NASA, and industry partners Airbus and Lockheed Martin for the first time had to design, build, test, and fly a fully integrated human-rated spacecraft, with most critical functions dependent and interconnected across U.S. and European systems. The U.S.-built Orion Crew Module and Crew Module Adapter and European-built European Service Module (ESM) shared critical interfaces and commodities, from propulsion, avionics, active/passive thermal, electrical power generation, storage and distribution to the software that managed it all. In this paper, we will describe relevant aspects of the integrated spacecraft design, providing context for the challenges that the team faced in all phases required to get Orion ready to fly, and provide a direct account of how the joint team formed, trained, and supported the operations of the successful Artemis I mission. We will also explore the evolution of the partnerships, given that these allow a multi-national e ort to sustain the program production, share costs, leverage a broader base of engineering expertise, and build more diverse capabilities over the long haul to support the Artemis goals and objectives. Lastly, we will cover critical lessons learned and how the Orion Program has implemented these in preparation of the next Artemis missions to repeat the success of Artemis I. The purpose of this paper is to document knowledge we gained and lessons we learned through the development of an integrated Orion spacecraft, since it is imperative we build on this now, at the dawn of the Artemis Program, an international endeavor to push human space exploration.

Deep Space Exploration↗
NASA NTRS2004

Nebraska NativeGEM (Geospatial Extension Model)

This proposal, Nebraska NativeGEM (Geospatial Extension Model) features a unique diversity component stemming from the exceptional reputation NNSGC has built by delivering geospatial science experiences to Nebraska s Native Americans. For 7 years, NNSGC has partner4 with the 2 tribal colleges and 4 reservation school districts in Nebraska to form the Nebraska Native American Outreach Program (NNAOP), a partnership among tribal community leaders, academia, tribal schools, and industry reaching close to 1,OOO Native American youth, over 1,200 community members (Lehrer & Zendajas, 2001).NativeGEM addresses all three key components of Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) goals for advancing decision support, education, and workforce development through the GES. The existing long term commitments that the NNSGC and the GES have in these areas allow for the pursuit of a broad range of activities. NativeGEM builds upon these existing successful programs and collaborations. Outcomes and metrics for each proposed project are detailed in the Approach section of this document.

Bowen, Brent↗
DOE OSTI2021

Efficient exascale discretizations: High-order finite element methods

Efficient exploitation of exascale architectures requires rethinking of the numerical algorithms used in many large-scale applications. These architectures favor algorithms that expose ultra fine-grain parallelism and maximize the ratio of floating point operations to energy intensive data movement. One of the few viable approaches to achieve high efficiency in the area of PDE discretizations on unstructured grids is to use matrix-free/partially assembled high-order finite element methods, since these methods can increase the accuracy and/or lower the computational time due to reduced data motion. In this paper we provide an overview of the research and development activities in the Center for Efficient Exascale Discretizations (CEED), a co-design center in the Exascale Computing Project that is focused on the development of next-generation discretization software and algorithms to enable a wide range of finite element applications to run efficiently on future hardware. CEED is a research partnership involving more than 30 computational scientists from two US national labs and five universities, including members of the Nek5000, MFEM, MAGMA and PETSc projects. We discuss the CEED co-design activities based on targeted benchmarks, miniapps and discretization libraries and our work on performance optimizations for large-scale GPU architectures. We also provide a broad overview of research and development activities in areas such as unstructured adaptive mesh refinement algorithms, matrix-free linear solvers, high-order data visualization, and list examples of collaborations with several ECP and external applications.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS2023

The Assembly, Test, and Integration of LOFTID (Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelera-tor)

R.J. Bodkin Biography Mr. Bodkin worked in industry for a rapid prototype company focusing on UAVs and manned experimental aircraft. Later he served as the Inflation System Lead on IRVE-II and 3 and the Re-Entry Vehicle Lead for LOFTID at NASA Langley Research Center. Introduction: The Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), developed in partnership with United Launch Alliance (ULA) and flown in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2) satellite, demonstrated Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) technology has progressed and is ready for mission infusion. LOFTID’s success demonstrates that aeroshells are not limited to the internal diame-ter of the launch vehicle payload fairing, allowing larger payloads to be deployed to the surfaces of planetary bodies with atmospheres. The challenges of assembling, integrating, and testing this revolutionary spacecraft will be dis-cussed as well as issues associated with doing this with a fixed launch date the project did not control. Assembly: Because LOFTID flew as a rideshare partner with JPSS-2, it was constrained with addi-tional schedule, milestone, and technical require-ments that were beyond the project’s control. As-sembly of the LOFTID hardware was challenged with the normal mechanical fit issues while also having to navigate the SARS-COVID-II pandemic. Challenges ranged from availability of team per-sonnel required on-site for vehicle assembly to dif-ficulties associated with team collaboration while working remotely and increased costs and lead times of components due to supply chain con-straints. Numerous additional challenges cascaded from the additional time required. Integration: LOFTID flew as a secondary pay-load to JPSS-2 in a mission-unique configuration, directly under JPSS-2 primary payload, inside the Payload Adapter that integrated JPSS-2 to the Atlas V launch vehicle. A mission unique Payload Adapt-er Separation System (PASS) was required to sepa-rate the Payload Adapter from the Launch Vehicle prior to the start of the LOFTID flight demonstra-tion. Development of this system was challenging due to a shortened development schedule resulting from the iterative nature of Payload Adapter devel-opment with the partners at ULA. Preparations to integrate the main segments of the LOFTID vehicle posed unique challenges of having to accommodate issues with a fixed launch date that led to some cre-ative solutions to the integration. The partnership agreement with ULA and JPSS-2 resulted in a mass simulator designed to be installed late in the inte-gration in the event the LOFTID vehicle was not ready in time.. Test: LOFTID testing was carried out in several phases. Some components were tested at the com-ponent level, others at the sub-system levels and then finally the integrated vehicle level. This culmi-nated with the Complete Systems Test (CST) per-formed in a vacuum chamber as one of the final checkouts prior to disassembly for re-packing of the aeroshell. CST challenges will be discussed as well as obstacles encountered post-CST. After CST, the vehicle was disassembled so the HIAD could be repacked, and the vehicle was reassembled for ac-ceptance vibration testing. Testing concluded with the fully assembled vehicle being shipped to the launch site for final testing and integrations with the Payload Adapter to JPSS-2 for launch and opera-tions. Conclusion: The challenges posed by the AI&T for LOFTID could inform the planetary community of some of the opportunities and challenges of de-veloping technologies on a rideshare with a rela-tively small budget.

R.J. Bodkin↗
DOE OSTI2026

Proliferated Resilient Economical Half-Meter Aperture Space Telescopes (PREEMPT)

The PREEMPT LDRD was motivated by a major national need for better space-based imaging systems that are both high performing and affordable for the US Government. Current optical payloads for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and space domain awareness (SDA) missions can cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take years to develop, which makes it difficult to build the large constellations required for persistent, world-wide coverage. To address this, the team aimed to advance a different kind of large-aperture (>25 cm) telescope, called a monolithic telescope, in which key optical surfaces are built into a single piece of fused silica. This design greatly reduces payload and spacecraft complexity, the need for precision focus actuators, improves mechanical and thermal robustness, and lowers cost when compared with traditional Cassegrain telescopes that rely on many precisely aligned components. The project focused on five primary thrusts. The first thrust was to advance the concept of a V10, 25 cm, monolithic telescope forward from optical design to flight-ready stage. This was accomplished in partnership with Optimax, who delivered the first test unit in the early stages of the LDRD. The team developed several technologies necessary for this optic to be integrated into a flight demonstration. These include carbon fiber housings, highly detailed structural and thermal models and stress-reducing elastic averaging Hirth groove designs. These technologies resulted in a successful maturation of the optic, which is now slated to fly in late 2026/early 2027 for a demonstration mission. The second thrust was to advance the manufacturability of these optics. In collaboration with NIF’s optical manufacturing shop, we reduced polishing time from 480 hours to 65 hours through the implementation of optimized processes and new tools. The NIF team utilized a conceptual V8 (18 cm) optic to demonstrate this optimization, though it can be applied to the rest of the monolithic optic portfolio. Third, the team developed the first conceptual V20 (50 cm) payload, which is slated to be the next generation of LLNL optical payload systems. A set of structural, dynamic and thermal simulations were performed to identify potential challenges in the future development of this payload. Early-stage simulations suggest the payload is feasible, though thermal management will be the key focus area to maintain optimal performance. Fourth, a non-linear model of Viton was developed, to further enhance the reliability of our structural and dynamic models for future payloads. Viton acts as the primary interface material between the optic and its housing. Lastly, the team focused on successfully displaying the feasibility of using additively manufactured metal composites for optical space payloads. The team successfully demonstrated layer by layer deposition of Al-SiC composites, which have highly tunable structural and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) properties. These are crucial for optical payloads because CTE mismatch is one of the causes for degraded optical performance for telescopes in orbit. Overall, the work showed that monolithic telescopes could become a practical, lower-cost path to high-resolution space imaging for both national security and scientific missions.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS2014

Chapter 11: City-Wide Collaborations for Urban Climate Education

Although cities cover only 2 percent of the Earth's surface, more than 50 percent of the world's people live in urban environments, collectively consuming 75 percent of the Earth's resources. Because of their population densities, reliance on infrastructure, and role as centers of industry, cities will be greatly impacted by, and will play a large role in, the reduction or exacerbation of climate change. However, although urban dwellers are becoming more aware of the need to reduce their carbon usage and to implement adaptation strategies, education efforts on these strategies have not been comprehensive. To meet the needs of an informed and engaged urban population, a more systemic, multiplatform and coordinated approach is necessary. The Climate and Urban Systems Partnership (CUSP) is designed to explore and address this challenge. Spanning four cities-Philadelphia, New York, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC-the project is a partnership between the Franklin Institute, the Columbia University Center for Climate Systems Research, the University of Pittsburgh Learning Research and Development Center, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, New York Hall of Science, and the Marian Koshland Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences. The partnership is developing a comprehensive, interdisciplinary network to educate urban residents about climate science and the urban impacts of climate change.

Climate change↗
NASA NTRS2016

Transitioning Enhanced Land Surface Initialization and Model Verification Capabilities to the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD)

Flooding, severe weather, and drought are key forecasting challenges for the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD), based in Nairobi, Kenya. Atmospheric processes leading to convection, excessive precipitation and/or prolonged drought can be strongly influenced by land cover, vegetation, and soil moisture content, especially during anomalous conditions and dry/wet seasonal transitions. It is thus important to represent accurately land surface state variables (green vegetation fraction, soil moisture, and soil temperature) in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models. The NASA SERVIR and the Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) programs in Huntsville, AL have established a working partnership with KMD to enhance its regional modeling capabilities. SPoRT and SERVIR are providing experimental land surface initialization datasets and model verification capabilities for capacity building at KMD. To support its forecasting operations, KMD is running experimental configurations of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF; Skamarock et al. 2008) model on a 12-km/4-km nested regional domain over eastern Africa, incorporating the land surface datasets provided by NASA SPoRT and SERVIR. SPoRT, SERVIR, and KMD participated in two training sessions in March 2014 and June 2015 to foster the collaboration and use of unique land surface datasets and model verification capabilities. Enhanced regional modeling capabilities have the potential to improve guidance in support of daily operations and high-impact weather and climate outlooks over Eastern Africa. For enhanced land-surface initialization, the NASA Land Information System (LIS) is run over Eastern Africa at ~3-km resolution, providing real-time land surface initialization data in place of interpolated global model soil moisture and temperature data available at coarser resolutions. Additionally, real-time green vegetation fraction (GVF) composites from the Suomi-NPP VIIRS instrument is being incorporated into the KMD-WRF runs, using the product generated by NOAA/NESDIS. Model verification capabilities are also being transitioned to KMD using NCAR's Model *Corresponding author address: Jonathan Case, ENSCO, Inc., 320 Sparkman Dr., Room 3008, Huntsville, AL, 35805. Email: Jonathan.Case-1@nasa.gov Evaluation Tools (MET; Brown et al. 2009) software in conjunction with a SPoRT-developed scripting package, in order to quantify and compare errors in simulated temperature, moisture and precipitation in the experimental WRF model simulations. This extended abstract and accompanying presentation summarizes the efforts and training done to date to support this unique regional modeling initiative at KMD. To honor the memory of Dr. Peter J. Lamb and his extensive efforts in bolstering weather and climate science and capacity-building in Africa, we offer this contribution to the special Peter J. Lamb symposium. The remainder of this extended abstract is organized as follows. The collaborating international organizations involved in the project are presented in Section 2. Background information on the unique land surface input datasets is presented in Section 3. The hands-on training sessions from March 2014 and June 2015 are described in Section 4. Sample experimental WRF output and verification from the June 2015 training are given in Section 5. A summary is given in Section 6, followed by Acknowledgements and References.

land surface modeling↗
DOE OSTI2025

Makah Tribe Strategic Energy Plan

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP) connects remote and island communities, regional partners, and the DOE national laboratories to support communities as they seek to build resilience in their energy systems. The Makah Tribe faces several energy challenges, including frequent power outages and the potential for an extended outage due to an earthquake or tsunami. The Tribe joined ETIPP in 2022 to address those challenges, seeking to build energy resilience and sovereignty in the community. The Makah Tribe, Spark Northwest, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) collaborated to develop a strategic energy plan as part of the second cohort of ETIPP communities. The long-term energy vision of the Makah Tribe includes increasing energy efficiency in the community, improving energy management capacity, and developing the renewable energy generation and storage sufficient to independently power the Reservation for one year. Additionally, the ETIPP team worked with Makah leadership, staff, and community members to identify a set of community priorities, values, and goals to guide energy development as the Tribe takes the incremental steps toward their vision for energy sovereignty. Those energy values include ecosystem-based management, energy sovereignty and project ownership, workforce development and capacity, economic opportunity, community wellbeing and priorities, and emergency disaster resilience. To understand what would be needed for a year for energy independence, the PNNL team conducted an assessment to determine the current energy usage of the Tribe and also modeled several scenarios for future energy use. Using the energy usage values, the team estimated how two types of renewable energy technology, specifically locally deployed solar and small-scale wind, could contribute towards the energy independence goal. The energy baseline and resource assessment produced the following key findings:

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Key Takeaways: Second Cohort of Action Plans for Rapid Power Sector Decarbonization

A collaborative report from the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), Lessons Learned for Rapid Decarbonization of Power Sectors, was delivered to energy ministers and presented at the 13th CEM (CEM13) in the United States in September 2022. As a result, Action Plans for power sector decarbonization were developed by the first cohort of countries. The fist cohort included India, Australia, Chile, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. The first cohort's Action Plans were presented at CEM14 in India in July 2023. These Action Plans, supported by the 21st Century Power Partnership and other CEM workstreams via direct technical assistance and capacity building, are intended to focus on select implementation actions given each country's existing power sector goals and activities, and are an opportunity for countries to display leadership in power sector decarbonization. The second set of Action Plans has been developed by Brazil, Canada, the United States, and Uruguay, released at CEM15 in Brazil in October 2024.

21st Century Power Partnership↗
DOE OSTI2022

CLARIFYING THE NEXUS BETWEEN LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT AND CIRCULARITY INDICATORS: A SETAC/ACLCA INTEREST GROUP

Purpose Improving the circularity of resources is important to the sustainability of consumer goods. Current research has indicated that circularity practices and circular economy (CE) methods do not always reduce environmental impacts. The aim of this research is to investigate the adoption of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology to improve the environmental impacts of circularity practices. Methods As part of the Society for Environmental Toxicology And Chemistry (SETAC) forum, an interest group (IG) on Circularity and LCA was formed in partnership with the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (ACLCA) to tackle methodological and technical issues related to circularity in LCA. The IG’s research approach is summarized in four key steps: defining goals and objectives, literature review and gap analysis, ideation, and experimentation. The twelve active persons within this IG meet monthly and have been divided into four sub-working groups (sub-WGs) so that complementary tasks can be completed concurrently in an effective manner. Each sub-WG meets monthly and reports back to the main group for collaboration and brainstorming to meet the research objectives. Results and discussion First, the sub-WG #1, focusing on the “pool of circularity and LCA-based indicators”, analyzed the complementarity between two of the most used circularity indicators and LCA. Second, the sub-WG #2, working on the “evaluation of CE loops performance through LCA”, built a mind map of pain points that reflect the challenges that the LCA practitioners face when combining LCA with CE approaches. Third, the sub-WG #3, dealing with the “trade-offs between circularity and sustainability”, highlighted key alignments and/or conflicts between circularity and sustainability performance depending on the scope, product, industry, or system of analysis. Fourth, the sub-WG #4, focusing on “business and industrial cases”, plans to leverage the knowledge base developed within this IG to develop use cases documenting the benefits and challenges associated with CE-related loops modeling in LCA. Conclusions The first findings of this SETAC/ACLCA IG provide a state-of-the-art overview of the synergists of LCA methodology and the CE measurement frameworks reported in the literature. To move forward and capitalize on the first findings, one valuable point will be to discuss and provide concrete solutions to the pain points that emerged when considering circularity in LCA. Eventually, the knowledge base and resources created within this IG ultimately aim to support the proper application of LCA for practitioners in CE contexts, and could provide relevant inputs for the ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC 323 working on the upcoming standard for the measurement of CE performance.

Life cycle assessment, circular economy, circulari↗
DOE OSTI2022

Multimode Characterization Approach for Understanding Cell-Level PV Performance and Degradation

Cell-level degradation processes impact the economic viability and large-scale deployment prospects for both established and emerging photovoltaic (PV) technologies. This project addresses the need to develop experimental and device-modeling approaches for studying cell-level degradation processes in photovoltaic (PV) devices using a variety of characterization techniques that provide access to complementary material and device properties. Our results demonstrate that by coupling characterization results with device modeling it is possible to develop comprehensive understanding of processes leading to performance limitations and degradation. This project developed a suite of novel measurement techniques including pulsed-light-bias operando X-ray and photoelectron spectroscopy (popXPS), light-biased scanning microwave impedance microscopy (sMIM), and near-field transport imaging (TI). In addition, operando characterization methodologies and in situ stressing capabilities have been developed and applied for techniques including electron-beam-induced current (EBIC), cathodoluminescence (CL), and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). Device-physics models were developed and applied to simulate correlative, multi-mode measurements to extract material and device parameters that control performance degradation. These characterization and modeling techniques were applied in a multi-mode approach to probe cell-level degradation mechanisms in Cd(Se,Te) and hybrid perovskite PV devices. Together these efforts contribute to foundational PV degradation science by establishing a framework for understanding PV performance degradation at the cell level and benefit the U.S. PV industry by providing resources in the form of novel experimental capabilities, knowledge gained, and available expertise that can accelerate research and development of improved PV device materials and architectures. The project provided a comprehensive understanding of degradation in baseline Cd(Se,Te) solar cells provided by our collaborators at Colorado State University (CSU). EBIC and CL-based measurements and revealed unusual collection and recombination profiles in these devices, which underwent significant changes with during stressing. KPFM and operando XPS measurements showed that device stressing permanently alters energy-band alignments at the (Mg,Zn)O/Cd(Se,Te) interface, which in turn account for an observed loss in fill factor. Studies on hybrid perovskite devices were hampered to a significant extent by delays related to the pandemic. Nevertheless, a set of hybrid perovskite devices (supplied through an NREL-industry partnership) were stress tested and characterized with techniques including EBIC, sMIM, popXPS/popUPS and optically excited TI. Available results from these measurements informed the device modeling effort and suggest that defects and related band offsets at the C60/LiF/hybrid perovskite interface are the primary source of degradation in these devices.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Accelerating TEMPO Air Quality Science Through STAQS

Soon after the launch of Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) mission, NASA is supporting the Synergistic TEMPO Air Quality Science field study (STAQS) in summer 2023. This study’s main objective is to accelerate science with geostationary air quality observations from TEMPO to better understand its use in air pollution research and applications. Science objectives include, but are not limited to, TEMPO L2 product evaluation, the interpretation of the spatiotemporal evolution of TEMPO data during air quality events, assessment of anthropogenic emissions, contributions to chemical transport modeling, and environmental justice applications. These objectives can be accomplished through the integration of satellite data with systematically repeated high-resolution aircraft- and ground-based measurements in multiple urban environments. The primary urban cities considered include Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago in June-August 2023. Measurements consist of airborne remote sensing observations of air quality constituents of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), formaldehyde (HCHO), ozone, and aerosols using the GeoCape Airborne Simulator and High-Spectral Resolution Lidar 2/Differential Absorption Lidar (HSRL2/DIAL) on the NASA JSC G-V aircraft, greenhouse gas observations from Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer - Next Generation (AVIRIS-NG) and High Altitude Lidar Observatory (HALO) on the NASA LaRC G-III aircraft, and ground-based remote sensing and in situ observations of ozone, NO2, and HCHO from the Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet), Pandora spectrometers, and ground-based monitoring networks. Key partnership studies providing in situ airborne observations include the NOAA Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions Observed from Megacities to Marine Areas (AEROMMA) field study on the NASA DC-8 in the same primary target areas as STAQS and Greater New York Oxidant, Tropospheric Halogens, and Aerosol Measurements and Modeling (GOTHAMM) field study on the NSF C-130 near New York City. This presentation will include a current status update of the STAQS mission and an overview of its measurement strategies and science objectives with the goal of promoting continued discussions for building and strengthening collaborations prior to the mission.

Laura Judd↗