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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 631 records · Page 35
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

An Action Plan for Rail Energy and Emissions Innovation

The Action Plan for Rail Energy and Emissions Innovation proposes actions to reduce and nearly eliminate emissions in the U.S. rail sector, in line with the U.S. economy-wide goal of net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. It also proposes actions to leverage the rail system to reduce emissions from other modes. The national goal of achieving a zero-emission freight system by 2050 draws our attention to the fact that freight transport cannot be addressed simply mode by mode, but it should instead be treated as an interdependent system. This is especially true when pursuing decarbonization. This action plan presents how both rail transport and decarbonization intersect with our national transportation decarbonization blueprint, the decarbonization of the freight system, and national transmission goals. The intended audience of this report is the stakeholders who will advance rail decarbonization in a just and economical way by propelling the suite of actions listed here. This includes government at all levels, rail companies, locomotive manufacturers, labor unions, Amtrak, and more.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Technical Geothermal Roadmap for Indonesia

The technical geothermal roadmapping exercise described by this report is part of the NZW Collaborative Work Program with the Government of Indonesia. Indonesia currently has the second largest installed geothermal power generation capacity in the world and has abundant undeveloped resources that allow for continued expansion of its geothermal resource development, which can serve to contribute to the country’s goal of achieving net zero emissions for power generation by 2060. The DOE GeoVision study (2019) highlighted the importance of technical improvements as the key for accelerating the development of geothermal resources in the United States by reducing the costs and risks to make geothermal more competitive, and this also applies to Indonesia. The main objective of the roadmap is to identify and discuss key technical challenges and discuss how implementation of geothermal technology advances could reduce the risks, costs, and time associated with geothermal exploration and development activities and expand the potential resource base to include unconventional resource types, thus accelerating geothermal deployment in Indonesia.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Circular Home: Development and Demonstration of a Net Negative Carbon, Reusable Residence

This project started the development of an innovative modular building system intended for residential construction. The project was centered around single-family homes that were carbon-negative cradle-to-grave over a 100 year time frame, which is approximately double the current standard for operational life. The project sought to accomplish this objective by designing the modular home in a manner that ensures circularity, where the main house components can be used over several consecutive 50-year lifespans. To accomplish these objectives, this project utilized integrated design with the inclusion of life-cycle assessment to design the single-family house for architectural, structural, energy, mechanical, thermal, and moisture demands, while ensuring carbon negativity and annual net-zero energy use. The core technology of this project was the use of cross-laminated timber and biogenic materials, such as wood-fiber insulation, in the construction of the modular building units. The robustness and factory manufacturing ability of cross-laminated timber allow for factory construction of most of the home, which minimizes on-site time, saving money and reducing construction waste. During this project, initial milestones were met that delivered the architectural plans for the circular home and an initial structural testing matrix. Compared to current code-built homes, which average 13 kg CO2eq. / ft2 and are demolished at their end of life, the circular home has an estimated -30 kg CO2eq. / ft2 of embodied carbon emissions during its first build iteration. It is estimated that approximately 60%-70% of the total building mass could be reused and/or recycled during subsequent rebuilds. This project was concluded at approximately the 1/3 point and a separate project was established to conclude the remaining milestones. This project promises to benefit the public by delivering another option for single-family, and eventually multi-family, housing using a novel building construction system. The system of reusable modular construction facilitates not only lower emissions during the first building iteration, but also lower emissions during subsequent iterations that drastically reduce waste and help society meet its climate goals. Many other industries, such as clothing and technology sectors, are starting to focus on circularity and this project adds the residential building construction industry to that list.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Phase II Cost-Benefit Analysis: Economic Impact Assessment For Indonesia Building Sector Whole-Building Cooling Solutions

The Net Zero World (NZW) Initiative Collaborative Work Program with the Government of Indonesia (GoI) includes technical assistance and investment mobilization facilitation to accelerate deployment of energy efficiency technologies and solutions for the building sector. A February 2023 US–Indonesia Joint Workshop on Decarbonizing the Building Sector yielded a NZW Indonesia Building Decarbonization Working Group (NZW IBDWG) with four sub working groups (SWGs): SWG-A National Center, SWG-B Capacity Building, SWG-C Investment and Financing, and SWG-D Pilot Projects.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Onshore U.S. Carbon Pipeline Deployment: Siting, Safety, and Regulation

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology has significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impact of climate change, particularly in hard-to-decarbonize industrial and commercial sectors. Unless utilization or storage occurs at the same location as carbon capture, which is rare, carbon must be transported from a point source to a utilization or storage site. Pipelines offer significant advantages for large-scale transportation of carbon dioxide over other methods. While studies show that reaching net-zero carbon emissions in the United States by 2050 will require between 29,000 and 66,000 miles of carbon pipelines, the U.S. had deployed fewer than 6,000 miles of carbon pipelines by 2022. Although closing this gap is important to achieving low-carbon goals, carbon pipelines operate in a complex and uncertain local, state and federal regulatory landscape and face public concerns about safety and siting. This report covers numerous regulatory issues surrounding carbon pipeline development, including the current narrow federal definition of carbon dioxide and the considerable variation in state and local governments’ laws and regulations. The report serves as a primer for regulators and stakeholders who seek to better understand the regulatory challenges and opportunities facing this critical infrastructure

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hydrogen Applications for Energy Transition in Port and Airport Operations at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) is focused on achieving meaningful reductions in emissions as part of its environmental sustainability efforts. To reach its 2030 target for reducing Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions and its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, PANYNJ is exploring a range of energy solutions, including hydrogen technologies. This report evaluates the potential role of hydrogen in reducing emissions across key operational areas: vehicles, equipment, stationary power, aviation propulsion, and marine propulsion. It examines hydrogen's technical feasibility, infrastructure needs, and economic implications within PANYNJ's operational context. The findings aim to inform decisions as PANYNJ transitions to cleaner energy sources and reduces environmental impacts. Based on the existing literature and stakeholders' feedback, the report outlines both opportunities and challenges associated with hydrogen integration, providing insights to guide PANYNJ's future sustainability initiatives.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2025

CalTestBed - Twelve Benefit Co - Understanding Degradation of Water Management Properties in Gas Diffusion Layers (CRADA Final Report)

The research between Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Twelve Benefit Co. enhanced Twelve’s understanding of how chemical changes to the gas diffusion layer lead to failure of their CO 2 electrolyzers. During the CRADA period, LBNL team tested Twelve’s gas diffusion layer samples (GDL), some with microporous layer (MPL) and some without MPL using the water-air capillary pressure setup. LBNL team also tested microporous layer samples using the fuel cell test stands and compared those results with commercial GDL and MPL. Understanding the hydrophobicity of the material, along with electrochemical performance is the key to determining Twelve’s ability to scale their platform. Further improvements to Twelve’s CO 2 electrolyzer can enhance the net zero emissions with their technology.

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

Materials FY 2021 Annual Progress Report

The Materials Technology subprogram supports the VTO’s mission to accelerate the deployment of clean energy technology toward achieving net-zero emissions in the transportation sector. Lighter vehicles with more efficient powertrains reduce energy use, decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and save consumers money.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Integrated Off-gas System: A Preconceptual Design of an Integrated Off-Gas Treatment System

The U.S. has a vested interest in the advancement of nuclear energy to achieve aggressive net-zero goals, with reprocessing and recycling of used nuclear fuels (UNF) playing a vital role. It will not be possible to meet U.S. regulatory requirements without robust off-gas treatment, so it is crucial to advance treatment technologies to facilitate the design of future reprocessing facilities. For many years, teams of researchers across the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratory complex have been investigating off-gas treatment technologies for the capture and removal of volatile radionuclides (i.e., 85 Kr, Xe, 14 C, and 129 I) and oxides of nitrogen (NO X ) that are produced from reprocessing. These investigations have been focused on developing individual technologies for the capture of Kr, Xe, iodine, and CO 2 . Capture technologies for each constituent were tested independently from one another by utilizing nonradioactive surrogates to simulate simplified off-gas streams. The tests have been relatively small, laboratory-scale experiments of up to approximately 1 L/minute total gas flow rate. To increase the readiness of these technologies for deployment, an integrated test system with a larger-scale capacity is needed to bridge the gap between promising bench scale and fully scalable UNF reprocessing off-gas treatment. This document contains the goals, design basis, functional requirements, preconceptual design, and cost estimates for an integrated off-gas demonstration system for the capture and removal of NO x , Kr, Xe, CO 2 , and iodine at 10× higher throughput than earlier laboratory studies. The order-of-magnitude cost estimate for this system is approximately $\$$886,000. Next phases include conceptual design, detailed design, fabrication, and commissioning.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Colorado (Pueblo) Regional DAC Hub TA-1: Feasibility (Phase 0a) (Final Technical Report)

This project supports the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) mission to reduce the environmental and climate impacts of fossil fuels and industrial processes, contributing to the goal of achieving net-zero emissions across the U.S. economy. The primary objective is to conduct a feasibility study for a Regional Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hub in the Southern Colorado region, northeast of Pueblo. The geographic construct of this hub is based on the Denver-Julesburg Basin – a geological area where a significant number of geological storage studies have been conducted (See Figure 1). The project will leverage the work of Project Eos, a CarbonSAFE Phase III study led by the Colorado School of Mines and CarbonAmerica. The DAC Hub aims to capture, store, and/or utilize at least 1,000,000 tonnes of CO 2 from the atmosphere annually. To achieve this, the project team is designing a system with an initial capacity of 100,000 tonnes per year. This feasibility-stage project will formulate the Regional DAC Hub concept and team to conduct the relevant analysis, networking and community stakeholder engagement necessary to advance the project to the design stage.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Florida Regional DAC Hub

This project supported the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) mission to reduce the environmental and climate impacts of fossil fuels and industrial processes, contributing to the goal of achieving net-zero emissions across the U.S. economy. The primary objective is to conduct a feasibility study for a Regional Direct Air Capture (DAC) Hub in Bay County, Florida. This hub takes advantage of the region’s deep, permeable saline aquifers (Tuscaloosa Group, 1,500–2,150 meters deep), which have been the focus of numerous geological storage studies.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Low-Temperature Plasma-Based Metrology of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrode Materials (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, SirenOpt Inc. evaluated its low-temperature plasma-based metrology sensor prototype for measuring multiple critical properties of lithium-ion battery electrode materials in parallel and in real-time. Cost-effective, minimal-waste manufacturing of high-performance battery electrode materials will be vital for achieving society’s net-zero carbon emission goals. Because existing electrode metrology sensors cannot operate within most sections of manufacturing lines, manufacturers often complete hundreds of processing steps before they can test their products and detect problems. When manufacturers perform these offline tests, they typically only test a small portion of the manufactured products. Current electrode manufacturing thus often yields many low-quality products, or off-spec products that must be thrown away all together. For example, at least 6% of the total lithium-ion battery manufacturing cost (i.e., over $250 million/year for the average gigafactory) is devoted to processing defective electrodes that are not scrapped until performance tests are failed during late-stage quality control checks. Electrode variability also leads manufacturers to build extra cells into battery packs to reduce the risk of poor performance. For example, many electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers include up to 10% more cells than needed, which substantially increases the cost and weight of the final EV product. The SirenOpt sensor can potentially enable early detection of poorly manufactured electrodes and allow them to be removed earlier from manufacturing lines, which can save battery manufacturers (hundreds of) millions of dollars per year. The sensor can further be used to improve product quality by accelerating R&D and process optimization, improving quality control, and enabling real-time process control. Overall, a real-time, in-situ metrology strategy can create unprecedented opportunities for implementation of smart manufacturing practices and advanced quality and process control solutions to realize higher battery electrode throughput and performance.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Singapore-US Feasibility Study on Regional Energy Connectivity

There is strong potential amongst the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to adopt subsea interconnectors and benefit from increased energy trade and decarbonization benefits. As part of the Net Zero World Initiative, co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Energy Market Authority of Singapore, the technical and economic potential for such connectivity was investigated. This interim report provides a summary of the economic and technical feasibility analysis conducted related to increasing regional connectivity in Southeast Asia via subsea cables.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Energy Program Innovation Cluster for Equity and Health in Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (Final Technical Report)

The EPIC Buildings program was created to target Central New York’s (CNY) Energy Program Innovation Cluster, focused on developing energy hardware innovations for next-generation grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEB). The goals of the program were to establish and grow a sustainable regional innovation cluster for GEB in CNY and support the ambitious transition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Environmental Evaluation of Gas Switching Reforming for Low Carbon Hydrogen: A Power-to-X Study

Gas Switching Reforming for hydrogen production (GSR-H2) offers a promising pathway for producing low-carbon hydrogen at scale, with significant implications for Power-to-X (PtX) systems that rely on clean hydrogen as a feedstock for synthetic fuels and chemicals. GSR-H2 integrates inherent carbon capture and thermal self-sufficiency, positioning it as an efficient alternative to conventional steam methane reforming (SMR), proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis, and chemical looping reforming (CLR). Unlike SMR, GSR-H2 avoids external natural gas combustion by leveraging exothermic redox cycles to generate process steam and recover electricity internally. Its innovative reactor design consolidates all reforming stages within a single reactor cluster, eliminating the need for solid circulation found in CLR, thereby reducing capital costs and improving system reliability and scalability. This presentation describes the first environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of GSR-H2, evaluating its environmental performance across U.S. grid and renewable energy scenarios. In a renewables-powered configuration, GSR-H2 achieves a global warming potential (GWP) of 2.77 kg CO2 equivalent per kg H2, substantially lower than SMR (10.4 kg) and competitive with PEM electrolysis (1.85 kg) and CLR (1.84 kg). Results across additional impact categories, including air quality and water use, support GSR-H2’s role as a complementary hydrogen source in PtX applications. Its reduced environmental burden, thermal integration, and simplified scale-up potential make GSR-H2 a viable contributor to net-zero PtX systems, particularly where renewable energy is abundant and electricity-intensive hydrogen production faces economic or infrastructure constraints.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Engineering-Scale Validation of Novel Algae CO 2 Capture and Bioproducts Technology

The purpose of this project was to advance and scale the algae-based technology Helios-NRG has been developing for capture of CO 2 from the flue gas of coal-burning power plants with conversion of the CO 2 to high-value products. In order to encourage the process becoming commercial and be adoptable, it is essential that the cost of CO 2 be close to net zero or slightly revenue positive. Two methods to achieve this are reducing the cost of operations through efficiencies and selling of products derived from conversion. Helios and the project team partners have accomplished the goals of furthering the technology to be more scalable and substantially lower cost with a defined pathway for commercialization.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2023

High Efficiency 2-Bladed Utility Wind Turbine Enhanced by CoFlow Jet Active Flow Control

The aerodynamic performance and power output of a high efficiency Co-Flow Jet (CFJ) 2-bladed Wind Turbine is studied in this paper. CFJ is a Zero-Net-Mass-Flux (ZNMF) active flow control method that dramatically increases airfoil lift coefficient and suppresses flow separation at a low energy expenditure. The 3D Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with one-equation Spalart-Allmaras (SA) turbulence model are solved to simulate the 3D flows of the wind turbines. The CFJ-Wind Turbine in this paper is modified from the NREL 3-bladed 3.4 MW reference wind turbine with the same RPM, blade length, distribution of chord, twist, and bending. The CFJ 2-bladed wind turbine utilizes the CFJ-NACA 64 series airfoils at most of the blade span from 31.88\% to the tip. The CFJ injection and suction slots are implemented along the full blade span to enhance the effectiveness and power output. The study shows that the 2-bladed CFJ turbine significantly increases power output compared with the 3-bladed baseline turbine at all wind speeds by 15.8\% at the wind speed of 9.8 m/s and by 25.9\% at 4 m/s respectively. The efficiency enhancement is substantially more at the low wind speed than at high wind speed. This would be very beneficial to increase the annual power output or capacity factor as wind turbines work at the speeds lower than the rated speed for most of the time. The results show that the flow field around the blade surface presents a significant enhanced suction peak near the blade leading edge, which results in a very high tangential force and thus increased wind turbine net power coefficient. Consistent with the previous study for the small NREL Phase VI research wind turbine, this paper demonstrates that CFJ 2-bladed wind turbine is an effective technology to extract more power from the wind at all speeds. This study is just an initial effort to demonstrate the advantage of the CFJ blade with no design optimization. It is believed that there is more potential to further enhance the efficiency improvement.

active flow control↗
DOE OSTI2023

Development of Prototypical District-Scale Models

The U.S. has set the climate goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. District-scale solutions, which include scale-specific opportunities for energy and emissions savings, can be investigated and implemented to help accelerate decarbonization and progress toward this goal. However, there is currently a lack of district-scale models of buildings and community energy systems that can be used to evaluate potential district-scale technologies and strategies across a range of representative community types. This initial work aims to define and develop prototype district models that can be adapted to support the planning, design, and operation of buildings and energy systems in districts considering the complexity and interactions of diverse building loads, weather impacts, distributed energy resources (e.g., PV, EV, electric and thermal energy storage), electric and thermal grid systems, and pricing signals. An overall workflow for developing these prototype district models is established. Stakeholders and potential users of the prototype district models provided technical feedback. The specifications of the selected high priority districts were defined and documented in a scorecard format. An example prototype district model was implemented with the URBANopt platform workflows. A case study was performed to demonstrate the model application.

building energy modeling↗