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DOE OSTI2023

Building a Computational and Experimental Rapid Response Pipeline to Counter the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Outbreak and Emerging Biothreats

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the promise of monoclonal antibody-based prophylactic and therapeutic drugs, especially where protective candidates can be rapidly identified or developed for emerging biothreats and escape variants. Current cutting-edge technologies for this purpose still rely on pathogen-exposed convalescent volunteers and a large screening effort to find a proverbial needle in a haystack. Computational design of protective antibodies based on pre-existing templates skips those requirements and allows for greater control over the breadth and target epitope, while also co-optimizing for potency and developability or other biophysical characteristics. We approached this problem by building and expanding an in vitro experimental rapid antibody production and characterization pipeline to support development of an autonomous, closed loop, active learning software system based on structural simulation and ground truth experimental data to design and evaluate antibody antigen interactions. Starting from early in the pandemic, we targeted SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19, by re-purposing neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-1 that had been identified in the wake of that outbreak in the early 2000’s. We successfully re-targeted three different anti-SARS-CoV-1 antibodies to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, where the antibodies were generated externally and tested through conventional binding and neutralization assays internally or with collaborators. As antibodies were identified from the blood of humans infected with SARS-CoV-2, we shifted to collaborate with academic partners to develop improved versions of their human-derived antibodies. This work reached its most important stage in rapid response to the emergence of the Omicron variant of concern (VOC) in late 2021. In a matter of weeks, enabled by on demand innovation to our screening pipeline, we computationally designed and experimentally characterized derivative antibodies of COV2-2130, one of two antibodies from Vanderbilt that form the basis of the AstraZeneca Evusheld prophylactic drug product. This drug product suffers a serious loss of efficacy against Omicron BA.1 and BA.1.1, the first Omicron strains. Due to tight integration of computational design and experimental evaluation, we were able to identify a pair of designs with potent neutralization of the main targets Omicron BA.1 and BA.1.1; but also the earlier Delta variant, and subsequent Omicron strains including BA.2, BA.4, BA.5, and BA.2.75, demonstrating that our multi-target design process can, by its nature, produce robust antibody designs that strictly improve over the parental antibody. These results, recognized by a 2022 Director’s Science and Technology award, have enabled the follow-on GUIDE program, to commence in FY23. While earlier design campaigns were substantially outsourced, we have engineered better and faster processes internally to better compliment, calibrate, and speed computational designs. As part of the follow-on GUIDE program, we will stand up a rapid and high-throughput antibody production and characterization facility staffed with the expertise and capabilities to foster our current collaboration across PLS and ENG as well as other partnerships toward computational design of biologics.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

Collaborative Research: Unravelling the Physics Associated with the Production of Extremely Dense Plasma States of Microscale (Final Report) Nanosecond-pulsed Discharges

The aim of this project is to study and establish the physical mechanisms that contribute to the formation of anomalously dense plasmas in high-pressure nanosecond-pulsed discharges. These discharges have a broad range of applications such as plasma-assisted combustion, plasma flow actuators, biomedical sterilization and exotic materials synthesis. The structure and formation of these discharges, producing high plasma densities of ~10 14 -10 15 cm -3 , are well-studied and understood. Fast-pulsed microscale high-pressure discharges can be driven to even higher densities of > 10 19 cm -3 , approaching warm dense matter conditions. The mechanisms that generate these plasmas have not been understood. Analysis of the warm dense matter state under laboratory conditions is an expensive and non-trivial endeavor. For instance, dense plasmas can be generated by electrical explosions of metal foils and wires. Plasmas generated after the explosion have a short lifetime and often present difficult conditions for diagnostics. Generation of dense plasmas was also achieved during high-voltage nanosecond pulsed discharges when the so-called explosive electron emission is obtained. Unfortunately, this process is very difficult to control for the studies of warm dense matter. In our recent study, we have shown that additional heating of plasma by lasers can further increase the density of plasma and even lead to the fully ionized state. This method, potentially, allows better control of the plasma parameters. In this work, we studied a second stage laser-heated micro-discharge using a self-consistent one-dimensional particle-in-cell Monte Carlo-collision (1D PIC-MCC) model coupled with Maxwell’s equations. We predicted the generation of a fully ionized plasma on the picosecond time scale. However, this model considered the plasma as an ideal gas despite the high pressure and the nearly fully ionized state. The ideal plasma model assumes that the dilute gas approximation is valid, where the inter-particle interactions are negligible. For charged particles this assumption holds as long as the shielded Coulomb potential assumption is valid. For very high plasma densities, this concept breaks down since the Debye sphere surrounding each charged particle no longer contains enough electrons to statistically provide the shielding of the single particle Coulomb interaction potential. At such densities, the plasma can no longer be described as ideal and non-ideal coupling effects need to be considered. In this report, we elucidate our recent work of developing a PIC-MCC model with improvements for non-ideal plasma conditions due to Coulomb coupling at high densities. In particular, we study the interaction of green light radiation and a dense microplasma, and explore the non-ideal plasma effects in this interaction. In this computational model, we implement the two most important non-ideal effects: ionization potential depression (IPD) and enhanced collision cross sections. Our primary goal is to study the physics associated with electromagnetic (EM) wave heating, also called the second-stage wave-heating, and establish the role of plasma non-ideality in this phenomenon. Our secondary goal is to improve the chemistry mechanism of the 1D PIC-MCC model by including a more detailed excited species collision treatment. At high pressures, stepwise ionization from excited species might play an important role in the ionization process. Previously, this ionization mechanism was neglected due to the excitation collision cross section of xenon being smaller than that of ionization. However, a preliminary study showed that the excited species density in the initial microplasma was an order of magnitude higher than the electron density. Therefore, my aim is to determine the significance of this additional ionization pathway to the plasma generation.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2019

Jiangsu Nanjing – Lawrence Berkeley Life Sciences Center for Translational Medicine (CRADA AWD00000392)

Project 1: Our previous work demonstrated that the CES biomarker can be an approximate measure for the levels of chromosomal instability (CIN) in cancer, and that the CES (for Centromere and kinetochore gene Expression Score) biomarker effectively predicts which cancer patients benefit from adjuvant chemotherapies in lung and other cancer types. Such a utility can potentially reduce overtreatment that is common in lung cancer treatment. We determined performance of the multiplex Quantigene RNA assay platform for measuring mRNA levels of CES genes using clinical tumor samples. These experiments determined sensitivity, specificity and detection limit of 12 CES genes and 5 control genes using clinical tumor samples with paired normal tissue samples. We determined how sample concentration and storage conditions affect measurement sensitivity and specificity, and whether sample storage over time affects result reproducibility. Importantly, we confirmed that early stage lung cancer CES values are significantly higher than those of paired normal tissues in all cases. This result greatly extended our bioinformatic data mining by confirming that we can measure CES values directly from patient tumor tissue, and that tumors have higher CES values than normal tissues. Unfortunately, our CRADA partner in China did not finish measuring CES expression levels for a larger group of ~100 tumor samples, due to the long period time required for human subject review in China. This delay prevented us from generating enough additional data to generate a significant statistical model. We finished analyzing all the data acquired during the CRADA, and are trying to work collaboratively with the Shanghai University Lung Cancer Hospital to complete the analysis of more tumor samples. Although no publications have resulted from this research, the findings are crucial for ongoing efforts to obtain funding to develop the technology to address problems in deciding on appropriate treatment regimens for individual patients, in clinical settings. Project 2: The overarching milestones of CRADA Project 2 were to investigate the role of FAM83 family members in cancer progression. Two publications resulted from this work which are highlighted below. The first major goal of the CRADA was to broadly assess the role of FAM83 family oncogenes in human cancer using a multi-omic bioinformatic approach (Snijders et al 2017 Mol. Oncol 11). The second major goal was to specifically assess the role of FAM83D in a cancer progression and metastasis (Yin et al 2019 Cell Oncol; in revision). Role of FAM83 family oncogenes in human cancers Recent studies from our laboratory as well as other groups have demonstrated that FAM83 family members have oncogenic properties and have significantly elevated expression levels in multiple human tumor types, including breast cancers (BC). We performed an integrative multi-omics bio-informatic analysis of the role of FAM83 family oncogenes in human cancers. Our findings were published in the journal Molecular Oncology (Snijders et al; Mol Oncol. 2017 Feb;11(2):167-179). Highlights from this manuscript are: • Transcriptional levels of FAM83 family members are frequently and dramatically elevated across tumor types in human • DNA copy number increase appears to be a potential mechanism for increased expression of FAM83 genes • FAM83 family gene signature is associated with poor survival across human tumor types • FAM83 gene alterations are significantly correlated with TP53, PIK3CA and Ecadherin mutations. In conclusion, this analysis of FAM83 family members opened up a new horizon for further understanding the significance of FAM83 genes in cancer and clinical applications in diagnosis, prognosis and therapy. Role of FAM83D in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) metastasis and its impact on chemotherapy. Lung cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80~85% of all diagnosed lung cancer cases, one of the deadliest cancers worldwide. FAM83D has been proposed as an oncoprotein in several types of human cancer, yet its role and molecular mechanism in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) metastasis and its impact on chemotherapy are poorly understood. We evaluated the expression of FAM83D in NSCLC cells and cancerous tissues and its prognostic significance, then investigated the effect of FAM83D on tumorigenic phenotypes such as cell proliferation, EMT and invasive capability, and finally assessed impact of FAM83D on NSCLC chemo-drug resistance. The results of this study are currently in revision at the journal Cellular Oncology. Highlights from this manuscript are: • FAM83D expression is elevated in NSCLC cells and tissues and associated with poor prognosis • FAM83D promotes NSCLC cell proliferation • FAM83D induces EMT in NSCLC cells • FAM83D promotes NSCLC cell migration and invasion • FAM83D promotes EMT and invasive capability of NSCLC cells by regulating AKT/mTOR pathway • FAM83D silencing increases cisplatin sensitivity of NSCLC cells In summary, this second study demonstrated for the first time that FAM83D promoted EMT and metastasis of NSCLC cells through AKT/mTOR signal pathway as well as increased the sensitivity of NSCLC to cisplatin. This study may provide potential targets for advanced NSCLC treatment and personalized therapy.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2019

Methodology Development for Cybersecurity Robustness and Vulnerability Assessment of University Research Reactors

In 2012, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) formed a working group in collaboration with the Test, Research and Training Reactors (TRTR) group to review cyber security programs at US nuclear nonpower reactor (NPR) facilities. Following their review of cyber security at four different university NPR (i.e. university research reactor (URR)) facilities, the NRC staff made recommendations for improvements at URR including 1) augmenting the URR licensees’ understanding of the protective features provided with their physical security systems, 2) educating URR facility staff on cyber security issues, and 3) developing guidance to help the URR facilities maintain adequate cyber security going forward. This three-year project to develop and implement a cyber-security risk assessment methodology and defense-in-depth mitigation strategy for application at URR facilities provides solutions effectively addressing each of the recommendations given in the NRC review referenced above. In support of this project, cyber security documentation and guidance from the NRC, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Cyber Emergency Response Team (CERT), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), were reviewed. Most of this documentation did not take the unique resources, configuration, and infrastructure associated with URR facilities into account. The NRC-TRTR effective practices document provides useful guidance for implementing cyber security protections at URR, but lacks a structured framework for systematically auditing facility digital control assets (DCA) and evaluating associated cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and risk. The outcomes from this project, therefore, seek to build on the general resources above by providing a straightforward DCA auditing and risk assessment methodology, as well as mitigation strategies, that may be implemented to address the risk of cyber-attack at URR facilities.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2026

WM26 Paper Multi-Robot Collaboration for Hazardous Environments

Hazardous nuclear and industrial facilities are rarely designed for robots. Work in these domains demand precise manipulation and robust mobility in cluttered, constrained spaces where off-the-shelf platforms struggle and “one-size-fits-all” machines become costly and complex. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is developing an autonomous, multi-robot inspection system that coordinates task-specific platforms rather than relying on a single omni-tool robot. An electric truck serves as a power and compute hub for a custom manipulator co-developed with Florida International University (FIU), a commercial mini crawler, a pan–tilt–zoom camera, and a Nexxis Argus LiDAR mapping system. Working in concert, these robots generate spatial, radiation, and temperature maps of the pit environments at the Hanford Waste Tank Farms. These systems will capture visual records and environmental telemetry to allow for analysis post inspection. The system architecture uses Robot Operating System 2 (ROS 2) for publish/subscribe integration, NVIDIA Isaac Sim and Unity for simulation and visualization, and algorithms such as NVBlox to fuse data into unified 3D overlays. This robot-agnostic approach reduces operator burden by enabling autonomy across heterogeneous platforms and lets each robot be used where it is strongest. Having autonomous functions means operators don’t have to fully control multiple different components. The ease of use could allow for more widespread adoption of advanced robotics at waste management sites that see continued use. By coordinating simpler, purpose-built mechanisms, the approach lowers design and manufacturing complexity, reduces capital risk in contaminated settings, and improves controllability for complex inspection and manipulation tasks. We present the architecture, early results, and lessons learned from building and deploying this coordinated multi-robot system, with the goal of accelerating safe, cost-effective adoption of advanced robotics at waste-management sites.

42 - ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2020

10 MWE CDCL Large Pilot Plant – pre-FEED Study

Coal Direct Chemical Looping (CDCL) is an advanced oxy-combustion technology that has the potential to substantially reduce the energy penalty and the cost of electricity (COE) for coal-fired power generation with CO₂ capture. The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) and The Ohio State University (OSU) have been collaborating on the development of an iron oxide oxygen-carrier based chemical looping technology for clean power generation with inherent carbon capture. In this process, coal is dried and pulverized prior to being transported into a moving-bed reducer. In the reducer, coal reacts with the oxygen-carrier particles, forming combustion byproducts, predominantly CO₂ and H₂O, while reducing the iron oxide oxidation state from Fe₂O₃ to a mixture of FeO and Fe. The reduced state particles are then transported to a combustor reactor and re-oxidized with air. Following the oxidation, the oxygen-carrier particles are regenerated, and a large amount of heat is released for steam production. The produced steam is sent to a turbine for electricity generation. Meanwhile, the CO₂–rich stream leaving the reducer is cooled, cleaned, and compressed for subsequent pipeline transportation and sequestration. By combining air separation and fuel conversion into a single system, the CDCL technology enables the intensification of oxy-combustion processes by eliminating the energy and cost intensive cryogenic air separation unit and thereby results in higher overall plant efficiencies and lower COE’s. The use of a moving-bed reducer results in high conversions of volatile hydrocarbons and high CO₂ purity, which reduces the cost of downstream CO₂ purification for sequestration or utilization. The Babcock & Wilcox Company in collaboration with The Ohio State University, Johnson & Matthey, The Electric Power Research Institute, and Dover Light & Power completed a Preliminary Front-End Engineering and Design (Pre-FEED) study of a 10 MWe coal-direct chemical looping (CDCL) pilot plant. The planned system is a modular 10 MWe CDCL large pilot facility consisting in 4 modules of 2.5 MWe each, working in parallel and to be hosted within the current structure at the City of Dover’s Municipal Power Plant. The CDCL system can achieve auto-thermal operation and includes a sub-critical steam cycle for power generation. The pilot system was designed to demonstrate full commercial operation at a reduced scale. The coal distribution per plan area is a representative slice of larger commercial arrangements. The system includes a CO₂ recycle system, but it does not include a compression system. The large pilot includes all the environmental control equipment and oxygen carrier and ash handling systems. As part of the project, the Team performed laboratory testing and carried out multiple pilot test campaigns to obtain design and performance information at the 250 kWth CDCL pilot facility at the Babcock & Wilcox Company’s Research Center. The Team demonstrated sustained operations at designed coal inputs, high coal conversion, high CO₂ purity, heat generation on the combustor, low carbon carryover between reactors and low particle attrition. Emissions generated in the reducer reactor were identified as SO₂ and NO x . The commercial manufacturing cost of oxygen carrier particle was evaluated by JM. A particle manufacturing report was generated and submitted to the DOE. Based on the results from the pilot tests and the pre-FEED design efforts, a techno-economic analysis was performed. The study shows that the CDCL process is a promising carbon-friendly technology capable of producing electricity with high efficiency. The estimated COE of the supercritical CDCL plant is $83.3 / MWh, which meets DOE’s target of less than 30% increase in COE when compared to a supercritical PC plant without CO₂ capture. This is the lowest among the existing carbon capture technologies (post-combustion and oxy-combustion) for fossil fuel power plant. CDCL is evaluated to be the most promising technology for carbon capture from the economic aspect.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2017

Enhanced Grid Operation and Optimized PV Penetration Utilizing Highly Distributed Sensor Data

Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and Enphase Energy, Inc. (Enphase) collaborated to address challenges related to the integration of Renewable Energy Systems. The goal of this research was to develop methods to cost-effectively achieve very high PV penetration scenarios (well beyond 100% of peak load at the feeder level) by leveraging distributed inverters to increase operator visibility and provide local voltage support This project focused on the integration of high penetration PV systems and other distributed resources such as energy storage, to determine how these technologies interoperate with each other and with utility distribution operations and management systems. To address the lack of coverage of feeder monitoring and communications infrastructure, SNL and Enphase leveraged highly distributed micro inverters that were installed in very large numbers in CA and Hawaii, and that have the ability to measure currant and voltage and communicate via a highly distributed network. The data was used to verify and enhance distribution system models and to optimize the control settings of distributed resources. SNL and Enphase demonstrated the effectiveness of these techniques by analyzing high PV penetration scenarios on distribution systems in California.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Collaboration to Enable Higher Penetrations of Solar Power Generation Using the Natural Gas Pipeline System for Energy Storage (CRADA CRD-14-00567)

This unique project explored one possible solution for photovoltaic (PV) generation to become a reliable and dispatchable energy resource similar to conventional baseload fossil fuel electricity generation. Solar power generation is a renewable resource that varies naturally from day-to-day as well as seasonally. To use solar power as a baseload generation asset requires a flexible storage system that can recover power on both a daily and seasonal basis. Converting solar power to natural gas (i.e., first to hydrogen and then to methane) and having access to utility-scale storage in the natural gas network has the potential to make solar power generation a baseload asset. This will: 1) Increase the net energy yield from solar resources by increasing the effective capacity factor and maximize the energy produced during the assets’ lifetimes. 2) Improve the economics of energy storage for solar project developers, thereby accelerating the deployment of new solar generation. 3) Reduce the impact of increasing solar penetration on congestion of the electrical transmission system by shifting power delivery in time using the gas pipeline network for long-duration storage. 4) Reduce the impact of increasing solar generation on electrical distribution system control. 5) Offer alternative revenue sources for solar power generation beyond electricity including: hydrogen (H 2 ) production for stationary fuel cells and fuel cell electric vehicles, conversion of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) to methane (CH 4 ) as a direct drop-in replacement for fossil natural gas use, and transmission as high volumetrically-dense CH 4 for use in transportation, heating, power generation, chemical production or conversion back to H2 at the point of use. Additional work was added to this CRADA in modification 4 having a primary objective to characterize the performance of the electrolyzer, Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) bioreactor and balance of plant to demonstrate production of renewable natural gas (RNG) from renewable H 2 and CO 2 using single-cell, self-replicating organisms. The additional scope of work allowed researchers to ramp up gas flowrates and pressure of the system over the designed range to grow the cells and begin to show the load-following capabilities of this anaerobic gas fermentation process. These activities enabled the research team to predict system performance at much greater scales; namely 10’s of mega-watts (MWs) of electrolyzer nameplate capacity.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Design, Deployment, and Characterization of the World’s First Flexible Large Power Transformer

GE Research and its partner Prolec GE have designed, built and deployed in the field the world’s first flexible power transformer. The flexible power transformer is a transmission class 3-phase autotransformer configurable in impedance and in voltage which allows it to serve as a universal spare for multiple units in a given fleet. However, the key innovation in this new concept is the online adjustable leakage impedance which allows the transformer to change its impedance without interrupting the transmission line operation. The flexible power transformer can be designed with up to three low voltage transmission class ratings and up to 12 impedance values changeable both online and offline. This report provides an overview of the design, manufacturing, testing, and commissioning of the 165kV, 60MVA prototype built including the results of the field performance validation tests. The prototype was specified in collaboration with Cooperative Energy, the utility host. It was designed and tested in the factory according to IEEE standard C57.12.00 and followed all protocols for transportation, installation, and commissioning of a power transformer. In addition to the prototype, a flexible protection system capable of automatically adjusting its settings upon the transformer impedance was also developed and deployed in the for testing and validation. On September 3, 2021 the prototype was energized in Cooperative Energy’s substation in Columbia, Mississippi to become the world’s first flexible power transformer in operation. Its performances and impact on the grid operation were demonstrated through different field tests. Results obtained confirm that the impedance of the flexible transformer can be varied under load through its full range, from 4.3% to 9.3%, without adverse impacts on the line operation, the protection system, the transformer stability and health condition. Results also proved that the flexible transformer is very effective in controlling power transfer through the line or load sharing between units operating in parallel. Indeed, it was proven that higher impedances decrease the thruput power of the transformer while lower impedances increase it. Up to 26MW was controllable on a line loading of 45MVA. It was also possible to demonstrate that the variation of the transformer impedance has no effect on the circulating current between units in parallel, except a minor transient during the impedance change. It was also proven that the flexible protection relay can update its protection settings automatically when the impedance change was detected. The prototype has operated continuously for more than 12 months now with a peak load exceeding 50MVA corresponding to >80% of its ONAN power rating. No alarm, trip or sign of failure has been reported by the utility. In addition to the development and deployment of the flexible transformer prototype, investigations were carried out on new nanodielectric fluids to replace the mineral oil used in power transformers with the goal of reducing their footprint and weight. The key parameters that were targeted for improvement included the breakdown voltage to reduce clearances between windings and tank hence the footprint; viscosity and thermal conductivity to increase the cooling efficiency and therefore to reduce the winding material. Several nanodielectric mixtures with mineral oil including with alumina (Al2O3), titania (TiO2) and Borum Nitrate (BN) with different surfactants have been analyzed and tested. Unfortunately, despite encouraging results no nanofluid candidate has been found viable to replace mineral oil. With the formulations tested, breakdown voltages are generally similar to mineral oil at lower particle contents and worse at higher particle contents. Viscosity appreciably increased at particles concertation over 2 wt% and thermal conductivity increased slightly at 5wt% and appears to be 10-15% higher at 10 wt% particle content. It is recommended to continue investigations to find solutions that can help increase the power density of future flexible power transformers. Flexible power transformers can significantly help the future power grid by providing more flexibility and resiliency. Indeed, by providing voltage and impedance flexibility, flexible power transformers reduce the need for multiple spares, hence inventory costs for utilities. With their online controllable impedance, they can provide support to the grid and help manage short-circuit currents, power flow, line congestion, and grid stability which will become more important with higher penetrations of intermittent renewable resources. During the field validation tests, it was demonstrated that up to 26MW was controllable on a line loading of 45MVA when the transformer impedance was varied from its minimum to its maximum range. Also, with the impedance range, the short-circuit currents could be reduced by up to 38% at the load side of the transformer. With its controllable impedance, flexible transformers can be used in future strategies of grid resilience to help better prepare the grid to face forecasted severe events including storms, heat waves and contingencies. The flexible power transformers can also find role in other applications including high voltage transmission cables such as offshore wind farms where solutions for energizing the cables and managing the reactive power are of critical importance. The designed flexible power transformer is now fully validated and ready for commercialization. Further analysis on the benefits of flexible power transformers for grid stability and short-circuit management including current limiting capability, reclosure and line restoration, control of inrush current, sizing of flexible AC components (FACTS) would help its rapid adoption by the industry.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2018

Unique Facilities, Innovative Treatment Processes, and a Talented Workforce Allow Fluor Idaho to Successfully Disposition Transuranic Waste - 18388

Fluor Idaho is utilizing state-of-the-art equipment, treatment technologies, and employee expertise at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Idaho Site to treat contact-handled transuranic (CH-TRU) waste, as well as extremely challenging remote-handled transuranic (RH-TRU) waste forms, to prepare the material for shipment and permanent disposal at the Department's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Nowhere else in the DOE Complex - perhaps the world - will one find the compilation of tools and an experienced workforce with an unparalleled history of safely retrieving, characterizing, treating, repackaging, certifying, and shipping TRU waste. Since 2003, the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) has used both conventional and unique retrieval concepts, high-tech characterization equipment - including real-time radiography and radioassay - robotics, and automated treatment processes to retrieve and treat 65,000 cubic meters of above-ground CH-TRU waste. Additionally, engineered controls and specialized personal protective equipment have allowed employees to make thousands of entries into high-radiation areas without a skin or clothing contamination incident - evidence of the employees' commitment to safety. AMWTP has encountered and found solutions for many challenging waste forms, including polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated wastes, TRU waste containers with up to 1,000 fissile gram equivalent plutonium-239, oversized TRU boxes, and partially absorbed organic sludge waste. By utilizing additional facilities and equipment at the Accelerated Retrieval Project V and VII, Fluor Idaho has developed new processing lines and capabilities to ensure worker safety and milestone completion. These two soft-sided buildings, located at a facility adjacent to AMWTP, were originally constructed to exhume Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) TRU wastes from a section of a 97-acre landfill. After a total of 1,150 cubic meters of targeted waste were removed, personnel, working in collaboration with state regulators, successfully implemented a unique regulatory strategy that allowed these CERCLA facilities to be modified and permitted to treat Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) wastes from the AMWTP - a savings of tens of millions of dollars over the cost of constructing new buildings. Adding to the AMWTP's technological uniqueness is its ability to treat wastes from other facilities in the DOE Complex. Two prior decision documents and an agreement with the state of Idaho have allowed AMWTP to treat wastes from 15 other DOE sites. It is the only project in the complex to have done so. At another project located next to AMWTP, targeted waste exhumation within the Subsurface Disposal Area is approximately two years ahead of schedule. Crews have removed more than 8,600 cubic meters of CH-TRU and hazardous wastes from eight exhumation areas that equal a combined footprint of 4.75 acres. Less than one acre remains to be exhumed to satisfy the 2008 Record of Decision waste exhumation end state between the DOE, Environmental Protection Agency, and state of Idaho. Construction of the final building where targeted waste exhumation will continue was completed during the summer of 2017. Exhumation will be completed within the next few years. Following exhumation completion, an evapotranspiration barrier (or cap) will be constructed over the entire landfill. Fluor Idaho continues to make progress on a more challenging project involving an inventory of RH-TRU waste that also contains the reactive metal sodium. Crews are utilizing hot cells, once used for spent nuclear fuel reprocessing and high-level waste treatment at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, to render this challenging waste form safe for disposal in a national geologic waste repository. The treatment methods being employed on this RH-TRU waste are unique in the DOE Complex. Minute concentrations of water are sprayed onto the sodium-contaminated material in a process called 'spritzing' to chemically change the sodium from a reactive metal to a non-reactive salt. In other cases, sodium-contaminated waste is dipped in water to initiate a reaction in a process called 'immersion.' Lastly, for more challenging waste shapes that could not be successfully treated with the two prior methods, crews lower the sodium-contaminated RH-TRU waste into a one-of-a-kind distillation unit that uses high temperature and vacuum to volatilize the sodium and recapture it in a condenser unit for disposal. The RH-TRU waste treated with this technology is then safe for permanent disposal. Fluor Idaho is proud to operate DOE's CH- and RH-TRU waste treatment facilities, as well as use innovative processes and its talented workforce to complete this important work-scope. Such capabilities allow the contractor to meet the commitments made by the DOE to the state of Idaho. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2018

3-D Gamma-ray Mapping from Unmanned Aerial Systems for Nuclear Decommissioning - 18439

Advanced gamma-ray detection technologies integrated with sophisticated robotic platforms will enable safer and more cost and time-efficient capabilities in support of nuclear decommissioning, waste management, and environmental remediation activities within the United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) complex and in the global nuclear power industry. In the Applied Nuclear Physics program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, we have developed the Nuclear Scene Data Fusion (SDF) capability to map gamma-ray emitting sources in large-scale, 3-D environments in real-time. This powerful capability has been successfully deployed in real-world environments, from a test-bed in Berkeley, CA to the exclusion zone in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan to support environmental remediation and contamination mapping efforts within evacuated communities, and is also currently being further developed in support of decommissioning efforts at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) in collaboration with the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). In this work, we will provide an overview of SDF adapted for gamma-ray mapping onboard an UAS, as well as results from measurements demonstrating point and distributed source mapping. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2026

Optimal CO 2 storage management considering safety constraints in multi-stakeholder multi-site GCS projects: A Markov game perspective

Geological carbon storage (GCS) projects could involve a diverse array of stakeholders or players from public, private, and regulatory sectors, each with different objectives and responsibilities. Given the complexity, scale, and long-term nature of GCS operations, determining whether individual stakeholders can independently optimize their interests — or whether collaborative coalition agreements are needed — remains a central question for effective GCS project planning and management. To access large, high-quality storage resources, future GCS deployment may increasingly occur in geologically connected sites, where shared geological features such as pressure space and reservoir pore capacity can lead to competitive behavior among stakeholders. In this work, we propose a paradigm based on Markov games to quantitatively investigate how different coalition structures affect the goals of stakeholders. We frame this multi-stakeholder multi-site problem as a multi-agent reinforcement learning problem with safety constraints. Our approach enables agents to learn optimal strategies while complying with safety regulations. We present an example where multiple operators are injecting CO 2 into their respective project areas in a geologically connected basin. To address the high computational cost of repeated simulations of high fidelity models, a previously developed surrogate model based on the Embed-to-Control (E2C) framework is employed. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework in addressing optimal management of CO 2 storage when multiple stakeholders with different objectives and goals are involved.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2020

The Potential Impact of Offshore Wind Energy on a Future Power System in the U.S. Northeast

This study aims to understand and quantify the potential impact of offshore wind on a future electricity system in the U.S. Northeast. In this analysis, a detailed representation of the Northeast power system is adopted, using a generation portfolio for 2024 paired with offshore wind nameplate capacities of 0 gigawatts (GW), 2 GW, and 7 GW. The analysis identifies points of offshore wind interconnection in the ISO-New England and New York Independent System Operator control areas and uses hourly wind profiles from the Wind Integration National Dataset Toolkit. Hourly simulations of the 2024 power system operations show an ability to accommodate the prescribed offshore wind capacities by adapting the system's generation dispatch. Curtailment levels of offshore wind range between 4% and 5%. Offshore wind generation displaces primarily natural-gas combined-cycle generation; however, requires increased flexibility from combined cycles through more frequent start-ups. The number of hours with transmission congestion increases because of offshore wind injection, with varying impact on a subregional level. Offshore wind's capacity credit was found to be 14.5%-28.3% and is lower than estimated in other large-scale power system studies, in part because this study considered a different weather year and a power system representation with higher shares of solar PV and onshore wind. The reliability contribution of resources is a topic area identified for more research and collaboration. The 7-GW scenario shows a reduction in locational marginal price of 11%, with production cost savings of up to 18% compared to the 0-GW scenario.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

ARDP Natrium Neutronic Methodology: Argonne Neutronic Assessment of ABR-1000

The Natrium Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR) concept developed by TerraPower, LLC was selected as one of the advanced reactor designs for demonstration under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program Natrium Demo project. In collaboration with TerraPower, the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) team provide independent reviews of the neutronic methodology being used for the Natrium design. As part of this activity, both the TerraPower and ANL teams agreed to perform independent neutronics analyses of the ABR-1000 reactor problem as a demonstration on the usage of the neutronics methodologies. Comparison of the results from TerraPower and ANL would expose any methodological differences in the modeling approaches. This report describes and presents the Argonne analysis work on the ABR-1000, and will be provided to TerraPower, along with data files, to complete the comparison study. The comparison will cover the methodology to evaluate the reactivity coefficients for a safety analysis, the shutdown margin, and the reconstructed pin power distribution. The methods and models used to calculate the kinetic parameters and the reactivity coefficients (density, Doppler, axial/radial expansion, etc.) are described in detail with recommendations of specific method options and modelling techniques. The control system reactivity worth and the excess reactivity due to temperature defect are calculated for the shutdown margin analysis. The method to evaluate the excess reactivity is discussed in detail. The pin power reconstruction methodology used in SE2ANL, SE2RCT, and DASSH are discussed in this report. The pin power distribution evaluated by different methods are compared and discussed in the report.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2025

EV Charging Infrastructure Energization An Overview of Approaches for Simplifying and Accelerating Timelines to Processing EV Charging Load Service Requests

The United States has seen significant growth in electric vehicle (EV) adoption, leading to increased demand for EV charging infrastructure. Over the past decade, EV charging infrastructure site developers, site hosts, and electric distribution utilities have navigated the process to integrate chargers onto the electric grid. Site developers and site hosts have raised the alarm that the integration process for high-powered EV charging projects does not meet the needs of the EV market for timeliness or cost. High-powered charging stations typically require a load service request or an agreement with the local utility to connect to the grid. The process of energizing a new high-powered charging site can be complex and time-consuming, often taking up to 2 years. This timeline is the result of current utility energization processes having been designed for construction projects that take longer to build (i.e., buildings). The specific challenges stem from various factors, including compartmentalization in application processes, the integration of EV charging process approvals with other distributed energy resources (DERs), and the need to ensure grid reliability. The energization process needs to evolve to meet the growing demand for high-powered EV charging. This white paper compiles information gathered through various conversations with key stakeholders, including utilities, utility regulators, EV charging operators, site developers, and authorities having jurisdiction (AHJ) as well as through an extensive literature review. This document identifies the challenges and provides potential solutions to streamline the process of connecting EV charging infrastructure to the power grid in the United States, serving as a starting point for future conversations around these solutions. The solutions noted in this white paper require collaborative efforts among utilities, regulators, and EV charging infrastructure developers to streamline the grid connection process for EV charging infrastructure. They are broadly organized into four areas: 1. Increase data access and transparency: Develop automated load service request tools, integrate hosting capacity and load service request analyses, incorporate EV adoption forecasts, and provide transparency on the processing queue. 2. Improve energization processes and timing: Create fast-track options based on prescreening criteria, provide flexibility or phased approvals in the load service request/interconnection process, build internal knowledge within utilities about EV charging technologies, and provide standardized workforce training. 3. Promote economic efficiency: Right size distribution components to accurately reflect the load requirements of EV charging infrastructure, make proactive investments in grid infrastructure based on EV adoption forecasts and growth projections, and consider energy equity and environmental justice factors such as equitable access to EV charging when planning infrastructure. 4. Improve grid reliability and resilience: Use load management/power control systems (PCS) at EV charging stations, adopt and implement harmonized standards for communication protocols and information models between the EV charging and grid control infrastructure, and address cybersecurity considerations by implementing robust security measures and standards for EV charging infrastructure—with particular emphasis on clarifying the security requirements for the interface to the grid. The objective of the solutions proposed in this white paper is to accelerate the timeline and decrease costs associated with connecting EV charging infrastructure to the grid. Electric utilities, utility regulators, EV charging infrastructure developers, and site hosts will first need to understand which solutions are available in their service territory, and if warranted, which combination of solutions would support their specific needs. Through the successful implementations of solutions at scale detailed here, industry will demonstrate a new and innovative ecosystem where timely deployment and energization of EV charging infrastructure with greater grid resiliency and reliability is a reality.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2024

Wide Bandgap Generation (WBGen): Developing the Future Wide Bandgap Power Electronics Engineering Workforce

This Final Technical Report (FTR) summarizes the work conducted at the Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) under the Wide-Bandgap Generation (WBGen) fellowship and traineeship program established by the Advanced Manufacturing and Technologies Office (AMMTO) of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) at Virginia Tech, which had as main objective to train the next generation of U.S. citizen power engineers with wide-bandgap (WBG) power semiconductor expertise, with the intent to aid in fulfilling the future workforce needs in this field. The latter was deemed of strategic importance given the fast-paced growth observed—and predicted—in the demand of this technical expertise, whose practitioners have become the enablers and executioners of the electrification transformation process that not just the U.S., but the whole world, is currently undergoing as it seeks for more effective and efficient ways to use energy. As such, the WBGen program set forth to achieve its educational goals, which in addition sought to broaden the range of WBG-based power electronics by conducting research and development on high-efficiency grid apparatus and high-efficiency electrical power systems, and to also enhance the power engineering curriculum by formalizing WBG-oriented design procedures replacing existent yet now obsolete design procedures developed for Silicon (Si) based power electronics. This effort led CPES to spearhead the development of a new major within The Bradley Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department at Virginia Tech, namely Electronic Power and Energy Systems (EPES), which coalesced power electronics and power systems courses to provide undergraduate students with a strong formation in the power engineering field, while creating a pipeline of graduate students that could pursue the WBG-based curriculum and conduct research at CPES. In all, in what is considered a true success, eight of the twenty WBGen fellows that graduated program were recruited from the ECE department undergraduate cohort. The traineeship emphasized as well, from its beginning, the partnership with industry and national laboratories, which took advantage of the successful industry consortium at CPES that has historically been formed by 80–90 power and energy companies working in close collaboration with the center. This gave WBGen fellows the accessibility and possibility to conduct internships at partner facilities during the summer months, focused solely on the evaluation, testing, and adoption of WBG devices, which were many times tightly related to their respective research work and plans. In addition, WBGen fellows conducted their main research work within the confines of research programs at CPES conducted with these industry partners, providing them with a unique opportunity to develop not just their technical expertise—while advancing their knowledge, but to also learn and practice a slew of skills needed for their professional growth. As such, the fellows tackled a variety of WBG-related research topics, from device reliability and capability aspects as well as packaging and integration, encompassing the use of advanced materials and new structures, current sharing challenges, and insulation systems, to advanced gate-drivers with integrated sensors and protection mechanisms and active current- and voltage-based control, to optimized layouts seeking to maximize the switching and power processing performance of these devices, to power processing solutions adopting Gallium-Nitride (GaN) and Silicon-Carbide (SiC) power semiconductors for a variety of applications; including radiation-hardened converters for space dc distribution systems, direct three-phase ac-to-ac power converters for aerospace systems, dc-ac inverters for automotive traction drives, high-frequency isolated dc-dc battery chargers also for heavy transportation systems, and medium-voltage dc-dc and dc-ac converters for distribution systems and future power grids. The WBGen program ultimately graduated a total of 20 power engineers, all experts on WBG-based power electronics, awarding 18 M.S. and 2 PhD degrees in the process. These fellows, all U.S. citizens, allowed CPES to increase the number of citizens students to 33 % at the peak of the program, as the traineeship made possible the recruitment of talent with more attractive graduate research assistantship (GRA) contracts. Unfortunately, the present U.S. citizen enrollment at CPES has declined back to historic levels—approximately 10 %, as the regular GRA rates are not competitive enough when compared with entry-level industry jobs. In all, WBGen fellows published a total of 7 peer-reviewed journal articles, 44 papers at international technical conferences, made 42 presentations at international technical conferences, and filed 4 invention disclosures and patent applications, which have since then been granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Their contribution to CPES, Virginia Tech, the United States, and the world, has been significant, and continues to yield results thanks to the exemplary career that the fellows have initiated at many of the partners of the program, which include Wolfspeed, Raytheon Technologies, Infineon, Lockheed Martin, Dominion Energy, Northrop Grumman, Rivian, Aerospace Corporation, Sandia National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, John Hopkins University, and Virginia Tech.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2019

Harnessing the power of supercomputers using the PanDA Pilot 2 in the ATLAS Experiment

The unprecedented computing resource needs of the ATLAS experiment at LHC have motivated the Collaboration to become a leader in exploiting High Performance Computers (HPCs). To meet the requirements of HPCs, the PanDA system has been equipped with two new components; Pilot 2 and Harvester, that were designed with HPCs in mind. While Harvester is a resource-facing service which provides resource provisioning and workload shaping, Pilot 2 is responsible for payload execution on the resource. The presentation focuses on Pilot 2, which is a complete rewrite of the original PanDA Pilot used by ATLAS and other experiments for well over a decade. Pilot 2 has a flexible and adaptive design that allows for plugins to be defined with streamlined workflows. In particular, it has plugins for specific hardware infrastructures (HPC/GPU clusters) as well as for dedicated workflows defined by the needs of an experiment. Examples of dedicated HPC workflows are discussed in which the Pilot either uses an MPI application for processing fine-grained event level service under the control of the Harvester service or acts like an MPI application itself and runs a set of job in an assemble. In addition to describing the technical details of these workflows, results are shown from its deployment on Titan (OLCF) and other HPCs in ATLAS.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2025

60 years of science in ICF: from conception to scientific breakeven on the National Ignition Facility

The recent achievements of a burning plasma, fusion ignition, and scientific energy gain with deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) represents a major milestone in the development of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and all of fusion research. In these experiments, fuel pressures well in excess of hundreds of GBars were achieved in the compressed fuel, and robust alpha heating of the fuel, far in excess of the energy provided by the implosion, were demonstrated for the first time. These achievements occurred 60 years after the inception of ICF and the first laser demonstration, and were made possible by more than five decades of research at laser facilities around the world. Advances in laser technology both in wavelength and precision, motivated by improved understanding of laser-plasma interaction physics and the demands of targets; improvements in target fabrication inspired by the need to control and minimize hydrodynamic instabilities in the implosion; and multi-dimensional simulations and diagnostics have been critical to this achievement. This paper will summarize the scientific and technical advances, the surprises, and the challenges that had to be overcome to achieve these goals.

fusion↗