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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis of Renewable Hydrocarbon Fuels via Hydrothermal Liquefaction, Combined Algal Processing, and Biochemical Conversion: Update of the 2022 State-of-Technology Cases

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) aims to develop and deploy technologies to transform renewable biomass resources into commercially viable, high-performance biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower through public and private partnerships. BETO and its national laboratory teams conduct in-depth techno-economic assessments (TEA) of biomass feedstock supply and logistics and conversion technologies to produce biofuels. There are two general types of TEAs: A design case outlines a target case (future projection) for a particular biofuel pathway. It informs R&D priorities by identifying areas in need of improvement, tracks sustainability impact of R&D, and provides goals and benchmarks against which technology progress is assessed. A state of technology (SOT) analysis assesses progress within and across relevant technology areas based on actual results at current experimental scales relative to technical targets and cost goals from design cases, and includes technical, economic, and environmental criteria as available. In addition to developing a TEA for a pathway of interest, BETO also performs a supply chain sustainability analysis (SCSA). The SCSA takes the life-cycle analysis approach that BETO has been supporting for over 20 years. It enables BETO to identify energy consumption, environmental, and sustainability issues that may be associated with biofuel production. Approaches to mitigating these issues can then be developed. Additionally, the SCSA allows for comparison of energy and environmental impacts across biofuel pathways in BETO's research and development portfolio. This technical report describes the SCSAs for the production of renewable hydrocarbon transportation fuels via a range of conversion technologies in the 2022 SOTs: (1) renewable hydrocarbon fuels via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of wet sludge from a wastewater treatment plant; (2) renewable hydrocarbon fuels via biochemical conversion of herbaceous lignocellulosic biomass; (3) renewable hydrocarbon fuels via HTL of an algae/woody biomass blend; and (4) renewable hydrocarbon fuels via combined algae processing (CAP).

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

3D printing of metal-based materials for renewable energy applications

Large-scale renewable energy must overcome conversion and storage challenges before it can replace fossil fuels due to its intermittent nature. However, current sustainable energy devices still suffer from high cost, low efficiency, and poor service life problems. Recently, porous metal-based materials have been widely used as desirable cross-functional platforms for electrochemical and photochemical energy systems for their unique electrical conductivity, catalytic activity, and chemical stability. To tailor the porosity length scale, ordering, and compositions, 3D printing has been applied as a disruptive manufacturing revolution to create complex architected components by directly joining sequential layers into designed structures. In conclusion, this article intends to summarize cutting-edge advances of metal-based materials for renewable energy devices (e.g., fuel cells, solar cells, supercapacitors, and batteries) over the past decade.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

New Directions for Thermoelectrics: A Roadmap from High‐Throughput Materials Discovery to Advanced Device Manufacturing

Thermoelectric materials, which can convert waste heat into electricity or act as solid‐state Peltier coolers, are emerging as key technologies to address global energy shortages and environmental sustainability. However, discovering materials with high thermoelectric conversion efficiency is a complex and slow process. The emerging field of high‐throughput material discovery demonstrates its potential to accelerate the development of new thermoelectric materials combining high efficiency and low cost. The synergistic integration of high‐throughput material processing and characterization techniques with machine learning algorithms can form an efficient closed‐loop process to generate and analyze broad datasets to discover new thermoelectric materials with unprecedented performances. Meanwhile, the recent development of advanced manufacturing methods provides exciting opportunities to realize scalable, low‐cost, and energy‐efficient fabrication of thermoelectric devices. This review provides an overview of recent advances in discovering thermoelectric materials using high‐throughput methods, including processing, characterization, and screening. Advanced manufacturing methods of thermoelectric devices are also introduced to realize the broad impacts of thermoelectric materials in power generation and solid‐state cooling. In the end, this article also discusses the future research prospects and directions.

Song, Kaidong↗
DOE OSTI2025

Porous carbon from lignocellulosic biomass with emphasis on corn plant waste residue for energy storage

The rising global demand for sustainable energy storage materials has driven the search for environmentally friendly and cost-effective electrode options. Hydrothermal conversion of lignocellulosic biomass has gained attention due to its low energy requirements and operation at relatively low temperatures, presenting a green alternative to traditional thermochemical methods. The resulting solid product, hydrochar, has been used as an adsorbent and soil amendment; however, chemical/thermal treatment significantly enhances its physical properties. These structural modifications transform hydrochar into an effective porous carbon electrode, offering abundant sites for electrolyte ion transport, critical for high-performance devices like supercapacitors and batteries. This review first discusses various waste biomass and sustainable feedstocks available globally. It compares two primary thermochemical conversion techniques, pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization/liquefaction, and examines their respective solid products, biochar and hydrochar, analyzing differences in their physical and chemical characteristics. The focus is placed on hydrochar, summarizing activation methods to produce porous carbon suitable for energy storage applications. Additionally, this review will include a dedicated section on the application of porous carbon derived from corn plant waste residue, considering that corn is one of the most abundant crops grown worldwide, which makes it an important and promising source for sustainable porous carbon production. The role of machine learning models in optimizing hydrothermal processes to produce high-quality hydrochar is also discussed, emphasizing how data-driven approaches can streamline process development. Finally, the review identifies the current challenges and prospects for lignocellulosic biomass-derived porous carbon as a sustainable electrode material in next-generation energy storage technologies.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Guest Editorial Special Section on Advanced Medium-Voltage Power Electronics for Grid Interactive Applications

Medium-voltage power electronics (MVPE) plays essential roles in power grid modernization and links the MV distribution grid with low-voltage consumers and prosumers. Various MVPE devices, such as solid-state transformers or circuit breakers, inverter-based resources, power flow controllers, etc., bring the benefits of voltage conversion and power regulation in small footprint, power quality and efficiency improvements, and enhancements of grid controllability, flexibility, stability, and resilience. The MVPE also makes it possible for sustainable energy systems, such as solar/wind farms and energy storage generating facilities, to directly access to MV grids without multistage conversions. With their intrinsic intelligence and communications, MVPE enables many new smart grid functions and applications, e.g., dc interconnections and electric vehicle charging, which were not envisioned by traditional power grids otherwise. In addition, the integration of physical power processing units with cyber components forms a cyber-physical system, which is essential for long-term sustainability, development, and environmental preservation. Nonetheless, technical challenges on MVPE device reliability, scalable and efficient converter topologies, control stability, large-scale modeling and simulation, to name a few, need to be addressed and advanced to the next level. In conclusion, this Special Section on Advanced MV Power Electronics for Grid Interactive Applications in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics (TPEL) provides an insight on some of the recent advances in MVPE and emerging challenges and potential solutions.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

A miniaturized feedstocks-to-fuels pipeline for screening the efficiency of deconstruction and microbial conversion of lignocellulosic biomass

Sustainably grown biomass is a promising alternative to produce fuels and chemicals and reduce the dependency on fossil energy sources. However, the efficient conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels and bioproducts often requires extensive testing of components and reaction conditions used in the pretreatment, saccharification, and bioconversion steps. This restriction can result in a significant and unwieldy number of combinations of biomass types, solvents, microbial strains, and operational parameters that need to be characterized, turning these efforts into a daunting and time-consuming task. Here we developed a high-throughput feedstocks-to-fuels screening platform to address these challenges. The result is a miniaturized semi-automated platform that leverages the capabilities of a solid handling robot, a liquid handling robot, analytical instruments, and a centralized data repository, adapted to operate as an ionic-liquid-based biomass conversion pipeline. The pipeline was tested by using sorghum as feedstock, the biocompatible ionic liquid cholinium phosphate as pretreatment solvent, a “one-pot” process configuration that does not require ionic liquid removal after pretreatment, and an engineered strain of the yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides that produces the jet-fuel precursor bisabolene as a conversion microbe. By the simultaneous processing of 48 samples, we show that this configuration and reaction conditions result in sugar yields (~70%) and bisabolene titers (~1500 mg/L) that are comparable to the efficiencies observed at larger scales but require only a fraction of the time. We expect that this Feedstocks-to-Fuels pipeline will become an effective tool to screen thousands of bioenergy crop and feedstock samples and assist process optimization efforts and the development of predictive deconstruction approaches.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Protonic Ceramic Electrochemical Cells for Synthesizing Sustainable Chemicals and Fuels

Abstract Protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs) have been intensively studied as the technology that can be employed for power generation, energy storage, and sustainable chemical synthesis. Recently, there have been substantial advances in electrolyte and electrode materials for improving the performance of protonic ceramic fuel cells and protonic ceramic electrolyzers. However, the electrocatalytic materials development for synthesizing chemicals in PCECs has gained less attention, and there is a lack of systematic and fundamental understanding of the PCEC reactor design, reaction mechanisms, and electrode materials. This review comprehensively summarizes and critically evaluates the most up‐to‐date progress in employing PCECs to synthesize a wide range of chemicals, including ammonia, carbon monoxide, methane, light olefins, and aromatics. Factors that impact the conversion, selectivity, product yield, and energy efficiencies are discussed to provide new insights into designing electrochemical cells, developing electrode materials, and achieving economically viable chemical synthesis. The primary challenges associated with producing chemicals in PCECs are highlighted. Approaches to tackle these challenges are then offered, with a particular focus on deliberately designing electrode materials, aiming to achieve practically valuable product yield and energy efficiency. Finally, perspectives on the future development of PCECs for synthesizing sustainable chemicals are provided.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Metal–Organic Frameworks and Metal–Organic Gels for Oxygen Electrocatalysis: Structural and Compositional Considerations

Increasing demand for sustainable and clean energy is calling for the next-generation energy conversion and storage technologies such as fuel cells, water electrolyzers, CO 2 /N 2 reduction electrolyzers, metal–air batteries, etc. All these electrochemical processes involve oxygen electrocatalysis. Boosting the intrinsic activity and the active-site density through rational design of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and metal–organic gels (MOGs) as precursors represents a new approach toward improving oxygen electrocatalysis efficiency. MOFs/MOGs afford a broad selection of combinations between metal nodes and organic linkers and are known to produce electrocatalysts with high surface areas, variable porosity, and excellent activity after pyrolysis. Some recent studies on MOFs/MOGs for oxygen electrocatalysis and their new perspectives in synthesis, characterization, and performance are discussed in this review. New insights on the structural and compositional design in MOF/MOG-derived oxygen electrocatalysts are summarized. Critical challenges and future research directions are also outlined.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Structural Tuning of Self‐Conductive Polymer as Gas Diffusion Layer for Electrocatalytic Reactions at High Current

Electrocatalytic conversions offer a promising route for sustainable chemical production using renewable energy. Gas diffusion layers (GDLs) enable selective product formation at high current densities but suffer from electrolyte flooding, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based GDLs typically require metal conductive layers, which constrain catalyst development. A recently developed GDL configuration, electropolymerized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-coated PTFE, demonstrates notable flooding resistance, but suffers from gas diffusion limitations at elevated currents due to limited gas diffusion through the PEDOT layer. Here, different dopants in PEDOT are exploited to modify the physical properties and enhance gas transport. ClO 4 − -doped PEDOT exhibits superior performance due to optimized physical structure, leading to increased gas permeance and faradaic efficiency (FE) for CO production during electrocatalytic CO 2 reduction. Further optimization of coverage and thickness achieved by adjusting charge density led to an optimal configuration at 33 mC cm −2 . This GDL supports various metal electrocatalysts and demonstrates FE CO of > 90% for over 150 h at −200 mA cm −2 using a commercial silver electrocatalyst. This work highlights the importance of GDL engineering in enhancing performance and durability for long-term electrocatalytic processes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Unlocking the Potential of A-Site Ca-Doped LaCo 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3-δ : A Redox-Stable Cathode Material Enabling High Current Density in Direct CO 2 Electrolysis

Massive carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission from recent human industrialization has affected the global ecosystem and raised great concern for environmental sustainability. The solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) is a promising energy conversion device capable of efficiently converting CO 2 into valuable chemicals using renewable energy sources. However, Sr-containing cathode materials face the challenge of Sr carbonation during CO 2 electrolysis, which greatly affects the energy conversion efficiency and long-term stability. Thus, A-site Ca-doped La1– x CaxCo 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3-δ (0.2 ≤ x ≤ 0.6) oxides are developed for direct CO 2 conversion to carbon monoxide (CO) in an intermediate-temperature SOEC (IT-SOEC). With a polarization resistance as low as 0.18 O cm 2 in pure CO 2 atmosphere, a remarkable current density of 2.24 A cm –2 was achieved at 1.5 V with La 0.6 Ca 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3-δ (LCCF64) as the cathode in La 0.8 Sr 0.2 Ga 0.83 Mg 0.17 O 3-δ (LSGM) electrolyte (300 µm) supported electrolysis cells using La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3-δ (LSCF) as the air electrode at 800 °C. Furthermore, symmetrical cells with LCCF64 as the electrodes also show promising electrolysis performance of 1.78 A cm –2 at 1.5 V at 800 °C. In addition, stable cell performance has been achieved on direct CO 2 electrolysis at an applied constant current of 0.5 A cm –2 at 800 °C. The easily removable carbonate intermediate produced during direct CO 2 electrolysis makes LCCF64 a promising regenerable cathode. The outstanding electrocatalytic performance of the LCCF64 cathode is ascribed to the highly active and stable metal/perovskite interfaces that resulted from the in situ exsolved Co/CoFe nanoparticles and the additional oxygen vacancies originated from the Ca 2 Fe 2 O 5 phase synergistically providing active sites for CO 2 adsorption and electrolysis. Here this study offers a novel approach to design catalysts with high performance for direct CO 2 electrolysis.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Probing Surface/Bulk Structural Chemistry of Key Components of Solid Oxide Electrochemical Cells with In Situ / Operando Raman Spectroscopy

The remarkable attributes of solid oxide electrochemical cell technology (e.g., energy efficiency, low cost, scalability, low emissions, and operational flexibility, etc.) drive the wider adoption of electrochemical conversion routes for sustainability. It is critical for the codevelopment of solid oxide cell materials and processes to establish the mechanistic understanding of the underlying chemical phenomena at the molecular level. Herein, we summarize the advancements in Raman spectroscopy that provide structural/molecular information on electrode/electrolyte materials typically used in solid oxide cells for energy conversion. In particular, we discuss the multifactorial environment induced chemical processes that govern the performance and longevity of solid oxide electrochemical devices. The in situ/operando Raman spectroscopic investigations on the electrode/electrolyte materials reported in the literature are summarized with the emphasis on identification of key material properties that control the functional aspects of the solid oxide cells. The molecular level understanding of the electrochemical processes will allow advancement of the rational design of electrochemical materials for process level deployment of solid oxide cell technology.

Electrodes↗
DOE OSTI2021

Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis of Renewable Hydrocarbon Fuels via Indirect Liquefaction, Ex Situ Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis, Hydrothermal Liquefaction, Combined Algal Processing, and Biochemical Conversion: Update of the 2020 State-of-Technology Cases

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) aims to develop and deploy technologies to transform renewable biomass resources into commercially viable, high-performance biofuels, bioproducts, and biopower through public and private partnerships (U.S. Department of Energy, 2016). BETO and its national laboratory teams conduct in-depth techno-economic assessments (TEA) of biomass feedstock supply and logistics and conversion technologies to produce biofuels. There are two general types of TEAs: A design case outlines a target case (future projection) for a particular biofuel pathway. It enables identification of data gaps and research and development needs and provides goals and benchmarks against which technology progress is assessed. A state of technology (SOT) analysis assesses progress within and across relevant technology areas based on actual results at current experimental scales relative to technical targets and cost goals from design cases, and includes technical, economic, and environmental criteria as available. In addition to developing a TEA for a pathway of interest, BETO also performs a supply chain sustainability analysis (SCSA). The SCSA takes the life-cycle analysis approach that BETO has been supporting for about 20 years. It enables BETO to identify energy consumption, environmental, and sustainability issues that may be associated with biofuel production. Approaches to mitigate these issues can then be developed. Additionally, the SCSA allows for comparison of energy and environmental impacts across biofuel pathways in BETO’s research and development portfolio. This technical report describes the SCSAs for the production of renewable hydrocarbon transportation fuels via a range of conversion technologies in the 2020 SOTs: (1) renewable high octane gasoline (HOG) via indirect liquefaction (IDL) of woody lignocellulosic biomass (note that the IDL pathway in this SCSA represents the syngas conversion design [Harris et al. 2021]); (2) renewable gasoline (RG) and diesel (RD) blendstocks via ex situ catalytic fast pyrolysis of woody lignocellulosic biomass [Abhijit et al. 2021]; (3) RD via hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of wet sludge from a wastewater treatment plant; (4) renewable hydrocarbon fuels via biochemical conversion of herbaceous lignocellulosic biomass (Davis et al. 2021; Lin et al. 2021); (5) renewable diesel via HTL of a blend of algae (Davis and Klein, 2021) and woody biomass (Hartley et al. 2020); and (6) renewable diesel via combined algae processing (CAP) (Wiatrowski and Davis, 2021). This technical report focuses on the environmental performance of these six biofuel production pathways in their 2020 SOT cases. The results of these renewable hydrocarbon fuel pathways in these SCSA analyses update those for the respective 2019 SOT cases (Cai et al. 2020). They also provide an opportunity to examine the impact of technology improvements in both biomass feedstock production and biofuel production that have been achieved in 2020 SOTs on the sustainability performance of these renewable transportation fuels. The SCSA results also reflect updates to Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET®) model, which was released in October 2020 (Wang et al. 2020). These GREET updates include the production of natural gas, electricity, and petroleum-based fuels that can influence biofuels’ supply chain greenhouse gas (GHG) (CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O) emissions, water consumption, and air pollutant emissions. GHG emissions, water consumption, and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) emissions are the main sustainability metrics assessed in this analysis. In this analysis, we define water consumption as the amount of water withdrawn from a freshwater source that is not returned (or returnable) to a freshwater source at the same level of quality. Life-cycle fossil energy consumption and net energy balance, which is the life-cycle fossil energy consumption deducted from the renewable biofuel energy produced, are also assessed.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Very High Efficiency Dedicated Outdoor Air System Field Site Re-Evaluation

The study reported here evaluated the long-term performance of Very High Efficiency (VHE) Dedicated Outside Air Systems (DOASs) installed at eight sites that participated in field evaluation studies performed by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) and Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) from 2015 through 2020. The study compared the energy performance of the systems in 2021-2022 to the findings of the original evaluation. It also evaluated the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) as perceived by occupants and building operator feedback before and after the system conversion. The findings of the study are important for building owners and managers who are considering adopting VHE DOASs. The study found that the systems: (1) consistently saved energy over the long term, (2) improved occupant comfort, and (3) received positive feedback from building operators. All of the sites had similar or improved energy savings over the pre-conversion system compared to the original evaluation savings, and only one site had a small reduction in energy savings. The sites averaged 48 percent whole site energy savings compared to the pre-conversion system. The continued energy performance of these sites provides strong evidence that the energy savings achieved by VHE DOAS retrofits will be sustained long term. The study also investigated the changes in occupant comfort resulting from the VHE DOAS retrofit. Responses to a survey sent to the sites’ occupants revealed that the conversion resulted in a better indoor environment for the occupants. Most respondents reported that their satisfaction increased, and dissatisfaction decreased post-conversion. Overall occupants were 43 percent more satisfied and 30 percent less dissatisfied post-conversion compared to pre-conversion. The study's findings suggest that a VHE DOAS can be a solution to improve the energy efficiency, reduce energy costs, and increase occupant comfort in buildings.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Sandia Nuclear Cartridge Concept

Nuclear power offers the promise of long-term electrical power for remote areas. Recent advances in passive safety and long-life cores make a reactor that can be operated autonomously for 20 years or more a real possibility. This white paper discusses a reactor concept that offers the potential for further development, resulting in a permanently hermetically-sealed "nuclear cartridge." The term "nuclear cartridge" is meant to imply a nuclear energy source that can be inserted into a site and operated autonomously until its energy has been depleted, then withdrawn and replaced by another cartridge. The concept can be scaled for various sizes, ranging from about 1 megawatt-electric (MWe) to about 100 MWe. The paper also discusses the concept of Integrated Safety, Operations, Security, and Safeguards (ISOSS) by design as it applies to this reactor design. Finally, a discussion of smart grids and how they can benefit the transfer of power to the end user is included. The Nuclear Cartridge concept has been developed with the following characteristics in mind: highly reliable autonomous operation coupled with international monitoring, requiring minimal on-site operations personnel; walkaway passively safe design; cartridge replacement cycle on the order of 20 years; load following capability; physical security by design requiring minimal security personnel during operations; and proliferation resistance by design. As illustrated in figure 1, integrating the reactor with advanced power conversion, smart grids, and other sources of energy results in a resilient and sustainable energy source.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Overview of NETL’s Low Temperature CO2 Electrolysis Research

This keynote lecture will briefly overview diverse research areas of National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to advance energy and environmental sustainability along with carbon management. Our electrochemistry efforts on carbon conversion directly support the US goal of achieving carbon-free power sector by 2035 and net zero emissions by 2050. Since CO2 electroreduction is highly structure-sensitive, NETL ongoing research has been focused on the rational design and engineering of electrocatalysts to facilitate the CO2 conversion to desirable products with good selectivity, activity, and durability. Different classes and types of electrocatalytic materials will be covered in this talk, from well-defined atomic-scale model catalysts to heterogenous, scalable powder systems at nano- and micro-scale for “real world” performance evaluation. Several spectroscopic, microscopic, and electrochemical characterization techniques along with computational findings will be additionally discussed to gain more insights into the structure-activity relation. The last part of this seminar will provide more detail on how NETL has transitioned from the most common aqueous H-type reactor for lab-scale validation to more realistic full electrolyzer cell in bench-scale prototype. The knowledge, electrocatalytic materials, and device validation achieved from NETL in-house research will be translated to industrial sector for large scale deployment and the anticipated outcome will help advance the development of low temperature CO2 electrolysis technologies.

Nguyen Phan, Thuy Duong↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Perspective on Solar-Driven Electrochemical Routes for Sustainable Methanol Production

The transition towards sustainable and renewable energy sources is imperative in mitigating the environmental impacts of escalating global energy consumption. Methanol, with its versatile applications and potential as a clean energy carrier, a precursor chemical, and a valuable commodity, emerges as a promising solution within the realm of renewable energy technologies. This work explores the integration of electrochemistry with solar power to drive efficient methanol production processes, focusing on electrochemical reduction (ECR) of CO 2 and methane oxidation reaction (MOR) as pathways for methanol synthesis. Through detailed analysis and calculations, we evaluate the thermodynamic limits and realistic solar-to-fuel (STF) efficiencies of ECR and MOR. Our investigation encompasses the characterization of multijunction light absorbers, determination of thermoneutral potentials, and assessment of STF efficiencies under varying conditions. We identify the challenges and opportunities inherent in both ECR and MOR pathways, shedding light on catalyst stability, reaction kinetics, and system optimization, thereby providing insights into the prospects and challenges of solar-driven methanol synthesis, offering a pathway towards a cleaner and more sustainable energy future.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Building a Just Transition to a Sustainable Energy Future

Residential and commercial buildings consume roughly 74% of U.S. electricity and are responsible for approximately 35% of carbon emissions. As a result, there is no pathway to a sustainable energy future that does not prioritize a transformation in how we use, store, and generate energy in our nation’s buildings. Consequently, the importance and timeliness of research, development, demonstration, and deployment of clean energy building technologies is more pressing than ever. However, inequities that permeate society are acutely prevalent in the energy economy, particularly in the buildings sector. Therefore, as we transition to a sustainable energy future, we should prioritize a “just transition,” where we ensure the benefits, as well as costs, are more equitably distributed. As a scientific and technical community, we should take the lead in centering equity in clean energy technology innovation by permeating equity throughout the RDD&D spectrum. This talk will discuss pathways to achieving a just transition toward a sustainable energy future. It will highlight current Department of Energy and national laboratory RDD&D efforts that advance clean energy goals. The talk will conclude by challenging the ASME community to look through a lens of equity that prioritizes an equitable distribution of benefits and costs for our sustainable energy future.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Analysis of hydrogen infrastructure for the feasibility, economics, and sustainability of a fuel cell powered data center

Data centers used for internet data services, cloud computing, and/or data storage consume vast amounts of electricity and are increasing rapidly in capacity. Consequently, their power consumption has raised concerns about energy sustainability and environmental impacts. Large-scale, on-site renewable energy could help reduce data centers’ carbon footprint; however, wind and solar power alone cannot provide an uninterrupted power supply to computer servers due to their natural variability. Instead, reliable power integration can be achieved by using fuel cells powered by hydrogen from sustainable resources (e.g., wind and solar energy). Establishing a hydrogen infrastructure will be critical for realizing these benefits and establishing fuel cells as a viable power source for data centers. Here, to facilitate the development of novel carbon-free fuel cell data enters, this paper presents renewable power integrated with hydrogen infrastructures in four scenarios to provide reliable hydrogen supply from production to storage. Various paths were analyzed toward a hydrogen supply infrastructure by determining the proper component sizes and calculating the cost of meeting the server load. We used a microgrid modeling software, Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER), and studied the feasibility of fuel cell powered data centers employing renewable hydrogen. The modeling results show various renewable integration configurations to meet reliable and sustainable power requirement under four scenarios for a carbon-free data center.

08 HYDROGEN↗