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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Comparison of direct and CO 2 -oxidative dehydrogenation of propane

Propane dehydrogenation to propylene has received increasing attention due to the fast growth in propylene demand and the exploration of shale gas containing propane. Direct dehydrogenation of propane (DDHP) offers high propylene selectivity but is limited by quick deactivation due to coke formation. CO 2 -assisted oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (CO 2 -ODHP) can consume CO 2 and meanwhile reduce coke deposition via the reverse Boudouard reaction. Here in the current review, direct and CO 2 -assisted dehydrogenation of propane has been compared from three aspects: reaction mechanisms, catalyst compositions, and CO 2 footprint analysis. As the average CO 2 emissions from electricity generation decrease due to the utilization of renewable energy, CO 2 -ODHP potentially leads to a net-negative CO 2 footprint while DDHP cannot.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

XFEL Microcrystallography of Self-Assembling Silver n -Alkanethiolates

New synthetic hybrid materials and their increasing complexity have placed growing demands on crystal growth for single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Unfortunately, not all chemical systems are conducive to the isolation of single crystals for traditional characterization. Here, small-molecule serial femtosecond crystallography (smSFX) at atomic resolution (0.833 Å) is employed to characterize microcrystalline silver n-alkanethiolates with various alkyl chain lengths at X-ray free electron laser facilities, resolving long-standing controversies regarding the atomic connectivity and odd–even effects of layer stacking. smSFX provides high-quality crystal structures directly from the powder of the true unknowns, a capability that is particularly useful for systems having notoriously small or defective crystals. We present crystal structures of silver n-butanethiolate (C4), silver n-hexanethiolate (C6), and silver n-nonanethiolate (C9). We show that an odd–even effect originates from the orientation of the terminal methyl group and its role in packing efficiency. We also propose a secondary odd–even effect involving multiple mosaic blocks in the crystals containing even-numbered chains, identified by selected-area electron diffraction measurements. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of the merits of the synthetic preparation for the preparation of microdiffraction specimens and compare the long-range order in these crystals to that of self-assembled monolayers.

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

Harmonized geospatial data to support infrastructure siting feasibility planning for energy system transitions

Climate change, energy system transitions, and socioeconomic change are compounding influences affecting the growth of electricity demand. While energy efficiency initiatives and distributed resources can address a significant amount of this demand, the United States will likely still need new utility-scale generation resources. The energy sector uses capacity expansion planning models to determine the aggregate need for new generation, but these models are typically at the state or regional scale and are not equipped to address the wide range of location- and technology-specific issues that are increasingly a factor in power plant siting. To help address these challenges, we have developed the Geospatial Raster Input Data for Capacity Expansion Regional Feasibility (GRIDCERF) data package, a high-resolution product to evaluate siting suitability for renewable and non-renewable power plants in the conterminous United States. GRIDCERF offers 264 suitability layers for use with 56 power plant technologies in a harmonized format that can be easily ingested by geospatially-enabled modeling software allowing for customization to robustly address science objectives when evaluating varying future conditions.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Energy-efficient scientific computing using chemical reservoirs

The rapid growth of computing demands driven by scientific computing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) advancements has exposed the limitations of traditional digital processing systems. These systems are nearing physical energy barriers, making significant gains in energy efficiency increasingly unattainable. As we advance toward post-exascale computing, disruptive approaches are critical to overcoming these limitations. Among emerging analog solutions, biochemical computing offers a transformative path for achieving orders-of-magnitude improvements in energy efficiency. By leveraging the natural optimization capabilities of chemical reaction networks (CRNs), biochemical systems have the potential to meet high-performance computing needs through natural scalability. However, numerous challenges remain, including theoretical limitations in mapping computational problems to CRNs and practical barriers in implementing biochemical computing devices. In this paper, we present a framework for chemical computation using biochemical systems and introduce key components of our approach for energy-efficient scientific computing. We showcase the feasibility of this framework by solving a system of ordinary differential equations by emulating a chemical reservoir device, demonstrating its potential for addressing modern computing challenges. This work lays a foundational step toward harnessing the computational power of chemistry to design energy-efficient, scalable, high-performance next-generation computing systems.

Johnson, Connah G. M. [Pacific Northwest National ↗
DOE OSTI2024

A science-driven approach to optimize the design for a biological small-angle neutron scattering instrument

Biological small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) instruments facilitate critical analysis of the structure and dynamics of complex biological systems. However, with the growth of experimental demands and the advances in optical systems design, a new neutron optical concept is necessary to overcome the limitations of current instruments. This work presents an approach to include experimental objectives ( i.e. the science to be supported by a specific neutron scattering instrument) in the optimization of the neutron optical concept. The approach for a proposed SANS instrument at the Second Target Station of the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA, is presented here. Further, the instrument is simulated with the McStas software package. The optimization process is driven by an evolutionary algorithm using McStas output data, which are processed to calculate an objective function designed to quantify the expected performance of the simulated neutron optical configuration for the intended purpose. Each McStas simulation covers the complete instrument, from source to detector, including realistic sample scattering functions. This approach effectively navigates a high-dimensional parameter space that is otherwise intractable; it allows the design of next-generation SANS instruments to address specific scientific cases and has the potential to increase instrument performance compared with traditional design approaches.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Methods to Incorporate Energy Efficiency in Electricity System Planning and Markets

Electric utilities, independent system operators and regional transmission operators have acquired significant levels of energy efficiency over several decades. The predominant approach utilities use to consider energy efficiency in electricity system planning and ISO/RTOs use in wholesale electricity markets is to reduce load forecasts to account for estimated impacts of relevant policies and programs. But an increasing number of states and utilities are interested in improved analysis of energy efficiency in electricity system planning and wholesale electricity markets. This report describes how to consider energy efficiency as a potential resource for the future by allowing it to compete with all other electricity system resources. Increasing levels of wind and solar, growth in peak demand, and electrification of transportation and other new loads have increased the need for a more flexible and responsive electricity system. Considering energy efficiency as a resource option can support these and other electricity system objectives, including grid reliability, reduced electricity costs, energy efficiency targets, and lower air pollutant emissions. The October 2019 slides were presented at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy Energy Efficiency as a Resource conference and provide an overview of the report. Portions of the report were included in the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy Energy Efficiency 2020 Summer Study paper, Planning for the Grid of Tomorrow: Energy Efficiency as a Resource in Utility Resource Plans.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Sustainability of the U.S. Manufacturing Sector: Use of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to improve health and education, reduce inequality, and encourage economic growth, while also preserving or improving the conditions of our oceans and forests. Pursuing these SDGs would mean $12 trillion in economic opportunities for companies, while also improving the lives of all people and bettering the planet. Some manufacturing companies are already focusing on sustainability, but not all. In 2019, almost 30% of National Association of Manufacturers members did not have a sustainable policy, goals, or program in place. Business drivers for sustainability and the SDGs are similar, with focuses on economic growth and consumer demands. Despite the shortcomings of the SDGs, they represent an opportunity for manufacturing companies to further improve energy, material efficiency, and productivity. This report evaluates the SDGs and the manufacturing sector. The manufacturing sector was analyzed using the technology assessments (TAs) introduced in the 2015 Quadrennial Technology Review (QTR) review, which focused on concepts, challenges, and solutions to meet the United States' energy needs. Annual or sustainability reporting of companies performing work in one of those TAs were analyzed for mentions of the SDGs. The call-out boxes throughout this report provide examples of companies making progress toward the SDGs. The possible overlap between the SDGs and the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) was also evaluated. The TAs in the 2015 QTR Review were furthered with detailed targets in the draft Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP) for Fiscal Years 2017-2021. Direct and likely relationships between the SDGs and the TAs were established. Positives, challenges, SDG-related literature, and future steps are also discussed in this report.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Demonstration of the Blending of the H-Canyon 2nd U Cycle with Natural U to Produce a HALEU Solution

Continued growth in the demand for high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) is projected to support the conversion of US high performance research reactors from high to low enrichment and the development and deployment of a new generation of advanced reactors. Current options to meet the growing US need for HALEU include (1) blend-down of excess of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from the nuclear weapons programs, (2) blend-down of HEU metal from other stockpiles, or (3) recycle of irradiated HEU recovered from spent nuclear fuel (SNF). The recycle of HEU from SNF has been performed at the Savannah River Site (SRS) H-Canyon facility for nearly two decades to produce 4.95 wt % U-235 for sale and subsequent use in fuel for Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) reactors. The HALEU produced in H-Canyon will not exceed the U-236 concentration limit in the ASTM C1462 standard for U metal enriched to more than 15% and less than 20% U-235, which applies to advanced reactors.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Integrated Assessment Modeling of Grid Resilience: GCAM-to-PCM Scoping

Deep decarbonization towards a net-zero emissions future and the associated growth in power demand, renewables, and changes in water availability will require significant evolution in grid planning. Many obstacles threaten the viability of near-term generation capacity build out, including the need for large-scale transmission expansion. Current very-long term planning tools do not adequately model physical representations of economic dispatch and system topology down to inter- and intra-regional transmission and distribution infrastructure. This project attempts to fill that gap.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Hydrogen Infrastructure Analysis Frameworks for Aviation Applications

While aircraft account for less than 10% of United States (U.S.) transportation energy consumption, it is the only mode expected to see sustained growth in energy demand through 2050. Currently, commercially available aircraft rely heavily on either jet fuel or leaded aviation gasoline. Over the past few decades, concerns have grown over the contributing effects that greenhouse gases, which are produced from fossil fuels, have on the environment.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2026

Mechanical Solution for Existing Conductors

The rapid growth in energy demand, driven by advancements in AI technology, renewable energy integration, and increased industrial activity, highlights the need for innovative solutions to improve the resiliency and efficiency of the power grid. This report details the fire testing of GridWrap’s Composite WiRe Wrap, to evaluate the wrap's ability to enhance conductor performance under wildfire-simulated conditions. Conductors were prepared and tested in a controlled environment at 400°C for 18 minutes, during which sag and temperature data were recorded. The results demonstrated that the unwrapped conductor sagged 3/16ths of an inch, while the WiRe Wrapped conductor sagged only 1/16th of an inch under identical conditions, indicating a significant improvement in mechanical performance. This project, conducted as part of a collaborative effort between BEA (Idaho National Laboratory’s managing contractor) and GridWrap, Inc., demonstrates the potential of grid-enhancing technologies like WiRe Wrap to reduce sag, increase grid resiliency, and support the future energy landscape. By validating the performance of such technologies in real-world scenarios, this work provides critical insights for industry adoption, benefiting both grid operators and U.S. taxpayers through improved reliability, reduced emissions, and enhanced energy delivery.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Green Light Emitting Diodes for the Ultimate Solid-state Lighting

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs), in particular InGaN-based LED devices, have achieved remarkable success in solid-state lighting, contributing to 25% of energy savings already. However, more than two thirds of the electricity is still lost as heat in current white LEDs today. Furthermore, expected population growth and increasing demand for lighting necessitate a more efficient approach, which can only be realized by solving the issue of the green gap (i.e., the inefficiency of the state-of-the-art green LEDs). This green gap is a fundamentally limiting issue in conventional hexagonal nitride LEDs, leading to 19% wall-plug efficiency (WPE) at 100 A/cm 2 , while the department of energy goal is 30% (in 2025) and 55% (in 2035).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

An experimental database of cell performance for vanadium redox flow battery

The continual growth in energy demand has resulted in the deployment of renewable energy generators to reduce the impact of fossil fuel dependence. However, these generators often suffer from intermittency and require energy storage when there is over-generation and the subsequent release of this stored energy at high demand. One promising energy storage technology which can provide a solution to improve energy management and grid stability, is the redox flow battery. Among the numerous flow battery systems, vanadium redox flow battery is the most iconic solution to large scale energy storage, giving a more efficient link between energy production, especially from renewables, and energy demand. The aim of the current database is to characterize the performance of the cell design and to provide training/validation data for physical model or data-driven model. The database includes hundreds of experimental cell performance data of vanadium redox flow battery with various current densities for multiple charge-discharge cycles. All the cell parameters, chemical parameters, material parameters, operation parameters and thermodynamic parameters of the cell system are listed. Coulomb, voltaic and energy efficiencies are also provided. The database will be helpful for researchers in the field of redox flow batteries.

Gao, Peiyuan↗
DOE OSTI2025

ChemComp: Compiling and Computing with Chemical Reaction Networks

The exponential growth in computing demands driven by scientific computing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence is pushing conventional CMOS-based high-performance computing systems to their physical and energy efficiency limits. As we approach the era of post-exascale computing, disruptive approaches are necessary to overcome these barriers and achieve substantial gains in energy efficiency. Analog and hybrid digital-analog computing systems have emerged as promising alternatives, offering the potential for orders-of-magnitude improvements in efficiency. Among these, biochemical computing stands out as a novel paradigm capable of leveraging the natural efficiency of chemical reactions, which have shown promise in solving optimization problems by converging to steady states. By scaling up reaction networks or reaction vessel sizes, biochemical systems present an opportunity to meet the high-performance demands of modern computing tasks. Despite their promise, significant theoretical and practical challenges remain, particularly in formulating and mapping computational problems to chemical reaction networks (CRNs) and designing viable biochemical computing devices. This paper addresses these challenges by introducing new ideas to ChemComp, a compilation and emulation framework for chemical computation. This work describes the mechanisms through which solutions to ordinary differential equations (ODEs) that can be represented as CRN systems can be achieved. Furthermore, we explain the design principles of an ODE dialect implemented as a multi-level intermediate representation (MLIR) compiler extension that will be coupled with existing infrastructure. We demonstrate the potential of our framework through a case study emulating a simplified chemical reservoir computing device. This work establishes foundational tools and methodologies necessary to harness the computational power of chemistry, paving the way for the development of energy-efficient, high-performance computing systems tailored to contemporary and future computational needs.

Bohm Agostini, Nicolas↗
DOE OSTI2025

MSD CoP Webinar: Energy and AI

Context: This webinar was hosted by the MultiSector Dynamics Community of Practice (MSD CoP; https://multisectordynamics.org). Abstract: Projections of the need for new data centers to support Artificial Intelligence (AI) are large but highly uncertain. Recent projections indicate up to a 15% annual growth rate in data center electricity demand within the next 5-10 years. Given that most electric utilities are required to have a reserve margin of roughly the same magnitude as the projected growth in demand, these new data center loads could soon threaten resource adequacy and reliability unless data centers build their own generation, interruptible loads are negotiated, commensurate new capacity and/or transmission is built, or some combination of these options. Similarly, depending on the cooling technology and geographic location of new data centers, they could threaten water adequacy in water scarce regions. This webinar will provide an overview of the interactions between energy and AI and highlight two MSD projects exploring the grid and water implications of new data centers to support AI. Presenters : Dr. Casey Burleyson (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory); Dr. Stephanie Morris (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory); Kendall Mongird (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) Moderator: Patrick M. Reed (MSD CoP Facilitation Team) This webinar was held on: June 16th, 2025 from 1-2 PM EST.

Artificial Intelligence↗
DOE OSTI2025

Energy and AI: Evaluating Future Grid and Water Stress Due to Data Centers

Projections of the need for new data centers to support Artificial Intelligence (AI) are large but highly uncertain. Recent projections indicate up to a 15% annual growth rate in data center electricity demand within the next 5-10 years. Given that most electric utilities are required to have a reserve margin of roughly the same magnitude as the projected growth in demand, these new data center loads could soon threaten resource adequacy and reliability unless data centers build their own generation, interruptible loads are negotiated, commensurate new capacity and/or transmission is built, or some combination of these options. Similarly, depending on the cooling technology and geographic location of new data centers, they could threaten water adequacy in water scarce regions. This presentation highlights the grid and water implications of new data centers to support AI.

Mongird, Kendall (ORCID:0000000328077088)↗
DOE OSTI2025

The DREAM approach to demand-side emissions reductions in Indonesia, 2020–2060

Indonesia’s current energy system modeling is heavily focused on the supply side, but emissions reductions in the demand sector have a significant impact on advancing Indonesia’s ambitious emissions reductions goals. To address the gap, we develop a new modeling tool DREAM Indonesia based on a bottom-up, technology-rich demand side framework and formulate projections of demand-side emissions reductions in Indonesia in 2020–2060. We find that demand-side energy efficiency and electrification can halve the growth rate of final energy demand to 1.4% annually over 2020–2060 and reverse the growing trend of emissions. The feasibility of full electrification by 2060, coupled with rapid adoption of existing technologies, positions the building sector as a model for achievable decarbonization and a cornerstone of Indonesia’s emissions reductions ambitions. In the industrial sector, extensive emissions reductions of 87% by 2060 (compared to business-as-usual) are achievable through energy efficiency improvements, alongside enhanced material efficiency measures including optimized material usage, low-carbon substitutions, innovative technologies, and increased circularity. In the transportation sector, balancing final energy demand by incorporating energy efficiency improvements across all transport modes, along with electrification particularly in road transportation, could decrease the emissions by up to 82% in 2060 compared to business-as-usual. This study provides insights and modeling approaches for rapidly growing Asian economies as well as other developing countries facing combined development and decarbonization challenges.

DREAM Indonesia↗
DOE OSTI2021

Amount and reactivity of dissolved organic matter export are affected by land cover change from old‐growth to second‐growth forests in headwater ecosystems

Abstract Headwater forest ecosystems of the western USA generate a large portion of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) transported in streams across North America. Land cover changes that alter forest structure and species composition affect the quantity and composition of DOM transferred to aquatic ecosystems. Clear‐cut harvesting affects ~1% of the forest area of North America annually, leaving most western forests in varying stages of regrowth and the total area of old‐growth forest is decreasing. The consequences of this widespread management practice on watershed carbon cycling remain unknown. We investigated the role of land cover change, because of clear‐cut harvesting, from mixed‐species old‐growth to lodgepole pine‐dominated second‐growth forest on the character and reactivity of hillslope DOM exports. We evaluated inputs of DOM from litter leachates and export of DOM collected at the base of trenched hillslopes during a 3‐year period (2016–2018) at the Fraser Experimental Forest in north‐central Colorado, USA. Dissolved organic carbon and total dissolved nitrogen were higher in lateral subsurface flow draining old‐ versus second‐growth forest. Fluorescence spectroscopy showed that the DOM exported from the old‐growth forest was more heterogeneous and aromatic and that proteinaceous, microbially processed DOM components were more prevalent in the second‐growth forest. Biological oxygen demand assays revealed much lower microbial metabolism of DOM in litter leachate and subsurface exports from the old‐growth forest relative to second growth. Old‐growth and second‐growth forests are co‐mingled in managed ecosystems, and our findings demonstrate that land cover change from a mixture of conifer species to lodgepole pine dominance influences DOM inputs that can increase the reactivity of DOM transferred from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems.

Fegel, Timothy S.↗