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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Integrated Carbon Capture and Storage in Hydrogen Production: A Combined Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Assessment

This paper presents a coupled techno-economic and life cycle assessment of “blue” hydrogen to be produced at a hydrogen facility through steam methane reforming (SMR) equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Blue hydrogen was modeled in ChemCAD, while an integrated asset model represented the carbon capture and storage chain. An unabated carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) configuration release 11.99 kgCO 2 -eq/ kgH 2 . Capturing ≥95% of the CO 2 stream lowers the carbon footprint to 6.59 kgCO 2 -eq/kgH2 but raises the levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) from $\$$1.82/kgH 2 (no CO 2 capture) to $\$$3.22/kgH 2 ; the U.S. 45Q tax credit reduces it to $\$$2.59/kgH 2 . Incorporating CCS reduces the levelized net present value from $\$$0.87/kgH 2 to $\$$0.74/kgH 2 , owing to additional capture, transport, and storage costs. Supplying SMR with low-carbon electricity, especially nuclear, wind, or hydro, delivers the lowest carbon footprint relative to geothermal or grid mixes. Sensitivity analysis identifies that hydrogen sales price, internal rate of return, and CCS cost as the strongest economic levers, while electricity demand dominates residual lifecycle emissions. The results underscore a clear trade-off; substantial CO 2 reductions are achievable, but only with higher production costs, making supportive policy instruments, access to clean power, and robust hydrogen markets essential for large-scale deployment of blue hydrogen.

carbon capture↗
DOE OSTI2025

Techno-economic design of a linear Fresnel reflector for industrial process heat

A techno-economic model of a Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) system using a Linear Fresnel Reflector (LFR) has been developed. LFRs can deliver process heat suitable for a range of industries, including food and beverage production. This model uses an adaptive algorithm to calculate the optimal secondary reflector shape given the geometry and optical properties of the rest of the system. A ray-tracing program is used to calculate optical efficiency over a wide range of longitudinal and transversal incidence angles and subsequently evaluate the annual efficiency at a given geographical location. A specific LFR design developed by Hyperlight Energy was modelled, and this industrial partner provided a detailed cost breakdown which was used as the basis of an economic model. Combining the technical and economic data facilitates the calculation of the Levelized Cost of Heat (LCOH). The influence of a number of parameters on the annual efficiency and LCOH is explored; notable parameters include the absorber height, the number, width, and spacing of the primary mirrors, the aim point, and the secondary reflector shape and width. By identifying an optimal combination of these parameters, we reduce the LCOH of the industry partner’s system design by 9.2%, from 14.4 $\$/MWh_{th}$ to 13.0 $\$/MWh_{th}$. In comparison, the LCOH of a natural gas boiler delivering the same annual quantity of heat is 29 $\$/MWh_{th}$, which indicates that LFRs can be a competitive heat source for industrial processes.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Challenging conventional assumptions in PV: a high-throughput open-air approach to low-cost perovskite module production

Perovskite solar modules (PSMs) offer a promising pathway to low-cost photovoltaics, yet their commercialization is challenged by manufacturing scalability, device uniformity, additive costs, interlayer complexity, and module stability. This study introduces a comprehensive technoeconomic analysis of single junction PSM's and projections for tandem perovskite-Si modules that integrate all materials and manufacturing steps, module performances, projected lifetimes, and manufacturing costs across scales. Here, we highlight an open-air manufacturing approach to fabricate all active layers of serially interconnected PSMs, including electrodes and charge transport layers, enabling high-throughput production without inert or vacuum environments. The analysis reveals two orders of magnitude throughput enhancement and cost reductions of 24% in all-open-air production, escalating to over 60% at 1 GW factory capacity compared to conventional methods. Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) projections for utility-scale installations over 30 years, accounting for module replacement and recycling, demonstrate the potential to achieve the 2030 US target of $0.03 per kWh with realistic 7–11-year PSM lifetimes, outperforming incumbent silicon-based modules. Neither four terminal (4T) nor two terminal (2T) tandem-Si PSMs improve over single junction perovskite or silicon LCOE regardless of higher efficiencies at any modeled lifetime. Addressing PSM technical challenges with a cost-modeling framework guides commercialization efforts and provides a convincing pathway for challenging incumbent Si-based PV.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Broad range material-to-system screening of metal–organic frameworks for hydrogen storage using machine learning

Hydrogen is pivotal in the transition to sustainable energy systems, playing major roles in power generation and industrial applications. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising mediums for efficient hydrogen storage. However, identifying potential candidates for deployment is challenging due to the vast number of currently available synthesized MOFs. This study integrates molecular simulations, machine learning, and techno-economic analysis to evaluate the performance of MOFs across broad operation conditions for hydrogen storage applications. While previous screenings of MOF databases have predominantly emphasized high hydrogen capacities under cryogenic conditions, this study reveals that optimal temperatures and pressures for cost minimization depend on the raw price of the MOF. Specifically, when MOFs are priced at $15/kg, among the 9720 MOFs tested, 9692 MOFs achieve the lowest cost at temperatures between 170 K and 250 K and a pressure of 150 bar. Under these optimal conditions, 362 MOFs deliver a lower levelized cost of storage than 350 bar compressed gas hydrogen storage. Furthermore, this study reveals key material properties that result in low system cost, such as high surface areas (>3000 m2/g), large void fractions (>0.78), and large pore volumes (>1.1 cm3/g).

Hydrogen storage↗
DOE OSTI2025

Develop an efficient and cost-effective novel anaerobic digestion system producing high purity of methane from diverse waste biomass

This project focuses on developing an advanced, intensified anaerobic digestion system aimed at transforming the treatment and conversion of organic wastes into valuable products, specifically renewable natural gas. The motivation for this research stems from the limitations of conventional anaerobic digestion technologies, which often face challenges such as long retention times, high operational costs, and incomplete organic material degradation. The new technology called Intensified Versatile Anaerobic Digestion (IVAD), is developed to address these challenges by incorporating innovative reactors and processes that enhance the overall efficiency and output of anaerobic digestion. The significance of this project lies in its potential to revolutionize waste management practices and waste biomass utilization. The IVAD system integrates a hyperthermophilic anaerobic acidification reactor, a hydrothermal treatment (HTT) unit, and both thermophilic and mesophilic methanogenic reactors. This combination enables a higher rate of organic breakdown and energy recovery, resulting in faster processing times, reduced reactor sizes, and lower operational costs compared to traditional systems. Key data include an increase in methane productivity to 1.18 m 3 /m 3 /day, a significant improvement compared to the baseline technology’s 0.64 m 3 /m 3 /day. Additionally, the IVAD system achieves a 45% reduction in levelized cost of energy (LCOE), down to $\$$10.04/MMBTU, and an energy return on investment (EROI) of 3.19, representing an 87% increase over baseline levels. Technical and economic analyses highlight that the IVAD system significantly reduces hydraulic retention time (HRT) and solid retention time (SRT). The HRT for the HTT reactor can be reduced from 1 hour to 0.5 hours, while decoupling SRT from HRT in the anaerobic acidification reactor (AAR) allows for further reductions. These design optimizations lead to smaller reactor volumes, cutting down equipment and construction costs. Despite these advancements, energy consumption remains comparable to conventional methods due to a novel heat recovery strategy, enhancing overall process productivity. The system also achieves in-situ CO 2 removal and ammonia stripping features, resulting in biogas with a methane purity level of 75%, and produces high-quality nitrogen fertilizer as an additional by-product. Public benefits of the IVAD system are substantial, contributing to sustainable waste management and renewable energy production. By providing a scalable solution that can be adopted by dairy farms and similar agricultural operations, the IVAD system helps reduce waste, produce renewable natural gas (RNG) suitable for transportation fuel, and generate fertilizer, supporting a circular economy. This project plays a role in achieving broader environmental objectives by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and promoting energy independence. Additionally, it offers a pathway for farmers to lower operational costs while adopting practices that are both environmentally sustainable and economically advantageous.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
NASA NTRS1999

Application of Reconfigurable Avionics for the Bantam Launch Vehicle

The modern aerospace market is placing increasing pressure on launch costs. This is particularly true for small university science payloads, where the cost of the experiment itself is relatively low, and the launch frequency is potentially very high. It is the stated goal of NASA's Bantam Program to reduce dramatically the costs of launching this class of payloads to the order of $1,000,000 per launch for a single 200 pound payload. The envisioned Bantam vehicle is a multi-stage reusable launch system. Meeting the Program's goal for this versatile type of vehicle requires reductions in production cost, maintenance cost, and the operation cost. However, the cost of avionics is a relatively small fraction of the overall cost of launching a payload, and a simple reduction in the avionics costs will not achieve the Bantam goal. Only by reducing weight, volume, and power, while enhancing computational capability can the avionics be used to address the system-level cost reduction requirements.

Wallace, Kevin Shawn↗
DOE OSTI2024

Screening Analysis of Terrestrial Enhanced Rock Weathering of Igneous Rocks and Industrial Waste Materials

This poster, presented at the 17th Greenhouse Gas Control Technology Conference, reports on an NETL screening level techno-economic assessment of enhanced weathering (EW). EW is a promising emerging carbon dioxide removal approach that involves harnessing and accelerating the natural weathering process by which atmospheric CO2 passively reacts with exposed alkaline minerals and is removed from the atmosphere. Two primary cases utilizing different sources of alkaline material are considered: (1) utilizing naturally occurring mined igneous rocks, and (2) utilizing industrial waste materials. The analysis highlights that utilizing materials with high weathering potential in suitable locations may result in relatively low levelized cost of captured. NETL is publishing a detailed and transparent report titled “Enhanced Weathering: Techno-Economic and Life Cycle Screening Analysis” that includes more detail on the screening level techno-economic analysis and includes a life cycle analysis.

carbon dioxide removal↗
DOE OSTI2024

Quantifying Socioeconomic Impacts of Electricity Generating Technologies

The levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and other cost metrics used in energy planning do not account for out-of-market impacts of the technology choice. While a decision-maker at the utility or asset owner level may compare multiple forms of electricity generating technology using LCOE, a decision-maker over energy policy or community stakeholders may be interested in considering impacts beyond those that LCOE measures. This report quantifies economic impacts such as jobs and wage growth across electricity generation technologies then develops an approach to systematically compare socioeconomic metrics across technology choices. To address additional workforce related impacts, this report also compares the typical workforce education requirements and annual income levels for multiple types of electricity generating facilities. The grid scale electricity generating technologies analyzed in this report produce power using conventional hydroelectric dams, coal, natural gas, nuclear reactors, solar PV, land-based wind turbines, geothermal heat, and woody biomass combustion. Although it doesn’t generate electricity itself, the economic impacts associated with battery storage equipment manufacturing and installation were also analyzed.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
NASA NTRS1983

Advanced coal gasifier-fuel cell power plant systems design

Two advanced, high efficiency coal-fired power plants were designed, one utilizing a phosphoric acid fuel cell and one utilizing a molten carbonate fuel cell. Both incorporate a TRW Catalytic Hydrogen Process gasifier and regenerator. Both plants operate without an oxygen plant and without requiring water feed; they, instead, require makeup dolomite. Neither plant requires a shift converter; neither plant has heat exchangers operating above 1250 F. Both plants have attractive efficiencies and costs. While the molten carbonate version has a higher (52%) efficiency than the phosphoric acid version (48%), it also has a higher ($0.078/kWh versus $0.072/kWh) ten-year levelized cost of electricity. The phosphoric acid fuel cell power plant is probably feasible to build in the near term: questions about the TRW process need to be answered experimentally, such as weather it can operate on caking coals, and how effective the catalyzed carbon-dioxide acceptor will be at pilot scale, both in removing carbon dioxide and in removing sulfur from the gasifier.

Heller, M. E.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Application of Reconfigurable Avionics for the Bantam Launch Vehicle

The modern market is placing increasing pressure on launch costs. This is particularly true for small university science payloads, where the cost of the experiment itself is relatively low, and the launch frequency is potentially very high. It is the stated goal of the Bantam Program to dramatically reduce the costs of launching this class of payloads. This is a goal that will require that the avionics not only be reduced in production costs, but also in maintenance and operation costs, because the Bantam vehicle is envisioned as a reusable launch system. However, the costs of avionics is a relatively small fraction of the overall cost of launching a payload, and a simple reduction in the avionics costs will not immediately realize the necessary gains. Instead, to reduce the total system launch costs, it is also necessary to improve avionics performance. Only by reducing weight, volume, and power, while enhancing computational capability can the avionics be used to address the system-level cost reduction requirements. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently pursuing technology development tasks, in order to support the Bantam requirements. One technology task is to develop a low-cost, high-performance reconfigurable avionics core unit. In addition to providing low cost and high performance, the use of reconfigurability will be used to explore the options of accommodating multiple launch configurations, and addressing such areas as redundancy management, single-event upset immunity, and low maintenance. This paper will address how emerging developments in reconfigurable avionics can be used to meet these challenges.

Wallace, Shawn↗
DOE OSTI2024

Potential for large-scale deployment of offshore wind-to-hydrogen systems in the United States

This study explores the role of producing low-carbon hydrogen using water electrolysis powered by offshore wind in facilitating the United States’ transition to a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. This research introduces an open-source scenario analysis tool for offshore wind-to-hydrogen systems, aiming to assess the impact of technology, regional considerations, and policy incentives on the cost of producing low-carbon hydrogen through offshore wind. Conducting a regional techno-economic analysis at four U.S. coastal sites, the study evaluates two energy transmission configurations and examines associated costs for the years 2025, 2030, and 2035. The results highlight that locations using fixed-bottom technology may achieve cost-competitive water electrolysis hydrogen production by 2030 through leveraging geologic hydrogen storage and federal policy incentives. Furthermore, floating technology locations are expected to see an average 38% reduction in the levelized cost of hydrogen from 2025 to 2035.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1975

Manned orbital systems concept study. Book 4: Programmatics for extended-duration missions

The cost estimates, schedule data, and funding distributions generated in the Manned Orbital Systems Concepts (MOSC) study are presented. The overall objectives were to examine the requirements for, and to describe, a cost-effective concept for an orbital facility capable of supporting manned operations in earth orbit beyond the 7-to-30-day mission duration provided by the Shuttle/Spacelab system. The cost, schedule, and other programmatic data were developed to provide information useful for their long-range planning activities. The major portion of the data documented and discussed consists of project- and system-level schedule and funding information and also project-, system-, and subsystem-level cost summaries.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2026

Assessing the Accuracy of Property Model Predictions for Cost Optimization of Desalination Technologies

Accurate modeling of seawater thermophysical and thermodynamic properties is critical for optimizing desalination processes. This study compares three seawater property models, a Reaktoro multicomponent model, the thermophysical seawater properties library from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a simplified sodium chloride model, in the context of levelized cost of water (LCOW) minimization for reverse osmosis (RO) and mechanical vapor compression systems. Process simulations and cost optimizations reveal that although all three models yield comparable LCOW and specific energy consumption (SEC) estimates under baseline conditions, deviations among their predictions increase with salinity. Relative differences in LCOW and SEC reach up to 6% and 8%, respectively. RO results show greater variability due to differences in osmotic pressure predictions, which affect pressure constraints at high recoveries. Computational performance varies substantially; specifically, Reaktoro simulations are up to 28 times slower than empirical models due to their detailed equilibrium calculations. These results suggest that empirical models offer acceptable accuracy for routine desalination process design, while Reaktoro provides advantages in scenarios requiring detailed speciation, such as scaling or pH adjustment studies. These findings underscore the importance of selecting appropriate property models based on the modeling objective of desalination applications and motivate future work integrating thermodynamic rigor with empirical efficiency.

Physical and chemical properties↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nonlinear programming optimization of a single-stack electrodialysis desalination system for cost efficiency

Electrodialysis (ED) presents a competitive method for desalinating brackish waters. In this work, we perform cost optimization of a single-stack ED system across a range of feed salinities and water recoveries while optimizing operating voltage, number of cell pairs, and cell length. The results of our optimization show that the levelized cost of water (LCOW) increases with an increase in feed salinity. The outcomes of our optimization show that cost-optimal design generally increases cell length while decreasing cell pair number and operating voltage with an increase in salinity. These trends are nonlinear, with the number of cell pairs and applied voltage exhibiting local maxima when operating at low salinity and high recovery. We discuss the underlying mechanism for cell length becoming a leveraging design parameter by inspecting the length-dependent profiles of key electrochemical properties of the ED cell. Finally, we present how increasing performance metrics and decreasing costs impact LCOW, demonstrating that innovations that decrease counter-current diffusion have resulted in the highest decrease of LCOW.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Modular Integrated System for Carbon-Neutral Methanol Synthesis Using Direct Air Capture and Carbon-Free Hydrogen Production

This study investigates the development and economic analysis of a modular integrated system for carbon-neutral methanol synthesis, leveraging direct air capture (DAC) and solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC) for carbon dioxide and hydrogen production, respectively. The proposed system integrates a novel building-based DAC process, functionalized solid sorbents, and low-energy SOEC technology, aiming to minimize operational and capital costs. A comparison between the base case system (1,000 t methanol/year) and a scaled-up model (14,758 t methanol/year) reveals significant improvements in efficiency and economic feasibility. The scaled-up system achieves a levelized cost of methanol (LCOM) of $740/t, a 7.5% reduction compared to that of conventional DAC-based systems, while utilizing existing building HVAC infrastructure for air handling. Detailed sensitivity analyses were conducted, evaluating the effects of plant capacity and air flow rate on the LCOM, demonstrating the scalability of the building-based DAC system. The cradle-to-gate life cycle analysis shows that the proposed process using renewable-sourced electricity achieves a 38% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emission compared to reported values of green methanol production technologies that use a conventional DAC and a conventional methanol synthesis catalyst. When fossil-sourced electricity is used in the proposed process, it leads to about a 37.5% reduction in GHG emission in comparison to reported values for conventional methanol production technologies using steam methane reforming technology and fossil-sourced electricity.

alcohols↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design-Point Techno-Economics of Brayton Cycle PTES for Combined Heat and Power

Pumped thermal energy storage (PTES) systems are grid batteries that use heat pumps to create both hot and cold thermal energy stores when there is excess electricity and then use a power cycle to convert the thermal energy into electricity when there is demand for electricity. In normal operation, Joule–Brayton PTES discharges low-grade heat at temperatures useful for thermal energy consumers like district and industrial heating. Furthermore, PTES designs, like conventional combined heat and power (CHP) technology, can be modified to sacrifice some round-trip efficiency (RTE) to increase the temperature of heat rejection. Here, this paper uses design-point performance and cost models that provide a detailed understanding of the efficiency and cost tradeoffs of rejecting heat at various temperatures in ideal-gas Brayton PTES configurations. First, we keep the heat rejection in its nominal location in the PTES system: in the discharge cycle after the low-pressure exit of the recuperator before the cold-storage heat exchanger. Next, we move the heat rejection to the discharge turbine exit. We define design-point metrics that isolate both the cost and performance penalty associated with the hotter heat rejection and attribute it exclusively to the heat economic metrics. Finally, we estimate the performance of electric heater technology to generate heat at equivalent temperatures. We find that the levelized cost of heat (LCOH), including the cost of thermal energy storage (TES) buffering the PTES and heat off-taker, compares favorably versus electric technologies and is less than the cost of natural gas for low temperature scenarios and competitive with the cost of natural gas in some regions of the contiguous U.S. in high temperature scenarios.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Design-Point Techno-Economics of Brayton Cycle PTES for Combined Heat and Power

Pumped thermal energy storage (PTES) systems are grid batteries that use heat pumps to create both hot and cold thermal energy stores when there is excess electricity and then use a power cycle to convert the thermal energy into electricity when there is demand for electricity. In normal operation, Joule-Brayton PTES discharges low-grade heat at temperatures useful for thermal energy consumers like district and industrial heating. Furthermore, PTES designs, like conventional combined heat and power (CHP) technology, can be modified to sacrifice some round-trip efficiency RTE to increase the temperature of heat rejection. This paper uses design-point performance and cost models that provide a detailed understanding of the efficiency and cost trade-offs of rejecting heat at various temperatures in ideal-gas Brayton PTES configurations. First, we keep the heat rejection in its nominal location in the PTES system: in the discharge cycle after the low-pressure exit of the recuperator before the cold-storage heat exchanger. Next, we move the heat rejection to the discharge turbine exit. We define design-point metrics that isolate both the cost and performance penalty associated with the hotter heat rejection and attribute it exclusively to the heat economic metrics. Finally, we estimate the performance of electric heater technology to generate heat at equivalent temperatures. We find that the levelized cost of heat, including the cost of thermal energy storage (TES) buffering the PTES and heat off-taker, compares favorable versus electric technologies and is less than the cost of natural gas for low temperature scenarios and competitive with the cost of natural gas in some regions of the contiguous United States in high temperature scenarios.

CHP↗
DOE OSTI2025

Technoeconomic Insights into Metal Hydrides for Stationary Hydrogen Storage

Abstract Metal hydrides (MHs) are promising candidates for storing hydrogen at ambient conditions at high volumetric energy densities. Recent developments suggest hydride‐based systems can cycle and operate at favorable pressures and temperatures that work well with fuel cells used in stationary power applications. In this study, we present a comprehensive design and cost analysis of MH‐based long duration hydrogen storage facilities for a variety of power end users (0 to 20 megawatts (MW) supplied over 0 to 100 hours), to offer insights on technical targets for material development and operation strategies. Our findings indicate that hydride‐based storage systems hold significant size advantage in physical footprint, requiring up to 65% less land than 170‐bar compressed gas storage. Metal hydride systems can be cost competitive with 350‐bar compressed gas systems, with TiFe 0.85 Mn 0.05 achieving $0.45/kWh and complex MH Mg(NH 2 ) 2 ‐2.1LiH‐0.1KH achieving $0.38/kWh. Extending charging times and increasing operating cycles significantly reduce levelized cost of storage, especially for complex MHs. Key strategies to further enhance the competitiveness of MHs include leveraging waste heat from fuel cells, reducing use of critical minerals, and achieving MH production costs of US$10/kg.

08 HYDROGEN↗