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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Renewable-battery hybrid power plants in congested electricity markets: Implications for plant configuration

Examining coupled renewable-battery power plants (“hybrids”) in congested areas provides insights into a future of increased wind and solar penetration. Our study focuses on two types of congested regions, Variable Renewable Energy (VRE)-rich Areas and Load Centers, and explores likely plant configuration choices for developers and transmission network planners. Here, this paper examines how hybrid value, comprising energy and capacity value, varies by plant configuration and congested region type considering factors such as storage duration, battery degradation, and ability to charge from the grid. We select plant locations from across the seven main U.S. independent system operators (ISOs). Hybrid value for each configuration is computed based on profit-maximizing plant operation given perfect foresight, according to observed wholesale power market real time prices from 2018 to 2021. In VRE-rich Areas, the median increase in energy value from extending storage duration from one to 4h is 29.4% for solar and 26.8% for wind, assuming low battery degradation costs and storage sized to 100% of the plant's nameplate generation capacity. Increasing storage duration beyond 4h does not substantially increase its value from energy markets, even in VRE-rich Areas. We find that solar hybrids reach a 90% capacity credit with 4h of storage, while wind hybrids require 8h of storage, based on the capacity factor of each hybrid during the top 100 net load hours.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Revealing the potential of nickel zinc ferrite: Facile synthesis and cost-effective anode for lithium-ion batteries

The increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) underscores the need for cost-effective alternative anode materials to ensure efficient Li-ion storage, given their pivotal role in various industries. This research focuses on the facile synthesis of nickel zinc ferrite (NZFO: Ni 0.65 Zn 0.35 Fe 2 O 4 ) and conducts comprehensive electrochemical analyses to evaluate its potential as a high-capacity alternative anode material for LIBs. The NZFO-CMR [sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (2%) and styrene-butadiene rubber (1%)] exhibited an initial delithiated capacity of ∼1232 mA h g −1 and maintained a stable capacity of around 358 mA h g −1 , along with an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.6% over 200 cycles. Cyclic voltammetry analysis revealed that Li-ion insertion was predominantly governed by ion diffusion, and the consistent correlation observed in electrochemical impedance spectroscopy spectra indicated stable electrochemical behavior throughout cycling. The facile synthesis approach and reasonable electrochemical performance of NZFO suggest its potential as an alternative anode material for advancing LIB's technology.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

MODELING AND OPTIMIZATION OF A PCM-BASED OCEAN THERMAL ENERGY HARVESTER FOR POWERING UNMANNED UNDERWATER VEHICLES

As oceans cover over 70% of the planet’s surface, they represent a large reservoir of resources that remained vastly untapped. Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) are becoming key technology for ocean exploration. Ocean thermal gradient is a permanent and reliable energy source that can be used to power UUVs using phase change material (PCM)-based thermal engines. However, the main drawback of this technology is its low conversion efficiency. When using PCM-based thermal engines to power UUVs, there are different energy conversion stages, thermal-hydraulic, hydraulic-kinetic, kinetic-electrical, dependent of a wide variety of parameters. Thus, optimization of the overall energy conversion is still a challenge for powering the increasing energy demanding UUVs for long missions. The goal of this study is to propose a PCM-based ocean thermal energy harvesting system for powering the Solo II float. Using the ocean thermal energy reduces the cost for battery replacement and expands the float’s mission time. For this purpose, we developed a multiphysics model for a system consisting of thermal material, hydraulic, and electrical systems. This system is designed to provide the electrical power needed for the instruments aboard the underwater vehicle. The models of the hydraulic and the electric systems are implemented in MATLAB-Simulink/Simscape environment. The final model developed can provide 13.66 kJ of electrical energy, which is more than 1.5 times the energy requirement per cycle for the SOLO II float.

Ouro-Koura, Habilou↗
DOE OSTI2020

Agent-Based Coordination Scheme for PV Integration (ABC4PV)

Renewables and especially photovoltaics (PV) have benefitted significantly from a host of incentives and policies targeted toward enhanced integration and adoption of specific energy technologies. However, with the push to move forward into a subsidy-free market framework, behind-the-meter residential PV applications have generally struggled to retain their value (unlike utility scale and commercial projects) [1]. This project focused on developing control-theoretic solutions aimed at improving the integration and interaction of behind-the-meter residential PV with other distribution system assets (controllable and non-controllable) to enhance the integrated value of residential PV. To this end, a suite of decentralized control methodologies have been developed to enable effective coordination and control of behind-the-meter residential load customers’ PV, battery storage systems (BSS), controllable loads and other similar assets within a distribution feeder. This interaction aims at procuring energy savings and, thus, energy bill savings. The main source of savings is drawn from reducing the effect of demand charge pricing and is realized at the feeder level, assuming community level interaction and management among the aforementioned assets. Optimal control of the assets is implemented with a distributed optimization methodology, leveraging consensus-based algorithms. The results gathered from the optimal control simulations demonstrates that the savings can be duly achieved and the algorithm decision times (to dynamically control asset set points, for example) are fast. As for the overall efficiency of PV+BSS systems, to procure energy savings from curtailment of the demand charge pricing effects, the optimal control is set up so as to minimize the variance of the load for all customers, throughout a feeder and throughout time in a rolling horizon scheduling with model predictive control. The control takes into account inter-temporal electrochemical storage (battery) degradation costs: specifically, we have developed a long-term lifetime model for the BSS that weighs in the effect of the degradation factor in the dispatch formulations, thus, a considerable operating cost that affects energy decision making. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE – redefined for the purpose of quantifying asset integration effectiveness through the customers’ energy cost) is shown to be below the threshold set for the combined PV+BSS topology of $ 0.14/kWh for multiple cases of PV penetration all the way up to 50%, provided that a policy of shared ownership of and savings is in place. Further, the LCOE calculated for the case before the deployment PV+BSS systems is also achievable, i.e. the deployment of PV+BSS, if planned and scheduled optimally. will have no effect on customers’ energy costs. From the control methodology viewpoint, the developed consensus-based algorithms are shown to converge for a wide range of problem cases (spanning normal operating scenarios and contingencies), guaranteeing dispatch solutions under forecasting errors, communication break-downs and cyber-security attacks. The proposed control solutions are scalable and real-time implementable, with dispatch computations and device set-point updates converging in less than 2s in most practical instances of the above events.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Wind and Solar Hybrid Power Plants for Energy Resilience

Wind-solar-storage hybrid power plants represent a significant and growing share of new proposed projects in the United States (U.S.). Their uptake is supported by increasing renewable energy market share, technical abilities for dispatch and control, and decreasing wind, solar, and battery storage costs. Simultaneously, generation and storage resources are increasingly used in distributed power systems. While concerns around the reliability of the aging, transforming U.S. electric grid are growing, diversifying energy resources through hybridization or spatial distribution provides an opportunity to enhance power system resilience compared to single-source generation. Understanding where to build hybrids for resilience value, rather than bulk power supply, has not been fully explored in previous studies. Therefore, in this study, we complete a national complementarity analysis to identify areas in the U.S. that are particularly suited for wind-solar hybrid power plant development. We show the importance of seasonal and diurnal patterns in assessing complementarity, and identify that regions in the Great Plains, Midwest, and Southeast are particularly suited for hybrid power plants. We demonstrate the resilience value of hybridization for a reference system based near Memphis, Tennessee, and show optimal sizing of wind, solar, and storage assets given 1.0 and 0.9 critical load factors. Results indicate that pairing wind and solar assets better meet constant load demand and reduce storage requirements compared to solar alone. These results enable future work integrating complementarity metrics in resilience frameworks and indicate a need for more finer resolution of local resource, demand, and hazard data.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Multi-Process Tooling

Decisions made early in the automotive design process influence material selection, which in turn dictates process selection and tool design. Because of tool build time and cost of tooling, the original path is not easily altered, even if there is compelling evidence that another material or process would be beneficial. This project focused on tool design that is agile enough to allow its use in multiple processes—injection, injection compression, and extrusion-compression. This tool design allows for the manufacture of components with the most efficient process or materials, without building multiple, single-process tools. The primary purpose of the Multi-Process Tool project was to physically demonstrate that a single, well-designed tool could be used to manufacture parts with a variety of materials that require different processes. A multi-process tool would be beneficial to providing data for any changes to the process since materials and processes can be interchanged without incurring additional tool cost(s). Battery tray parts, (representative of a multi-process tool, were successfully manufactured using various types of materials, such as fiber reinforced (carbon fiber and/or glass fibers, recycled carbon fibers), amorphous (PP, TPU), semi-crystalline (PA6, PA66), and crystalline (thermoset epoxy resin) polymers. Processing of the parts was achieved by injection molding, compression molding, compression overmolding, and injection overmolding. Specimens extracted from various locations on the battery tray parts were evaluated for mechanical properties (flexure and interlaminar shear strength properties). The results show that the tool can be used to produce parts from a wide range of materials and processes with no degradation of the physical or cosmetic properties.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Alternative low cost electrodes for hybrid flow batteries

An electrode for use in an all-iron redox flow battery is provided. In one example, the electrode may include a plastic mesh; and a coating on the plastic mesh. The coating may be a hydrophilic coating or a conductive coating and the electrode may have an electrode reaction potential is less than 0.8V. Further, a method of manufacturing a coated plastic mesh electrode for use in an all-iron redox flow battery is provided. In one example method, the steps include fabricating a plastic mesh, treating the plastic mesh by applying a solvent treatment or a plasma treatment or a mechanical abrasion treatment; coating the plastic mesh with a material selected from: carbon inks, metal oxides, and hydrophilic polymers.

Evans, Craig E.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Clean Energy Transition for Transportation Systems: Modeling Implications

Transportation is currently the least-diversified energy demand sector, with over 90% of energy use coming from petroleum. As a result, transportation recently became the largest source of GHG emissions in the U.S. and mobility needs for passenger and freight are growing rapidly. However, after over a century of petroleum dominance, new disruptive technologies and business models offer a pathway to decarbonize the sector. Transportation is at a turning point. On the horizon lies a future where affordable and abundant renewable electricity can be used to power cost-competitive battery electric vehicles (EVs) and produce energy-dense low-carbon fuels enabling to fully decarbonize transportation systems across all modes. Exploring the clean energy transition for the multitude of different transportation systems requires new analytical modeling and approaches. This talk reviewed current work at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop and use innovative tools and analytics approaches to inform the transformation to a sustainable mobility future and the integration of transportation systems with the broader energy sector.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Alternative low cost electrodes for hybrid flow batteries

A redox flow battery may include: a membrane interposed between a first electrode positioned at a first side of the membrane and a second electrode positioned at a second side of the membrane opposite to the first side; a first flow field plate comprising a plurality of positive flow field ribs, each of the plurality of positive flow field ribs contacting the first electrode at first supporting regions on the first side; and the second electrode, including an electrode spacer positioned between the membrane and a second flow field plate, the electrode spacer comprising a plurality of main ribs, each of the plurality of main ribs contacting the second flow field plate at second supporting regions on the second side, each of the second supporting regions aligned opposite to one of the plurality of first supporting regions. As such, a current density distribution at a plating surface may be reduced.

Evans, Craig E.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Alternative low cost electrodes for hybrid flow batteries

A redox flow battery may include: a membrane interposed between a first electrode positioned at a first side of the membrane and a second electrode positioned at a second side of the membrane opposite to the first side; a first flow field plate comprising a plurality of positive flow field ribs, each of the plurality of positive flow field ribs contacting the first electrode at first supporting regions on the first side; and the second electrode, including an electrode spacer positioned between the membrane and a second flow field plate, the electrode spacer comprising a plurality of main ribs, each of the plurality of main ribs contacting the second flow field plate at second supporting regions on the second side, each of the second supporting regions aligned opposite to one of the plurality of first supporting regions. As such, a current density distribution at a plating surface may be reduced.

Evans, Craig E.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Pathways to a Sustainable Aviation Ecosystem: Aviation Energy Research and Operation Simulator (AEROSim)

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed highly accessible tools for ground vehicle modeling, making it easy to quickly compare powertrains and estimate the impact of technology improvements on fuel/energy consumption, performance, cost, and battery life. With AEROSim, NREL advanced aircraft, enabling the same level of ease and versatility in comparing aircraft designs across a range of scenarios and conditions.

advanced air mobility↗
DOE OSTI2020

Least-Cost Pathways for India's Electric Power Sector

The Government of India has a target of deploying 175 GW from renewable energy by 2022 and 40% of electricity capacity from renewable energy by 2030 and has indicated that ambitions for 2030 could be higher. Rapid changes in technology costs and performance could drive further deployment of wind and solar capacity beyond these policy targets. Increased deployment of variable renewable energy (VRE) raises new questions for power system planning regarding the optimal siting of generation capacity, trade-offs between generation and transmission infrastructure, and system flexibility needs. This study aims to evaluate least-cost pathways for India's electric power system over the period 2017-2047. Uniquely, this work considers an expanded planning horizon and range of scenarios not previously analyzed in national planning studies in India. The data collection and model design processes undertaken for this study provides a framework for recurring planning studies. This study finds anticipated changes in electricity demand and component costs can drive a significant shift in India's future electricity supply and how this system will be operated. In the Base scenario, the share of generation from VRE reaches 54% by 2047. Reducing the capital cost of wind has a larger impact on VRE penetration than reducing the capital cost of solar PV or battery storage. In the lowest wind cost scenario (40% capital cost decline by 2047 relative to the Base scenario), the penetration of VRE in the generation mix reaches 722%, exceeding the penetration levels achieved when the cost of battery storage or solar PV are reduced by an even greater 50%. In a future system with high penetrations of RE, capacity additions are driven by the coincidence of demand and RE generation rather than peak demand alone. This study finds the system could have surplus capacity during the peak demand months of July–September because this period corresponds to periods with high wind speeds and more wind generation available to meet peak demand. By contrast, new capacity is needed to meet demand during moderate demand months of October–November when output from wind plants falls more than 75% nationally compared to the previous two months. Finally, the success for gas for electricity production may depend on cost competitiveness rather than fuel availability. Increasing the amount of gas available for electricity production had no significant impact on the capacity or generation mix by 2047, as determined from a scenario that significantly increases fuel availability throughout the planning horizon. In fact, over 80% of new gas fuel available for the power sector remains unused. This suggests the high cost of gas plant operations relative to other technologies may constrain the expansion of gas generation in India more than fuel availability.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Humins-Derived Hard Carbon as a Low-Cost Material for Sodium-Ion Battery Anodes

The growing demand for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) in grid storage underscores the need for electrode materials that balance performance and cost, including sustainable and robust carbon sources. The equitable and abundant distribution of materials for SIBs, along with their superior low-temperature performance, safety, and fast-charging capability, further distinguishes them from lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Hard carbon (HC) is the state-of-the-art anode for SIBs, but current commercial HC production is localized mostly to one region of the world, raising concerns about supply chain vulnerability, critical material dependency, and environmental aspects. Here, the first demonstration of humins, an abundant biorefinery byproduct, as a precursor for HC anodes for sodium-ion storage is reported. Humins were carbonized at 1100 degrees C-1300 degrees C, and the resulting materials were subjected to comprehensive materials and electrochemical characterization. Among the temperatures studied, humins-derived hard carbon synthesized at 1200 degrees C delivers an initial reversible capacity 270mA h g-1 , with stable cycling performance up to 500 cycles and excellent rate capability, representing the optimal performance. This study establishes humins as a promising and low-cost carbon source that provides a route to mitigate supply chain risks and valorizes an underutilized biorefinery waste stream for high-performance SIB anodes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Estimating the impact of tariff-driven behind-the-meter storage operation on distribution grid investments

Increasing growth of distributed solar photovoltaics (PV) and electric vehicles (EV) can strain local distribution networks and require costly upgrades. Distributed battery storage, often deployed alongside PV, can be used to mitigate those costs, depending on how batteries are operated. This study evaluates the potential deferral value of distributed battery storage across a range of tariff structures, focusing on the rate structures most commonly available to residential customers today and related variants. Deferrals are evaluated with a least-cost distribution grid expansion optimization model to identify requirements on line reconductoring, transformer upgrades, and voltage regulator installations under each tariff. Results show that TOU rates and net billing tariffs can yield meaningful deferral value, depending on specific tariff structure features. Under the best performing tariff structure tested, storage produced a median annualized deferral value of $7.18 per kW of storage capacity ( kW S ) across all feeders in the sample, though deferral values were considerably larger for feeders with peak loads that coincide with utility system peak, i.e., timing of TOU peak period. In contrast, under an unrestricted TOU design with no restrictions on grid charging or discharging, the median deferral value was $0/ kW S illustrating the critical importance of tariff structure details.

Rodriguez-Garcia, Luis↗
DOE OSTI2021

Improving Cost and Safety with Cathode-Healing and Whole Battery Deactivation

Lithium-ion recycling is challenged by cost and safety related to reactivity of lithium and electrolytes. OnTo’s deactivation eliminates flammability and residual reactivity enabling a roadmap for safe, low-cost end-of-life battery services essential to the industry. Deactivation coupled with Cathode-healing provides safety and efficiency in material recycling that can be applied all along the manufacturing value chain. Dr. Sloop will present recent developments in application and scale of these innovative technologies.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗