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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 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

U.S. energy sector impacts of technology innovation, fuel price, and electric sector CO2 policy: Results from the EMF 32 model intercomparison study

We study the impact of fuel prices, technology innovation, and a CO2 emissions reduction policy on both the electric power and end-use sectors by comparing outputs from four U.S. energy-economic models through the year 2050. Achieving innovation goals decreases CO2 emissions in all models, regardless of natural gas price, due to increased energy efficiency and low-carbon generation becoming more cost competitive. For the models that include domestic natural gas markets, achieving innovation goals lowers wholesale electricity prices, but this effect diminishes as projected natural gas prices increase. Higher natural gas prices lead to higher wholesale electricity prices but fewer coal capacity retirements. A CO2 electric power sector emissions cap influences electric sector evolution under reference technology assumptions but has little to no incremental influence when added to innovation goals. Long-term, meeting innovation goals achieves a generation mix with similar CO2 emissions compared to the CO2 policy but with smaller increases to wholesale electricity prices. In the short-term, the relative effect on wholesale prices differs by model. Finally, higher natural gas prices, achieving innovation goals, and the combination of the two, increases the amount of renewable generation that is cost-effective to build and operate while slowing the growth of natural-gas fired generation, which is the predominant generation type in 2050 under reference conditions.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Human Factors Engineering Insights and Guidance for Implementing Innovative Technologies from the Nuclear Innovation Workshop: A Summary Report

The Nuclear Innovation Workshop was sponsored by the United States Department of Energy Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program and held at Idaho National Laboratory on June 26-28, 2019. The objectives of this workshop were to [1] promote an innovation ecosystem that reduces cost and risk through early evaluations, [2] provide hands-on activities that demonstrate the value of using advanced tools, methods, and capabilities offered by the Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program, [3] provide a platform to enable broad innovation in the nuclear industry, [4] enable industry leaders the opportunity for networking and sharing of their experiences, and [5] take inspiration from other industries to push the envelope for transformation in the nuclear industry. These objectives were supported through the facilitation of detailed discussions and industry presentations that were presented within the context of a four-phased approach to nuclear innovation. Open conversation about key challenges and considerations for innovation in the nuclear industry was collected at each of facilitated discussions, which were focused on one of the four phases (see Section 3). Further, a survey was administered to attendees at the close of workshop to collect feedback on the quality of the workshop and their impressions of future initiatives for promoting an innovation ecosystem such as with developing an Innovation Portal or establishing an Innovation Working Group (see Section 4). Key recommendations that came from the workshop broadly included the development of an Innovation Portal, establishment of an Innovation Working Group, and subsequent meetings with industry partners including utilities, vendors, and research organizations to exchange lessons learned in innovation, progress of the Innovation Portal, and other related matters specific to nuclear innovation.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Clean Energy Innovation Ecosystems Discovery - Measuring Innovation Through Data Analytics (MIDAS)

As part of the Mission Innovation rollout at the Paris COP 21, 20 countries announced to double their R&D budgets over 5 years to accelerate lab-to-market clean energy innovations. These innovations must address technical urgency and navigate complex institutional, social and financial environments. To inform budget and program development, policymakers need to understand existing clean energy innovation ecosystems (IE) and their characteristics at the local, state, and regional levels within the US. Researchers at ORNL have implemented a ground-breaking application of natural language processing, link analysis, and other computational techniques to transform text and numerical data into metrics on clean energy innovation activity and geography. The 'Measuring Innovation through Data Analytics' (MIDAS) application uses data to determine where clean energy innovation ecosystems exist and the underlying scoring algorithm "ranks" the strength of the ecosystem for several clean energy technologies. The selection of the data sources is driven by the fact that a clean energy IE can be identified as an intersection of nascent clean technology efforts and financing mechanisms and related large companies located in a geographically concentrated area with an enabling environment to encourage commercialization and networking assets to facilitate communication. MIDAS is a machine-assisted methodology that provides the user with a replicable method to rapidly identify, quantify and characterize clean energy innovation ecosystems. This software application and the underlying datasets have the potential to address many important policy questions. The initial broad list of U.S. clean energy ecosystems, with geographic area, technology focus, and list and types of involved organizations can help describe regional tech activities and capabilities. Other potential applications include understanding the effect of private sector investments on ecosystem activity, and trends analysis.

Chinthavali, Supriya↗
DOE OSTI2017

Cellulosic ethanol: status and innovation

Although the purchase price of cellulosic feedstocks is competitive with petroleum on an energy basis, the cost of lignocellulose conversion to ethanol using today’s technology is high. Cost reductions can be pursued via either in-paradigm or new-paradigm innovation. As an example of new-paradigm innovation, consolidated bioprocessing using thermophilic bacteria combined with milling during fermentation (cotreatment) is analyzed. Acknowledging the nascent state of this approach, our analysis indicates potential for radically improved cost competitiveness and feasibility at smaller scale compared to current technology, arising from (a) R&D-driven advances (consolidated bioprocessing with cotreatment in lieu of thermochemical pretreatment and added fungal cellulase), and (b) configurational changes (fuel pellet coproduction instead of electricity, gas boiler(s) in lieu of a solid fuel boiler).

Lynd, Lee R.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Linkages between Policy and Business Innovation in the Development of China’s Energy Performance Contracting Market

China has a large and growing energy performance contracting (EPC) market, which has played a significant role in driving energy efficiency retrofits and improvements This paper evaluates how policies and business innovations have worked synergistically to expand China’s EPC market. We analyze the interconnected roles of four key factors: incentive policies, China’s Five-Year Plans, and business innovations in diversifying contract models and strengthening measurement and verification. We use multiple data sources for the analysis, including detailed information on business choices in 21 pilot projects, industry-wide surveys, and policy information. Our study indicates that supportive policies were important for the initial market development. As the market was established and continued to grow, the private sector started to take initiatives to address the issues that are left out of the policies, which helped overcome certain market barriers and enabled the sustainable growth of the market. Future policies could incorporate the successful innovations from the businesses to ensure long-term development of China’s EPC market. Understanding these policy and business drivers in a holistic way is critical to understanding how China was able to leverage its relatively small policy investments into much larger transformation of its existing buildings and industrial facilities through energy efficiency retrofits. This in turn can be informative for other countries seeking to achieve large-scale energy efficiency improvements.

Zhou, Yuanrong↗
DOE OSTI2025

Energy innovation in the US buildings sector: Setting the stage and mapping the future

Jared Langevin is a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he leads modeling of US buildings sector innovation and its implications for energy demand, consumer costs, and the power grid. Eric Wilson is a senior research engineer in the Building Technologies and Sciences Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Much of his 15-year career at NREL has revolved around modeling and analysis of the US building stock. Jared and Eric co-led the development of a National Blueprint for buildings sector innovation while serving as advisors to the US Department of Energy’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Buildings and Industry.

Langevin, Jared↗
DOE OSTI2020

Response to Questionnaire of Grid Control Architecture Description Document: Mission Innovation, Innovation Challenge 1. Task 5 – New Grid Control Architectures. Subtask 5.1 – Collection of Available New Grid Control Architectures

As part of Task 5 (New Grid Control Architectures) of Mission Innovation, Innovation Challenge 1, a questionnaire was provided to all countries participating in the project. In this document, PNNL has responded to the questionnaire with information regarding new grid control architectures being proposed or developed in the US. Ron Melton sent the report to all participants.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2018

U.S. Department of Energy Fuels & Lubricants Project on Lubricant Technology - Innovation, Discovery, Design, and Engineering (Final Report)

In 2016, the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) of the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a solicitation for the AOP Lab Call research in FY2017 on a number of topics related to vehicles. Topic 6A of the Lab Call focused on research related to advanced lubricants: '...(in) support of the lubricants program goal to, by 2020, demonstrate novel formulations for powertrain and driveline lubricants, compatible with new and legacy vehicles, to achieve at least a 4 percent real-world fuel economy improvement.' Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) was awarded a 3-year multilab project on 'Lubricant Technology - Innovation, Discovery, Design, and Engineering.' Research on the project began in FY2017 at the three laboratories with industry participation; however, in FY2018, the project was terminated due to budgetary constraints. The following is the final report for the project and highlights progress made during the first year of research. The report is divided into sections that highlight the following: goals, objectives, milestones and deliverables; project highlights; outreach - publications, conferences, and reports; milestones accomplished; research progress.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2024

AI-Enhanced Co-Design for Next-Generation Microelectronics: Innovating Innovation (Workshop Report)

The Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Co-Design for Next Generation Microelectronics virtual workshop was held April 4-5, 2023, and attended by subject matter experts from universities, industry, and national laboratories. This was the third in a series of workshops to motivate the research community to identify and address major challenges facing microelectronics research and production. The 2023 workshop focused on a set of topics from materials to computing algorithms, and included discussions on relevant federal legislation and such as the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act (CHIPS Act) which was signed into law in the summer of 2022. Talks at the workshop included edge computing in radiation environments, new materials for neuromorphic computing, advanced packaging for microelectronics, and new AI techniques. We also received project updates from several of the Department of Energy (DOE) microelectronics co-design projects funded in the fall of 2021, and from three of the Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) that had been funded in the fall of 2022. The workshop also conducted a set of breakout discussions around the five principal research directions (PRDs) from the 2018 Department of Energy workshop report: 1) define innovative material, device, and architecture requirements driven by applications, algorithms, and software; 2) revolutionize memory and data storage; 3) re-imagine information flow unconstrained by interconnects; 4) redefine computing by leveraging unexploited physical phenomena; 5) reinvent the electricity grid through new materials, devices, and architectures. We tasked each breakout group to consider one primary PRD (and other PRDs as relevant topics arose during discussions) and to address questions such as whether the research community has embraced co-design as a methodology and whether new developments at any level of innovation from materials to programming models requires the research community to reevaluate the PRDs developed back in 2018.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

An Innovative Circuit Breaker for Renewable Power Grids

A key step towards a carbon-neutral future could be reached through dispersed power grids, featuring networks of local-scale renewable energy and battery storage plants. To prevent these power grids from damaging themselves and their surroundings when electrical faults arise, they must be integrated with ‘circuit breakers’, which temporarily interrupt the current flowing through them. However, currently available circuit breakers cannot handle the medium-voltage direct currents best suited for these grids. Through an innovative new circuit breaker design, Steve Schmalz and his colleagues at Eaton Corporation, the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Virginia Tech and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), hope that this challenge will soon be overcome.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2017

WastePD, an innovative center on materials degradation

The US Department of Energy recently awarded funds to create the Center for Performance and Design of Nuclear Waste Forms and Containers (WastePD) as part of the Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) program. EFRCs are multi-investigator collaborations of universities, national labs and companies that “conduct fundamental research focusing on one or more “grand challenges” and use-inspired “basic research needs” identified in major strategic planning efforts by the scientific community.” The major performance parameter of nuclear waste forms is their ability to isolate the radionuclides by withstanding degradation in a repository environment over very long periods of time. So WastePD is at heart a center focused on materials degradation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Innovative thermal distillation method using solar heat localization

The thermal distillation uses energy to evaporate water and subsequently condense the vapor to liquid form. Waste energy from industrial processes, electricity, or solar energy are the examples of an input energy for thermal distillation systems. In this paper, we have designed, fabricated, and tested an eco-friendly and low- cost distillation system which uses solar heat localization for evaporation of water and later condense the vapor back to liquid as liquid water. The unique feature of this method is the high rate of evaporation when compared to other thermal solar distillation/desalination systems. In this method, the incoming heat is confined to the porous media where bottom layer acts a porous insulator. The capillary force in the porous structure pumps up the liquid water to the hot surface, within the porous medium, where liquid heats up and changes to vapor phase. Since there is no moving part in this method, and due to its independency to electricity, it a great candidate for deployment in remote areas that access to grid power is limited and maintenance is not feasible.

Jaladi, Divya↗
DOE OSTI2021

AI-Enhanced Co-Design for Next-Generation Microelectronics: Innovating Innovation (Workshop Report)

On April 6-8, 2021, Sandia National Laboratories hosted a virtual workshop to explore the potential for developing AI-Enhanced Co-Design for Next-Generation Microelectronics (AICoM). The workshop brought together two themes. The first theme was articulated in the 2018 Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE SC) “Basic Research Needs for Microelectronics” (BRN) report, which called for a “fundamental rethinking” of the traditional design approach to microelectronics, in which subject matter experts (SMEs) in each microelectronics discipline (materials, devices, circuits, algorithms, etc.) work near-independently. Instead, the BRN called for a non-hierarchical, egalitarian vision of co-design, wherein “each scientific discipline informs and engages the others” in “parallel but intimately networked efforts to create radically new capabilities.” The second theme was the recognition of the continuing breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI) that are currently enhancing and accelerating the solution of traditional design problems in materials science, circuit design, and electronic design automation (EDA).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

AI-Enhanced Co-Design for Next-Generation Microelectronics: Innovating Innovation [Workshop Report]

In April 5-7, 2022, Sandia National Laboratories hosted a second virtual workshop to further explore the potential for developing AI-enhanced co-design for microelectronics (AICoM). This second piece in an ongoing workshop series again brought together two themes. The first theme, co-design for next generation microelectronics, was drawn from the 2018 Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE SC) “Basic Research Needs for Microelectronics” (BRN) report (DOE/SC, 2018, 2021), which called for a “fundamental rethinking” of the traditional design approach to microelectronics, in which subject matter experts (SMEs) in each microelectronics discipline (materials, devices, circuits, algorithms, etc.) work near-independently. Instead, the BRN called for a non-hierarchical, egalitarian vision of co-design, wherein “each scientific discipline informs and engages the others” in “parallel but intimately networked efforts to create radically new capabilities.” The second theme, exploiting and advancing artificial intelligence (AI) to support co-design for microelectronics, acknowledges the continuing breakthroughs in AI that are currently enhancing and accelerating solutions to traditional design problems in materials synthesis and processing, circuit design, and electronic design automation (EDA).

42 ENGINEERING↗