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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 OSTI2022

Contentious narratives and disinformation about nuclear weapons in strategic deterrence and competition: A SOCOM perspective. Part of Section: United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in Emerging Strategic & Geopolitical Challenges: Operational Implications for US Combatant Commands

Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine demonstrates the challenge for strategic deterrence and competition of countering contentious narratives and disinformation about weapons of mass destruction (WMD) during conventional regional wars against a nucleararmed adversary. Moscow uses both tailored, contentious narratives and targeted disinformation about WMD in Ukraine to influence and disrupt local and global perceptions in support of its deterrence and competition objectives vis-à-vis the United States and NATO. Since December 2021, Moscow has made a focal point of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons in its efforts to establish a permissive environment for its military buildup on the border with Ukraine and then its military intervention. These information tactics also demonstrate an opportunity for US Special Operations Forces (SOF). They are a case study for considering how SOF can contribute to strategic deterrence and competition objectives, specifically countering adversary gray-zone information efforts to alter regional security orders.1 Such a role is in line with the 2022 Special Operations Forces Vision and Strategy, which provides a framework for the evolution of SOF into “a force capable of creating strategic, asymmetric advantages for the nation as a key contributor of integrated deterrence” (United States Special Operations Command, 2022). This paper briefly examines this strategic challenge and SOF opportunity, focusing narrowly on the distinction between contentious narratives and disinformation about nuclear weapons and the role of SOF in countering these gray-zone information tactics. The nuclear dimension of Moscow’s contentious narratives and disinformation in the “special military operation” is of particular interest because it demonstrates the distinction between strategic efforts to influence and disrupt local and global perceptions in Moscow’s favor. This distinction between influence and disruption is less clear with Russia’s contentious narratives and disinformation about chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine, as disinformation about these two types of WMD appears to overwhelm contentious narratives. We believe this distinction is useful for policymakers and warfighters responsible for countering gray-zone information tactics because it provides a framework for crafting tailored responses to contentious narratives and disinformation about nuclear weapons and other WMD. The chapter concludes with a discussion of efforts that could be undertaken by SOF in cooperation with other relevant stakeholders to address this aspect of adversary gray-zone information tactics.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Strategic Weapons in the 21st Century - The New Dynamics of Strategic Conflict and Competition

The 12th annual Strategic Weapons in the 21st Century (SW21) workshop aimed to sustain high-level focus on key deterrence challenges and to promote well-informed discussion of them on a non-partisan basis. It brought together interested stakeholders from the national security laboratories, federal government, military, think tank, and academic communities, as well as allied counterparts, to share perspectives in an unclassified setting. The agenda was designed to examine the following key questions: How is the problem of strategic conflict changing, and why? How is the problem of strategic rivalry shaping up? How do adversaries think about and prepare for conflict and competition with the United States? What should the United States and its allies do to safeguard their interests?

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2018

A Visual Atlas on Strategic Trade

Strategic trade concerns global trade flows of items with strategic military value. Items include goods with exclusive military use, but also dual-use items that can have both military and civil uses. Many countries require licenses for trade in strategic items as a measure of non-proliferation. For example, items listed for trade control by multilateral export control arrangements, such as the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), typically are considered strategic goods. Analysts and officials involved in strategic trade control often lack quantitative global understanding of relevant trade patterns that would help them focus control and enforcement efforts, select companies for outreach and audit, target transactions for verification and inspection, and assess the potential economic impact of trade control policies. Many are unaware of available open source data on international trade that can inform these issues. Many do not know how to make use of such data or lack the tools necessary to do so. A book of charts dubbed a ‘Strategic Trade Atlas’ was developed to illustrate global trade flows of strategic goods and raise awareness of the availability and utility of open source trade data. The Atlas was prepared for the World Customs Organization (WCO) and its Member States to support their planning and execution of Strategic Trade Control Enforcement (STCE) operations. It offers macroscopic graphical representations of global trade flows classified under Harmonized System (HS) codes associated by the WCO with commodities described in its STCE Implementation Guide. While these HS codes are understood to also encompass many non-strategic items, they nevertheless provide a good overview of potentially strategic trade flows. These include HS codes covering nuclear and nuclear-related commodities listed by the NSG, such as uranium, heavy water, graphite, carbon fiber, nickel powder, beryllium, aluminum tubes, vacuum pumps, valves, machine tools, cameras, and many others. The Atlas uses trade data from the Base pour l’Analyse du Commerce International (BACI), a statistical elaboration of public UN Comtrade data. BACI data reconciles trade flows, taking into account asymmetries in import and export trade valuation. The data visualization approach facilitates rapid sense making, pattern recognition, and anomaly detection. Country-based profiles summarize vast amounts of data into readily understandable graphical representations of each country’s primary strategic imports and exports and their main trading partners. Commodity-based profiles provide a global view of major exporters, importers, and trade patterns for each commodity. These insights can inform the risk management approach employed by customs to allocate enforcement and compliance efforts.

customs controls↗
DOE OSTI2020

Strategic Trade Atlas 2014-2018. Country- and Commodity-Based Views

A Strategic Trade Atlas was developed to promote understanding of global trade flows of strategic goods, i.e., goods of militarily strategic value, including dual-use goods. This Atlas provides macroscopic graphical representations of global trade flows classified under Harmonized System (HS) codes associated by the World Customs Organization with strategic commodities. The profiles provide information rich representations of strategic commodity-related imports and exports classified under these HS codes, based on data originally reported to and made publicly available by the United Nations Statistical Division, then processed to reconcile trade asymmetries by the Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales. This and other high quality, statistically relevant data sources exist, but are largely untapped resources for strategic trade control purposes. Efforts to promote and facilitate use of trade data should enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of strategic trade control efforts.

strategic trade, world customs organization, trade↗
DOE OSTI2021

Strategic Trade Atlas 2015-2019: Country- and Commodity-Based Views

A Strategic Trade Atlas was developed to promote understanding of global trade flows of strategic goods, i.e., goods of militarily strategic value, including dual-use goods. This Atlas provides macroscopic graphical representations of global trade flows classified under Harmonized System (HS) codes associated by the World Customs Organization with strategic commodities. The profiles provide information rich representations of strategic commodity-related imports and exports classified under these HS codes, based on data originally reported to and made publicly available by the United Nations Statistical Division, then processed to reconcile trade asymmetries by the Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales. This and other high quality, statistically relevant data sources exist, but are largely untapped resources for strategic trade control purposes. Efforts to promote and facilitate use of trade data should enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of strategic trade control efforts.

strategic trade, world customs organization, trade↗
DOE OSTI2018

Standoff Over the LRSO: Assessing the long-range stand-off missile's impact on strategic stability.

Mutual vulnerability to strategic forces seems to remain the de facto foundation for strategic stability across the U.S.-Russia and U.S.-China dyadic relationships; This work has suggested the bomber force tasked with delivering the LRSO is characterized by relatively long flight times and rich signature sets which make its use inconsistent with the requirements for a disarming first-strike. Therefore, the LRSO would not be expected to disrupt mutual vulnerability by making a disarming strike more possible or attractive; Even if a stealthy air-launched cruise missile is paired with a stealth bomber aircraft, the signatures associated with bomber generation and aerial refueling from non-stealth tanker aircraft make it unlikely the LRSO could be launched against a peer or near-peer nation-state without advance warning; To the extent a nuclear armed air-launched cruise missile deters would-be U.S. adversaries from nuclear use, maintaining a survivable weapon system is crucial for maintaining that stable deterrent effect. A modern stand-off weapon and stealth delivery platform increase the probability this capability will be maintained in the future against other nations' increasingly capable A2/AD systems; The LRSO has been touted as a flexible option to deter, or conduct should deterrence fail, limited nuclear strikes pursuant to Russia's reported "escalate-to-deescalate" doctrine. The concept of limited nuclear use is still intensely debated, and there is no guarantee that escalation could be controlled even with tailored LRSO employment; The challenge of warhead discrimination has not historically led to a nuclear response to a cruise missile launch, but there is no guarantee that cannot change. Having accurate military intelligence coupled with discerning analysis of the context in which cruise missiles are employed (e.g., how escalated is the conflict, how many missiles have been launched, have there been signatures of strategic force mobilization, or has the nuclear threshold been crossed?) will likely be essential for reducing the danger of misperception. Developing norms and/or communication channels in the aforementioned dyadic relationships may also further these ends. In sum, this work has identified and analyzed many of the major arguments in the debate regarding the LRSO's impact on strategic stability. During this study and survey of other nation's conceptions of strategic stability, it became clear that the LRSO is neither inherently stabilizing or destabilizing; rather, it is one instrument in addition to unambiguous U.S. policy, clear messaging, and signaling of intent that may promote stability by reducing the risk of miscalculation and unintended escalation.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2019

5th Annual LLNL Deterrence Workshop -- Multi-Domain Strategic Competition: Rewards and Risks

A fundamental uncertainty in the U.S. approach to strategic competition is about the long-term goals. It remains unclear to what end the U.S. is competing. One answer is that the U.S. aims to preserve and expand its influence to secure economic and political interests while safeguarding a global order that serves these interests. The competition, thus, is about using political, economic, and military instruments to achieve limited national aims by changing Russia’s and China’s behavior. Yet, if this is the U.S. goal, it has not been clearly articulated. The NSS and the NDS provide over a dozen different answers about the goals of strategic competition. In addition, senior administration officials have set out their own ideas of what the goals of the competition should be. The question of long-term goals is especially sharp at the strategic level of war. It is unclear whether the United States seeks “over-matching” capabilities for “strategic dominance” in cyber space, outer space, missile defense, conventional strike, and nuclear deterrence, or if the U.S. goals are more limited.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2020

Physics Division Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2020-2024

The vision of the Physics Division (PHY) at Argonne National Laboratory is to continue enhancing its role as a world-leading institution in basic nuclear physics research and its applications. Key to this vision is for PHY to continue to safely and effectively operate and evolve the capabilities of the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS) facility to best serve its users. ATLAS is the Department of Energy (DOE) accelerator facility for low-energy nuclear physics research. The research carried out by PHY covers many themes in contemporary science but can be distilled into five areas of focus. These themes are interconnected, with continuously evolving synergies between the various groups and facilities in PHY and the broader Laboratory. This five-year strategic plan serves to illustrate our current capabilities and new directions related to these five areas of focus (ATLAS also develops an independent strategic plan): Accelerator research and design. The goal of this theme is to design, fabricate, test, and implement novel accelerator systems, with a focus on high-intensity ion and electron systems. These R&D activities have led to enhancements in the ATLAS accelerator system. Among others, the division’s accelerator systems are in use or planned for use at Fermilab, the Advanced Photon Source, and in a broad variety of applications at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). Atom trapping and fundamental symmetries. The goal of this theme is to explore and exploit the uses of advanced laser cooling and trapping techniques to manipulate atoms. There are three main areas of focus. First is in the application of the atom trap trace analysis (ATTA) technique for age determination of groundwater and ice by using radio-krypton dating. The next two trapping-based programs involve tests of fundamental symmetries in nature: the cooling and trapping of radium-225 with the aim of determining limits on an observation of its electric dipole moment and precision measurements of the beta decay properties of helium-6 to set limits on the tensor coupling constant. This is complemented by measurements of similar properties in lithium-8 and boron-8. Nuclear astrophysics. The goal of this theme is to enhance our understanding of how elements are created in the universe via explosive nucleosynthesis and how stars evolve. To meet the challenges of this theme, many of the capabilities of ATLAS are being enhanced, including the development of new beams through a new in-flight separator (RAISOR) and the anticipated neutron-generator upgrade of the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade facility (nuCARIBU). These are coupled to state-of-the-art instruments such as the Canadian Penning Trap, Helical Orbit Spectrometer, Gammasphere, GRETINA, Multi-Sampling Ionization Chamber, the Fragment Mass Analyzer, and Argonne Gas-filled Fragment Analyzer, and a new low-background experimental area for decay studies. Nuclear structure. The goal of this theme is to understand the structure of nuclei, both stable and radioactive, in terms of single-particle properties, their shapes, and the dynamics governing reactions between them. These include questions such as what are the limits of nuclear stability and what are the properties of super heavy nuclei. As with the nuclear astrophysics theme, the capabilities of ATLAS, guided by the ATLAS user community, are continuously being enhanced to this end. The Division has strategic initiatives to play a leading role in the development of instrumentation and research programs at the FRIB. Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and hadron physics. The goal of this theme is to lead major research programs focused on revealing the quark and gluon structure of protons, neutrons, nuclei, and short-lived mesons and baryons. These involve major programs at Jefferson Lab, Fermilab, and smaller facilities. They are complemented by theoretical endeavors centered on the question of how hadrons and their properties emerge from QCD. Out of these activities arise strategic initiatives to play a major role in the forthcoming Electron-Ion Collider (EIC).

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Los Alamos National Laboratory Director's Strategic Resilience Initiative

The Director’s Strategic Resilience Initiative was created late in 2019 in recognition of the changing geo-political climate. The renewed strategic competition between Russia, China, and the United States, noted in the 2018 National Defense Strategy and the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, put great power rivalry and competition at the forefront of national security considerations. At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s March 1, 2018, speech and China’s October 1, 2019, National Day Military Parade, underscored the nuclear dimensions of this new strategic competition. Accompanying this changed strategic environment are rapid advances in an expansive array of relevant technological sectors including affordable and comprehensive global communication and reconnaissance assets, autonomous vehicles, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, and artificial intelligence.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modeling the Strategic Behavior of an Active Distribution Network in the ISO Markets

With increasing integration of distributed energy resources (DERs), active distribution networks (ADNs) can actively participate in the electricity markets by dispatching their DERs, which can change the existing electricity market paradigm. It is essential to investigate the strategic behaviors of ADNs and their DER dispatch when they participate in the wholesale market as price-makers. This paper proposes a bi-level optimization model to study the strategic behavior of an ADN in both energy and reserve markets. The optimal scheduling of DERs in the ADN is modeled as the upper level problem and the joint energy and reserve market-clearing of the ISO is modeled as the lower-level problem. The two-level optimization models exchange bidding information and energy/reserve prices with each other. The proposed bi-Ievel optimization problem is converted to a mathematical programming with equilibrium constraints (MPEC) by using Karush-Kuhn Tucker (KKT) conditions and strong duality theory. Further, the MPEC problem is reformulated as a computationally-solvable mixed integer second order cone programming (MISOCP) model. The simulation results on an illustrative case demonstrate the impact of the strategic bidding of the ADN on the day-ahead energy and reserve market prices.

active distribution network↗
DOE OSTI2021

BETO 2021 Peer Review - Strategic Analysis Support WBS 4.1.1.30

Strategic Analysis Support. The objective of the NREL strategic support project is to provide sound, unbiased, and consistent analyses to inform the strategic direction of the DOE BETO office. This project addresses key technological questions, provides critical data needed to inform strategy, and highlights barriers, gaps and data needs in support of the DOE BETO's mission to improve the affordability of bio-based fuels and products. This task employs various quantitative (techno-economic analysis, TEA) and qualitative (gap analysis) approaches to allow for direct comparisons of biomass conversion technologies across a wide slate of processing platforms and products. Furthermore, this project develops and utilizes novel analyses beyond traditional biorefinery focused TEA/LCAs to identify both technical (e.g., in sustainable design) and non-technical (e.g., in value proposition) barriers, as well as to outline mitigation strategies and R&D needs for emerging technologies. Additionally, the project is tasked with evaluating drivers that support the growing bio-economy, which is achieved by the development and public release of tools to advance the understanding and facilitate comparisons of socio-economic impacts along the supply chain. Critical to the success of this project is the development of defensible methodologies, analyses, and tools that are publicly available to support stakeholders and bioeconomy growth. To develop such high-quality analyses, the biggest challenge to this project, as with most analysis focused projects, is the availability and reliability of the underlying data. Therefore, the project team works extensively with key stakeholders (e.g., policy makers, bioenergy technology developers, and investors) in developing and reviewing the results of these analyses to overcome this challenge. Any remaining uncertainties associated with the analysis efforts are clearly defined and quantified.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Improved learning from data competitions through strategic design of training and test data sets

Leveraging the depth and breadth of solutions generated through crowdsourcing can be a powerful accelerator to method development for high consequence problems. While data science competitions have become quite popular and prevalent, particularly in supervised learning formats, their implementations by the host are highly variable. Without careful planning, a supervised learning competition is vulnerable to overfitting, where the winning solutions are so closely tuned to the particular set of provided data that they cannot generalize to the general underlying problem of interest to the host. This paper outlines important considerations for strategically designing relevant and informative data sets to maximize the learning outcome from hosting a competition. These include: precisely defining the scope of the problem, encouraging participation by competitors from diverse technical backgrounds, specifying the most interesting solution space in order to encourage improvement and distinguish between competitors, strategically generating data sets that enable testing for interpolation and extrapolation to new scenarios of interest, leveraging design of experiment principles for strategic data design while preventing unintentional artifacts in the competition data set that an algorithm could exploit without addressing the real problem of interest, and carefully designing the leaderboard scoring metric to select top solutions that exactly match the overall competition goals. The methods are illustrated with a recently completed competition in the context of urban radiological search to evaluate algorithms capable of detecting, identifying, and locating radioactive materials. Simulated data were used in the urban search competition. Ideas for using measured real data in competitions are also suggested

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Assurance Theory: A Strategic Imperative

A commonly stated goal of many US Military activities, especially in the strategic realm of nuclear weapons, is to “deter potential adversaries and assure allies.” However, sometimes the phrase “assure allies” seems to be an appendage to a larger deterrence objective. Yet, assurance is fundamentally different than deterrence, even extended deterrence, which aims to shape the decisions of potential adversaries. Assurance, on the other hand, seeks to influence the decisions of allies. As such, assurance must not be treated as an appendage to deterrence, but rather as the strategic imperative that it is. A proper understanding of assurance is critical in an age of renewed great power competition where alliances provide an asymmetric strategic advantage over potential adversaries. This paper provides a primer on assurance theory, to include its definition, variables, challenges, and measures of success.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Strategic Condition Framework for Energy Innovation

Building upon previous work in innovation, technology, and economic fields, we propose a conceptual framework to address the interplay dynamics of public policy and the value chains of clean energy technology innovation systems, by focusing on market structural and strategic conditions in relation to the rate and direction of knowledge diffusion within activity-based value chains. Our framework extends beyond socio-technical transition models by considering such nuances as: 1) the implications of geography, 2) the locus of knowledge types, 3) the dynamics of financial and knowledge flow, and 4) emphasizing the importance of both market structure and institutional conditions. At the firm level, we consider dynamics of interactions between suppliers and customers, innovation activities, the competitive environment, and the firm’s broader strategic relationship to governance activities and structures; we allow for the fact that each of these aspects of a firm’s identity may have a strategically relevant geographic dimension (e.g., service territories, locational concentration of input resources, etc.). We provide a proof-of-concept application of the U.S. utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) and onshore wind sectors, including their interactions with the U.S. power market, which we in present in a web-based information platform (Energy I-SPARK, ei-spark.lbl.gov).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Strategic Energy Plan: City of Key West, Florida

This Strategic Energy Plan for the city of Key West, Florida—developed through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Project (ETIPP)—outlines a comprehensive strategy to advance the city’s energy vision: to improve energy efficiency and independence using local energy resources to foster long-term resilience. To guide this effort, the plan is structured around four focus areas: • Energy efficiency: Reduce overall energy consumption and utility costs across municipal, residential, and commercial buildings. • Local energy generation: Increase the share of energy produced from local sources to enhance energy independence. • Resilience: Strengthen critical infrastructure and community preparedness for flooding, hurricanes, and other natural weather hazards. • Electric transportation: Support the addition of new electric vehicles (EVs) and develop reliable charging infrastructure to reduce reliance on imported fuels. ETIPP provides strategic energy planning, technical assistance, and direct funding to U.S. coastal, remote, and island communities to improve energy resilience. Key West was part of ETIPP’s fourth cohort. As a low-lying island community vulnerable to infrastructure damage due to natural weather hazards, Key West seeks to reduce its dependence on external energy and build long-term sustainability. The Strategic Energy Plan identifies specific challenges, sets clear goals, and proposes actionable opportunities with implementation timelines and key stakeholders. A baseline assessment reveals significant energy consumption in both city-owned and residential/commercial buildings, limited local energy generation, and an early-stage EV market with vulnerable charging infrastructure. The proposed solutions emphasize a multifaceted approach, leveraging both established and innovative technologies, while addressing financial, technical, and community engagement challenges. The baseline assessment provided a snapshot of current energy conditions in Key West, evidencing key challenges and opportunities across the city’s energy priorities. Building on the baseline assessment and extensive input from city staff, local stakeholders, and community partners, a set of targeted opportunities was identified to address Key West’s energy goals. Each was evaluated in terms of its potential benefits, key implementation steps, associated challenges and mitigation strategies, and the city departments and stakeholders best positioned to lead or support progress.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗