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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 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Software defined grid energy storage

Today, consumer battery installations are isolated, physical devices. Virtual power plants (VPPs) allow consumer devices to aggregate for grid services, but they are are vertically integrated, vendor controlled systems (e.g., Tesla’s VPP). Consumer batteries are therefore unable to participate in energy markets or other grid services outside what their vendor provides. We describe a software system that provides software control of multiple, networked battery energy storage systems in the electric grid. The system introduces two new ideas that enable flexible and dependable management of energy storage. The first is a virtual battery, which can either partition a battery or aggregate multiple batteries. The second is a reservation-based API which allows asynchronous control of batteries to meet contractual guarantees in a safe and dependable manner. Virtual batteries and a reservation-based API address the unique challenges of achieving high and efficient utilization of energy storage systems, including heterogeneity of battery systems such as varying C-rates, participation in energy markets, utility bill management systems, community resource sharing, and reliability. Using a testbed comprised of sonnen Inc. storage units installed in several homes and a lab, we demonstrate that virtualized batteries can seamlessly replace physical batteries, flexibly manage energy storage resources, isolate multiple clients using a shared battery, and create new energy storage applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Microstructure Scale Lithium-Ion Battery Modeling: Part II. On In-Plane Heterogeneities and the Mechanisms that Regulate Them

Li-ion batteries performance and degradation are typically modeled at the macroscopic scale, that is neglecting in-plane heterogeneities that can arise from non-uniform electrode microstructures. Herein, a microstructure scale electrochemical model is used to quantify the impact of microstructure heterogeneity on cell performance during fast charging. The model predicts the electrolyte and solid concentration in-plane standard deviation can reach, respectively, ≈200 mol·m −3 and 6–7 kmol·m −3 locally. Further, the intercalation current density in-plane relative standard deviation can reach extremely high values, around 100% in the cathode and well above 100% in the anode graphite. These denote highly non-uniform lithiation rates and material utilization within each slice of the microstructure along the cell thickness. Non-uniform curvatures, at the particle scale (surface roughness) and between particles (size distribution), were found to initiate these in-plane heterogeneities, while an OCP-induced mechanism subsequently regulates them. The present model provides new insights into small length scale heterogeneity impact on battery performance not available with standard macro-scale/P2D modeling.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Identifying spatiotemporal patterns in opioid vulnerability: investigating the links between disability, prescription opioids and opioid-related mortality

Background: The opioid crisis remains one of the most daunting and complex public health problems in the United States. This study investigates the national epidemic by analyzing vulnerability profiles of three key factors: opioid-related mortality rates, opioid prescription dispensing rates, and disability rank ordered rates. Methods: This study utilizes county level data, spanning the years 2014 through 2020, on the rates of opioid-related mortality, opioid prescription dispensing, and disability. To successfully estimate and predict trends in these opioid-related factors, we augment the Kalman Filter with a novel spatial component. To define opioid vulnerability profiles, we create heat maps of our filter’s predicted rates across the nation’s counties and identify the hotspots. In this context, hotspots are defined on a year-by-year basis as counties with rates in the top 5% nationally. Results: Our spatial Kalman filter demonstrates strong predictive performance. From 2014 to 2018, these predictions highlight consistent spatiotemporal patterns across all three factors, with Appalachia distinguished as the nation’s most vulnerable region. Starting in 2019 however, the dispensing rate profiles undergo a dramatic and chaotic shift. Conclusions: The initial primary drivers of opioid abuse in the Appalachian region were likely prescription opioids; however, it now appears that abuse is sustained by illegal drugs. Additionally, we find that the disabled subpopulation may be more at risk of opioid-related mortality than the general population. Public health initiatives must extend beyond controlling prescription practices to address the transition to and impact of illicit drug use.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Quantification of Energy Savings and Demand Reduction for a Heat Pump Integrated with Thermal Energy Storage (Final Report)

To mitigate the variation in demand on the electric grid, thermal energy storage (TES) is an alternative to electric batteries or installing new peaking power plants. Stakeholders and policy makers across the United States have expressed interests in promoting TES, as demonstrated by the US Department of Energy’s Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings program and the efforts of various state legislatures. However, the cost value provided by TES are unclear. If reliable cost benefits were determined, stakeholders would have a clearer picture of the financial returns that can be gained from their investment in TES. The study in this report is conducted by ORNL with collaboration with Emerson the Helix Innovation Center. In the first part of this report, EnergyPlus was used to perform whole-building simulations for two residential buildings in Indianapolis and Atlanta. The HVAC system in both buildings were equipped with phase change material TES. The TES tank was charged in off-peak hours and discharged in peak hours to perform load shifting. First, the economic value implied by existing time-of-use (TOU) rates offered by utility companies was analyzed via whole-building simulation. Second, existing demand reduction (DR) incentives sourced from 3 different electrical grid administrators (i.e., California, Texas, and New England region) were surveyed to determine their implied value. The study suggests that the traditional value analysis that focuses on ROI for the building owner significantly undervalues TES technology making economic viability difficult. A more comprehensive value analysis that includes peak demand management and deferred capital for peaking power plants shows that TES should be economically viable but here the value is greater for the utility and requires large market penetration and aggregation to fully realize the benefits. Therefore, to facilitate commercialization, new business models are needed that include a broader range of stakeholders and distribute the value of TES proportionally. In the 2 nd part of this project, the benefits of a novel phase change material (PCM) integrated heat pump configuration were evaluated via detailed component based simulation. A one-dimensional PCM heat exchanger model which discretizes the PCM tank and refrigerant tubes into small control volumes is developed. Each control volume can have different PCM temperatures, PCM properties, and heat transfer coefficients. The PCM tank is charged by a wrapped tank condenser and discharged by an internal refrigerant coil. The PCM heat exchanger model is integrated into DOE/ORNL Heat Pump Design Model for heat pump system simulation. To demonstrate the performance of the PCM integrated heat pump, a case study in Chicago was performed. A Time-of-Use utility structure-based control strategy is implemented to schedule the PCM tank charging and discharging mode switching. Compared with a conventional electric heat pump, the PCM integrated heat pump shows superior performance on load shifting and utility cost reduction. As a result, the proposed system demonstrates 24.6% utility saving for cooling application and 25.8% utility saving for heating application.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Integrated End-to-end Performance Prediction and Diagnosis for Extreme Scientific Workflows

This report details recent progress for the ASCR funded project “Integrated End-to-end Performance Prediction and Diagnosis for Extreme Scientific Workflows”. We refer to the project as IPPD/2, reflecting the 2017 renewal under expanded scope and partners In IPPD/2, we increased our research scope to include data motion. We are focusing on three major aspects: a) observe how data is generated, distributed, and used; b) analyze how data is (repeatedly) consumed with a focus both on repeated patterns and anomalies; and c) explore how to optimize data motion. This new work on data motion will augment and complement IPPD/2’s research that focused on the computational aspects of tasks. We leverage and extend our existing tools and demonstrate our work on the Belle II workflow suite as well as on workflows from NSLS-II. The highlights of our work are as follows: Provenance for Workflows: Provenance is used to provide information enabling quality control, re-run computational workflows, and reproduce results. IPPD/2 has been building a scalable provenance management system that enables the capture of provenance from the high-level workflow through all relevant system levels in one integrated environment. Leveraging this work, our recent efforts have included using provenance as an enabling technique. Workload characterization: Leveraging provenance and analysis, we characterize data movement within network, storage, and memory over a variety of workloads. This characterization enables an understanding by performance analysts and application developers of the range of behaviors that could be expected. Performance Prediction for Workflows: The goal of modeling distributed workflows is to understand performance bottlenecks and enable more intelligent task scheduling to optimize selected metrics of interest (e.g., task throughput or output data rate). IPPD/2 has utilized both analytical and AI/ML modeling methodologies for performance modeling. Advanced Scheduling and Fault Modeling for Workflows: Scheduling of large-scale scientific workflows on geographically distributed resources is a challenging problem. To improve workflow throughput, we combined novel scheduling algorithms with task predictions from performance modeling and fault modeling. Dynamically Alleviating Bottlenecks in Workflows: Exploiting our provenance, analysis, and modeling efforts, we have explored and developed several techniques for dynamically detecting and alleviating bottlenecks in data movement. In particular, we have spent considerable effort demonstrating our techniques on production-like workflow configurations.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Experimental Evaluation of Interference in 2.4 GHz Wireless Network

To attain automation across different applications, nuclear power plants are beginning to leverage advancements in wireless communication technologies. A “one-size-fits-all” solution cannot be applied since wireless technologies are selected according to application needs, quality of service requirements, and economic restrictions. To balance the trade-off between technical and economic requirements, a multi-band heterogeneous wireless network architecture is needed. Numerous wireless technologies including Wi-Fi, Zigbee, and Bluetooth share the 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical band. However, due to different channel access mechanisms and transmit power levels, and very importantly, uncoordinated use, coexistence of these devices in the same vicinity can cause interference and degradation in performance. This report provides the technical basis for understanding the coexistence of these wireless technologies through an experimental evaluation of their performance. This report investigates interactions encompassing variables such as transmission power level, distance between the devices, data rates, and the utilization of co-channel or adjacent channels. The results show that the operation of both Zigbee and Bluetooth is severely compromised when coexisting with Wi-Fi within the same frequency spectrum. On the other hand, the performance of Bluetooth is not impaired by Zigbee and vice versa unless there exists any external interference from Wi-Fi.

2.4 GHz↗
DOE OSTI2025

Addressing the Split Incentive Challenge for Enhanced Solar Adoption in Multifamily Rental Properties [Abstract]

The split incentive problem is particularly pronounced in rental markets, where landlords prioritize investments that directly increase property value or rental income. Since energy savings from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems primarily benefit tenants, landlords may perceive little return on investment unless mechanisms exist to recapture some of the financial gains. The primary objective of this project is to develop a publicly available, web-based tool to analyze the U.S. Department of Energy’s ResStock database, which models the U.S. residential building stock. The tool allows users to filter buildings by location, type, HVAC system, square footage, and other characteristics, and outputs typical electric load profiles. By leveraging location-specific electric load data, Fram Energy aims to advance business strategies that address the split incentive barrier and promote the adoption of solar PV installations in rental properties. In addition, a machine learning model will be developed to weigh the marginal contribution of building features across the dataset in predicting electricity demand, supporting guided decision making in forecasting electric load profiles. Lastly, based on each building’s location, load profile, and utility’s electricity rate, an optimized solar photovoltaic array and battery energy storage system will be sized to provide energy arbitrage opportunities.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

The Role of Cooperative Interactions Among Surfaces, Solvents, and Reactive Intermediates on Catalysis at Liquid–Solid Interfaces (Final Report DE-SC0020224)

This project established quantitative links between inner‑sphere chemistry (active metal identity, coordination, and zeolite topology) and outer‑sphere organization (solvent identity, hydrogen‑bond networks, and pore condensation) that govern rates, activation barriers, and selectivities for alkene epoxidation and epoxide ring‑opening at solid–liquid and quasi‑liquid–solid interfaces. We deconvoluted contributions from covalent interactions at active sites and noncovalent, solvent‑mediated interactions within pores by pairing well‑defined metal substituted zeolites with controlled solvent environments. We then mapped those contributions onto measurable kinetics (ΔH‡, ΔS‡), adsorption thermodynamics (ITC), and in situ spectroscopy. The transferrable outcomes include a set of design rules that include the following understandings. First, tune silanol ((SiOH)x) density and pore topology to organize solvent networks that selectively stabilize transition states. Second, exploit activity‑coefficient‑normalized rates and adsorption– barrier correlations to diagnose when solvent reorganization rather than surface chemistry limits performance. Third, use partial pore condensation (e.g., acetonitrile, water but also generalizable to other solvents) to elicit liquid‑like stabilization effects even in nominally vapor‑phase reactors. Collectively, these results provide strategies to increase epoxidation rates, improve oxidant utilization (i.e., selectivities), and steer regioselectivity in zeolite‑based catalytic processes relevant to sustainable oxidation chemistry. These outcomes should be transferable to other classes of reactions that proceed in microporous materials and under confinement provided by organized solvents (e.g., electrochemical double layers).

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effects of Revegetation on Soil Physical and Chemical Properties in Solar Photovoltaic Infrastructure

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is being deployed at an unprecedented rate. However, utility-scale solar energy development is land intensive and its large-scale installation can have negative impacts on the environment. In particular, solar energy infrastructure can require extensive landscape modification that transforms soil ecological functions, thereby impacting hydrologic, vegetative, and carbon dynamics. However, reintroducing native vegetation to solar PV sites may be a means of restoring their soils. To this end, we investigated critical soil physical and chemical parameters at a revegetated photovoltaic array and an adjacent reference grassland in Colorado, United States. Seven years after revegetation, we found that carbon and nitrogen remained lower in the PV soil than in the reference soil and contained a greater fraction of coarse particles. We also found that the PV modules introduced heterogeneity in the soil moisture distribution, with precipitation accumulating along the lower edges of panels. The redistribution of soil moisture by panel arrays could potentially be used in concert with planting strategies to maximize plant growth or minimize soil erosion, and should be considered when evaluating the potential to co-locate vegetation with solar infrastructure.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Composite Ionogel Electrodes for Polymeric Solid-State Li-Ion Batteries

Realizing rechargeable cells with practical energy and power density requires electrodes with high active material loading, a remaining challenge for solid-state batteries. Here, we present a new strategy based on ionogel-derived solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) to form composite electrodes that enable high active material loading (>10 mg/cm 2 , ~9 mA/cm 2 at 1C) in a scalable approach for fabricating Li-ion cells. By tuning the precursor and active materials composition incorporated into the composite lithium titanate electrodes, we achieve near-theoretical capacity utilization at C/5 rates and cells capable of stable cycling at 5.85 mA/cm 2 (11.70 A/g) with over 99% average Coulombic efficiency at room temperature. Finally, we demonstrate a complete polymeric solid-state cell with a composite anode and a composite lithium iron phosphate cathode with ionogel SSEs, which is capable of stable cycling at a 1C rate.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Resolving Heterogeneous Dynamics of Excess Protons in Aqueous Solution with Rate Theory

Rate theories have found great utility across the chemical sciences by providing a physically transparent way to analyze dynamical processes. Here we demonstrate the benefits of using transition state theory and Marcus theory to study the rate of proton transfer in HCl solutions. By using long ab initio molecular dynamics simulations we show that good agreement is obtained between these two different formulations of rate theory and how they can be used to study the pathways and life-time of proton transfer in aqueous solution. Since both rate theory formulations utilize identical sets of molecular data, this provides a self-consistent theoretical picture of the rates of aqueous phase proton transfer. Specifically, we isolate and quantify the rates of proton transfer, ion-pair dissociation, and solvent exchange in concentrated HCl solutions. Our analysis predicts a concentration dependence to both proton transfer and ion-pairing. Moreover, our estimate of the life-time for the Zundel species is 0.8 ps and 1.3 ps for 2M and 8M HCl, respectively. In this paper, we demonstrate that concentration effects, can indeed be quantified through the combination of state-of-the-art simulation and theory and provides a picture of the important correlations between the cation (hydronium) and the counter-ion in acid solutions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

PERSIANN Dynamic Infrared–Rain Rate Model (PDIR) for High-Resolution, Real-Time Satellite Precipitation Estimation

Precipitation measurements with high spatiotemporal resolution are a vital input for hydrometeorological and water resources studies; decision-making in disaster management; and weather, climate, and hydrological forecasting. Moreover, real-time precipitation estimation with high precision is pivotal for the monitoring and managing of catastrophic hydroclimate disasters such as flash floods, which frequently transpire after extreme rainfall. While algorithms that exclusively use satellite infrared data as input are attractive owing to their rich spatiotemporal resolution and near-instantaneous availability, their sole reliance on cloud-top brightness temperature (T b ) readings causes underestimates in wet regions and overestimates in dry regions—this is especially evident over the western contiguous United States (CONUS). We introduce an algorithm, the Precipitation Estimations from Remotely Sensed Information Using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN) Dynamic Infrared–Rain rate model (PDIR), which utilizes climatological data to construct a dynamic (i.e., laterally shifting) T b –rain rate relationship that has several notable advantages over other quantitative precipitation-estimation algorithms and noteworthy skill over the western CONUS. Validation of PDIR over the western CONUS shows a promising degree of skill, notably at the annual scale, where it performs well in comparison to other satellite-based products. Analysis of two extreme landfalling atmospheric rivers show that solely IR-based PDIR performs reasonably well compared to other IR- and PMW-based satellite rainfall products, marking its potential to be effective in real-time monitoring of extreme storms. This research suggests that IR-based algorithms that contain the spatiotemporal richness and near-instantaneous availability needed for rapid natural hazards response may soon contain the skill needed for hydrologic and water resource applications.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Kinetics for the reaction between the solvated electron and dissolved oxygen in n-dodecane from 2.5 to 40 °C

Temperature-controlled, time-resolved picosecond electron pulse radiolysis was utilized to measure the rate of reaction between the solvated electron (eS–) and dissolved oxygen in n-dodecane solutions from 2.5 to 40 °C for the first time. At 20.0 °C, the reaction rate was determined to be k(eS– + O2) = (4.54 ± 0.21) × 1010 M-1 s-1, with an activation energy of Ea = 14.4 ± 1.3 kJ mol-1. These newly determined kinetic parameters are important for predicting and managing the effects of aerated environments on the degradation of organic solvents used in nuclear fuel reprocessing technologies.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2025

EVs@Scale High Power Charging Pillar

Slide deck assesses a portfolio of EVs, EVSEs, and Fleets that are expected to utilize High Power Charging (>200kW) to understand charging rates, grid impacts, and asset utilization. Provide DOE, project partners, stakeholders, and the public with analysis on the capability of HPC performance of today's charging infrastructure.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Water and Wastewater Annual Price Escalation Rates for Selected Cities Across the United States: 2023 Edition

This report builds on the 2016 Water and Wastewater Annual Price Escalation Rates for Selected Cities across the United States report prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP). The 2017 report examined annual water and wastewater price escalation rate trends across the U.S. Annual water and wastewater price escalation rates are an important factor when conducting life-cycle cost analyses (LCCA) of water efficiency measures, which is required for Federal agencies. Following the framework of the 2017 report, PNNL used the American Water Works Association (AWWA) water and wastewater rate surveys to gather historical rate data for water and wastewater utilities in the US, which were used to calculate a sample set of water and wastewater annual price escalation rates (Figure E.1). An annual price escalation rate was calculated for 113 water utilities and 76 wastewater utilities that reported at least two AWWA surveys across the past 13 years (i.e., 2008 to 2021) and at least a five-year range between those two surveys. Statistical trends in the annual price escalation rates are also provided by the seven regions identified in Figure E.1. In the 2017 report, the average annual price escalation for the surveyed sample of water and wastewater rates were 3.0% and 3.2%, respectively. This report also calculated aggregate average annual price escalation rates for the surveyed sample of water and wastewater utilities to be 3.1% and 2.7%, respectively. These escalation rates were based on 87 water utilities and 46 wastewater utilities that reported data in at least two AWWA surveys with at least a five-year range between those two surveys and reported at least one AWWA survey in 2019 or 2021. Among water utilities, the highest average annual price escalation rate was 8.8%, and the highest average annual water de-escalation rate was -2.0%. And for wastewater utilities, the highest average annual wastewater price escalation rate was 10.2%, and the highest average annual wastewater de-escalation rate was -2.3%.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Tailoring-Orientated Deposition of Li 2 S for Extreme Fast-Charging Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Precipitation/dissolution of insulating Li 2 S has long been recognized as the rate-determining step in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, which dramatically undermines sulfur utilization at elevated charging rates. Herein, we present an orientated Li 2 S deposition strategy to achieve extreme fast charging (XFC, ≤15 min) through synergistic control of porosity, electronic conductivity, and anchoring sites of electrode substrate. Via magnesiothermic reduction of a zeolitic imidazolate framework, a nitrogen-doped and hierarchical porous carbon with highly graphitic phase was developed. This design effectively reduces interfacial resistance and ensures efficient sequestration of polysulfides during deposition, leading to (110)-preferred growth of Li 2 S nanocrystalline between (002)-dominated graphitic layers. Our approach directs an alternative Li 2 S deposition pathway to the commonly reported lateral growth and 3D thickening growth mode, ameliorating the electrode passivation. Therefore, a Li-S cell capable of charging/discharging at 5C (12 min) while maintaining excellent cycling stability (82% capacity retention) for 1000 cycles is demonstrated. In conclusion, even under high S loading (8.3 mg cm -2 ) and low electrolyte/sulfur ratio (3.8 mL mg -1 ), the sulfur cathode still delivers a high areal capacity of >7 mAh cm -2 for 80 cycles.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Alternative Ratemaking in the US: A Prerequisite for Grid Modernization or an Unwarranted Shift of Risk to Customers?

With increasing frequency, investor-owned electric utilities are requesting preferred cost recovery for "grid modernization" in multiple forms, from multi-year rate plans to riders. Utilities' claims that massive grid investment is necessary, and that exceptional investment requires exceptional cost recovery, are typically accepted by policymakers with little challenge. It is difficult for policymakers to resist the siren call of grid modernization's perceived outcomes, from improved reliability and resilience to reduced risks to safety and new customer technology adoption (electric vehicles, distributed energy resources, and more). This paper provides a contrarian viewpoint that is virtually absent as policymakers consider alternative ratemaking practices. It introduces the possibility that excess grid investment in the name of modernization is not only possible, and economically harmful, but has already occurred, encouraged by alternative ratemaking. It provides examples of common grid modernization expenditures the authors have identified as cost-ineffective in the course of their work. It also describes traditional grid planning practices with proven ability to address changing requirements over time, calling into question the need for exceptional grid modernization investment plans. Most important, the paper explains the moral hazard inherent in alternative ratemaking, and the fundamental shift in ratemaking risks and responsibilities from utilities to customers that results. The perspectives this paper presents are critical for policymakers to understand before adopting, extending, or expanding alternative ratemaking practices in their respective jurisdictions.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY,POWER TRANSMI↗