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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 397 records · Page 22

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2026

Data Associated with "Identifying Suitable Front Contacts for High-Efficiency Cd(Se,Te) Solar Cells on Space-Qualified Cover Glass"

This is data associated with the publication " Identifying Suitable Front Contacts for High-Efficiency Cd(Se,Te) Solar Cells on Space-Qualified Cover Glass " by Aesha P. Patel, Ryan Muzzio, Matthew R. Young, Robert Morrissey, Suresh Chaulagain, B. Edward Sartor, Prabodika N. Kaluarachchi, Christian Velez, Joshua A. Brown, Joel N. Duenow, Stephen Glynn, Michael J. Heben, Zhaoning Song, Nikolas J. Podraza, Adam B. Phillips, Randy J. Ellingson, Matthew O. Reese. All data associated with each figure in the manuscript and supplementary should be available in this dataset. A readme file is also included to provide some guidance. Abstract: Deployment of photovoltaics in space requires devices that combine high-efficiency, low areal mass, and resilience to harsh environments. Historically, high-efficiency multijunction III–V materials have dominated space power systems; however, their high cost and limited manufacturing throughput motivate the exploration of scalable alternatives. While CdTe-based thin-film photovoltaics offer an attractive option, their performance on non-conventional substrates can suffer from front-contact instability under higher-temperature processing. Here, the role of front-contact chemistry in limiting cell performance is investigated using CdTe-based devices fabricated on 150 μm thick Ceria-doped space-qualified 0214 Corning glass. A matrix of four transparent conducting oxides (TCOs: CTO, AZO, ITO, IZO) combined with two n-type emitters (MZO, IGO) reveals chemical stability at the front interface—rather than absorber composition alone—governs recombination losses, voltage deficits, and device reproducibility. Chemically stable front-contact combinations suppress elemental diffusion and interfacial degradation, resulting in significantly improved carrier lifetimes and junction quality. These insights are validated through record-certified Cd(Se,Te) cell efficiencies of 18.4% under AM1.5G and 16.2% under AM0 illumination on ultra-thin glass. Beyond CdTe, this work provides a general framework for the rational selection of TCO/emitter interfaces in superstrate thin-film photovoltaics, including emerging technologies like metal halide perovskites, while enabling high-efficiency, lightweight photovoltaics for space applications.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

GIS Visualization of Transportation Energy Consumption

Transportation is witnessing unprecedented transformation, where emerging technologies are disrupting the way we travel. Be it sharing economy, or micro-mobility, the landscape of urban transportation is undergoing a much-needed paradigm shift. In order to capture and model these shifts, researchers need to be agile in their studies of the current and future transportation landscape. The need for agility in turn calls for sophisticated, intuitive, and reliable means to visualize and share transportation data. Travel is inherently spatial, so methods of visualizing transportation information should also be rooted in spatial analysis. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are the premier technological framework to analyze and display spatial data. GIS tools have been used in the past to depict flow of vehicles, and display of network conditions (speed, congestion, etc.). However, in an ever-changing technological landscape, spanning advancements in vehicle as well as information systems, depicting vehicle flows falls short of providing a comprehensive picture of the impact these advancements have on travel related energy consumption. To address this issue, this research effort presents a web-based mapping application to visualize how travel related energy flows across a city. The application is being developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers to integrate various transportation energy consumption models within a GIS schema. This has the goal of enabling rapid analysis of energy impacts of the dramatically evolving transportation environment. The application is being developed using a Python framework for ArcGIS Online. Using road network data from the City of Columbus, Ohio and traffic data from CATT Laboratory's Regional Integrated Transportation Information System, transportation energy consumption will be modeled at a macro level. The application aims to provide highly accurate data while still maintaining the flexibility needed to adapt the model when new technologies arise. The methodology presented through this effort is expected to provide insights into how light-duty vehicles use energy on a large scale based on the road network they use. The application will also provide data exports to enable sharing and collaboration. " need for agility in turn calls for sophisticated, intuitive, and reliable means to visualize and share transportation data. Travel is inherently spatial, so methods of visualizing transportation information should also be rooted in spatial analysis. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are the premier technological framework to analyze and display spatial data. GIS tools have been used in the past to depict flow of vehicles, and display of network conditions (speed, congestion, etc.). However, in an ever-changing technological landscape, spanning advancements in vehicle as well as information systems, depicting vehicle flows falls short of providing a comprehensive picture of the impact these advancements have on travel related energy consumption. To address this issue, this research effort presents a web-based mapping application to visualize how travel related energy flows across a city. The application is being developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers to integrate various transportation energy consumption models within a GIS schema. This has the goal of enabling rapid analysis of energy impacts of the dramatically evolving transportation environment. The application is being developed using a Python framework for ArcGIS Online. Using road network data from the City of Columbus, Ohio and traffic data from CATT Laboratory's Regional Integrated Transportation Information System, transportation energy consumption will be modeled at a macro level. The application aims to provide highly accurate data while still maintaining the flexibility needed to adapt the model when new technologies arise. The methodology presented through this effort is expected to provide insights into how light-duty vehicles use energy on a large scale based on the road network they use. The application will also provide data exports to enable sharing and collaboration.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Critical Materials Supply Chain White Paper (April 2020)

The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) partners with industry, small business, universities, and other stakeholders to identify and invest in emerging technologies with the potential to create high-quality domestic manufacturing jobs and enhance the global competitiveness of the United States

Advanced Manufacturing Office↗

DOE OSTI2020

High-solubility thioether quinones

Substituted hydroquinones and quinones and methods of synthesizing such compounds are disclosed herein. The substituted hydroquinones have the formula: while the substituted quinones have the corresponding oxidized structure (1,4-benzoquinones). One, two, three, or all four of R1, R2, R3 and R4 comprise a thioether moiety and a sulfonate moiety, and wherein each R1, R2, R3 and R4 that does not comprise a thioether and a sulfonate moiety sulfonate moiety is independently a hydrogen, an alkyl or an electron withdrawing group. The substituted hydroquinones and quinones are soluble in water, stable in aqueous acid solutions, and have a high reduction potential in the oxidized form. Accordingly, they can be used as redox mediators in emerging technologies, such as in mediated fuel cells or organic-mediator flow batteries.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Multi-Modal Energy Analysis for Freight

This project addresses the impact of emerging technologies on inter-city freight energy demand, shipping time, and cost. Technologies addressed include electrified long-haul trucks, connectivity and efficient operations, and platooning. The research questions are addressed using national level analysis, a multi-modal inter-city freight energy model, and development of a Freight Mobility Energy Productivity (F-MEP) metric. This project improves on prior analysis and modeling by increasing the geographic and temporal resolution of freight flows. The inter-city freight energy model uses a bi-level optimization approach to minimize total network cost (lower level) and energy (upper level). Two new F-MEP frameworks are presented, one for intra-city freight mobility and one for inter-city freight mobility.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2021

High solubility thioether quinones

Stahl, Shannon S.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Superconducting Accelerators for High-Power X-ray production

To date, linear accelerators (linacs) as electron sources used to produce ionizing radiation for industrial purposes have been limited to less than 100 kW. When the electron beam is used directly, this is sufficient for most potential applications. However, when the electron beam is used for the production of photons (x-rays) which are then to be used in an application, this is not sufficient to compete with other sources of photons (gamma rays from cobalt-60). This paper will discuss acompact superconducting RF (CSRF) accelerator system that relies on emerging technologies that will be able to produce electron beam powers into the 100s of kW with efficiencies much better than present linacs. The focus is to produce x-ray beams for medical device sterilization to provide alternatives for the present use of cobalt-60 for this purpose.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Performance of black silicon photodiodes for VUV detection in noble liquids

Black silicon (b-Si) photodiodes are an emerging technology that employs silicon nanostructures to enhance the efficiency of photon detection. Recently, we demonstrated nearly 100% quantum efficiency at <200 nm vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) wavelengths at ambient and in noble liquids, making such devices particularly useful for direct detection of scintillation light in noble liquid detectors. This is important in nuclear science experiments like DarkSide, LUX, XENON, and nEXO, where detection of weak VUV scintillation photons in noble liquids are used to identify rare physics radiation events. Here, we measured the response of b-Si photodiode to the scintillation light generated by alpha particles, all immersed in a LAr and LXe test cell. We established a guideline for future development of b-Si photodetectors with internal gain to reach single-photon sensitivity.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2022

Performance Evaluation of Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems Using Software- and Hardware-in-the-Loop

Distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS) are an important emerging technology for coordinating distributed energy resources (DERs) integrated in power distribution networks. These solutions implement a software platform to monitor, control, and coordinate DERs in real time to provide aggregate grid services to the electric utility or distribution system operator. To move DERMS technology forward, research and performance validation in a laboratory environment are needed to ensure proper function of DERMS prior to field deployment. This presentation presents a generic hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) platform to evaluate performance of DERMS using software-in-the-loop (SIL) and power HIL. The platform provides realistic testing in a laboratory environment, including accurate modeling of full-scale distribution systems, DERMS software controllers, and at-power distributed energy resources (DERs), such as solar and battery inverters. Two case studies are presented to demonstrate how the platform can be used independently as an integrated development and validation approach for different projects. Laboratory testing results are included to showcase the voltage regulation performance of each study and the benefits of implementing such a platform for DERMS evaluation.

DERMS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Airport Infrastructure Expansion Under Uncertainty

Multistage stochastic optimization can help transportation hubs like airports and seaports plan for future infrastructure expansion while considering risks from emerging technologies and changes in demand.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,MATHEMATICS AND COMPUT↗

DOE OSTI2022

Valuation of Novel Waste Heat Sources and a Path Towards Adoption: Preprint

It is recognized that beneficial electrification of most space heating will be necessary to avert the worst consequences of climate change. Fifth generation district heating and cooling (5GDHC) networks operate at near-ambient temperatures and thus facilitate heating electrification, as well as the use of waste heat sources at a wide range of temperatures. In this paper, we analyze the potential of waste heat to supply the required heat to these networks and describe the business models that could expand the use of these waste heat sources. Showcase single family and commercial districts in the US are discussed to demonstrate emerging technologies, district infrastructure approaches, and third-party thermal utility funding models for these leading 5GDHC networks. As part of this work, heat flow and temperature profiles from five different types of waste heat sources are analyzed. An example district is used to examine the integration potential and to quantify the potential reduction in energy consumption. The results indicate that 5GDHC networks are highly suitable systems for utilizing low to moderate temperature waste heat sources. In the studied district, waste heat can cover a share of up to 66% of the heat supplied to the ambient loop and reduce the overall electricity consumption for heating by up to 51%, depending on the characteristics of the specific power, temperature, and type of waste heat source. Through their moderate operating temperatures and use of waste heat sources combined with third party financed infrastructure, 5GDHC districts have significant potential to reduce carbon emissions associated with space conditioning.

district energy↗

DOE OSTI2022

Accelerating Optimal Integration of Energy Efficiency Strategies with Industrialized Modular Construction: Preprint

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Industrialized Construction Innovation team first introduced the Industrialized Construction Assessment Framework to achieve affordable, net-zero energy (NZE) modular multifamily buildings in the 2020 ACEEE paper "Integrating Energy Efficiency Strategies with Industrialized Construction for our Clean Energy Future." Since then, NREL has continued to drive the ambitious plan to accelerate optimal integration of energy efficiency strategies during industrialized construction with little or no additional cost, labor, and production time. This follow-on paper introduces the Energy in Modular (EMOD) buildings method and presents NREL's research efforts over the last two years in collaboration with industry, including affordable housing partners. NREL has developed an idealized NZE modular multifamily building design that incorporates five energy efficiency strategies well suited for industrialized construction in factories: (1) envelope thermal control, (2) envelope infiltration control, (3) mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, (4) smart controls, and (5) solar plus storage. This paper highlights results from leveraging design for manufacturing and assembly principles, testing, and validation pilots with factory partners; demonstrating pod prototypes in test stand at NREL; and performing simulations. Overall, these research efforts address barriers to whole-building system integration, such as poor installation quality of thermal and air barriers; lack of unitized systems for space conditioning, energy recovery and ventilation, and water heating; problematic on-site installation, commissioning, and configuration of controls; and lack of cost-effective integration for grid-friendly design and emerging technologies. Conclusively, the paper delineates next steps for future work with NREL's partners toward developing a transformational pathway for our clean energy future.

affordable housing↗

DOE OSTI2022

Using Wi-Fi Location-Based Services (LBS) for Commercial Building Occupancy Sensing

From May 2019 through October 2022, this DOE-funded project investigated and demonstrated the use of Wi-Fi Location-Based Services (LBS) to perform occupancy sensing in commercial buildings. Wi-Fi LBS can be used to detect the presence of Wi-Fi enabled mobile devices and laptops that accompany occupants as they move through the building. These signals can be used to determine occupant presence, head count, and location. When integrated with the building automation system, this emerging technology approach can be used to manage other connected systems such as lighting and HVAC to reduce energy usage in the building and improve occupant comfort. An open source location detection algorithm was developed, which uses data collected from three or more Wi-Fi access points to determine the presence and estimate the location of mobile devices and laptops. Access points can detect Wi-Fi enabled devices even if they are not connected to the existing Wi-Fi network. Building occupancy is determined based on the presence, location, and movement of these devices through the space. From lab and small-scale in-situ testing, the Location Detection Algorithm (LDA) was found to be accurate to within 10 feet and could be further refined by tuning the algorithm for the specific space characteristics such as layout and obstructions (walls, furniture, etc.). An open source method to integrate the occupancy data with existing building automations systems was investigated. The Wi-Fi occupancy sensing approach was then demonstrated and validated at two commercial buildings located in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2022

Is the Adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Solar Photovoltaics (PVs) Interdependent or Independent? An Integrated EVs-PVs Modeling Framework

Transportation and residential energy consumption account for more than one-half of the overall energy consumption in the United States. Adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) can play a key role in decarbonizing the transportation sector, while the adoption of renewable energy sources (e.g., solar photovoltaics or PVs) could bring similar benefits to the residential energy sector and in turn support transport electrification. Although the market share for both EVs and PVs continue to grow, both these emerging technologies are deployed rather disjoint without considering the existence of potential similarities among users who own (or aspire to own) EVs and PVs. This might be due to lack of understanding of the behavioral interdependence in consumer preferences towards these technologies. To fill this gap in knowledge, this study utilizes data from the 2018 WholeTraveler Transportation Behavior Study to develop an integrated model system that explores EV and PV adoption behaviors. A structural equations model (SEM) is employed that incorporates direct effects as well as error correlations among the adoption behaviors for EVs and PVs. Model results indicate that the adoption behavior for both these technologies is indeed interconnected and significantly influenced by attitudes, values and personality traits. Findings from this research suggest that incentives (e.g., subsidies) that drive 'bundled' adoption of EVs and PVs could accelerate the adoption of both these sustainable technologies. The results highlights the need to consider transport and building energy efficient technology adoption behavior in a single integrated structure.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗

DOE OSTI2023

Solid oxide metal-air redox batteries (SOMARB)

The solid oxide metal-air redox batteries (SOMARB), composed of reversible solid oxide fuel cell (RSOFC) and energy storage unit (ESU), is an emerging technology for large-scale energy storage owing to its advantages in high energy density, high rate capability, decoupled energy and power components, all solid state structure, high safety and scalability. Starting with introducing the working principle of this battery, thermodynamics and kinetics, and battery chemistries based on Fe, Mo, and Wo of SOMARB are illustrated. The strategies to improve the performance of Fe-based SOMARB via optimizing RSOFC and ESU are discussed in detail. Finally, several high temperature metal-air batteries derived from SOMARB are introduced. The comparison with other batteries shows that SOMARB is expected to play an important role in future grid and renewable energy storage with concurrent advances in SOFC stack and system design.

Zhang, Cuijuan↗

DOE OSTI2022

User Friendly Web-Based Tool to Assess the Energy Efficiency and Durability of Residential Wall Retrofits

According to the U.S. Department of Energy Windows and Building Envelope Research and Development Roadmap for Emerging Technologies, building envelope wall energy loss in the United States accounts for about 5.9 x 1010 kWh or 2 quads of energy annually, costing homeowners and occupants billions of dollars. Enclosure retrofits targeting these losses can save significant energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and save occupants millions of dollars over time. Older homes, built before 1992 when DOE’s Building Energy Codes Program was established, represent approximately 68 percent of the residential building stock in the country, often having significant air leakage and inadequate insulation. Homes with little to no air sealing or insulation have heating and cooling losses that can represent a substantial portion of utility bills.High-performance building envelope retrofit systems are rarely selected for retrofit applications. Current solutions are expensive and/or unfamiliar to many designers, builders, contractors, and code officials and therefore are perceived as risky. The dominant perceived risk is durability specifically related to condensation and moisture accumulation in the building envelope component.The Building Science Advisor (BSA) is a rule-based expert system web-based tool that was originally developed to assist building professionals in designing energy efficient and durable wall systems for new construction. With the present focus being placed on upgrading the existing building stock, a retrofit module has been developed that, based on the location, existing construction, and planned retrofit strategy, provides recommendations on how to address the retrofit in a manner that will perform in accordance with IECC 2018 building code and not create a durability problem. This paper will describe the development of this tool and demonstrate its features and capabilities.

Desjarlais, Andre Omer↗

DOE OSTI2023

Performance Assessment of Low-GWP Refrigerated Reach-In Display Cases

This project is part of an effort by Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd) to evaluate the energy and peak demand savings potential of emerging technologies in the Chicago area. This document focuses on the assessment of energy-efficient, medium-temperature, self-contained refrigerated display cases utilizing environmentally friendly refrigerants. The results of this evaluation will be considered by ComEd and CLEAResult to develop a new energy efficiency rebate measure for ComEd's incentive programs. This rebate measure will become an addition to the Technical Reference Manual. In 2016, the United Nations passed the Kigali Montreal Protocol Amendment, which placed restrictions on certain types of refrigerants. In compliance with this amendment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed a ban on the manufacture of refrigeration systems using hydrofluorocarbons including R134a starting in January 2020. Although the ban has halted manufacture, the EPA continues to allow the use of these refrigerants. Therefore, it is critical to provide incentives for replacing these refrigerants with other environmentally friendly and energy-efficient alternatives.

alternative refrigerants↗

DOE OSTI2023

Modeling Assessment of Residential Air-to-Water Heat Pumps Coupled with Cooling Thermal Storage

This study explored the performance and operating cost viability of air-to-water heat pumps (AWHPs) coupled with thermal energy storage (TES) in efficient new residential construction. AWHPs are an emerging technology in this country, but offer promise in terms of high efficiency, fully contained and factory charged outdoor refrigeration system, and hydronic delivery capabilities, which facilitates zoning, ducts in conditioned space, and TES integration for summer load-shifting. Although this AWHP+TES strategy is not yet mainstream, the authors feel that in ten years as decarbonization efforts proceed and TOU rates become more common, strategies such as this will be more accessible. Validated EnergyPlus simulation models were developed based on detailed monitoring data collected over several years at Pacific Gas and Electric's CVRH laboratory test homes located in Stockton, California. One of the CVRH test homes (1,962 ft 2 two-story) had been testing various AWHP systems and configurations over the past six years. The validated model was then updated with high efficiency IECC ZERH envelope and component requirements for climate zones 1-5, including ducts in conditioned space thermal distribution. Simulations were completed for the 1,962 ft 2 home in each climate zone for a minimum efficiency ASHP, an AWHP coupled with a fan coil, and an AWHP coupled with TES sized to eliminate summer on-peak compressor operation. To maintain consistency in reporting energy use estimates, all cases were run with a similar indoor thermostat control strategy to pre-cool the house below the nominal 76 degrees Fahrenheit set point prior to the on-peak period and float slightly above the set point during the peak period. The AWHP+TES configuration was controlled to alternately condition the indoor space or to charge the TES tanks prior to the beginning of the on-peak. Three composite TOU rates were developed based on existing TOU rates across the U.S. to provide differing economic scenarios to evaluate customer bill impacts throughout the summer. Two of the TOU rates had short three-hour peak periods, while the third rate had a longer seven-hour duration peak period. AWHP modeling projections were based on the observed field performance of the Chiltrix CX34 variable speed unit. Other products on the market or entering the market in the near term would likely perform differently.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗