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DOE OSTI2021

Methods for Representing Flexible, Energy-Constrained Technologies in Utility Planning Tools

Capacity expansion models are widely used by power system researchers, planners, and policy analysts to evaluate alternative power system investment scenarios. With the increasing deployment of wind and solar in the US, there has been much focus on improving the representations of variable generation (VG) technologies within capacity expansion models. Models that capture the variable net-load profiles and larger reserve requirements associated with high penetration VG systems represent an improvement to classic capacity expansion models, but fall short of capturing the complexities associated with storage technologies, such as battery energy storage (BES) and concentrating solar power with thermal energy storage (CSP with TES). While difficult to model in a capacity expansion setting, these technologies are potentially competitive sources of flexibility with the intriguing characteristics of being able to absorb VG that would otherwise be curtailed and directly contribute to renewable energy goals, respectively. In this paper we present methods for accurately representing these technologies in a large-scale capacity expansion model with high electrical and geospatial resolution. VG modeling techniques, including novel methods for capturing curtailment due to unit commitment and other hourly dispatch phenomena, are also reviewed. Modeling for a region in the southwestern United States demonstrates the economic relevance of being able to explicitly trade off the costs and capabilities of energy-constrained technologies, especially BES, against other resources in the near-term, in time to make plans for the coming decade

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2023

Additively Manufactured Strain Sensing for Nuclear Reactor Applications

Real-time monitoring of materials in harsh environments is a crucial technique towards reducing innovation time in nuclear systems. The successful measurement of real time, in-situ strain measurements during nuclear reactor operation requires innovative sensing solutions, including novel sensing strategies as well as advanced sensor design, manufacturing, and materials selection. In this paper, we will discuss two primary strategies for in-situ strain measurement strategies: additively manufactured (AM) capacitive strain gauges (CSGs) and digital image correlation (DIC). Current commercial strain gauges have limited applications in reactors due to the harsh operating conditions and non-trivial attachment strategies (i.e., welding, epoxy-adhesive) that can affect both the sensing performance and the underlying substrate under testing. AM CSGs are a viable solution as they have a low profile, low hysteresis, and wireless sensing integration capabilities that will enhance nuclear sensing technologies. In this work, the mechanical and thermal performance of the AM CSGs were tested up to 300 °C using ASTM standardized testing procedures to simulate the temperatures found in existing light water reactors. The AM CSGs had a similar performance across multiple samples which correlates to analytical models. This work leads towards the development of CSGs designed for higher temperatures and additional environmental factors found in Generation-IV reactors. Non-contact sensors, such as DIC, offer a less destructive way to measure deformation of materials when compared to alternative methods of in-situ strain determination, such as weldable strain gauges. However, DIC requires high contrast surfaces, which often relies on the implementation of artificial patterns. Using traditional splatter techniques to fabricate these patterns have limitations, including poor surface adhesion and reproducibility. In this work, AM fabrication techniques were implemented to avoid such limitations. Accordingly, aerosol jet printing (AJP) was used to print small scale periodic patterns of silver on stainless steel and aluminum tensile specimens. DIC was employed to monitor strain (up to 1100 µe) during temperature cycling from 23-600 °C. The results validated the use of AJP to better control pattern parameters for small fields of view applications at high temperatures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2025

Field Test and Thermal Performance Comparison of a Novel Underground Thermal Battery with a Single U-tube Borehole Heat Exchanger for Geothermal Heat Pump Application

Geothermal Heat Pumps (GHP) are a proven technology to electrify and decarbonize space heating and cooling by utilizing the thermally consistent underground as a heat sink or source. However, the high drilling costs of conventional borehole heat exchangers (BHEs) associated with GHP systems and subsurface heterogeneity have been two major challenges to their widespread adoption. In this paper, we present results from a field-scale pilot of an Underground Thermal Battery (UTB) as a potential alternative to a conventional BHE. To benchmark the UTB performance, a side-by-side field test was conducted to compare the UTB with a conventional BHE installed at the same site. The UTB was installed in a 7.01-meter-deep borehole having a diameter of 0.9 meter, whereas the conventional BHE (with single U-tube loop) is in a borehole with 36.6-meter depth and 0.15-meter diameter. Both are integrated into a GHP system to meet the thermal energy demands of office space at the Illinois Energy Farm on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. The system’s performance is compared in terms of heat transfer rate, outlet temperatures, and contributions to the overall thermal power of the GHP system under varying thermal demands and in different heat pump operation modes: heating only, cooling only, and hybrid (alternative, diurnal heating and cooling). Results to date indicate that the UTB delivers a more consistent response under during a time period of varying thermal demands. Its operational performance is better during short-term with higher thermal demands, while the conventional BHE performs better under continuous, long-term thermal demands.

Pokhrel, Sajjan [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000228523749)↗

DOE OSTI2023

Thermal quench induced by a composite pellet-produced plasmoid

Injecting shattered pellets is the critical concept of the envisaged ITER disruption mitigation system (DMS). Rapid deposition of large amounts of material should presumably result in controlled cooling of the entire plasma. A considerable transfer of thermal energy from the electrons of the background plasma to the ions accompanies a localized material injection due to the ambipolar expansion along the magnetic field line of the cold and dense plasmoid produced by the ablated pellet. Radiation initially plays the dominant role in the energy balance of a composite plasmoid containing high-Z impurities. A competition between the ambipolar expansion and the radiative losses defines the Thermal Quench scenario, including the amount of pre-quench thermal energy radiated on a short collisional timescale—possibly detrimental for the plasma-facing components. The present work quantifies plasmoid energy balance for disruption mitigation parameters. For pure hydrogen injection, up to 90% of the pre-pellet electron thermal energy may go to the newly injected ions. We also demonstrate that a moderate high-Z impurity content within the plasmoid can reduce highly localized radiation at the beginning of the expansion. The thermal energy will then dissipate on the much longer ion collisional timescale, which would be attractive for ITER DMS.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Hydrodynamics of countercurrent flows in a structured packed column: effects of initial wetting and dynamic contact angle

The structured packed column has gained considerable attention as a prospective technology to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions from thermal power plants. The computational flow investigation of such systems is a multiscale problem, and local hydrodynamics plays a key role in overall column efficiency. Accordingly, multiphase flow studies in the representative elementary unit (REU) of a packed column can offer insights into the local flow behavior such as flow pattern, interfacial area, etc. The interfacial area plays a key role in the overall interphase mass transfer and thereby in separation efficiency. The predicted effective area matches well with corresponding ones in experiments for Mellapak 250.Y packings. The contact angle (i.e., solid substrate behavior) is one of the critical factors that dictates wettings, and thereby the interfacial area. The dynamic contact angle (DCA) was considered in order to explore the effects of contact angle hysteresis on the interfacial area. DCA has more pronounced impact on the interfacial area for a solvent possessing a higher value of surface tension and equilibrium contact angle. The interfacial area shows temporal undulation and does not achieve a pseudo steady state due to the capillary force. In contrary, the interfacial area gets a net value for a solvent having low surface tension value. Further, specification of the static contact angle at the solid substrate shows the least value of the interfacial area. We also extensively studied the effect of the initial sheet condition (dry vs wet) on the interfacial area. The initially wetted sheets show slightly higher value of the interfacial area as compared to the initially dry sheets at a fixed flow rate for a solvent having high surface tension value. Wetting hysteresis decreases with increasing liquid loads. On the other hand, wetting hysteresis does not occur for a solvent having value of low surface tension and equilibrium contact angle.

structured packings, dynamic contact angle, interf↗

DOE OSTI2020

High temperature steam oxidation dynamics of U 3 Si 2 with alloying additions: Al, Cr, and Y

Uranium silicides are considered for advanced technology reactor fuels due to their enhanced thermal conductivity and high uranium density (U 3 Si and U 3 Si 2 ) compared to traditional UO 2 . Susceptibility to oxidation and wash out, in the event of a cladding breech, could limit the potential for deployment of silicides as accident tolerant fuels. Mitigating the water reaction for U 3 Si 2 could enable its use as an accident tolerant, high uranium density fuel or as a composite fuel constituent. Reported here is the impact of alloying additions of Al, Cr and Y on the high temperature, steam oxidation response of U 3 Si 2 . In addition to the thermogravimetric response, as melted microstructures, phase compositions and post oxidation analysis are also presented. Here, the investigation shows steam oxidation dynamics are altered, from non-alloyed U 3 Si 2 , under thermally ramped conditions. However, additional alloy development of these fuel forms is necessary for further consideration as candidate accident tolerant fuels in water-cooled reactor designs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Steady-state fuel performance analyses for the preliminary fuel concept of general atomics fast modular reactor

Here this manuscript presents the fuel performance analysis results of the General Atomics Fast Modular Reactor (FMR) based on an axi-symmetric (2D-RZ) geometry. Three fuel performance model sets that fit the FMR fuel specifications best, i.e., a BISON baseline model set, a BISON diffusion enhancement model set, and a BISON-FASTGRASS model set, were identified and evaluated against a series of relevant experimental cases featuring high burnup and low irradiation temperature conditions. The three BISON-based model sets were then utilized to conduct a comprehensive fuel performance analysis of the FMR fuel under normal operation including the shutdown/restarting periods for refueling. The evaluation of the fuel performance parameters, represented by temperature, internal pressure, stress, and strain, shows that the FMR fuel maintains its thermal and mechanical integrity during normal operation. Technology gaps and limitations are also discussed to guide future efforts for extending the performance analysis to transient scenarios as well as improving the fuel performance evaluation through experiments.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Influence of Compositional Complexity on Amorphization Resistance of Swift Heavy Ion Irradiated Titanate Pyrochlores

Compositionally complex oxides have garnered attention recently for their potential technological applications in harsh environments such as thermal barrier coatings and nuclear waste forms. Therefore, their response to extreme conditions, including high temperature and intense irradiation fields, must be thoroughly investigated. Here, the structural evolution of two pyrochlore oxides with comparable cation size ratio, r A /r B , (Yb 0.2 Er 0.2 Dy 0.2 Tb 0.2 Gd 0.2 ) 2 Ti 2 O 7 and Ho 2 Ti 2 O 7 , was evaluated after irradiation with 946 MeV Au ions up to a fluence of 8 × 10 12 ions/cm2 using synchrotron X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The overall radiation response is comparable for both titanate oxides and is dominated by a loss of crystallinity. When compared to a series of conventional titanate pyrochlore compositions, the amorphous track diameter of (Yb 0.2 Er 0.2 Dy 0.2 Tb 0.2 Gd 0.2 ) 2 Ti 2 O 7 is slightly larger than that of Ho2Ti2O7 and more in line with the diameter of the endmember with the maximum A-site cation size (Gd 2 Ti 2 O 7 ). Density functional theory calculations suggest that this behavior may be linked to local lattice distortions and the associated energetics of cation antisite formation. TEM and Raman analyses show that a disordered, crystalline shell surrounds the amorphous ion tracks in (Yb 0.2 Er 0.2 Dy 0.2 Tb 0.2 Gd 0.2 ) 2 Ti 2 O 7 , and the corresponding short-range structure resembles a weberite-type atomic arrangement.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2022

Rapid scalable fabrication of roll-to-roll slot-die coated flexible perovskite solar cells using intense pulse light annealing

Perovskite solar cells have achieved high efficiencies at the lab scale using batch processes that often may not be scalable. Processes that can be integrated into a continuous manufacturing platform, such as roll-to-roll, where several processes can be carried out sequentially are necessary to develop a new cost-competitive solar technology. In this work, intense pulsed light thermal post-processing is coupled with scalable slot-die coating and air knife evaporation in a high-speed roll-to-roll process of up to 2 m min –1 . The optimization of IPL energy parameters, web speeds, solution flow rates, and concentration of precursor inks yielded a champion power conversion efficiency of 11.24% for a 1 cm 2 roll-to-roll coated device. The overall processing time for a single layer in this process is reduced from minutes to seconds and the overall footprint of the manufacturing process is decreased. Furthermore, this demonstrates the promising capabilities for intensed pulsed light to reduce manufacturing costs and paves a roadmap for scalable and efficient PSCs on a roll-to-roll platform.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Development, construction and tests of the Mu2e electromagnetic calorimeter mechanical structures

The “muon-to-electron conversion” (Mu2e) experiment at Fermilab will search for the charged lepton flavour violating neutrino-less coherent conversion of a muon into an electron in the field of an aluminum nucleus. The observation of this process would be the unambiguous evidence of the existence of physics beyond the standard model. Mu2e detectors comprise a straw-tracker, an electromagnetic calorimeter and an external veto for cosmic rays. In particular, the calorimeter provides excellent electron identification, a fast calorimetric online trigger, and complementary information to aid pattern recognition and track reconstruction. The detector has been designed as a state-of-the-art crystal calorimeter and employs 1348 pure Cesium Iodide (CsI) crystals readout by UV-extended silicon photosensors and fast front-end and digitization electronics. A design consisting of two identical annular matrices (named “disks”) positioned at the relative distance of 70 cm downstream the aluminum target along the muon beamline satisfies the Mu2e physics requirements. The hostile Mu2e operational conditions, in terms of radiation levels (total expected ionizing dose of 12 krad and a neutron fluence of 5 × 10$^{10}$ n/cm$^{2}$ @ 1 MeV$_{eq}$ (Si)/y), magnetic field intensity (1 T) and vacuum level (10$^{-4}$ Torr) have posed tight constraints on scintillating materials, sensors, electronics and on the design of the detector mechanical structures and material choice. The support structure of each 674 crystal matrix is composed of an aluminum hollow ring and parts made of open-cell vacuum-compatible carbon fiber. The photosensors and front-end electronics for the readout of each crystal are inserted in a machined copper holder and make a unique mechanical unit. The resulting 674 mechanical units are supported by a machined plate of vacuum-compatible plastic material. The plate also integrates the cooling system made of a network of copper lines flowing a low temperature radiation-hard fluid and placed in thermal contact with the copper holders to constitute a low resistance thermal bridge. The data acquisition electronics are hosted in aluminum custom crates positioned on the external lateral surface of the disks. The crates also integrate the electronics cooling system as lines running in parallel to the front-end system. In this paper we report on the calorimeter mechanical structure design, the mechanical and thermal simulations that have determined the design technological choices, and the status of component production, quality assurance tests and plans for assembly at Fermilab.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2020

Controlling phonon lifetimes via sublattice disordering in AgBiSe 2

Understanding and controlling microscopic heat transfer mechanisms in solids is critical to material design in numerous technological applications. Yet, the current understanding of thermal transport in semiconductors and insulators is limited by the difficulty in directly measuring individual phonon lifetimes and mean free paths, and studying their dependence on the microscopic state of the material. Here in this paper, we report our measurements of microscopic phonon scattering rates in AgBiSe 2 , which exhibits a controllable, reversible change directly linked to microstructure evolution near a reversible structural phase transition, that directly impacts the thermal conductivity. We demonstrate a steplike doubling of phonon scattering rates resultant from the cation disordering at the structural transition. To rationalize the neutron scattering data, we leverage a stepwise approach to account for alterations to the thermal conductivity that are imparted by distinct scattering mechanisms. These results highlight the potential of tunable microstructures housed in a stable crystal matrix to provide a practical route to tailor phonon scattering to optimize thermal transport properties.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2020

Analytical Study to Use the Excess Digester Gas of Wastewater Treatment Plants

This study presents an analytical method that can be used to enhance the power production rate and the energy-saving at wastewater treatment plants. The digester used at wastewater treatment plants produces digester gas by anaerobic digestion, with which biofuel production can be achieved. Biofuels can be used to meet some of the energy requirements of the wastewater treatment facility through combined heat and power (CHP) gas engines (cogeneration). Using micro gas turbine (MGT), a CHP technology can be introduced in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The combination of MGTs and absorption chillers is a promising technology as it produces electricity, heating, and cooling simultaneously. The study demonstrated how the waste heat of MGTs could be used to drive absorption chillers. In this analytical study, a detailed technical and economic analysis is provided on the trigeneration system, i.e., the integration of MGTs and absorption chillers driven by waste digester gas of the wastewater treatment plants. It can meet the heating and cooling demands of the plants, which promote the reduction of utility costs. The technology presented is also useful for other thermal energy users.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Flow and Heat Transfer Experimental Study for 3D-Printed Solar Receiving Tubes With Helical Fins at Internal Surface

3D-printing technology was applied to fabricate novel solar thermal collection tubes that have internal heat transfer enhancement fins and external surfaces with high solar absorptivity and low emissivity due to the ability to use different materials in one tube. Helical fins were selected to introduce circumferential flow and thus minimize the circumferential temperature difference of the tube that receives sunlight on one side. The structures of the helical fins were previously optimized from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis with the objective of low entropy production rate by looking for high heat transfer coefficient and relatively lower pressure loss. High-temperature alloy, Inconel-718, was used to 3D print the tubes, which can resist corrosion for the potential application of molten chloride salts as heat transfer fluid. Experimental tests were carried out using water as the heat transfer fluid with the high heat flux provided by a tubular furnace heater. The tested Reynolds number ranges from 3.9 × 10 3 to 6.1 × 10 4 . Heat transfer coefficients of up to 2.8 times that of the smooth tube could be obtained with the expense of increased pressure loss compared to that of the smooth tube. The total system entropy generation can be significantly reduced due to the benefit of heat transfer enhancement that is greater than the expenses of the increased pressure loss. The experimental results of the 3D-printed heat transfer tubes confirmed the CFD-based results of fin optimization. Furthermore, the novel heat transfer tube is recommended for application in concentrating solar power systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Line emission mapper microcalorimeter spectrometer

The line emission mapper (LEM) is a probe-class mission concept that is designed to detect x-ray emission lines from hot ionized gas (T > 10 6 K) that will enable us to test galaxy evolution theories. It will permit us to study the effects of stellar and black-hole feedback and flows of baryonic matter into and out of galaxies. The key to being able to study the hot gases that are otherwise invisible to current imaging x-ray spectrometers is that the energy resolution is sufficient to use cosmological redshift to separate extragalactic source lines from foreground Milky Way emission. LEM incorporates a large-format microcalorimeter array instrument called the LEM microcalorimeter spectrometer (LMS) with a light-weight x-ray optic with 10” half power diameter angular resolution. The LMS microcalorimeter array has pixels with 15" pixel pitch over a 33' field of view (FOV) optimized for the 0.3 to 2 keV energy band. The central 7' region of the array has an energy resolution of 1.3 eV at 1 keV and the rest of the FOV has 2.5 eV energy resolution at 1 keV. The array will be read out with state-of-the-art time-division multiplexing. We present an overview of the LMS instrument, including details of the entire detection chain, the focal plane assembly, as well as the cooling system and overall mechanical and thermal design. For each of the key technologies, we discuss the current technology readiness level and the plan to advance them to be ready for flight. We also describe the current system design and our estimate for the mass, power, and data rate of the instrument. The design details presented concentrate primarily on the unique aspects of the LMS design compared with prior missions and confirm that the type of microcalorimeter instrument needed for LEM is not only feasible but also technically mature.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2020

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF IMPACT AND ABRASION EROSIONS AT LOW VELOCITIES AND COMPARISON TO CFD SIMULATIONS

Wear and erosion damage of materials due to interaction of the surface with solid particles is a major issue in various industries. This phenomenon is common in mining, and oil and gas production, causing damages worth millions of dollars annually. Erosion is becoming a critical issue in renewable technologies as well such as concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) systems. In some CSP systems, solid particles can be used to absorb solar energy and enhance the heat storage. However, these particles may cause significant amount of wear to system components while falling down the power tower at high temperatures. This damage can be costly, and therefore, investigating solid particle erosion in CSP systems is of utmost importance. In collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories, the erosion durability of particle-based Generation 3 (GEN3) CSP system are being investigated both experimentally and numerically. In order to develop models to predict the life time of such systems, erosion under low temperature and low particle impact velocity conditions are investigated. Impact erosion and abrasion erosion experiments are conducted for low velocity and low temperature conditions for various candidate particles and containment materials. The impact erosion testing is conducted for three different containment material including Stainless Steel 316, special refractory material, and Inconel 740H with CARBOBEAD HSP 40/70 ceramic particles and UNIWEST 430 silica quartz erodent particles. All this data will enable us to better model the erosion behavior of these materials and provides a data base to investigate erosion at high temperatures experienced in CSP systems. At low temperatures and low velocities the softer refractory material exhibited greater erosion by an order-of-magnitude when compared to the harder Inconel 740H and Stainless Steel 316 materials. The overall erosion ratio for all the candidate materials was of the order of 10 -7 kg/kg. We also investigated wear in containment materials from sliding of particles over the surfaces at very low angles, also referred to as abrasion. For the velocities expected in a typical 1MW CSP plant, visible surface wear was noted, but the overall mass loss per unit surface area was found to be dependent on the hardness of the containment material tested. In this manuscript, we also present Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and erosion prediction of low velocity impact erosion. These results are compared with the experimental data to evaluate the ability of available erosion models for predicting erosion under these conditions.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Simulation & Analysis of the Hydronic Shell Retrofit System as a Solution for Deep Energy Retrofits and Electrification of Large Multifamily Housing Communities in Cold Climate

Among 32 million multi-family buildings in the United States, approximately 42% have poor or no insulation. Envelope retrofits of these buildings will provide thermal resiliency and enable a pathway to electrification of space heating systems as a result of improved thermal performance. Hydronic Shell (HS) is a technology which combines an insulated retrofit panel with a heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) thus enabling both envelope retrofit and space heating electrification. In this study, we used whole building energy simulation to evaluate energy impact of multi-family building retrofit with hydronic shell system. The simulation was performed for four locations of New York, Syracuse, Chicago and Boston. The results from the simulation showed more than 66% cooling energy reduction and more than 88% heating energy reduction from Hydronic Shell retrofit compared to Baseline building in all four locations. This reduction in energy consumption resulted in up to 219 MT reduction in annual CO2 emission. The cost reduction per floor area achieved from HVAC energy consumption reduction using Hydronic Shell retrofit was 0.66 to 0.99 $\$$/ft 2 . The results also showed higher percentage of heating energy reduction comes from the envelope only retrofit and higher percentage of cooling energy reduction comes from the retrofit HVAC system for the four locations under study.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2026

Bipolar Membranes Electrodialysis for Water Purification and Resource Recovery

Reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC) from inland brackish water desalination and wastewater recycling presents moderate salinity, posing significant challenges for treatment and disposal. Existing treatment technologies predominantly rely on energy-intensive thermal methods, large-area evaporation strategies, or deep-well disposal, which often result in the loss of water value. Electrified membrane brine treatment offers a promising alternative by utilizing renewable energy sources, enabling complete water recycling. This work proposes the development of next-generation bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) systems capable of desalinating brine while simultaneously recovering valuable resources. However, several critical challenges remain in the areas of membrane engineering for BMED. These include: 1) decreased current efficiency during desalination due to the low conductivity of feed chambers, 2) fouling and scaling from multivalent ions and contaminants in the feed, and 3) the retention and carryover of ROC contaminants, including PFAS compounds. Our research focuses on the development of novel anion exchange membranes (AEMs) and cation exchange membranes (CEMs) based on synthesized multiblock copolymers. We investigate the effects of block length, ion exchange capacity (IEC), and polymer backbone structure on cation and anion transport (e.g., Na+, Cl-, OH-, H+) for both our synthesized membranes and commercial membranes. Fundamental properties of these membranes, such as water uptake, IEC, and ionic conductivity, are also evaluated to optimize performance for BMED applications.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2025

NSTTF Voucher Program RPPR-1 (Final Report)

Sandia issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to solicit proposals from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, and individuals on the use of the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) to increase CSP technology market adoption across the United States. The voucher funds will be used to cover the cost of NSTTF test facilities usage and technical staff support for analysis, design and test planning and execution. Sandia will collect submitted proposals, coordinate their review through DOE SETO, and work in partnership or under contract with the applicants to complete the funded research. Through this program, participants will be supported in their use of the world class facilities and expertise available at the NSTTF at Sandia in Albuquerque, NM to accelerate the advancement of CST technologies toward meeting 2030 SETO goals for CSP. The goals of this semi-annual reporting period were to complete all administrative tasks and contracting, begin testing on three of the vouchers, and report on initial findings. The fourth voucher (University of Michigan) is predicated on the results of an ongoing heat exchanger test that is expected to conclude by the end of FY22.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗