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DOE OSTI2021

Clean Energy Transformation in Bangladesh

Since 2011, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have partnered to support Bangladesh’s energy transition by enabling the deployment of advanced energy systems. The USAID-NREL Partnership launched the Reinforcing Advanced Energy Systems (RAES) program in May 2021 as a mechanism for providing a broader array of technical assistance to the Government of Bangladesh in support of their goal to promote renewable energy development to stimulate private sector investment, rural economic development, and to meet growing energy demand through domestic energy resources. This fact sheet reviews how USAID and NREL collaborate in Bangladesh to improve energy access and security and stimulate economic growth through the deployment of advanced energy systems.

Bangladesh↗

DOE OSTI2022

Net Zero Labs Pilot: NREL Roadmap to Decarbonization

NREL's Roadmap to decarbonize its campus aligns with Executive Order (EO) 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad and EO 14057 Catalyzing America's Clean Energy Industries and Jobs through Federal Sustainability. NREL's strategic approach to reach net-zero emissions for its operational footprint and will occur in phases over the next decade. Decarbonizing NREL's footprint will require the elimination of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from all campus facilities' energy use and will be achieved through energy efficiency enhancements and the increased integration of clean energy sources. Engaging the private sector through an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) and relationships with NREL's utility providers will be crucial to NREL's implementation strategy.

decarbonize↗

DOE OSTI2022

Optimizing DER Deployment for Climate, Health, Resilience, and Energy Bill Benefits Using the REopt Model

Climate change, public health, and resilience to power outages are of critical concern to local governments, federal agencies, and the private sector, and are increasingly motivating investments in distributed energy resources (DERs). However, designing a solar-plus-storage system to co-optimize for climate, health, resilience, and energy bill benefits requires complex trade-offs. To address this need, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has integrated climate and health impacts of grid-purchased electricity and on-site fuel consumption into the publicly-available REopt web tool and API - a techno-economic model that determines the cost-optimal DER system sizes and dispatch strategy. This presentation will provide an overview of the tool's methodology, datasets, and capabilities, including costing emissions into system sizing and dispatch and setting emissions reductions targets. Results of previous work will demonstrate the use of new emissions accounting capabilities by quantifying the impact of including climate and health costs on the optimal resilient microgrid configurations for a hospital, school, and warehouse across 14 U.S. cities.

climate↗

DOE OSTI2021

FY 2022 Idaho National Laboratory Site Sustainability Plan

The mission of the Department of Energy (DOE) is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. This FY 2022 Idaho National Laboratory Site Sustainability Plan (SSP) was developed to enable and sustain Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL’s) mission to discover, demonstrate, and secure innovative nuclear solutions, clean energy options, and critical infrastructure. DOE Order 436.1, “Departmental Sustainability,” provides requirements and assigns responsibilities for managing sustainability within DOE to ensure that DOE missions are carried out in a sustainable manner, to institute wholesale cultural change to factor sustainability into all DOE decisions, and to ensure DOE achieves sustainability goals. DOE Order 436.1 also requires DOE sites to commit appropriate personnel resources, establish a financing plan that prioritizes the use of life-cycle cost effective private-sector financing, optimize the application of appropriations and budgeted funds, and establish specific performance measures and deliverables designed to achieve the listed requirements. The SSP was developed according to the narrative requirements from the “FY 2022 DOE Site Sustainability Plan Guidance” document issued in September 2021. The SSP contains strategies and activities that will lead to continual energy, water, and waste reductions that move the INL site toward meeting DOE sustainability goals and requirements. The SSP summarizes energy and available fuel use reporting requirements and references criteria for instituting sustainable design. SSP requirements are integrated into each INL site contractor’s Integrated Safety Management System and Environmental Management System (EMS). Finally, the Sustainability Program directives, based on this SSP, are integrated into INL/LTD-21-62463, Annual Laboratory Plan 2021, and operations and acquisition systems.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Low-Temperature Geothermal Geospatial Datasets: An Example from Alaska: Preprint

This project is part of a broader effort focused on geothermal heating and cooling with the purpose of demonstrating the multi-faceted value of integrating GHC/GHX into national decarbonization plans and community energy plans. Currently, there is a need to better define and evaluate low-temperature geothermal resource potential to provide the basis for supporting private sector investment. For shallow GHC/GHX fields, there is no formal compilation of subsurface characteristics shared among industry practitioners that can improve system design and operations. Alaska is specifically noted in this work, because heretofore, it has not received a similar focus in geothermal potential evaluations as the contiguous United States. The methodology consists of leveraging relevant data generate a baseline low-temperature resources (< 150 degrees C) geospatial dataset to compare and analyze information accessible to anyone trying to understand the potential of GHC/GHX and small-scale low-temperature geothermal power in Alaska (e.g., energy modelers, communities, planners, and policymakers). Importantly, this project is identifying data related to (1) the evaluation of GHC/GHX in the shallow subsurface, and (2) the evaluation of low-temperature geothermal resource availability. Additionally, data is being compiled to assess repurposing of oil and gas wells to contribute co-produced fluids toward the geothermal direct use and heating and cooling resource potential. The goal of this project is facilitating future deployment of GHC/GHX analysis and community-led programs and update the low-temperature geothermal resources assessment of Alaska. A better understanding of shallow potential for geothermal heat exchange (GHX) will improve design and operations of highly efficient GHC systems. The deployment and impact that can be achieved for low temperature geothermal resources will contribute to decarbonization goals and facilitate widespread electrification by shaving and shifting grid loads.

bottom-hole temperature↗

DOE OSTI2023

Megawatt-Scale Low Temperature Electrolyzer Research Expansion

The development and installation of a flexible low-temperature electrolyzer research capability at the multi-MW scale with integrated renewables will help lower the cost barrier to entry for electrolyzer manufactures needing at scale system and stack evaluation and enable more electrolyzer manufactures to accelerate to commercialization with building block scale demonstration and validation. This NREL capability represents a DOE HFTO investment to support the $1B DOE Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program working to achieve the Hydrogen Shot goal of $1 for 1 kg hydrogen in 1 decade, lower greenhouse gas emissions and criteria pollutants, build clean energy infrastructure, and provide pathways to private sector uptake.

Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (AR↗

DOE OSTI2023

Comparison of Socio-Technical Threat Models

Given the adoption of emerging technologies and the increasing complexity of managing such systems with a lifecycle much shorter than that of critical infrastructure systems, there is a practical need to be able to analyze sociotechnical dependencies and their associated evolving risks. Threat models based on social influence techniques can be used to implement adversarial tactics analogous to the cyber kill chain and attested to within the MITRE ATT&CK for ICS framework including Initial Access, Persistence, Collection, and Impact. Furthermore, as with cyber disruptions, the impact of social influence threat models can have an asymmetric impact that is not spatially-localized. Finally, unlike cyber attacks with a reasonably short duration (ransomware takes days to months), social influence based attacks have the potential to persist for much longer as they are based on long-term strategic infrastructure investments within the private sector. Given the increased importance of electric vehicle charging stations as a long-term, strategic infrastructure investment within the Energy and Transportation Sectors, we provide initial results that compare the impact of a Loss of Availability (T0826) realized through cyber and social influence based threat models. The analysis employs techniques from automated reasoning and measures of network complexity to understand evolving dominance of EV payment and charging networks within geographic region of interest. Within this context, we compare the impact of a loss of availability due to ransomware versus that of loss of support due to a merger and acquisition. Results across several different metro areas will be provided.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2023

H2@Scale CRADA: CA Research Consort. (Ref. Station, Fueling Perf. Test Device, Station Cap Model)

Heavy-duty (HD) hydrogen stations are an essential part of building a clean energy infrastructure by lowering greenhouse gas emissions and criteria pollutants from the trucking industry. Clean fuel at HD stations also supports energy, environmental, and social justice by preventing pollution near the stations and on truck routes while strengthening U.S. manufacturing and providing pathways to private sector uptake. The goal of the CA Research Consortium is to continue the research partnership between national laboratories, DOE, and California public agencies for the advancement of hydrogen fueling infrastructure for HD vehicles. This cooperative work directly impacts California's transition to Zero Emission Trucks and will provide tools and information that lead to more efficient design, acceptance, and commissioning of these larger capacity, higher flow rate stations serving HD hydrogen trucks such as class 8 trucks in long haul applications.

AMR↗

DOE OSTI2020

Session 097C - Panel: Reuse of Federal Land on the Oak Ridge Reservation, TN (3/4) (R.16c)

This panel was to focus on what is being done to enable federal reuse across the DOE's Oak Ridge Reservation, including how the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET) plays a critical role, how the community is benefiting, and the experience of the private sector companies now occupying the site. The Panelists were to discuss how resources from the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) are being transitioned to support cleanup efforts that enable critical NNSA and Office of Science missions. This session integrated with panel sessions 97A, 97B, and 97D. Panelists with presentations: Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET) (Ryan Overton); Community Perspective (Ron Woody); ETTP Tenant Point of View (Bradley Spears); Enabling NNSA and Office of Science Missions (Stephen Phillips); Enabling Federal Land Reuse (David Adler)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2024

Megawatt-Scale Low Temperature Electrolyzer Research Capability

electrical grid↗

DOE OSTI2024

Equity Considerations in Siting Consolidated Interim Storage Facilities for Commercial Spent Nuclear Fuel

Questions of equity and fairness are often raised by representatives from State, Tribal and local governments and members of the public when resolving conflicts over siting of nuclear facilities. However, the two terms are not synonymous: equity can be quantified while fairness is much more subjective. The Department of Energy's (DOE) December 2021 Request for Information sought input on how to site federal facilities for the temporary, consolidated storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) using a consent-based approach. It is anticipated that just such questions about equity and fairness associated with the potential emergence of more than one host site may be raised by the twelve groups of university, nonprofit and private sector partners (Consortia) working to support community engagement, inclusively involve stakeholders, build relationships, and develop innovative forms of mutual learning and public capacity to participate in the consent-based siting process for a federal consolidated interim storage facility during the current Planning & Capacity Building stage of the consent-based siting process. In terms of DOE's Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS), sociopolitical equity concepts are a factor in all aspects of IWMS development and operations and will be particularly applicable should two or more host sites become a possibility, either by the emergence of multiple volunteer hosts or by pursuit as a IWMS program strategy. This paper summarizes recent analyses that explore how four equity metrics - number of states, division of the projected SNF total by the year 2083, current population and land area - might be perceived by host communities, states and regions if two, three or four sites for hosting federal consolidated interim storage facilities were to be contemporaneously realized. Existing institutional arrangements, including Nuclear Regulatory Commission regions, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regions and Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compacts, were selected to create hypothetically merged two, three and four-region scenarios to calculate how the four metrics balance out. Projected SNF burden was prioritized with regional contiguity of the consolidated regions a requirement for a functional scenario. The intent was not to promote or suggest any construct as a program objective; the configurations are geopolitical abstractions only to explore potential perceptions of equity. Understanding the possible issues of equity that could arise may benefit program efforts toward achieving a cooperative federalism wherein both the federal and multiple State governments share the goal of manifesting more than one federal consolidated interim storage facility. The main finding is that it is not possible to optimize for all four metrics simultaneously. The analyses demonstrate that trying to create a sense of equity by backfitting a solution to a random population and land distribution will always contain a degree of artificiality.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2022

FY 2023 Idaho National Laboratory Site Sustainability Plan

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2024

A Proposed Evaluation Framework for New and Emerging Low Embodied-Carbon Concrete Technologies

New opportunities for carbon reductions in buildings create a strong need for a common framework and method for those who design, build and influence construction to evaluate lifecycle carbon reductions from design decisions and technology choices. These opportunities include a wide range of low-embodied-carbon concrete materials being rapidly developed and introduced to the market. How to evaluate these newer materials and technologies has become critical for both public- and private-sector actors seeking to decarbonize building constructions by leveraging the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds. We propose an evaluation framework to assess the lifecycle carbon reductions from adoption of these technologies, including a subset of key “must have” (1) technical criteria (embodied carbon level, technology development stage); (2) market criteria (market size, scalability); and (3) financial criteria (cost of technology implementation compared to businessas-usual) from a range of options. We discuss how to use the framework and illustrate it using a “heatmap,” rating score and short case study of a promising technology. We also propose a plan to implement this framework that includes (1) standardized measurement and validation methods for verifying emission reductions from these technologies, and (2) avenues to implement real world demonstrations. We conclude with recommendations for next steps on framework refinement and commercialization strategy development.

Singh, Reshma↗

NASA NTRS1980

LANDSAT technology transfer to the private and public sectors through community colleges and other locally available institutions

The results achieved during the first eight months of a program to transfer LANDSAT technology to practicing professionals in the private and public sectors (grass roots) through community colleges and other locally available institutions are reported. The approach offers hands-on interactive analysis training and demonstrations through the use of color desktop computer terminals communicating with a host computer by telephone lines. The features of the terminals and associated training materials are reviewed together with plans for their use in training and demonstration projects.

Rogers, R. H.↗

NASA NTRS1982

LANDSAT technology transfer to the private and public sectors through community colleges and other locally available institutions, phase 2 program

A program established by NASA with the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM) applies a network where the major participants are NASA, universities or research institutes, community colleges, and local private and public organizations. Local users are given an opportunity to obtain "hands on" training in LANDSAT data analysis and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques using a desk top, interactive remote analysis station (RAS). The RAS communicates with a central computing facility via telephone line, and provides for generation of land use and land suitability maps and other data products via remote command. During the period from 22 September 1980 - 6 March 1982, 15 workshops and other training activities were successfully conducted throughout Michigan providing hands on training on the RAS terminals for 250 or more people and user awareness activities such as exhibits and demonstrations for 2,000 or more participants.

Rogers, R. H.↗

DOE OSTI2026

The deconstruction of flavor in the privately democratic Higgs sector

The Standard Model (SM) of particle physics fails to explain the observed hierarchy in fermion masses or the origin of fermion-flavor structure. We construct a model to explain these observations in the quark sector. We introduce a spectrum of new particles consisting of six of each — massive singlet vector-like quarks (VLQs), singlet scalars, and SU(2)-doublet scalars. SM quark masses are generated when the neutral components of the SU(2)-doublet scalars acquire non-zero vacuum expectation values (VEVs). We impose global symmetries to ensure that Yukawa couplings stay roughly flavor diagonal and democratic (of the same order), as well as to suppress tree-level flavor-changing neutral currents. Quark-mass hierarchy then follows from a hierarchy in scalar VEVs. The singlet scalars also acquire weak-scale VEVs. Together with the VLQs, they act as messengers between different generations of quarks in the SM. These messenger particles are responsible for generating the elements of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Masakawa (CKM) matrix which depend on the ratios of the singlet VEVs and VLQ masses. Constructed this way, the CKM matrix is found to be independent of the SM fermion masses. Using the measured values of the CKM matrix elements and assuming order-one couplings, we derive constraints on the masses of the VLQs and discuss prospects for probing our model in the near future.

CKM Parameters↗

NASA NTRS2016

Thomas Leps Internship Abstract

An optical navigation system is being flown as the backup system to the primary Deep Space Network telemetry for navigation and guidance purposes on Orion. This is required to ensure Orion can recover from a loss of communication, which would simultaneously cause a loss of DSN telemetry. Images taken of the Moon and Earth are used to give range and position information to the navigation computer for trajectory calculations and maneuver execution. To get telemetry data from these images, the size and location of the moon need to be calculated with high accuracy and precision. The reentry envelope for the Orion EM-1 mission requires the centroid and radius of the moon images to be determined within 1/3 of a pixel 3 sigma. In order to ensure this accuracy and precision can be attained, I was tasked with building precise dot grid images for camera calibration as well as building a hardware in the loop test stand for flight software and hardware proofing. To calibrate the Op-Nav camera a dot grid is imaged with the camera, the error between the image dot location and the actual dot location can be used to build a distortion map of the camera and lens system so that images can be fixed to display truth locations. To build the dot grid images I used the Electro Optics Lab optical bench Bright Object Simulator System, and gimbal. The gimbal was slewed to a series of elevations and azimuths. An image of the collimated single point light source was then taken at each position. After a series of 99 images were taken at different locations the single light spots were extracted from each image and added to a composite image containing all 99 points. During the development of these grids it was noticed that an intermittent error in the artificial "star" locations occurred. Prior to the summer this error was attributed to the gimbal having glitches in it's pointing direction and was going to be replaced, however after further examining the issue I determined it to be a software issue. I have since narrowed the likely source of the error down to a Software Development Kit released by the camera supplier PixeLink. I have since developed a workaround in order to build star grids for calibration until the software bug can be isolated and fixed. I was also tasked with building a Hardware in the Loop test stand in order to test the full Op-Nav system. A 4k screen displays simulated Lunar and Terrestrial images from a possible Orion trajectory. These images are then projected through a collimator and then captured with an Op-Nav camera controlled by an Intel NUC computer running flight software. The flight software then analyzes the images to determine attitude and position, this data is then reconstructed into a trajectory and matched to the simulated trajectory in order to determine the accuracy of the attitude and position estimates. In order for the system to work it needs to be precisely and accurately aligned. I developed an alignment procedure that allows the screen, collimator and camera to be squared, centered and collinear with each other within a micron spatially and 5 arcseconds in rotation. I also designed a rigid mount for the screen that was machined on site in Building 10 by another intern. While I was working in the EOL we received a $500k Orion startracker for alignment procedure testing. Due to my prior experience in electronics development, as an ancillary duty, I was tasked with building the cables required to operate and power the startracker. If any errors are made building these cables the startracker would be destroyed, I was honored that the director of the lab entrusted such a critical component with me. This internship has cemented my view on public space exploration. I always preferred public sector to privatization because, as a scientist, the most interesting aspects of space for me are not necessarily the most profitable. I was concerned that the public sector was faltering however, and that in order to improve human space exploration I would be forced into private sector. I now know that, at least at JSC, human spaceflight is still progressing, and exciting work is still being done. I am now actively seeking employment at JSC after I complete my Ph.D and have met with my branch chiefs and mentor to discuss transitioning to a grad Co-op position.

Leps, Thomas↗

DOE OSTI2025

The ST40 Collaboration: A Groundbreaking, First-of-Its-Kind, Public-Private Partnership in Fusion

With the continued expansion of the private fusion sector, many governments are increasing support for public-private partnerships (PPPs) and positioning these partnerships as central to their plans to deliver commercial fusion. This paper discusses a groundbreaking first-of-its-kind PPP between the United Kingdom–based private company, Tokamak Energy Ltd. and the U.S. public sector researchers from the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of Washington that focused on advancing spherical tokamak physics on the ST40, a high-field spherical tokamak owned and operated by Tokamak Energy. The collaboration was both scientifically productive and supportive of Tokamak Energy in achieving a key company milestone. Key factors that made this a productive and impactful collaboration are outlined from the perspectives of both the public and private participants. These principles can be used to inform future PPPs in fusion, and have already paved the way for new public-private initiatives.

Public-private partnership↗