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DOE OSTI2025

Recent Collaborations and Innovations to Demonstrate Next-Generation Techniques for Monitoring Subsurface Carbon Storage

World Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Conference, Bergen, Norway, September 1–4, 2025. This talk provides a high-level overview of many novel and sustainable carbon storage-monitoring methods to accelerate the deployment of CCUS technologies at future CCUS sites across the United States. The Energy & Environmental Research Center’s work impacts the general CCUS industry by providing novel low-impact methods for tracking the injected plume’s migration and more autonomous data collection and processing techniques for performing assurance monitoring. Specifically, the results benefit 1) CCUS community members through knowledge sharing of lessons learned; 2) CCUS operators through commercialization of additional methods, including improvements to workflows and simplification of fieldwork; and 3) CCUS project stakeholders through implementation of low-impact and more autonomous monitoring solutions.

02 PETROLEUM↗

DOE OSTI2024

CRADA 611 Noria Energy R6 (Abstract)

For the past several years, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have provided technical assistance to the recipients of Department of Energy (DOE) -funded voucher programs, namely American-Made Challenges (AMC), the Incubator Program, and the Small Business Vouchers Program. Drawing on lessons learned and from first-hand experiences, NREL is leading a new holistic and streamlined voucher program aimed at strengthening ties between American innovators and the national labs. This new program, “Vouchers to Enable Laboratory and Organizational Collaboration for Innovation and Technology Improvements,” or VELOCITI, will leverage the successful elements of past programs, create administrative efficiencies, and enable the buildout of a national program to drive strong relationships between entrepreneurs and the national labs to accelerate the roll-out of new technologies in the US solar sector.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Technology Integration 2021 Annual Progress Report

VTO's Technology Integration Program supports a broad technology portfolio that includes alternative fuels, energy efficient mobility systems and technologies, and other efficient advanced technologies that can reduce transportation energy costs for businesses and consumers. The program provides objective, unbiased data and real-world lessons learned to inform future research needs and support local decision making. It also includes projects to disseminate data, information, and insight, as well as online tools and technology assistance to cities and regions working to implement alternative fuels and energy efficient mobility technologies and systems.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2023

Coupled Target-Beam-Moderator Optimization for the Second Target Station

This report describes the results for a coupled target-beam-moderator optimization analysis for the Second Target Station (STS) at ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source. This study is a continuation of the optimization analysis for the moderators in the preliminary design of STS performed in 2022. In the 2022 analysis the dimensions of the moderators are parameterized, while the target and the proton beam profile are kept constant. In this analysis the target height and the proton beam profile are added as parameters. This allows to study the coupled effects of changing target, moderator and beam dimensions. Similar to the 2022 analysis, this work is performed with an automated optimization workflow that uses the optimization toolbox DAKOTA, parameterized geometries in CREO and SpaceClaim, the unstructured mesh generation in Attila4MC, and the particle transport code MCNP6.2©. This workflow enables an efficient optimization using high-fidelity geometries. The main conclusions of this analysis are the following: • Coupled beam-target-moderator optimization provides a few additional percent performance gain over stand-alone moderator optimization. • The moderator performance is not very sensitive to the target height (between ≈60 and ≈80 mm) as long as the beam profile is chosen adequately. • The moderator performance is sensitive to the choice of beam spatial standard deviations, even when the footprint is kept constant. • The optimal moderator radius is the same for a beam footprint of 30 cm 2 , 62.5 cm 2 , and 90 cm 2 . Also the slope of the super-gaussian beam profile does not significantly impact the optimal moderator radius. • The optimal parameters and sensitivities are very similar to the 2022 optimization analysis. These results only indicate a a difference in the optimal radius of the cylindrical moderator, however, this has been corrected in the final design moderator optimization. The main purpose of this report is to document the simulations, results and lessons learned. The most impactful results are summarized in. We also note that the target geometry used in this work is not the final design.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Technology Integration (2022 Annual Progress Report)

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Medium Duty Trucks, Rooftop Backup Power, and Advanced Hydrogen Refueling Components

The Fuel Cell Hybrid Electric Delivery Van final project report describes the vehicle development, build, and demonstration of 15 hydrogen fuel cell hybrid electric delivery vans (FCHEDVs) sponsored, in part, by the DOE. This report provides background for the project including goals and objectives, project implementation details, technical results and lessons learned, and recommendations for relevant technologies going forward.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2024

DOE BSSD Performance Management Metrics Report Q1

Microbes play key roles in our biosphere, from driving global nutrient cycling to impacting plant, animal and human health and disease. Complex data from microbial genomes, proteins, and metabolites provide a window into these tiny engines that drive life on our planet. Yet these data are dispersed among researchers’ laboratories and various repositories, making it difficult to access. This calls for new ways of managing data, improving data interoperability, advancing community standards, and creating an infrastructure where data are shared efficiently. We have built the National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC) to advance how scientists create, use, and reuse data to redefine the way we understand and harness the power of microbes. The vision of the National Microbiome Data Collaborative (NMDC) is to drive a microbiome data sharing network connecting data, people, and ideas to advance microbiome innovation and discovery. The NMDC was launched in 2019 and brought together DOE National Laboratories to collaborate across resources, capabilities, and expertise. The NMDC team was strategically assembled to include software developers, microbial researchers, metadata experts, and multi-omics specialists. The diversity of the NMDC team reflects the inherently interdisciplinary nature of microbiome science, and we leverage the strengths of the DOE National Laboratory system. Towards BER’s goal of advancing an iterative systems biology approach to the understanding of microbial genomes, the NMDC serves as a foundation for infrastructure, data standards, and community building. Together with the flagship DOE User Facilities, the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) and the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), we are developing core capabilities in metadata standards for environmental descriptors and sample handling and processing; standardized bioinformatic workflows; an interface for data search and access; and robust community engagement activities. The NMDC production platform supports long-term data infrastructure and community building for BER’s bioenergy and environmental research goals. Our approach leverages lessons learned and an ambitious framework for collaborative, interdisciplinary data infrastructure to support microbiome research. The NMDC supports data, information, and knowledge access through three defined software tools – the Submission Portal, NMDC EDGE, and the Data Portal – driven by community needs. Herein, we describe the value proposition for the microbiome research community, our overarching strategy, and challenges and opportunities for developing the NMDC as both an infrastructure and community engagement program.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Oak Ridge National Laboratory EAGLE-I TM : Modeling Electric Utility County Customers for Situational Awareness

During natural hazard events (hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, etc.) and recent man-made events (e.g., cyber attacks), the exchange of near real-time, spatially refined data within the response community is critical. The EAGLE-I$^{TM}$ platform is one tool that facilitates this data for decision makers within the energy sector. While much information can be collected and integrated into the system directly, other pertinent data must be augmented by other derived data products to enhance the information and allow for a consistent evaluation of on-the-ground conditions. One such data set that requires the addition of other derived data is the electric utility customer outage data that is aggregated to the county level within the EAGLE-I application. Without a county customer data set, outages can only be compared on total counts, which gives greater importance to higher population outages. Including an electric utility customer data set at the county level allows for these outage counts to be converted to percent outages and brings a consistent classification of outages and equal importance to all outages. To achieve this, several available data sets were combined and spatial disaggregation techniques were employed to model customer estimates at the county scale. This paper presents the approach to produce this data for the United States and lessons learned from working with these disparate data sets. Data validation is provided, where possible, and limitations of the model and possible improvements are discussed.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2024

Technology Integration 2023 Annual Progress Report

This document summarizes the progress of VTO Technology Integration projects supported during the fiscal year 2023. VTO's Technology Integration Program supports a broad technology portfolio that includes alternative fuels, energy efficient mobility systems and technologies, and other efficient advanced technologies that can reduce transportation energy costs for businesses and consumers. The program provides objective, unbiased data and real-world lessons learned to inform future research needs and support local decision making. It also includes projects to disseminate data, information, and insight, as well as online tools and technology assistance to cities and regions working to implement alternative fuels and energy efficient mobility technologies and systems.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Small-Scale Drying: FY2020 Interim Report

This report documents the interim experimental status of small-scale drying tests currently being performed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. These small-scale drying tests are to develop the technical bases for sensors, techniques, and approaches that will be used to address the challenges faced when determining moisture content from gas samples taken at the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station for the High Burnup Demonstration Project. Specifically, the purpose of these tests is to support Sandia National Laboratories gas sample methods and analyses through a series of small-scale experiments. Key focus areas include performing tests to: • Correlate sample bottle measurements to in-cask conditions • Estimate the amount of trapped and absorbed water on cask features and surfaces that can contribute to water vapor • Assess the accuracy of the hygrometer used in the measurements under similar conditions • Identify additional methods for measuring humidity in casks easily and accurately using lessons-learned from Sandia National Laboratories, including direct gravimetric and isotopic tracer techniques. To address these topics this report outlines a series of five tests and any data collected to date that were planned for FY 2020 that include 1) humidity measurement method development, 2) gas bottle sampling tests, 3) surface drying tests on cladding, 4) small-scale drying of cladding, and 5) small-scale drying of guide-tube/dashpots. This interim report documents the experimental background, design and progress of these small-scale drying tests. Further data gathered will be summarized in the FY 2021 report.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Synopsis of NREL's Automated Mobility District (AMD) Research Program and Associated Publications

An automated mobility district (AMD) envisions a system of integrated mobility options that serves major activity centers such as campuses, central business districts, and large medical facilities. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been investigating the implementation prospects for fully automated passenger transport systems that are deployed to operate within dense urban settings. This document provides a synopsis of findings revealed over the last three phases of work, which have yielded insights into the creation and management of AMDs anticipated to use automated vehicle (AV) technology over the next decade. Phase I and Phase II tracked the deployment and lessons learned from 10 early-stage demonstrations of automated shuttle deployments, and their associated insights into the challenges for automated driving systems to achieve safe operations within district-scale deployments. Phase III began in-depth investigations of critical subsystem components, as automation, electrification, and on-demand service continue to converge within initial AMD operations. These directed studies focus on elements of electrification, curbfront/station management, the role of infrastructure sensing, and overall integration of AMD safety management in central, simultaneous coordination of multiple AMD fleets. Future research in AMDs includes systems engineering methodology (more frequently referred to as "digital twins") for planning, design, testing, and ongoing operation of AMDs; location (or co-location) of management functions; and human supervision and passenger communications for safety and security in unattended vehicles. The synopsis references the foundational research products (papers and presentations) that have been published through conference proceedings, journal articles, and NREL reports.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Techno Economic Analysis for Production of Renewable Natural Gas and Value-Added Chemicals from Forest Biomass Residues (CRADA Final Report)

West Biofuels - in collaboration with the University of California San Diego, the University of California Davis, the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), the Colorado School of Mines’ Center for Hydrate Research, Placer County Air Pollution Control District, the Sierra Business Council, and the Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas)-will demonstrate an innovative pathway to convert forest biomass to renewable gas (RG). The project, Production of Pipeline Grade Renewable Natural Gas and Value-Added Chemicals from Forest Biomass Residues, will utilize an existing pilot-scale gasification system and data and lessons learned from a lab-scale catalytic reactor design, develop, and demonstrate an integrated pilot-scale RG process with a scaled-up catalytic reactor and hydrate-based gas separation process. This robust and simple process uses a commercial proven gasifier, a commercially available catalyst that can tolerate gas contaminants, and a gas separation process that simplifies the downstream processing. Current testing has shown that the process can yield a large amount of methane rich renewable gas in addition to a mixture of propanol, ethanol and other higher alcohols and the relative amounts can be controlled by shifting the process conditions. This process is novel and groundbreaking because the product mixture of RG and valuable alcohols byproducts makes RG production economically feasible at $\$$12 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) or less using forest biomass from high hazard zones.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2025

CSP Plant Optimization Study for the California Power Market (“CalCSP”) (Final Technical Report)

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) with thermal energy storage offers a unique and strategic opportunity to support California’s clean energy transition. Unlike photovoltaic (PV) systems, CSP with thermal storage can generate electricity after sunset and during periods of high demand, making it a valuable complement to intermittent renewable resources. CSP also provides synchronous, inertia-contributing generation, long-duration storage, and flexible dispatch—capabilities increasingly important as thermal plants retire. This report summarizes the findings of the CSP Plant Optimization Study for the California Power Market or “CalCSP study,” which evaluated the technical, economic, environmental, and policy factors that influence the deployment of CSP technologies in California. The CalCSP study was conducted to assess how CSP can contribute to California’s long-term decarbonization goals while enhancing grid reliability, supporting local economic development, and making efficient use of land and transmission resources. It draws on detailed modeling of CSP performance and costs, site suitability analysis, policy reviews, and stakeholder engagement across utilities, regulators, developers, and community organizations. The analysis focuses on mature molten-salt tower technology and incorporates lessons learned from the global CSP fleet, distinguishing today’s CSP from earlier first-of-a-kind projects in the U.S. The findings support a more prominent role for CSP in California’s evolving clean energy landscape. With strategic planning, targeted policy support, and continued cost improvements, CSP can complement PV and batteries to deliver reliable, around-the-clock clean electricity—especially in areas with high solar resource and constrained grid capacity.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2026

Unraveling the Dynamics of Nucleosome Arrays

The organization of genomic DNA into chromatin is a fundamental determinant of genome stability, regulation, and cellular function. Nucleosomes, the basic repeating units of chromatin, assemble into higher-order structures whose organization and heterogeneity remain difficult to characterize using conventional ensemble-averaged techniques. A key need in the field is the development of experimental approaches capable of directly visualizing nucleosome assemblies and their structural variability at the single-molecule level. This LDRD Lab-Wide project focused on establishing and evaluating atomic force microscopy (AFM)–based approaches for the characterization of nucleosome assemblies. The work emphasized experimental workflows for preparing, imaging, and assessing multi-nucleosome systems, rather than isolated single nucleosomes. Through method development and exploratory measurements, the project demonstrated the feasibility of applying scanning probe microscopy to investigate chromatin-relevant assemblies and provided preliminary insight into the strengths and limitations of this approach for future quantitative studies. Results and lessons learned from this effort were disseminated to the broader scientific community through multiple national conference presentations, helping to position LLNL for continued work in chromatin and genome organization research.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2026

Facilitating Data Collection of Maintenance Events to Populate the Hydrogen Component Reliability Database (HyCReD)

The Hydrogen Component Reliability Database (HyCReD) is a collaborative project between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the University of Maryland, and hydrogen stakeholders to improve safety and reliability for hydrogen facilities by implementing component reliability data taxonomies that support hydrogen infrastructure failure rate analysis. The project aims to quantify failure rates of hydrogen components through high-quality data collection and analysis on root causes and maintenance needed. HyCReD provides a common database for cataloging hydrogen component failures which exists for reliability research in many other mature industries [2]. The database fills a gap for the hydrogen community by providing a scientifically rigorous approach to quantitative risk assessment (QRA), prognostic health management (PHM), and reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) analysis. High level results will be aggregated and anonymized to protect company sensitive information; detailed results will be used to help address issues of hydrogen components. These advanced analytics will support accelerated deployment of hydrogen infrastructure by enabling better: design and safety of projects (safety codes and standards development), infrastructure reliability and cost (component failure rates, maintenance protocols), and component R&D needs (robust supply chain). A key to a successful HyCReD implementation is facilitating the ease of reporting and data quality in the database that can be used for analysis. Maintenance data was a previously identified gap in initial efforts to populate and validate the database taxonomies [3]. Collection of maintenance data will be instrumental in identifying failure modes and rates, identifying incipient component failures or reduced performance, cataloging best practices for maintenance routines and methods for prognostic health management, and quantifying the risk and effect of different failure modes. Several key priorities are identified for streamlined data collection to achieve quality and detailed failure data: Applicability, Ease of Use, Accessibility, and Information Security. The HyCReD team has now begun deployment of the database to several companies and groups that have signed non-disclosure agreements to facilitate the data collection of failures in industry hydrogen refueling station infrastructure. This paper will provide an update into the process of HyCReD deployment including the development of a coding guide for facility personnel to reference and ensure data quality and consistency from one station to another as well as implementation of contextually dependent data fields of system taxonomy and formatted entries to provide ease of use. The goal is to communicate the lessons learned from the roll-out to technicians and engineers in the field, and the addition of need for high level of security to protect all stakeholders.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2025

The Snow Albedo Evolution (SALVO) Campaign at the North Slope of Alaska Field Campaign Report

The springtime surface-albedo transition in the Alaskan Arctic, along with the forces that determine its duration and nature, was the focus of the Snow ALbedo eVOlution (SALVO) campaign. The SALVO team investigated the reasons and durations of the stages of spring melt, during which albedo values decrease from 0.8 to 0.1, signifying the year’s largest and most significant radiative energy change. SALVO II (2022, 2024) built on findings from the successful SALVO I (2019) melt season campaign and previous research on the melt transition period conducted by Grenfell and Perovich (2004). SALVO used the ARM NSA observatory, thus aligning with a core principle of the ARM Decadal Vision to “provide comprehensive and impactful field measurements to support scientific advancement of atmospheric process understanding.” SALVO fieldwork was conducted in the spring near the ARM NSA Central Facility in Utqiagvik, Alaska (Figure 1). Comprehensive data sets were collected in 2019, 2022, and 2024, which included spectral and broadband albedos, snow and meltwater depths, snow stratigraphy, snow grain size data, and aerial imagery. In April of each project year, before the snow began to melt, we established survey lines at three or four locations: inland tundra at NSA E12, coastal tundra at the NSA C1 site, Elson Lagoon, and offshore on the Chukchi Sea sea ice (2022 only). We set up a 200-meter-long line, marked every five meters, to enable repeated measurements of surface albedo and snow depth at each location. During most site visits, the SALVO II team dug at least one snow pit to assess the characteristics of the vertical snow layers, including the types and sizes of snow grains, snow density, and the distribution of liquid water. We evaluated the characteristics of flowing or pooled water at the bottom of the snowpack. Watching snow melt in the Arctic has been compared by some to being as exciting as watching paint dry, but it is far more exciting and dynamic than that. Initially, changes happen slowly while the snow cover remains above 80%, but then reductions in the albedo of the landscape, from about 0.8 to 0.4, combined with rising spring temperatures, begin to accelerate the melt. It happens so quickly that no matter how hard the field team works, they cannot keep up with documenting the changes. At first, liquid water is scarce—only a few wet layers of snow in the snowpack. But then, water becomes ubiquitous, transporting melt energy and creating an extremely heterogeneous albedo and melt landscape. At the end of each field season, the SALVO team is exhausted, relieved to see the snow gone, and joyful to play in the melt ponds on the sea ice under the midnight sun. Overall, the 2024 SALVO field campaign was a highlight, reflecting numerous lessons learned from 2019 and 2022. Daily measurements were taken more than 10 times at each site, resulting in a comprehensive time series of snow conditions and albedo. The team deployed using snowmachines and then on foot when snowmachine travel was no longer permitted on the melting tundra. Instrument mounts and packaging were optimized for quick deployment, regardless of the mode of transportation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2026

Design Status and Experimental Strategy for Initial Molten Salt Irradiation Experiments in HFIR

The development and deployment of molten salt reactor (MSR) technologies require experimental capabilities that can evaluate molten fuel salt behavior and structural material performance under representative irradiation conditions. Although modeling and separate effects testing provide important insight, there remains a critical lack of in-pile data that capture the coupled effects of neutron irradiation, temperature, salt chemistry, and time. Informed by lessons learned from historical MSR programs and recent international irradiation efforts, this report presents a structured approach to addressing existing gaps in molten salt irradiation testing using the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). A phased irradiation strategy is presented that incrementally increases experimental complexity while managing cost, risk, and facility constraints. The framework progresses from passive, nonfueled static capsule experiments to fueled, instrumented, and ultimately circulating molten salt systems, providing a pathway for materials screening, mechanistic understanding, and qualification-relevant testing. The report defines a near-term Phase 1 passive capsule concept, associated irradiation conditions, and a conceptual post-irradiation examination strategy. Ongoing modeling, out-of-pile testing, and safety analysis activities are described to support continued capability maturation and to enable future phases of molten salt irradiation testing in support of MSR technology deployment.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2025

A Dark Photon Dark Matter Search with a Widely-Tunable SRF Cavity

The SERAPH (SupERconducting Axion and Paraphoton Haloscope) experiment is a family of superconducting haloscopes being developed by the Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems (SQMS) Center to search for wavelike dark matter. This presentation will focus on preliminary results from our dark photon dark matter search using a widely-tunable SRF cavity operating between 4-7 GHz, nicknamed the "plunger cavity." I will present the cavity design and characterization, analyze the impact of microphonics on system performance and haloscope sensitivity, and describe our tuning methodology for this Q~10^8 cavity. The presentation will cover our haloscope analysis approach and discuss sensitivity limits achieved in this frequency range. Finally, I will outline lessons learned from this first search, implications for future axion searches, and proposed improvements for subsequent SERAPH experiments.

Cervantes, Raphael [Fermilab]↗