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DOE OSTI2023

Experimental Aging and Lifetime Prediction in Grid Applications for Large-Format Commercial Li-Ion Batteries

Due to the growth of electric vehicle and stationary energy storage markets, the production and use of lithium-ion batteries has grown exponentially in recent years. For many of these applications, large-format lithium-ion batteries are being utilized, as large cells have less inactive material relative to their energy capacity and require fewer electrical connections to assemble into packs. And especially for stationary energy storage systems, where energy delivered is the only revenue source, the economics of these battery systems is highly dependent on cell lifetime. However, testing of large-format lithium-ion batteries is time consuming and requires high current channels and large testing chambers, making information on the performance of commercial, large-format lithium-ion batteries hard to come by. Here, accelerated aging test data from four commercial large-format lithium-ion batteries is reported. These batteries span both NMC-Gr and LFP-Gr cell chemistries, pouch and prismatic formats, and a range of cell designs with varying power capabilities. Accelerated aging test results are analyzed to examine both cell performance, in terms of efficiency and thermal response under load, as well as cell lifetime. Cell thermal response is characterized by measuring temperature during cycle aging, which is used to calculated a normalized thermal resistance value that may help estimate both cell cooling needs or to help extrapolate aging test results to different thermal environments. Cell lifetime is evaluated qualitatively, considering simply the average calendar and cycle life across a range of conditions, as well as quantitatively, using statistical modeling and machine-learning methods to identify predictive aging models from the accelerated aging data. These predictive aging models are then used to investigate cell sensitivities to stressors, such as cycling temperature, voltage window, and C-rate, as well as to predict cell lifetime in various stationary storage applications. Results from this work show that cell lifetime and sensitivity to aging conditions varies substantially across commercial cells, necessitating testing for specific cell formats to make quantitative lifetime predictions. That being said, all commercial cells tested here are predicted to reach at least 10-year lifetimes for stationary storage applications. Based on the aging test results and modeling, some cells are expected to be relatively insensitive to temperature and use-case, making them suited for simple use cases with little or no thermal management and simple controls, while the lifetime of other cells could be extended to 20+ years if operated with thermal management and degradation-aware controls.

battery↗

DOE OSTI2026

Seismic Elastic Double-Beam Characterization of Faults and Fractures for CO₂ Storage Site Selection

Site characterization for underground injection and storage of gigatonne-scale CO₂ requires reliable and cost-effective methods to detect and characterize faults and fractures and to assess their stress state and fault activation potential. This is critical, as wastewater injection and disposal have been shown to activate faults and induce earthquakes, and CO₂ leakage remains a key concern for long-term storage. In this project, we developed seismic methods to detect and characterize large-scale sedimentary and crystalline basement faults and associated small-scale fractures below conventional seismic imaging resolution using multicomponent (9C) surface seismic data. Machine learning was used to automatically interpret large-scale faults, providing key information for estimating the maximum magnitude of potential induced earthquakes. High-fidelity imaging was achieved by exploiting redundancy across multiple elastic wave modes, where independent images from different modes and frequencies cross-validate each other. We also used our nonlinear signal comparison (NLSC) method for ground roll removal, improving data quality in complex near-surface conditions. The methods were validated using field data acquired in central Montana. Results show that basement faults extend into the sedimentary section and that small-scale fractures are widespread above the basement. The inferred stress orientation is consistent with regional stress data, and the estimated maximum induced earthquake magnitude is small (Mw ~2.3). The developed workflow provides a practical approach for fault and fracture characterization and for assessing induced seismicity and leakage risk. It is directly applicable to CO₂ storage site selection and to other subsurface systems.

02 PETROLEUM↗

DOE OSTI2020

Powering the Blue Economy: Progress Exploring Marine Renewable Energy Integration With Ocean Observations

The blue economy is a dynamic and rapidly growing movement that captures the interplay between economic, social, and ecological sustainability of the ocean and encompasses numerous maritime sectors and activities (e.g., commerce and trade; living resources; renewable energy; minerals, materials, and freshwater; and ocean health and data). The demand for ocean data to inform scientific, risk reduction, and national security needs is leading to a large increase in the number of deployed ocean observation and monitoring systems, most of which require increased power. Because ocean observation systems are often placed in remote locations, they primarily rely on energy storage (or in some cases in situ energy generation) to power instruments and equipment, which imposes limits on sampling rates, deployment times, and spatiotemporal resolution of data. The U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office is exploring the potential for marine renewable energy (MRE) devices (largely wave and tidal energy converters) to provide power to support multiple blue economy opportunities. A portion of these opportunities focus on power at sea markets for providing power in off-grid and offshore locations to support a variety of ocean-based activities, including ocean observation and navigation, underwater vehicle charging, marine aquaculture, marine algae farming, and seawater mining. Initially, research has focused on better understanding how and where MRE can provide a consistent source of reliable power to extend ocean observing missions, including operation of autonomous underwater vehicles. Online surveys as well as phone and inperson interviews were conducted with experts in the field of ocean observing systems and observatories to gather end-user requirements, determine energy needs, identify opportunities for codevelopment, and pinpoint constraints for MRE to meet those needs. The surveys and interviews provided feedback on the potential for powering devices and vehicles using MRE, including identifying common themes and challenges that will inform foundational research and development steps needed to advance the integration of MRE with ocean observing systems. In most cases, additional power generation on the order of watts was identified as significantly beneficial to enhancing ocean observations capabilities.

marine renewable energy, powering the blue economy↗

DOE OSTI2020

Enabling Power at Sea: Opportunities for Expanded Ocean Observations through Marine Renewable Energy Integration

The blue economy is a dynamic and rapidly growing movement that captures the interplay between economic, social, and ecological sustainability of the ocean and encompasses numerous maritime sectors and activities (e.g., commerce and trade; living resources; renewable energy; minerals, materials, and freshwater; and ocean health and data). The demand for ocean data to inform scientific, risk reduction, and national security needs is leading to a large increase in the number of deployed ocean observation and monitoring systems, most of which require increased power. Because ocean observation systems are often placed in remote locations, they primarily rely on energy storage (or in some cases in situ energy generation) to power instruments and equipment, which imposes limits on sampling rates, deployment times, and spatiotemporal resolution of data. The U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office is exploring the potential for marine renewable energy (MRE) devices (largely wave and tidal energy converters) to provide power to support multiple blue economy opportunities. A portion of these opportunities focus on power at sea markets for providing power in off-grid and offshore locations to support a variety of ocean-based activities, including ocean observation and navigation, underwater vehicle charging, marine aquaculture, marine algae farming, and seawater mining. Initially, research has focused on better understanding how and where MRE can provide a consistent source of reliable power to extend ocean observing missions, including operation of autonomous underwater vehicles. Online surveys as well as phone and in-person interviews were conducted with experts in the field of ocean observing systems and observatories to gather end-user requirements, determine energy needs, identify opportunities for codevelopment, and pinpoint constraints for MRE to meet those needs. The surveys and interviews provided feedback on the potential for powering devices and vehicles using MRE, including identifying common themes and challenges that will inform foundational research and development steps needed to advance the integration of MRE with ocean observing systems. In most cases, additional power generation on the order of watts was identified as significantly beneficial to enhancing ocean observations capabilities.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

DOE OSTI2021

Blockchain-Based Smart Contracts Use for Photovoltaic Energy Trade Transactions

In recent decades, interest in renewable energy via solar energy has increased, especially in California and Nevada. In a region that can produce enough solar power for self-use, prosumers must use or sell surplus energy. Solar energy self-consumption is essential in modern energy transactions in the grid. This paper proposes an approach towards grid services that includes photovoltaic hardware to store the excess energy in battery storage. Such energy can then be sold to power companies while the transaction is handled using blockchain. Software, security architecture and data flow requirements based on the Ethereum Blockchain are included. Furthermore, this solution protects the private information of seller and buyer and secures transactions.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

Policy Considerations When Federating Facilities for Experimental and Observational Data Analysis

Today’s computational, experimental, and observational facilities afford us tremendous opportunities to couple theory and experiment at increasingly large scales. Empirical sensing capabilities are growing dramatically with beam line and detector improvements, and with advances in our ability to deploy large-scale data gathering observations of the natural world. The coupling of computational simulations and analysis to process the data from experimental and observational facilities is giving rise to cross-facility workflows. Such federations of facilities are in fact becoming an explicit requirement for large-scale scientific discovery. As we scale up these pipelines of scientific discovery, each participating facility needs to establish and align policies so that the federation can work seamlessly in an end-to-end manner. This chapter outlines specific policy considerations in enabling the federation of facilities for data analysis. Design choices and vital policy decisions cover the areas of data acquisition and storage, data transfer, computational resource allocation and co-scheduling, seamless federated user access, and cross-cutting governance. By highlighting the explicit and implicit interdependencies between facilities, we aim to provide facility designers and policymakers the information on policy issues to address early in a facility’s operations, thus enabling successful cross-facility federation and improved experimental and observational data analysis outcomes.

Shankar, Mallikarjun (Arjun)↗

DOE OSTI2025

Packages of Distributed Energy Technologies Demonstrating Demand Flexibility at Community Scale

The combination of increased electric load growth across all sectors, deferred electrical infrastructure investment, and other factors resulting in variable electric power supply, has created technical challenges to maintaining a resilient and reliable grid. Many federal, regional, and local efforts are in play to modernize the electric grid, including advancing building technologies and distributed energy resources (DERs) that are utilizing smarter controls to become responsive to both occupant and grid needs. This report reviews ten pilot projects demonstrating how groups of buildings combined with behind-the-meter (BTM) DERs such as electric vehicle (EV) charging, battery storage, flexible HVAC and domestic hot water systems, and photovoltaic systems can reliably and cost effectively provide grid services. Each of the ten pilot projects aim to deliver both energy efficiency and demand flexibility (DF) while supporting load growth. The ten demonstration teams are piloting flexible DER packages across diverse communities of residential and commercial buildings to address a variety of regional grid needs. The outcomes of these pilot projects will be used to inform future scaling through utility program development. This paper characterizes the ten teams, showcasing the decision-making process used by each group to develop their packages (Section 2), the grid services they plan to deliver (Section 3), the types of DER packages selected for deployment within building sectors (Section 4) and trends between building sector, DER types, and grid services In order to achieve community scale benefits, the pilot projects must utilize aggregated control mechanisms for coordinating buildings and DERs together. Several types of coordinated control architectures have evolved amongst the teams, influenced by use type, existing market conditions, and integration type. Three coordinated controls architectures have been characterized, highlighting their use cases, benefits, challenges, and tradeoffs in their design. These insights can aid utilities, control vendors, and developers in scaling community-level energy systems (Paul, 2024). Ultimately, the technology packages selected by the ten teams will be coordinated to provide power system services, also known as grid services. Insights from these demonstrations will be useful for grid operators, regulators, aggregators and other stakeholders as they look to deploy demand flexible resources as grid services in the future. The grid services that each team is targeting for demonstration are described in Section 3 and Section 4. Methods for evaluating the grid services have been described in the paper Metrics for Evaluating Grid Service Provision from Communities of Grid-interactive and Efficient Buildings and other DER (MacDonald, 2023). To identify technology packages for demonstration, Section 2 shows that project teams used a range of analysis approaches, including building energy modeling, AMI data analysis, cost-benefit frameworks, and utility pilot data. Some teams emphasized technical modeling to quantify grid impacts and demand reduction potential, while others prioritized economic evaluations, stakeholder input, or exploratory pilots to inform deployment decisions. This diversity reflects the need to tailor selection methods to project goals, available data, and organizational context. Section 5 discusses trends between the DER technologies deployed and the grid service provisions from each team. Residential buildings (multifamily and single family) lean towards technologies that enhance energy efficiency (e.g. weatherization upgrades, smart thermostats) and onsite power generation integration (e.g. solar PV). Commercial building demonstrations prioritize technologies that ensure operational reliability (e.g. battery storage) and centralized energy management systems and optimization solutions. Teams that are deploying controllable storage-based technologies are more likely to provide grid services that require a near real-time response. Teams incorporating load shifting technologies like smart thermostats with HEMs are likely to include energy markets participation and customer bill management offerings. Campus demonstrations are adopting diverse sets of DERs to emphasize renewable generation, paired with centralized control. This section also describes technologies that were considered during project planning but ultimately excluded from final deployment. These demonstrations reveal that effective DER package design should be tailored to building type, customer segment, and construction vintage. Multifamily buildings benefit from centralized HVAC upgrades and supervisory controls, while single-family homes are well-suited for individualized technologies like solar, storage, and smart home energy monitors. Commercial and campus settings prioritize EMIS integration and load optimization. New construction enables cost-effective integration of DER-ready infrastructure, whereas retrofits require deployments aligned with owner and tenant value streams. For utility program planners, early coordination with developers and building owners, paired with segmented and modular program offerings, can improve adoption, scalability, and grid impact.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2021

Side-channel Leakage Assessment Metrics: A Case Study of GIFT Block Ciphers

Determination of an adequate level of security and providing subsequent mechanisms to achieve it, is one of the most pressing problems regarding embedded computing devices. While there are some solutions available for resource-rich computer systems, direct application of these solutions to resource-constrained environments are often unfeasible. The fundamental problem for such resource-constrained systems is the fact that current cryptographic algorithms utilize significant energy consumption and storage overhead. Both the cryptographic algorithm and its physical implementation affect the resilience of a cryptosystem against side-channel attacks. A side-channel attack represents a process that exploits leakages in order to extract sensitive information such as the key. This paper focuses on Correlation Power Analysis (CPA) which is side-channel attack based on the power consumption leakage. In 2016 the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) initiated the call for proposals of new cryptographic algorithms to strengthen the cryptographic defense of networked devices against cyberattacks and to protect the data created by those innumerable device. This work evaluates S-boxes used by NIST candidates PICCOLO, GIFT, and PRESENT, as well as several S-box variants that demonstrated sufficient weaknesses against classical cryptanalysis, for a quantitative comparison in terms of resiliency to CPA attack. Three well-known theoretical metrics are evaluated: transparency order (TO and RTO), nonlinearity, and signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio, aiming to characterize the resistance of these S-boxes against adversaries exploiting physical leakages. Experimental results from attacks on an 8- bit XMEGA were obtained via the ChipWhisperer platform and of all the S-boxes evaluated, GIFT64 with a PICCOLO S-box was found to be the most susceptible to CPA. Results showed that variations in TO and RTO were not sufficient to ensure practical CPA resistance and that among S-boxes with equal non-linearity there were no significant differences in the TO and SNR variants.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2021

Side-channel Leakage Assessment Metrics: A Case Study of GIFT Block Ciphers

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2020

Technical Performance of Refractory Liners for Molten Chloride Salt Thermal Energy Storage Systems

A chloride-based molten-salt system that uses a ternary blend of MgCl2/KCl/NaCl is investigated to provide higher temperature thermal energy storage capability. Despite higher thermal stability, molten chlorides present several unique challenges, including the design of internal refractory-ceramic liners to prevent the corrosion and thermal stress of alloy tank shells. This work discusses issues and potential solutions related to containment of molten chloride salt, specifically the optimization of the refractory material at the molten salt interface (hot face). The down-selected hot face candidate limits permeation of salt through the material and forms a highly stable secondary surface phase in equilibrium with the molten salt. A mortar is created using the corrosion resistant hot face brick. Brick and mortar composite are subjected to mechanical stress/strain analysis, in order to calculate composite material properties and better inform thermomechanical models. The U.S. Department of Energy Generation 3 (DOE Gen3) program seeks to develop higher efficiency CSP plants that can provide cost-competitive, flexible power in the U.S. electric grid. The proposed Gen3 Liquid Pathway CSP plant closely resembles the configuration of current nitrate salt power towers with two-tank storage (Gen2). The differences between Gen2 and Gen3 include the types of compatible materials used in salt storage tank construction. Stainless steel loses strength at Gen3 temperatures, and although nickel superalloys would be capable of withstanding sustained high temperatures, these materials are prohibitively expensive at scale. Uninsulated tank shells also pose a significant risk as common steels are highly susceptible to chemical attack from molten chloride salt. To address these concerns, refractory-ceramic based containment materials are proposed to line the inside of the hot and cold storage tanks. In doing so, stainless or carbon steel shells may be used in construction depending on the level of insulation provided. The composition of the internal liner requires careful consideration to maximize the efficacy of multiple parameters including corrosion resistance, strength at operating temperature, durability, and cost. This is particularly true for the material at the interface with the salt, known as the "hot face", which is responsible for protecting the insulating layers between the tank shell and the hot face brick layer. The molten salt in this system is superheated over 300 °C above its freeze temperature. Therefore, unlike other industrial processes which use refractory-lined vessels, it is not expected that a freeze plane will develop in the hot face. Therefore, the hot face must be designed to withstand chemical corrosion and inhibit permeation of molten salt into the insulating layers. A down selection was performed to identify a hot face candidate best equipped to maintain thermal, mechanical, and chemical integrity when exposed to molten salt over extended periods of time. Long-duration chemical capability experiments were conducted with the down selected hot face refractory fully immersed in molten chloride salt for up to 3000 hours. The average salt penetration does not exceed 100 microns. When extrapolated to 20 and 30 years of continuous exposure, the expected salt penetration depth is approximately 2.0 mm and 2.9 mm, respectively. A magnesium-rich secondary phases develops at the salt/refractory interface. X-ray diffraction identifies the material as forsterite (Mg2SiO4), which is reported to form synthetically in molten chloride salt solutions. These results suggest the selected hot face will adequately inhibit salt permeation. While there is optimism that the hot face brick will inhibit salt permeation, mortar joints are typically the weakest point of a refractory brick liner. From a thermochemical perspective, differing thermal expansion coefficients may result in the mortar and brick to grow independent of each other, creating gaps through which molten salt can penetrate. To address this issue, NREL has developed an in-house mortar composed of the down selected hot face brick that has been shown to be compatible with the salt. Compressive stress/strain analyses have been performed on the brick/ mortar composites to generate stress/strain curves. Modulus of elasticity and Poisson's ratio of the composite may be calculated from the stress/strain curves, in order to provide more representative data to finite element mechanical models for accurate approximation of stress on the tank shell and the amount of thermal expansion expected within the tank liner.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗

DOE OSTI2025

Design Basis Document / Owner’s Technical Specification for Nitrate Salt Systems in CSP Projects: Volume 1 Specifications for Parabolic Trough Projects, Volume 2 - Specifications for Central Receiver Projects, Volume 3 - Narrative

Design Basis Documents / Owner’s Technical Specifications are developed for parabolic trough and central receiver power plants using nitrate salt as the heat transport fluid and the thermal storage medium. The goals were to 1) distill the successful experience with nitrate salt systems from as many commercial projects as possible, 2) provide technical bases for equipment design/selection that an owner can impose on an EPC contractor, 3) compile this information in one location to provide guidance on salt systems that is as broadly applicable to as many projects as possible, and 4) work toward an industry consensus on a Design Basis Document that reflects the lessons learned from earlier commercial projects. The document allows an owner to provide design guidance, and to impose a minimum set of requirements, above and beyond those in the normal Codes and Standards, on an EPC contractor in an effort to avoid a repeat of past mistakes. If successful, this would allow salt systems to achieve the same levels of reliability and availability as commercial parabolic trough plants using diphenyl oxide / biphenyl (i.e., Dowtherm A, Therminol VP-1) as the heat transfer fluid. The report consists of 3 volumes: • Volume 1 - Specifications for Parabolic Trough Projects • Volume 2 - Specifications for Central Receiver Projects • Volume 3 - Narrative Volumes 1 and 2 include discussions of the following topics: • Plant functional requirements for the salt systems • Plant operating states, and transitions between states, for the salt systems • Risk analysis of the principal salt components • Plant requirements for the salt systems to meet the functional and the operating requirements • Type of specification for the principal salt components: functional; or prescriptive • Current state of the art for salt systems. Volume 3 discusses a number of cases in which the salt equipment at commercial parabolic trough and central receiver projects has not met the projected levels of reliability and availability. Possible reasons for the sources of the problems are discussed, as is a range of possible alternate designs that could avoid the known problems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2026

An Educational Program on Concentrated Solar Power and Heliostats for Power Generation and Industrial Processes

The objective of this project was to design and implement a comprehensive educational and applied research program in Concentrated Solar Thermal Power (CSTP) and heliostat technologies at Northeastern University. In alignment with the U.S. Department of Energy's Heliostat Consortium (HelioCon) goals, the project aimed to expand student and public understanding of CSTP systems while simultaneously contributing to workforce development and the broader decarbonization strategy. A particular emphasis was placed on integrating hands-on student design projects and publicly disseminating educational content relevant to CSTP systems. The project addressed a critical gap in renewable energy education: CSTP and heliostats, despite their importance in utility-scale solar energy, are rarely included in standard mechanical engineering programs. This project established new pathways for students to engage with the topic through the creation of a 4-credit graduate/senior elective course, development of five industry-facing short courses, and the inclusion of CSTP-based capstone design projects. Over two academic years, 36 students across six senior design teams developed and tested technologies such as deformable heliostats, beacon-based tracking systems, and solar-powered pyrolizers for biomass-to-biochar conversion. Concurrently, 30 undergraduate and graduate students were enrolled in the new academic course centered around CSTP principles. To ensure the relevance and accessibility of the short course content, the project team engaged with industry professionals, technical policy stakeholders, and potential course participants through structured surveys and informal consultations. Feedback from 28 respondents guided the structure, length, and delivery format of the courses - resulting in a modular design broken into five workshops. The feedback emphasized the need for flexible, asynchronous delivery and practical case studies, particularly in areas such as heliostat control, thermal storage, and solar fuel production. This engagement helped align the courses with the evolving knowledge demands of the renewable energy workforce and ensured that participants from both technical and policy backgrounds could meaningfully benefit from the material. The research and educational activities advanced the understanding of heliostat control systems, optical performance under misalignment, and thermal system integration in solar-driven pyrolysis applications. Methods and designs explored in this project proved to be both technically effective and economically feasible at the lab scale. Prototypes were constructed using commercially available components and custom-fabricated elements, demonstrating that meaningful performance improvements can be achieved with modest material and fabrication costs, supporting the feasibility of student-led research in this field. The public benefit of this project is twofold. First, it cultivates a pipeline of engineers trained to be familiar with CSTP principles, an essential workforce need identified by the Department of Energy for achieving its 2030 cost and deployment targets. Second, it contributes openly accessible educational materials, course content, and experimental frameworks to the broader community, enabling other institutions to adopt or adapt similar programming. Through outreach activities, curriculum integration, and technical exposure, this project contributes to a more informed and capable renewable energy workforce while supporting innovation in heliostat and CSTP system design. A new technical report is being prepared to document the development of the course and its outcomes, with plans to publish it in the ASME Open Access Journal of Engineering to ensure global accessibility, free of cost.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Roles of Mn and Co in Ni-rich layered oxide cathodes synthesized utilizing a Taylor Vortex Reactor

It is reported that layered oxides, composed of nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC), are sought after as cathode materials which provide improved energy density, cycle life, and safety in commercial lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Increasing Ni contents higher than 80% can provide even higher practical discharge capacities >200 mAh/g and similar to ~4 V discharge potential vs Li/Li + , making them promising cathodes for next generation LIBs. However, rapid capacity fade during cycling and heat-related safety concerns are delaying their successful transition to industry. We report systematic performance optimization of LiNiO 2 , LiNi 0.9 Mn 0.1 O 2 , and LiNi 0.9 Co 0.1 O 2 high Ni layered oxide cathodes synthesized by utilizing a Taylor Vortex Reactor. Co-free LiNi 0.9 Mn 0.1 O 2 cathode showed 200 mAh/g highest discharge capacity at 0.1 C rate with 84% retention after 103 cycles at 0.3C rate while LiNi 0.9 Co 0.1 O 2 cathode showed higher initial but poor cycle life (225 mAh/g highest discharge capacity at 0.1C rate with only 56% capacity retention after 103 cycles at 0.3 C rate. Synchrotron based X-ray diffraction (SXRD), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and focused ion beam (FIB) imaging of pristine and cycled cathodes after 103 cycles provided important information on degradation mechanism. The roles of Mn and Co on layered structure formation, charge balance, cationic mixing, and electrochemical performance were elucidated using the crystallographic information from XRD refinement and electronic state analysis from XAS providing valuable information to design future Ni-rich layered oxide cathodes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Durability challenges of anion exchange membrane fuel cells

This perspective provides information on durability challenges and future actions of anion exchange membrane fuel cells.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Fortalecimiento de la Electrificación Rural en Honduras: Una Evaluación Integrada de PV+BESS y Usos Productivos de la Electricidad en Gracias a Dios, Honduras [Empowering Rural Electrification in Honduras: An Integrated Assessment of PV/BESS and Productive Uses of Electricity in Gracias a Dios] (Spanish Translation)

Honduras faces significant challenges in its energy sector, particularly in rural areas where access to reliable and affordable electricity remains limited. The flagship rural electrification initiative for Honduras Secretary of Energy (SEN) is the Politica de Acceso Universal a la Electricidad (PAUEH - Universal Electricity Access Policy), a key solution for addressing this energy poverty is the deployment of more than 1700 distributed solar and hybrid mini-grid solutions. In late 2023 as a first step towards supporting SEN's electrification efforts, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed a literature review of SEN electrification policy documents and conducted a series of technical capacity-building workshops with SEN and other energy sector stakeholders in Honduras focused on using NREL's open-source REopt tool to conduct techno-economic assessments and develop least-cost optimizations for potential solar + storage mini-grid systems. Building on some initial capacity building on mini-grid modeling, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) worked with SEN to develop a detailed techno-economic assessment for electrifying two schools, a healthcare clinic, and a hospital in a hypothetical community within the department of Gracias a Dios. The analysis also evaluates the business case for cold storage productive use of energy (PUE) applications for the fisheries value chain and how the incorporation of these PUE loads potentially impacts both the viability of the PV+BESS solutions as well as local economic development. By assessing the potential for deployment of integrated PV/BESS systems to both support critical community services like education and healthcare, as well as potential for downstream enterprise and economic development, this analysis represents a first step that can help to inform specific strategies for development of pilot PV+BESS projects aligned with national priorities and sector level planning under PAUEH. This is the Spanish translation of NREL/TP-7A40-90865.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Neural Network Enhanced RKPM for Electrochemical-Mechanical Coupled Damage Modeling of Energy Storage Materials

Energy storage materials undergo significant charge cycling, which makes understanding their reliability and durability fundamental in predicting performance and service life. Strong electrochemical-mechanical coupling and highly anisotropic material properties contribute to the formation and propagation of micro-cracking, largely along material interfaces and grain boundaries. For Li-ion batteries, for example, lithium moving between electrodes during charging and discharging process causes expansion and contraction of grains, and the strongly anisotropic and nonlinearly [Li]-dependent grain material properties can cause grains to expand into and contract away from each other, leading to chemo-mechanical cracking. In the first part of this work, a RKPM based computational framework for solving the coupled solid-phase lithium conservation with Fickian diffusion and the lithium concentration dependent anisotropic mechanical problem subjected to a highly nonlinear Butler-Volmer boundary condition is introduced. The choice of RKPM completeness conditions for lithium concentration and mechanical deformation fields, and the variational consistency condition for the domain integration of the coupled problem is first determined. In the second part of this work, a neural network-enhanced reproducing kernel particle method (NN-RKPM) [1] is leveraged to accurately capture damage and crack propagation throughout the material, by learning the location, orientation, and sharpness of discontinuity while allowing for a coarser nodal distribution than that is necessary for capturing sharp solution transitions using traditional mesh-based methods. NN-RKPM is used to inform how crack opening and closure in turn affect the coupled chemical equations and material microstructure.

damage modeling↗

DOE OSTI2024

Impacts of Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen Policies on Uttar Pradesh's Power Sector Future

This report is part of a broader program focused on supporting Indian states with long-term power system planning. More information about this program can be found at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's "Supporting India's States With Renewable Energy Integration" web page at https://www.nrel.gov/international/india-renewable-energy-integration.html. The power sector in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, is poised to transform over the next few decades due to a combination of national and state-level policies impacting both the supply and demand of electricity. The Government of Uttar Pradesh has policies and plans to develop in-state solar PV, pumped storage hydropower, and green hydrogen. Power system policymakers and utilities in Uttar Pradesh are faced with the challenges of planning a system that incorporates increasing amounts of renewable energy and storage resources, meets rising electricity demand due to economic development and green hydrogen production, and satisfies operational and reliability requirements. To support these various objectives, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), RMI, and the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) evaluated the least-cost pathways for the state's power sector through 2050. NREL developed a capacity expansion model that identifies investment and operational decisions for every year (2024-2050) for all of India, with detailed representation for the state of Uttar Pradesh, which can provide a framework for recurring planning studies. The main insights from this study can also help inform policy development and investment decisions.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2025

The hidden influence of terrestrial groundwater on salt marsh function and resilience

Salt marshes are hotspots of nutrient processing and carbon sequestration. So far, studies addressing spatiotemporal variability in and drivers of salt marsh biogeochemical function, carbon storage and resilience have focused on ocean-driven surface hydrologic influences, neglecting effects of terrestrial hydrology through subsurface connections. Here we evaluate drivers of salt marsh redox potential, a proxy for biogeochemical state, through wavelet analyses and information theory using data from seven marshes. The results point to terrestrial groundwater level as a dominant control on redox variability across all sites. Because redox is a key driver of biogeochemical processes, and specifically oxidation of organic matter that sequesters carbon and maintains marsh elevation, these terrestrial influences are critical to understanding marsh function and evolution. Further, the newly identified links between onshore groundwater levels and marsh redox conditions shift the traditional paradigm and suggest that terrestrial hydrology is a primary control on salt marsh carbon sequestration potential and resilience.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗