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This is an updated edition that examines critical opportunities to positively impact energy savings, greenhouse gas emissions, human well-being, and the economy through Solid-State Lighting (SSL) R&D. The document summarizes stakeholder input from DOE-hosted roundtable meetings, workshops, a Request for Information, and other sources.
This document is a summary report on the Fission Battery (FB) Initiative Siting and Transportation workshop held on March 15, 2021. The workshop was developed by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in collaboration with INL’s National University Consortium (NUC). One of goals of this workshop was to initiate a conversation between various stakeholders on FBs, focusing on FB transportation and siting. Other goals were sharing the current understanding of the FB concept among the shareholders, identifying FB research and development (R&D) needs, and fostering community building. This report summaries the presentations and conversations held by the subject matter experts (SMEs) and discusses the key findings and conclusions. Further, it provides intermediate recommendations to support R&D in successful FB transportation and siting. The following priority research directions (PRDs) were identified: (i) investigations in the FB source term, (ii) investigations in the FB design, and (iii) investigations in the design of a FB transportation packaging.
The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the lead federal agency for the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) which was initiated in 1974 to address contamination remaining from Manhattan Engineer District and early U.S. Atomic Energy Commission activities. As the lead agency, USACE follows the protocols set forth in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to address FUSRAP sites. During certain project milestones of the CERCLA process, community outreach initiatives occur to communicate the status and/or findings from site investigations and project decision documents. The style of public interaction is tailored to match the project milestone, technical complexity of a project, the stakeholder involvement level, or type of decision being made on a particular project. Community involvement is one of the most important aspects of environmental work, and proactive and transparent communication can build meaningful relationships with the community and between project stakeholders. The USACE Buffalo District has experience using different stakeholder interaction techniques and providing information on projects through a variety of media. Rather than simply distributing information, the goal of community outreach is to encourage participation in the process and to provide opportunities for the public to fully understand, ask questions about, and provide feedback on the complex technical issues involved in decision-making for each FUSRAP site. The frequency and method of interaction depends on the project, and the USACE Buffalo District has worked to promote openness and transparency and to ensure the community is provided with many opportunities for public participation. Project information has been provided to stakeholders using multiple techniques, such as formal project workshops, poster sessions, site tours, news releases, storybooks, and videos. Aside from project-specific community relations plans, the USACE Buffalo District has participated in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs established to inspire current and future generations of young people to pursue careers in STEM fields. Each year, the USACE Buffalo District performs outreach in the community to share information on our projects as well as to introduce students to various disciplines associated with environmental careers. (authors)
Compilation of PowerPoint slide decks from presentations given at the 3rd Annual AFC Metal Fuels Workshop. The purpose of this workshop is to bring the national metallic fuel stakeholders together to discuss status and needs of metallic fuel and review the DOE AFC Metal Fuel R&D. Desired Outcomes - Advance Metallic Fuel Technology: 1. Stakeholder Community Building 2. National Program R&D Accountability, Planning Support, and Increased Stakeholder Advocation.
The Savannah River Site (SRS) is an 802 square-kilometer (310 square-miles) United States Department of Energy (US DOE) nuclear facility located along the Savannah River near Aiken, South Carolina. Nuclear weapons material production began in the early 1950's, utilizing five (5) production reactors. In the early 1990's all SRS production reactor operations were terminated. The first reactor closure end-state declaration was documented in a Comprehensive Environmental Response and Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Early Action Record of Decision. The decision for the final closure of the 29,543 square-meter (318,000 square-feet) 105-P Reactor was determined to be in situ decommissioning (ISD). ISD is an acceptable and cost-effective alternative to off-site disposal for the reactor building, which will allow for consolidation of remedial action wastes generated from other cleanup activities within the P Area. ISD is considered protective by the regulators, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), public and stakeholders as waste materials are stabilized / immobilized, and radioactivity is allowed to naturally decay, thus preventing future exposure to the environment. Stakeholder buy-in was critical in the up-front planning in order to achieve this monumental final decision. Numerous public meetings and workshops were held in two different states (covering a 321 kilometer (200-mile) radius) with stakeholder and SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) participation. These meetings were conducted over an eight- month period as the end-state decision making progressed. Information provided to the public evolved from workshop to workshop as data became available and public input from the public meetings were gathered. ISD is being considered for the balance of the four (4) SRS reactors and other hardened facilities such as the chemical Separation Facilities (canyons). Closure of the SRS P Reactor Area was precedent setting and sets the stage for closure of other reactors and hardened facilities. The DOE, USEPA, and SCDHEC engaged in active, up-front, and timely involvement with the SRS. The SRS CAB, elected officials, and citizens of South Carolina and Georgia met to discuss the P reactor area closure and associated risks. Early public involvement gave SRS and the regulators assurance that the selected decision was valid and would not be overturned. Public input improved the process and ensured that the important decision on the final end-state of the reactor facilities was not made in isolation. ISD of P Reactor will provide adequate protection of human health and the environment and the lowest cost since short-term risk is minimized to remedial workers from exposure to contaminated equipment and facilities by leaving the reactor vessel in place allowing for radiological decay over time. (authors)
In March 2019, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosted two full-day workshops in Puerto Rico to engage with a broad range of stakeholders to understand local energy planning needs and deliver relevant tools and training. The morning session included a welcome by DOE and NREL, an overview by DOE of the current effort to provide support during Puerto Rico's energy system recovery, and facilitated a panel with local stakeholders. After a break, NREL and other national labs presented tools for stakeholders to use, followed by facilitated small group discussions and brainstorming on energy planning needs, a report-out, and voting to determine which needs are of highest priority. The afternoon entailed three break-out sessions on specific topics. This presentation is a compilation of slides presented by NREL, DOE, and other national labs during the morning session of this workshop.
The HySafe research priorities workshop is held on the even years between the International Conference on Hydrogen Safety (ICHS) which is held on the odd years. The research priorities workshop is intended to identify the state-of-the-art in understanding of the physical behavior of hydrogen and hydrogen systems with a focus on safety. Typical issues addressed include behavior of unintended hydrogen releases, transient combustion phenomena, effectiveness of mitigation measures, and hydrogen effects in materials. In the workshop critical knowledge gaps are identified. Areas of research and coordinated actions for the near and medium term are derived and prioritized from these knowledge gaps. The stimulated research helps pave the way for the rapid and safe deployment of hydrogen technologies on a global scale. To support the idea of delivering globally accepted research priorities for hydrogen safety the workshop is organized as an internationally open meeting. In attendance are stakeholders from the academic community (universities, national laboratories), funding agencies, and industry. The industry participation is critically important to ensure that the research priorities align with the current needs of the industry responsible for the deployment of hydrogen technologies. This report presents the results of the HySafe Research Priorities Workshop held in Washing- ton, D.C. on November 10-11, 2014. At the workshop the participants presented updates (since the previous workshop organized two years before in Berlin, Germany) of their research and development work on hydrogen safety. Following the workshop, participants were asked to provide feedback on high-priority topics for each of the research areas discussed and to rank research area categories and individual research topics within these categories. The research areas were ranked as follows (with the percentage of the vote in parenthesis): 1. Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) Tools (23%) 2. Reduced Model Tools (15%) 3. Indoor (13%) 4. Unintended Release-Liquid (11%) 5. Unintended Release-Gas (8%) 6. Storage (8%) 7. Integration Platforms (7%) 8. Hydrogen Safety Training (7%) 9. Materials Compatibility/Sensors (7%) 10. Applications (2%) The workshop participants ranked the need for Quantitative Risk Analysis (QRA) tools as the top priority by a large margin. QRA tools enable an informed expert to quantify the risk asso- ciated with a particular hydrogen system in a particular scenario. With appropriate verification and validation such tools will enable: * system designers to achieve a desired level of risk with suitable risk mitigation strategies, * permitting officials to determine if a particular system installation meets the desired risk level (performance based Regulations, Codes, and Standards (RCS) rather than prescrip- tive RCS), and * allow code developers to develop code language based on rigorous and validated physical models, statistics and standardized QRA methodologies. Another important research topic identified is the development of validated reduced physical models for use in the QRA tools. Improvement of the understanding and modeling of specific release phenomena, in particular liquid releases, are also highly ranked research topics. Acknowledgement The International Association HySafe, represented here by the authors, would like to thank all participants of the workshop for their valuable contributions. Particularly appreciated is the active participation of the industry representatives and the steady support by the European Com- mission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). Deep gratitude is owed for the great support by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Fuel Cell Technologies Office (EERE/FCTO) for the organization of the 2014 version of the hydrogen safety research priorities workshop. This page intentionally left blank.
The HySafe research priorities workshop is held on the even years between the International Conference on Hydrogen Safety (ICHS) which is held on the odd years. The research priorities workshop is intended to identify the state-of-the-art in understanding of the physical behavior of hydrogen and hydrogen systems with a focus on safety. Typical issues addressed include behavior of unintended hydrogen releases, transient combustion phenomena, effectiveness of mitigation measures, and hydrogen effects in materials. In the workshop critical knowledge gaps are identified. Areas of research and coordinated actions for the near and medium term are derived and prioritized from these knowledge gaps. The stimulated research helps pave the way for the rapid and safe deployment of hydrogen technologies on a global scale. To support the idea of delivering globally accepted research priorities for hydrogen safety the workshop is organized as an internationally open meeting. In attendance are stakeholders from the academic community (universities, national laboratories), funding agencies, and industry. The industry participation is critically important to ensure that the research priorities align with the current needs of the industry responsible for the deployment of hydrogen technologies. This report presents the results of the HySafe Research Priorities Workshop held in Washing ton, D.C. on November 10-11, 2014. At the workshop the participants presented updates (since the previous workshop organized two years before in Berlin, Germany) of their research and development work on hydrogen safety. Following the workshop, participants were asked to provide feedback on high-priority topics for each of the research areas discussed and to rank research area categories and individual research topics within these categories.
On March 28–29, 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) hosted the public virtual workshop “Bioenergy’s Role in Soil Carbon Storage.” Given the recent emphasis of the Biden administration on decarbonizing transportation, agriculture, and industrial sectors of the U.S. economy, this workshop examined how decarbonization through enhanced soil carbon storage while growing bioenergy crops is possible by discussing challenges and opportunities that affect soil carbon levels. Stakeholders representing academia, industry, the farming community, agricultural and forestry sectors, municipalities, and federal agencies involved in soil carbon storage participated in this workshop. A series of keynote presentations, plenary presentations, and stakeholder input sessions provided opportunities for sharing knowledge and identifying research and development (R&D) needs for future advances in soil carbon storage in relation to bioenergy crops. This document provides an overview of the content discussed in the presentations, as well as a summary of the stakeholder input received during the session discussions.
Project return on investment in a photovoltaic (PV) system depends increasingly on maintaining high energy yields, and the system lifetime is a major factor in levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). Thus, the rate of PV deployment and the success of these assets depends upon reliable long-term power generation. The overarching objective of this program is to improve photovoltaic (PV) module reliability via development of tests and standards. Where reliability problems or risk are discovered, we can design tests to ensure that these liabilities don't affect future generations of products. Customers can use these tests to understand which products are susceptible to certain degradation mechanisms, and manufacturers can use the tests to design unwanted characteristics out of their products. The work under this program identifies PV reliability needs, performs characterization that provides scientific understanding of targeted degradation mechanisms, and translates those data into practical and predictive test protocols and standards. Major accomplishments include: A model for polarization-type potential induced degradation (PID-p) was developed and validated against experimental data. NREL is currently leading a new edition of IEC 62804-1 for PID detection. PID-p can cause large losses in current and voltage for some module designs on cloudy days. Finite element modeling (FEM) and experiment was used to determine when cells crack in a module. It was shown that cells in landscape orientation are much more likely to crack than those on portrait orientation. Shortly thereafter, the first products with portrait-oriented cells were introduced. Studies of how to test for light and elevated temperature degradation (LeTID) culminated with the publication of IEC TS 63342. Software to predict the progression of LeTID was developed, validated, and made publicly available. Field validated tests and international standards for durability of PV module coatings abrasion, backsheets, and encapsulants were developed. Examples are IEC 62788-1-1, IEC 62788-2 ED2, IEC TS 62788-7-2, IEC 62788-7-3 ED1, IEC 63209-2. NREL led the development a high-temperature testing technical specification, and published guidelines that enable installers to determine whether higher-temperature testing is needed, simply based on location and mounting configuration. In a number of our case studies, variations in the bills of materials or workmanship have been associated with variations in reliability. These observations emphasize the importance of quality assurance to reliability. A framework for criticality (i.e. Pareto) analysis was developed and published. The framework helps us and other researchers determine what problems should be addressed for reliability research to have the biggest industry impact. NREL continues to participate actively in international standards development and stakeholder engagement activities, including organizing an annual PV Reliability Workshop. These activities are important for ensuring we address issues that are relevant and timely, and that we convey our results to those who may benefit.
https://events.usea.org/events/midwest-regional-carbon-conversionutilization-procurement-grant-workshop As the U.S. economy moves toward clean energy and a lower carbon future, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking to partner with states, communities, and industries to support the procurement and development of carbon conversion products. These efforts have been enabled by provisions included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). As part of the BIL, supporting the Administration’s goal to achieve a carbon-free power sector by 2035 and putting the United States on a path to a net-zero economy by 2050, a new initiative was established within DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management through its Carbon Conversion/Utilization Program. The new initiative will establish a demonstration grant program to issue grants to eligible entities to procure commercial and industrial products derived from the conversion of anthropogenic carbon oxides and demonstrate a significant net reduction in life cycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to incumbent technologies, processes, and products. DOE-FECM will establish a demonstration grant program within the Carbon Conversion/Utilization Program to support eligible applicants that procure those commercial and industrial products derived from anthropogenic carbon oxides. Therefore, the Carbon Conversion/Utilization Program, with the assistance of the United States Energy Association (USEA), will conduct a series of workshops (both virtual and in-person) with relevant stakeholders, e.g., product manufacturers, eligible entities, or their representative national organizations (e.g., United States Conference of Mayors, etc.) to solicit input and ideas on challenges and opportunities for a potential grant program.
The UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) in the NAS (National Airspace System) project is conducting its first investigation of UAS operations in the terminal environment. A workshop is being held to get input from key stakeholders on the experimental design and scenario development occuring for this simulation, which intends to begin data collection in September 2017. These slides cover the proposed design and methodolgy for the experiment.
About a half decade ago, several professionals working mainly in industry on scenarios for initial human exploration of Mars exploration together recognized that, under generally similar assumptions, there was a fair degree of similarity among these scenarios. Moreover, opportunities should be sought for greater community input into NASAs own scenario-building for the future of human space flight. A series of focused community workshops were considered to be effective to critically assess the increasingly sophisticated scenarios. Explore Mars, Inc. the American Astronautical Society agreed to support them. Four workshops to date each involve about sixty professional scientists, engineers, technologists, and strategists from NASA, academia, aerospace corporations, the National Academies, consulting organizations, and potential international partners. Each workshop produced a series of presentations and reports briefed to NASA leadership and other stakeholders.
On March 9-11, 2022, NASA’s System-Wide Safety Wildland Firefighting Operations Workshop engaged the broader wildland firefighting management ecosystem in a safety-oriented discussion via a virtual platform. This enabled a better understanding of how NASA and community expertise can be leveraged in the safe development of current and future firefighting systems and operations. The goals of the workshop were to: (1) identify and prioritize the top safety-oriented risks, gaps in capabilities, and emerging technologies to enhance wildland firefighting for both near-term and far-term concepts, with a specific focus on aviation operations and (2) engage the stakeholder community in defining emergent safety-oriented scope, roles, responsibilities, and procedures for agents undergoing increasingly complex wildland firefighting operations in information-rich, but uncertain environments. Workshop participants were solicited from wildland firefighting stakeholders across government, industry, and academia. All levels of government were engaged, as NASA sought attendees from federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies. Industry participants from traditional wildland firefighting domains such as data visualization and equipment manufacturers were invited, and corporate attendees from novel application domains such as aerial robotics and autonomous systems were present as well. The top three findings were as follows: (1) Enhancing situation awareness is a safety priority, especially in the use of aerial assets; (2) Timely access to information along with data fusion and integrated displays will enhance safety-critical decision-making both inside and outside aviation contexts; and (3) Tailorable standards and common operating pictures in the field will enhance inter-agency cooperation in the wildland firefighting lifecycle and enable the optimal use of limited resources such as aerial assets. The workshop helped inform NASA of the relevant safety-related wildland firefighting concerns and aided the broader ecosystem in understanding the potential safety-oriented role NASA might play in this community. Increased engagement with crucial governmental stakeholders (e.g., U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, etc.) along with industry partners in cutting- edge information -centric domains is a fundamental next step. Additionally, the workshop findings will help define the first of a series of operationally challenging demonstrations, held in concert with strategic ecosystem partners, known as the Safety Demonstrator Series for NASA’s System-Wide Safety project. The first demonstration is set in the wildland firefighting application domain and will: (1) examine high risk operational scenarios to reduce their overall risk via services, functions or capabilities that act as risk mitigators (or transfer that risk to automated systems better able to tolerate it) and (2) explore novel tools and technologies that will enhance safety margins by enabling non-traditional or neoteric operational paradigms.
The “Transitioning to a Sustainable, Circular Economy for Plastics” workshop, coordinated by the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) in collaboration with The Climate Pledge, brought together a diverse group of stakeholders to discuss the current challenges and opportunities in transitioning to a sustainable, circular economy for plastics in the United States. Input from the workshop will be used to ensure the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Strategy for Plastics Innovation (SPI) evolves with the rapidly changing landscape. Presentations, panel discussions, and breakout sessions provided a framework for sharing information and building direct connections among stakeholders across the value chain. This document summarizes the content discussed at the workshop to provide an update on the state of plastic sustainability in the United States.
The 4th Marine Energy Instrumentation and Data workshop was held on March 16 - 17 2022. This gathering brought together marine energy (ME) developers, researchers, and stakeholders to discuss the current state of ME technologies and the industry's instrument and data needs. The overall objective of the workshop was to identify gaps facing the ME industry for needed data collection, processing, and analysis. This report contains findings and recommendations derived from the discussions and presentations during the workshop.
This is the Final Report for the U.S. Department of Energy Cooperative Agreement DE-FE-0024159, Promoting Domestic and International Consensus on Fossil Energy Technologies: Carbon Capture and Storage and Clean Energy Systems carried out by the United States Energy Association. It is a compendium of each quarterly report submitted over the 7-year period of the agreement accounting for all accomplishments, including major activities, significant results, major findings or conclusions, key outcomes or other achievements. Changes in approach or aims, and reasons for those changes, are included as well as any problems or delays and actions taken and planned to resolve them. It also summarizes budget statuses and any changes in key personnel throughout the life of the agreement. Originally planned for 5 years, the agreement was extended twice through back-to-back no-cost extensions, one to enable full completion of tasks critical to the program’s success and the other due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. The goals of the program were to provide increased knowledge regarding Carbon, Capture, and Storage (CCS) and Clean Energy Systems (CES) to Industry and Government decision makers, technology developers, educators, policymakers, environmental and other stakeholders, and the public by sharing research, technologies, and best practices with domestic and international partners. Increasing such knowledge was key to the other goals of the program of building of a broad consensus among domestic and international decision makers, stakeholders, and the public to take action to support and implement CCS and CES technologies and systems to ensure clean, secure, and affordable energy while enhancing environmental protection. The program accomplished these goals through a series of activities including hosting of conferences and workshops, in-person briefings, virtual webinars, reports and white papers, and keeping stakeholders informed of industry happenings through email distribution lists. It is the belief of the authors of this report, that these activities can be considered to have been successful in their goals.
Crop residues protect soil resources, sustain soil organic carbon (SOC), cycle nutrients, support microbial communities, and provide bioenergy feedstock. Herein we (i) summarize the origin of the “Crop Residues for Advanced Biofuels: Effects on Soil Carbon” workshop; (ii) review the workshop structure; and (iii) present consensus points, unanswered questions, and outcomes of the workshop. Initiated by a farmer/ethanol investor’s letter to the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) President, an ASA Working Group (WG) was established to make a recommendation to the ASA Board on how to respond. The WG concluded a Tri-Society sponsored workshop involving farmers, ethanol production and marketing groups, agronomists, crop scientists, soil scientists, engineers, non-governmental organizations, life cycle analysis (LCA) experts, and regulatory personnel was needed to address the complex question that had been posed and to ensure all viewpoints were fully represented. The WG was expanded to an ASA Task Force who organized the workshop in Sacramento, CA. Eighty workshop attendees identified four consensus areas (crop residue management [CRM]; severity of soil erosion; tillage, CRM and erosion linkages; and the importance of simulation [LCA] models) and four unresolved themes (carbon sequestration, CRM effects on SOC stocks, changing climate effects, and the need to focus on ecosystem services rather than single endpoints). The workshop resulted in three direct outcomes: (i) development of a stakeholder funded SOC database, (ii) LCA and SOC model improvements, and (iii) development of this special section in Agronomy Journal. Dale and Ong (2014) concluded that large scale, renewable energy systems are no longer just a “good idea”; but essential, and during the next few decades society must develop systems capable of producing clean energy at the multi-terawatt scale. Crop residues such as corn (Zea mays L.) stover, and other cellulosic materials were identified as potential feedstocks to meet this demand and have been rigorously evaluated for the past decade (e.g., Perlack et al., 2005; U.S. Department of Energy, 2011 and 2016). However, it is also well established that crop residues have important ecosystem service and productivity functions (Larson, 1979; Johnson, 2018; Ibrahim et al., 2018).