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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRS2018

Future Free Flyer Science on the ISS

The Astrobee Research Facility will maintain three identical free-flying Astrobee robots on the ISS. After the Astrobees are launched and commissioned in 2018, they will replace the SPHERES robots that have been operating on the ISS since 2006. Astrobee can fly autonomously throughout most of the US section of the ISS interior, but cannot operate outside the ISS. Astrobee is propelled by a pair of battery-operated fans, and can autonomously return to a docking station to recharge, so it can perform most activities without requiring any astronaut support. It carries a suite of six cameras, a two degree-of-freedom (DOF) arm with a gripper that can grasp ISS handrails and other objects, and three payload bays that provide power and data for guest science hardware. It can autonomously execute hours-long plans (for example, sensor surveys) or be teleoperated live from the ground or by astronauts.

Katterhagen, Aric J.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Multidisciplinary Optimization of an Electric Quadrotor Urban Air Mobility Aircraft

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicles have the potential to augment urban transportation systems, allowing passengers to skip the traffic below for a fee. This emerging market is opening up the design space for a new class of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicles which could be powered by electric propulsion systems to be economical and environmentally friendly. However, development of these UAM concepts presents several additional challenges in the design process. First, these concept designs require including new disciplinary models for subsystems including the electric motors, cables, batteries and thermal management systems. Second, correctly designing and evaluating these various subsystems requires tight coupling between the discipline models to capture interactions. This paper presents the continued development of a multidisciplinary design optimization environment to aid in the development of these vehicle concepts. The multidisciplinary environment fully couples the various subsystem models allowing for the full vehicle to be designed and optimized simultaneously. In this research, the developed modeling approach is demonstrated in the analysis of a small, all-electric quadrotor UAM concept. Results from these studies show that numerous disciplines can be tightly coupled and producing improved overall vehicle designs.

Multidisciplinary Optimization↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

More / All Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Vehicle Sensitivities to Propulsion and Power Performance

Battery power and energy density are important parameters for the emerging concepts for more / all-electric vehicles. Electric propulsion and power system performance is also important. To better understand how electric propulsion and power systems component performance influences overall vehicle design, a sensitivity assessment was performed noting changes in vehicle gross weight and energy usage. Updated versions of the Revolutionary Vertical lift Technology (RVLT) Project vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) urban air mobility (UAM) reference vehicles and missions were used. NASA electric vehicle studies are discussed which were used to help select the range of electric propulsion and power system performance parameters used in this assessment. Thermal management systems (TMS) considerations are also important; new and innovative power management and distribution systems can reduce electric system weight and losses, reducing thermal management constraints often imposed by electric systems modest maximum use temperatures. Vehicles with higher disk loadings (smaller rotors) require higher power levels per unit weight for VTOL operations, which make them more sensitive to electric system weights and efficiencies. Battery, all-electric vehicles show different sensitivities to component performance than turboelectric or hybrids systems. Battery, all-electric propulsion systems may increase vehicle weight and size, but still results in lower mission energy usage than their hydrocarbon-fueled versions. Significant vehicle weight growth to electric propulsion and power system power-to-weight reductions also occurs at different levels among the various concepts. From these results, one can more readily identify required component performance levels, potential component choices or, research and development paths.

Electric Propulsion Systems (Aircraft)↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

More / All Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Vehicle Sensitivities to Propulsion and Power Performance

electric propulsion systems (aircraft) mission ana↗

DOE OSTI2020

Progress of 3D network binders in silicon anodes for lithium ion batteries

Prompted by its overwhelming benefits, silicon (Si) has evolved as one of the most promising anode materials for high-capacity lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, some of the intrinsic drawbacks such as low ionic conductivity and inevitable volume change during the alloying/dealloying process seriously hamper the commercialization of Si-based anodes in LIBs. Among the several strategies to overcome the challenges of the Si anode, the development of designed polymeric binders is imperative for enabling stable and satisfactory performance. The improved cell performance due to the designed binders is recognized as an economical and practical approach, especially from the industrial perspective. In addition to their conventional role in integrating electrode components, binders also play a significant role in alleviating the unfavorable phenomenon of volume expansion, and ultimately stabilizing the Si anode and Si-electrolyte interphase. The polymer architecture of the binders significantly influences the binder performance, and three-dimensional (3D) network binders are generally more effective at coping with the stress resulting from the huge volume change of the Si anode. To develop advanced 3D binders, substantial research efforts have been made including various crosslinking strategies in the past decade. In this review, we focus on diverse crosslinking methods including chemical-, physical-, and topological-crosslinking for rationally designing network binders for Si anodes and take a glance at dynamic interactions to construct healable binders for long-term stability.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

NASA NTRS2015

Assessment of Technologies for Noncryogenic Hybrid Electric Propulsion

The Subsonic Fixed Wing Project of NASA's Fundamental Aeronautics Program is researching aircraft propulsion technologies that will lower noise, emissions, and fuel burn. One promising technology is noncryogenic electric propulsion, which could be either hybrid electric propulsion or turboelectric propulsion. Reducing dependence on the turbine engine would certainly reduce emissions. However, the weight of the electricmotor- related components that would have to be added would adversely impact the benefits of the smaller turbine engine. Therefore, research needs to be done to improve component efficiencies and reduce component weights. This study projects technology improvements expected in the next 15 and 30 years, including motor-related technologies, power electronics, and energy-storage-related technologies. Motor efficiency and power density could be increased through the use of better conductors, insulators, magnets, bearings, structural materials, and thermal management. Energy storage could be accomplished through batteries, flywheels, or supercapacitors, all of which expect significant energy density growth over the next few decades. A first-order approximation of the cumulative effect of each technology improvement shows that motor power density could be improved from 3 hp/lb, the state of the art, to 8 hp/lb in 15 years and 16 hp/lb in 30 years.

Electric Propulsion↗

DOE OSTI2025

Scale-Up of Novel Li-Conducting Halide Solid State Battery Electrolyte

LBNL and project partner Saint Gobain (SG) demonstrated scalable processing of halide-based solid state batteries. SG’s innovative halide-based SSE utilized in this project is inherently scalable: it can be compressed into a dense electrolyte sheet at room temperature under moderate pressure, can be processed in dry air, and does not present any safety issues during processing or end use. The halide material forms the dense electrolyte layer, and is dispersed in the thick cathode to form a highly conductive path for Li ions. The halide also comes in contact with various environments and other materials (solvents, binders, processing equipment, etc.) throughout the battery manufacturing process, and must be stable in contact with cathode and anode materials during operation.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2022

SolarPlus Optimizer: Integrated Control of Solar, Batteries, and Flexible Loads for Small Commercial Buildings

Building-level microgrids may be a key strategy to unlock the combined potential of flexible loads, renewable generation, and energy storage. However, few software options exist for integrated control of building loads and other distributed energy resources at this scale. The commercial software solutions on the market can force customers to adopt one particular ecosystem of products, thus limiting consumer choice. The SolarPlus Optimizer (SPO) is an open-source building-level microgrid control platform that uses Model Predictive Control to optimize both building loads and behind-the-meter energy storage to reduce energy bills and increase demand flexibility. This paper evaluates the capabilities of SPO in a small commercial building in Northern California under multiple electricity tariffs and demand response scenarios. Comparing SPO operation with an emulated battery and baseline operation employing a commercial optimization service, SPO reduced electricity bills by an estimated 7.3% in summer, 3.2% in spring, and 3.7% in winter. In a “load shape” scenario meant to counter the “duck curve”, SPO achieved 71% fewer violations from the load signal than the baseline control method. During a three hour long load shed event, SPO reduced cooling and refrigeration load by 38%. This research shows significant potential to provide load flexibility for building-level microgrids for this type of control systems. Finally, the paper discusses the future direction of research on open-source control systems.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2023

Demonstration of Ego Vehicle and System Level Benefits of Eco-Driving on Chassis Dynamometer

Eco-Driving with connected and automated vehicles has shown potential to reduce energy consumption of an individual (i.e., ego) vehicle by up to 15%. In a project funded by ARPA-E, a team led by Southwest Research Institute demonstrated an 8-12% reduction in energy consumption on a 2017 Prius Prime. This was demonstrated in simulation as well as chassis dynamometer testing. The authors presented a simulation study that demonstrated corridor-level energy consumption improvements by about 15%. This study was performed by modeling a six-kilometer-long urban corridor in Columbus, Ohio for traffic simulations. Five powertrain models consisting of two battery electric vehicles (BEVs), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), and two internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles were developed. The design of experiment consisted of sweeps for various levels of traffic, penetration of smart vehicles, penetration of technology, and powertrain electrification. The large-scale simulation study consisted of doing approximately 96,000 powertrain simulations. A sophisticated clustering scheme was built and utilized to down select representative traces for each scenario from the simulation study for vehicle testing on a chassis dynamometer. Furthermore, this paper provides a summary of individual ego vehicle testing as well as a comprehensive overview of the method utilized for down selecting representative traces from large scale simulation studies that can be used to quantify corridor level benefits. Vehicle test results along with corresponding analyses are presented.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

NASA NTRS1991

Space Electrochemical Research and Technology

This document contains the proceedings of NASA's third Space Electrochemical Research and Technology (SERT) Conference, held at the NASA Lewis Research Center on April 9-10, 1991. The objective of the conference was to assess the present status and general thrust of research and development in those areas of electrochemical technology required to enable NASA missions into the next century. The conference provided a forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions of those actively involved in the field, in order to define new opportunities for the application of electrochemical processes in future NASA missions. Papers were presented in three technical areas: the electrochemical interface, the next generation in aerospace batteries and fuel cells, and electrochemistry for nonenergy storage applications. This document contains the abstracts of the papers presented.

Electrochemistry↗

NASA NTRS1991

Space Electrochemical Research and Technology Conference, 3rd, NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH, Apr. 9, 10, 1991, Proceedings

The proceedings of NASA's third Space Electrochemical Research and Technology (SERT) conference are presented. The objective of the conference was to assess the present status and general thrust of research and development in those areas of electrochemical technology required to enable NASA missions in the next century. The conference provided a forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions of those actively involved in the field, in order to define new opportunities for the application of electrochemical processes in future NASA missions. Papers were presented in three technical areas: the electrochemical interface, the next generation in aerospace batteries and fuel cells, and electrochemistry for nonenergy storage applications.

Marvin Warshay↗

NASA NTRS2018

1-Watt Radioisotope Power System for Small Spacecraft

A variety of mission concepts have been studied by NASA and the U. S. Department of Energy that would utilize low power Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) for small probes, landers, rovers, and communication repeaters. These missions would contain science measuring instruments that could be distributed across planetary surfaces for operation in temporarily or permanently shadowed regions. High efficiency dynamic RPS could be mission enabling for science measurements on the moon, such as collecting real-time, event-based, or cumulative space radiation measurements including primary galactic cosmic rays (GCR), solar particle events (SPE), and secondary particles liberated during atmospheric and/or surface reactions. Small RPS would use fractional versions of the General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) or Light Weight Radioisotope Heater Units (LWRHU), to heat the power conversion technologies. Capable of three to four times higher conversion efficiency than static technologies, dynamic RPS would provide an equal amount of power using less fuel or more power using an equal amount of fuel. Providing spacecraft with more power could decrease duty cycling of basic functions and increase the quality and abundance of science data. Low power Stirling convertors are being developed at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) to provide future micro spacecraft with electrical power by converting heat from one or more LWRHUs. An initial concept would convert eight Watts of heat to one Watt of electrical power output for science instruments and communication. The initial design, called Small Stirling Technology Exploration Power (smallSTEP), is 11 cm diameter X 32 cm long, weighs around 3 kg, and could be used to charge batteries or capacitors for higher power burst usage. Development of the 1-watt RPS includes maturation of a Stirling engine and linear alternator, an electronics controller, and an evacuated metal foil insulation package. Test hardware and facilities are being prepared for initial demonstration of the subassemblies in a laboratory environment.

Wilson, Scott↗

DOE OSTI2025

Methods and recommendations for large-scale deflagration testing of battery energy storage system enclosures

UL Solutions produced this report as a summary of a test series executed at Sandia National Laboratories that they funded. This report was approved for release by UL Solutions in October 2025 and released in 2026 on their website at https://www.ul.com/insights/methods-and-recommendations-large-scale-deflagration-testing-battery-energy-storage-system.

Gaudet, Benjamin [UL Solutions] (ORCID:00090006419↗

DOE OSTI2023

Role of Scaffold Architecture and Excess Surface Polymer Layers in a 3D-Interconnected Ceramic/Polymer Composite Electrolyte

3D-interconnected ceramic/polymer composite electrolytes offer promise to combine the benefits of both ceramic and polymer electrolytes. However, an in-depth understanding of the role of the ceramic scaffold's architecture, and the associated polymer/ceramic interfaces on the electrochemical properties of such composite electrolytes is still incomplete. Here, these factors are systematically evaluated using an interconnected composite electrolyte with a tunable and well-defined architecture. The ionic conductivity of the ceramic scaffold is strongly dependent on its porosity and tortuosity, as demonstrated experimentally and via theoretical modeling. The connectivity of the ceramic framework avoids the high interfacial impedance at the polymer/ceramic electrolyte interface within the composite. However, this work discovers that the interfacial impedance between the bulk composite and excess surface polymer layers of the composite membrane dominates the overall impedance, resulting in a 1–2 order drop of ionic conductivity compared to the ceramic scaffold. Despite the high impedance interfaces, an improved Li + transference number is found compared to the neat polymer (0.29 vs 0.05), attributed to the ceramic phase's contributions toward ion transport. Further, this leads to flatter overpotentials in lithium symmetric cell cycling. These results are expected to guide future research directions toward scalable manufacturing of composite electrolytes with optimized architecture and interfaces.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles in Tunnels

There are numerous vehicles which utilize alternative fuels, or fuels that differ from typical hydrocarbons such as gasoline and diesel, throughout the world. Alternative vehicles include those running on the combustion of natural gas and propane as well as electrical drive vehicles utilizing batteries or hydrogen as energy storage. Because the number of alternative fuels vehicles is expected to increase significantly, it is important to analyze the hazards and risks involved with these new technologies with respect to the regulations related to specific transport infrastructure, such as bridges and tunnels. This report focuses on hazards presented by hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles that are different from traditional fuels. There are numerous scientific research and analysis publications on hydrogen hazards in tunnel scenarios; however, compiling the data to make conclusions can be a difficult process for tunnel owners and authorities having jurisdiction over tunnels. This report provides a summary of the available literature characterizing hazards presented by hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, including light-duty, medium and heavy-duty, as well as buses. Research characterizing both worst-case and credible scenarios, as well as risk-based analysis, is summarized. Gaps in the research are identified to guide future research efforts to provide a complete analysis of the hazards and recommendations for the safe use of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in tunnels.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH) FAST Commissioning Prize Technical Analysis

The US energy landscape has undergone major changes over the past 10 years and will continue to see significant changes in future decades as the power grid increases its reliance on variable renewable energy resources. Because of the inherent variability of these resources, renewable energy growth may require additional energy storage capacity to provide flexible load-following capabilities and other grid services that can quickly adjust to changes in energy demand and generation. Pumped storage hydropower (PSH)—one such energy storage technology—uses pumps to convey water from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir for energy storage and releases water back to the lower reservoir via a powerhouse for hydropower generation. PSH facility pump and generation cycling often follows economic and energy demand conditions. Across the United States, 43 PSH facilities are in operation and 55 projects are in various permitting or licensing stages. Altogether, the 43 operational projects provide the wide majority (95%) of utility-scale electricity storage in the United States. These facilities also provide significant power and nonpower grid benefits, including large-scale electrical system reserve capacity, grid reliability support, and electricity supply-demand balancing through quick-response capabilities and operational flexibility. PSH systems can accomplish these at a scale (e.g., size) and cost that makes these systems highly attractive from a technical standpoint. Although these research concepts are still in their infancy, they demonstrate promising potential as future PSH energy storage technologies. Although PSH has many advantages, development in the United States has effectively stalled since the 1990s, partially because of the magnitude of project costs and financing interest during development and construction, the length of time from project investment until project revenue begins, permitting challenges, construction risks, competition from other storage technologies (e.g., batteries, hydrogen storage), and electricity market evolution and uncertainty. In short, the time, cost, and risk associated with modern PSH development have resulted in limited growth in the United States recently, despite the growing energy storage demand stemming from increased wind and solar power deployment. Technology innovation is needed to help reduce PSH commissioning time, cost, and risk, particularly during the post-licensing phase of project development. To address challenges facing the PSH industry and to improve PSH commissioning timelines, the US Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) initiated the PSH Furthering Advancements to Shorten Time to (FAST) Commissioning Prize project.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2020

A Review of Sandia Energy Storage Research Capabilities and Opportunities (2020 to 2030)

Large-scale integration of energy storage on the electric grid will be essential to enabling greater penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources, modernizing the grid for increased flexibility security, reliability, and resilience, and enabling cleaner forms of transportation. The purpose of this report is to summarize Sandia's research and capabilities in energy storage and to provide a preliminary roadmap for future efforts in this area that can address the ongoing program needs of DOE and the nation. Mission and vision statements are first presented followed by an overview of the organizational structure at Sandia that provides support and activities in energy storage. Then, a summary of Sandia's energy storage capabilities is presented by technology, including battery storage and materials, power conversion and electronics, subsurface-based energy storage, thermal/thermochemical energy storage, hydrogen storage, data analytics/systems optimization/controls, safety of energy storage systems, and testing/demonstrations/model validation. A summary of identified gaps and needs is also presented for each technology and capability.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2024

2D IR Microscopy—Technology for Visualizing Chemical Dynamics in Heterogeneous Environments (Final Technical Report)

The primary focus of this project was the design, prototype, and demonstration of a 2D IR microscope. The start date of this project was July 15, 2016 and the project end date was July 14, 2022. In the early years of this project our team designed, prototyped, and completely integrated a homebuilt microscope head with our high-repetition rate 2D IR spectrometer. Once in place our research team focused on characterizing the 2D IR microscope and using it to investigate model systems relevant to energy technologies. As part of this process, we identified two initial chemical systems to use to further develop 2D IR imaging modalities. The first chemical system developed was a room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) electrolyte system and the second chemical system was a mixture of carbonates and salts developed as a battery electrolyte system. The completion of this project resulted in the full characterization of chemical dynamics in a bulk RTIL system and the demonstration of 2D IR imaging across the RTIL cast as a microdroplet in silicon oil. In addition, we explored the liquid structures and dynamics of organic carbonate mixtures from the vantage point of the vibrational probe, methyl thiocyanate. By the end of the project, we had moved toward in-depth studies of the organic carbonate mixtures.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗