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DOE OSTI2026

ICE Calculator 2: Final Report for Phase 1 and 2 of the National Initiative to Update the Interruption Cost Estimate (ICE) Calculator

ICE 2.0 Phase 2 Final Report In 2021, Berkeley Lab and Resource Innovations, Inc. launched the “ICE Calculator 2 Initiative” – a national study to refresh the underlying data and enhance the functionality of the ICE Calculator. The Initiative involves Berkeley Lab contracting with sponsoring utilities to administer identical, updated and comprehensive interruption cost surveys to statistically representative samples of each utility’s customers. Berkeley Lab and Resource Innovations then pool the survey results across the utilities and use them to update the analytical engines that drive the ICE Calculator. The ICE Calculator 2 Initiative is being conducted in phases. Each phase involves the administration of interruption cost surveys to the customers of sponsoring utilities, followed by an update to the ICE Calculator based on analysis of the pooled survey results. This report describes the activities and findings from Phase 1 and 2 of the ICE Calculator 2 Initiative. Phase 1 was sponsored by eight utilities: American Electric Power, Commonwealth Edison, Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, DTE Electric, Exelon, National Grid, and Puget Sound Energy. Phase 2 was sponsored by six utilities: Empire District Electric Company, Evergy Missouri, Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and Union Electric. Phase 1 and 2 involved 15 customer interruption cost survey activities representing a total of 30 electricity distribution service territories. ICE Calculator Version 2.0 and 2.2 Comparison This memorandum describes–at a high-level–the improvements in interruption cost estimates for the version 2.2 of the ICE Calculator (released February 2026) compared to version 2.0 (released in April 2025). Version 2.2 of the ICE Calculator corresponds to Phase 2 of the initiative, while version 2.0 corresponds to Phase 1. The improvements in version 2.2 result from both a significant increase in the number of customer responses that have been collected and the identification of seven additional factors that help estimate customer interruption costs.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2024

A Theoretical Analysis on the Dynamic Behavior and Electromechanical Response of PZT

Piezoelectric materials are used as a power source in stockpile components for safety and reliability assurances. The objective of this project is to gain insights into the fundamental pressure-induced behavior and electromechanical response of lead zirconate titanate (PZT). Specifically, to establish the basis for an accurate, physics-based material model for robust model-based design to rapidly optimize PZT-based materials and components for performance studies. Established ab-initio methods are used to interrogate and understand the dynamic behavior of PZT as a function of composition (50/50, 65/35, 80/20, 95/5) and dopants (La, Nb) to overcome the costly and time-consuming experimental methodologies. New cold curves for pure and doped single-crystal PZT are obtained as the reference equation-of-state (EOS). A negligible change in the pressure responses was observed for the systems and strains studied. Dielectric and piezoelectric responses of pure and doped single-crystal PZT were also calculated as a function of pressure. For undoped PZT, there is a clear and orderly pressure and composition dependence. For doped PZT, there is a significant increase in the responses, but the behavior is very disordered and inconclusive.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2026

SERA: A Hydrogen Infrastructure Capacity Expansion Model

The Scenario Evaluation and Regionalization Analysis (SERA) model is an infrastructure planning optimization model that can guide hydrogen production, delivery, and end-use investment decisions and accelerate the adoption of low-cost hydrogen at scale, whether for fuel cell electric vehicles or non-transportation applications. In this talk, we will review the SERA model objective function as well as the data inputs and outputs. We will also look at a SERA case study identifying potential dispensed costs of hydrogen along major refueling corridors throughout the United States. In addition to the SERA model, Justin will also discuss his recent work for the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains on electrolyzer supply chain readiness, and his work for the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office and Environmental Protection Agency on the levelized cost of dispensed hydrogen for heavy-duty trucking.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

NASA NTRS2003

Keeping Communication Continuous

General Dynamics Decision Systems employees have played a role in supplying telemetry, tracking, and control (TT&C) and other communications systems to NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense for over 40 years. Providing integrated communication systems and subsystems for nearly all manned and unmanned U.S. space flights, the heritage of this Scottsdale, Arizona-based company includes S-band transceivers that enabled millions of Americans to see Neil Armstrong and hear his prophetic words from the Moon in 1969. More recently, Decision Systems has collaborated with NASA s Goddard Space Flight Center to develop transponders, wireless communications devices that pick up and automatically respond to an incoming signal, for NASA s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). Four generations of Decision Systems TDRSS transponders have been developed under Goddard s sponsorship. The company s Fourth Generation TDRSS User Transponder (TDRSS IV) allows low-Earth-orbiting spacecraft to communicate continuously with a single ground station at White Sands, New Mexico, through a constellation of geostationary relay satellites positioned at key locations around the Earth. In addition to the communications of forward link control commands and return link telemetry data, the TDRSS IV also supports spacecraft orbit tracking through coherent turn-around of a pseudo-noise ranging code and two-way Doppler tracking.When the NSBF adopted the use of global positioning system receivers for balloon position tracking, Decision Systems concluded that a simpler, noncoherent transceiver could provide the NSBF with the necessary TDRSS communications without the additional cost and complexity of a coherent transponder. The solution was to take the core design of the TDRSS IV Transponder, but remove the extra functionality that supported coherent turn-around. This would simplify the production effort, reduce the testing required, and result in a lower cost product with smaller size, weight, and power consumption. Once NSBF and Decision Systems agreed on a concept for this new product, known as the Multi-Mode Transceiver (MMT), the NSBF approached Goddard for approval and funding.

Source record↗

DOE OSTI2020

Electricity Pricing aware Deep Reinforcement Learning based Intelligent HVAC Control

Recently, deep reinforcement learning (DRL) based intelligent control of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) has gained a lot of attention due to DRL's ability to optimally control HVAC for minimizing operational cost while maintaining resident's comfort. The success of such DRL-based techniques largely depends on the articulation of the problem in terms of states, actions, and reward function. Inclusion of the electricity pricing information in the problem formulation can play an important role in saving the cost of HVAC operation. However, less attention has been given in the literature on formulating well-crafted state features based on electricity pricing. In this work, we propose an approach for training the DRL model with a specific focus on feature engineering based on electricity pricing. During training, we generate random but sufficiently realistic electricity price signals so that the pre-trained DRL model is robust and adaptive to the dynamic and variable electricity prices. The validation results are encouraging and show the potential of ≈12%-15% savings in the one day cost of HVAC operation, proving the usefulness of including electricity pricing related features as state features.

Kurte, Kuldeep↗

NASA NTRS1992

Candidate Mission from Planet Earth control and data delivery system architecture

Using a structured, experienced-based approach, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has assessed the generic functional requirements for a lunar mission control and data delivery (CDD) system. This analysis was based on lunar mission requirements outlined in GSFC-developed user traffic models. The CDD system will facilitate data transportation among user elements, element operations, and user teams by providing functions such as data management, fault isolation, fault correction, and link acquisition. The CDD system for the lunar missions must not only satisfy lunar requirements but also facilitate and provide early development of data system technologies for Mars. Reuse and evolution of existing data systems can help to maximize system reliability and minimize cost. This paper presents a set of existing and currently planned NASA data systems that provide the basic functionality. Reuse of such systems can have an impact on mission design and significantly reduce CDD and other system development costs.

Shapiro, Phillip↗

DOE OSTI2022

Feasibility of critical infrastructure protection using network functions for programmable and decoupled ICS policy enforcement over WAN

Industrial control systems (ICS) represent a major component of our critical infrastructure. With the increasing need for more control and monitoring of such systems, ICS have seen an increase in connectivity to wide area networks (WAN) exposing aging equipment to rapidly evolving cybersecurity threats. Furthermore, the ICS data requires a reliability measure from the networks for critical functions for infrastructure monitoring and control. Especially when remote plant sites are involved such as pipelines, energy distribution networks, and transportation, WAN transport impairments most often provide a best effort delivery with no strict reliability guarantees. Network functions can provide a vendor agnostic, programmable critical infrastructure protection with a single maintenance, policy determination, and reliability assurance surface. A network function (NF) can be utilized for policy enforcement over the communication between remote entities and the main control office. This paper presents the research on transparent integration with existing ICS without disrupting communications, resulting in minimal downtime while decoupling the fast paced evolution of defensive security measures from the upgrade cycle of expensive long term hardware. We report our measurements on the resource requirements and overhead in the network for successful NF insertion under a wide variety of network impairments (network packet delay, reordering, and loss). Our paired NF implementation provides a policy enforcement platform extensible to cover myriad cybersecurity-related communication goals, including packet signing for verification, encryption for data privacy, packet filtering and data diode operation (i.e. protecting against eavesdropping, packet injection, and denial-of-service). Furthermore, bundling communication specifications into packet flows allows for tunability in applying policies as coarse- or fine-grained as the needs of the operator. We report on network function resource requirements in the form of required queue depth and network utilization overhead to inform the decision making against hardware cost constraints.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Tunable structure and reinforcement of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels using fungal chitin particles

Polysaccharides, including chitin, are one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature and are increasingly recognized as a sustainable alternative to petroleum-derived plastics and synthetic fillers in polymer composites. Traditionally sourced from crustacean shells, chitin offers mechanical strength and biocompatibility with limitations also in processability and functionality. Fungal-derived chitin material represents a promising alternative, with advantages including scalable fermentation on low-cost substrates, absence of shellfish allergens, and tunable molecular architectures that vary by species, developmental stage, and growth environment. Here, in this study, we systematically examined chitinous materials obtained from taxonomically and functionally distinct fungi, Laccaria bicolor, Trichoderma reesei and Rhizopus oryzae, to assess their structural, chemical, and morphological properties as reinforcement agents in polymer composites. Mild alkaline pretreatment was employed to obtain mycelium chitin particles, thereby improving accessibility to chitin and co-occurring β-D-glucans while maintaining microparticle integrity. Comprehensive FTIR and solid-state NMR analyses revealed species-specific differences in chemical composition and microstructure, with R. oryzae exhibiting a unique spectral signature. These fungal-derived chitin were then incorporated into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels, where they acted as reinforcing fillers without the need for additional chemical crosslinkers. Comparative evaluation of hydrogel properties demonstrated that fungal chitin significantly enhanced mechanical performance, with all mycelium fillers mitigating the water weakening in PVA hydrogels. R. oryzae-derived composites tripled the hydrogel tensile strength while the submicron fibrous morphology in L. bicolor contributes to over 45 % tensile improvement in dry PVA composites. Our findings highlight the potential of fungal biomass as a tunable, sustainable platform for producing chitin-based reinforcing agents.

Chitin↗

NASA NTRS1993

Cost and reliability study for a large array of small reflector antennas for JPL/NASA Deep Space Network (DSN)

A study performed to estimate the cost of an array of small aperture reflector antennas to be used instead of or in conjunction with the current large reflector antennas of the JPL/NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) is described. The arrays are used for servicing present and future NASA missions that involve smaller spacecraft with limited power and smaller, lower-gain antennas. The advantages of the array configuration in terms of cost and reliability are discussed. A probabilistic determination of the reliability and availability of the array as a function of the number of array elements and the availability of individual array elements is made. The impact of additional marginal elements on the operational availability of the array is studied. Parametric cost and reliability plots are presented and directions for further investigation are outlined.

Jamnejad, Vahraz↗

NASA NTRS1993

Cost and Reliability Study for a Large Array of Small Reflector Antennas for JPL/NASA Deep Space Network (DSN)

A study is performed to estimate the cost of an array of small aperture reflector antennas to be used instead or in conjunction with the current large reflector antennas of the JPL/NASA Deep Space Network (DSN), for servicing present and future NASA missions which involve smaller spacecraft with limited power and smaller, lower gain antennas. The advantages of the array configuration in terms of cost and reliability are studied. A probabilistic determination of the reliability and availability of the array as a function of the number of array elements and the availability of individual array elements is made. The impact of additional marginal elements on the operational availability of the array is studied. Parametric cost and reliability plots are presented and directions for further investigation are outlined.

Resch, G.↗

DOE OSTI2024

Multitask methods for predicting molecular properties from heterogeneous data

Data generation remains a bottleneck in training surrogate models to predict molecular properties. We demonstrate that multitask Gaussian process regression overcomes this limitation by leveraging both expensive and cheap data sources. In particular, we consider training sets constructed from coupled-cluster (CC) and density functional theory (DFT) data. We report that multitask surrogates can predict at CC-level accuracy with a reduction in data generation cost by over an order of magnitude. Of note, our approach allows the training set to include DFT data generated by a heterogeneous mix of exchange–correlation functionals without imposing any artificial hierarchy on functional accuracy. More generally, the multitask framework can accommodate a wider range of training set structures—including the full disparity between the different levels of fidelity—than existing kernel approaches based on Δ-learning although we show that the accuracy of the two approaches can be similar. Consequently, multitask regression can be a tool for reducing data generation costs even further by opportunistically exploiting existing data sources.

Chemistry↗

NASA NTRS2010

Project Interface Requirements Process Including Shuttle Lessons Learned

Most failures occur at interfaces between organizations and hardware. Processing interface requirements at the start of a project life cycle will reduce the likelihood of costly interface changes/failures later. This can be done by adding Interface Control Documents (ICDs) to the Project top level drawing tree, providing technical direction to the Projects for interface requirements, and by funding the interface requirements function directly from the Project Manager's office. The interface requirements function within the Project Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) Office would work in-line with the project element design engineers early in the life cycle to enhance communications and negotiate technical issues between the elements. This function would work as the technical arm of the Project Manager to help ensure that the Project cost, schedule, and risk objectives can be met during the Life Cycle. Some ICD Lessons Learned during the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) Life Cycle will include the use of hardware interface photos in the ICD, progressive life cycle design certification by analysis, test, & operations experience, assigning interface design engineers to Element Interface (EI) and Project technical panels, and linking interface design drawings with project build drawings

Bauch, Garland T.↗

NASA NTRS2012

Space Launch System Accelerated Booster Development Cycle

With the retirement of the Space Shuttle, NASA is seeking to reinvigorate the national space program and recapture the public s interest in human space exploration by developing missions to the Moon, near-earth asteroids, Lagrange points, Mars, and beyond. The would-be successor to the Space Shuttle, NASA s Constellation Program, planned to take humans back to the Moon by 2020, but due to budgetary constraints was cancelled in 2010 in search of a more "affordable, sustainable, and realistic" concept2. Following a number of studies, the much anticipated Space Launch System (SLS) was unveiled in September of 2011. The SLS core architecture consists of a cryogenic first stage with five Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs), and a cryogenic second stage using a new J-2X engine3. The baseline configuration employs two 5-segment solid rocket boosters to achieve a 70 metric ton payload capability, but a new, more capable booster system will be required to attain the goal of 130 metric tons to orbit. To this end, NASA s Marshall Space Flight Center recently released a NASA Research Announcement (NRA) entitled "Space Launch System (SLS) Advanced Booster Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction." The increased emphasis on affordability is evident in the language used in the NRA, which is focused on risk reduction "leading to an affordable Advanced Booster that meets the evolved capabilities of SLS" and "enabling competition" to "enhance SLS affordability. The purpose of the work presented in this paper is to perform an independent assessment of the elements that make up an affordable and realistic path forward for the SLS booster system, utilizing advanced design methods and technology evaluation techniques. The goal is to identify elements that will enable a more sustainable development program by exploring the trade space of heavy lift booster systems and focusing on affordability, operability, and reliability at the system and subsystem levels5. For this study, affordability is defined as lifecycle cost, which includes design, development, test, and engineering (DDT&E), production and operational costs (P&O). For this study, the system objectives include reducing DDT&E schedule by a factor of three, showing 99.9% reliability, flying up to four times per year, serving both crew and cargo missions, and evolving to a lift capability of 130 metric tons.3 After identifying gaps in the current system s capabilities, this study seeks to identify non-traditional and innovative technologies and processes that may improve performance in these areas and assess their impacts on booster system development. The DDT&E phase may be improved by incorporating incremental development testing and integrated demonstrations to mitigate risk. To further reduce DDT&E, this study will also consider how aspects of the booster system may have commonality with other users, such as the Department of Defense, commercial applications, or international partners; by sharing some of the risk and investment, the overall development cost may be reduced. Consideration is not limited to solid and liquid rocket boosters. A set of functional performance characteristics, such as engine thrust, specific impulse (Isp), mixture ratio, and throttle range are identified and their impacts on the system are evaluated. This study also identifies how such characteristics affect overall life cycle cost, including DDT&E and fixed and variable P&O.

Arockiam, Nicole↗

DOE OSTI2026

Integrative Additive Design for Robust SEI Formation in NMC811||Silicon Batteries

Silicon (Si) is considered a promising replacement for graphite anodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high abundance and exceptional specific capacity, but its widespread commercialization has been hindered by poor electrochemical performance. Among various strategies, the use of functional additives has emerged as one of the most effective and cost-efficient methods to enhance the electrochemical properties of LIBs. In this study, several additives—vinylene carbonate (VC), vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC), lithium difluorophosphate (LiDFP), lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (LiDFOB), lithium tetrafluorooxalatophosphate (LiTFOP), and lithium difluorobis(oxalato)phosphate (LiDFBOP)—were systematically investigated in LiNi₀.₈Mn₀.₁Co₀.₁O₂ (NMC811)||Si full cells. Notably, LiDFBOP, a lithium salt containing two oxalate groups, outperformed all other additives, delivering the best capacity retention after 300 cycles. Comprehensive characterizations, including FTIR, SEM, and XPS, revealed that LiDFBOP's superior performance stems from its ability to form a more stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the Si anode, owing to its favorable molecular structure that integrates the beneficial features of the other additives.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2021

The number of catalytic cycles in an enzyme’s lifetime and why it matters to metabolic engineering

Metabolic engineering uses enzymes as parts to build biosystems for specified tasks. Although a part’s working life and failure modes are key engineering performance indicators, this is not yet so in metabolic engineering because it is not known how long enzymes remain functional in vivo or whether cumulative deterioration (wear-out), sudden random failure, or other causes drive replacement. Consequently, enzymes cannot be engineered to extend life and cut the high energy costs of replacement. Guided by catalyst engineering, we adopted catalytic cycles until replacement (CCR) as a metric for enzyme functional life span in vivo. CCR is the number of catalytic cycles that an enzyme mediates in vivo before failure or replacement, i.e., metabolic flux rate/protein turnover rate. We used estimated fluxes and measured protein turnover rates to calculate CCRs for ~100–200 enzymes each from Lactococcus lactis, yeast, and Arabidopsis. CCRs in these organisms had similar ranges (<10 3 to >10 7 ) but different median values (3–4 × 10 4 in L. lactis and yeast versus 4 × 10 5 in Arabidopsis). In all organisms, enzymes whose substrates, products, or mechanisms can attack reactive amino acid residues had significantly lower median CCR values than other enzymes. Taken with literature on mechanism-based inactivation, the latter finding supports the proposal that 1) random active-site damage by reaction chemistry is an important cause of enzyme failure, and 2) reactive noncatalytic residues in the active-site region are likely contributors to damage susceptibility. Enzyme engineering to raise CCRs and lower replacement costs may thus be both beneficial and feasible.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS1991

Acquisition and production of skilled behavior in dynamic decision-making tasks: Modeling strategic behavior in human-automation interaction: Why and aid can (and should) go unused

Advances in computer and control technology offer the opportunity for task-offload aiding in human-machine systems. A task-offload aid (e.g., an autopilot, an intelligent assistant) can be selectively engaged by the human operator to dynamically delegate tasks to an automated system. Successful design and performance prediction in such systems requires knowledge of the factors influencing the strategy the operator develops and uses for managing interaction with the task-offload aid. A model is presented that shows how such strategies can be predicted as a function of three task context properties (frequency and duration of secondary tasks and costs of delaying secondary tasks) and three aid design properties (aid engagement and disengagement times, aid performance relative to human performance). Sensitivity analysis indicates how each of these contextual and design factors affect the optimal aid aid usage strategy and attainable system performance. The model is applied to understanding human-automation interaction in laboratory experiments on human supervisory control behavior. The laboratory task allowed subjects freedom to determine strategies for using an autopilot in a dynamic, multi-task environment. Modeling results suggested that many subjects may indeed have been acting appropriately by not using the autopilot in the way its designers intended. Although autopilot function was technically sound, this aid was not designed with due regard to the overall task context in which it was placed. These results demonstrate the need for additional research on how people may strategically manage their own resources, as well as those provided by automation, in an effort to keep workload and performance at acceptable levels.

Kirlik, Alex↗

DOE OSTI2023

Low-cost crushed-rock heat storage with oil or salt heat transfer

The demand for variable electricity and heat is met by fossil-fuel power plants because the power plant capital costs and the cost of storing fossil fuels are low. A low-carbon economy requires replacement of the storage function of fossil fuels to provide variable heat and electricity as needed. The Crushed Rock Ultra-large Stored Heat (CRUSH) system is a new technology with the goal to provide heat storage at an incremental capital cost of $2–4/kWh at scales of 10 s to 100 s of GWhs that enables economic daily to multi-week storage. CRUSH can be coupled to nuclear power plants, concentrated solar power (CSP) plants and thermal energy batteries to provide variable electricity and heat on demand. Sensible heat is stored in crushed rock—the lowest-cost heat-storage material. Heat is transferred to and from the crushed rock using nitrate salt or heat-transfer oils but these fluids do not store heat. Heat from a nuclear reactor, CSP plant or conversion of low-price electricity into heat is used to heat the salt or oil. The hot fluid is poured over the crushed rock, trickles downward by gravity through the rock, heats the rock and is collected by the drain pans under the crushed rock. To recover heat cold salt or oil is poured over hot crushed rock, trickles down by gravity while being heated and is collected by the drain pans under the crushed rock. The system design and engineering trade-offs are described. The technology is in the early stages of development.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Hardware Selection and Performance of Low-Cost Fluorometers

Access to and extensive use of fluorometric analyses is limited, despite its extensive utility in environmental transport and fate. Wide-spread application of fluorescent tracers has been limited by the prohibitive costs of research-grade equipment and logistical constraints of sampling, due to the need for high spatial resolutions and access to remote locations over long timescales. Recently, low-cost alternatives to research-grade equipment have been found to produce comparable data at a small fraction of the price for commercial equipment. Here, we prototyped and benchmarked performance of a variety of fluorometer components against commercial units, including performance as a function of tracer concentration, turbidity, and temperature, all of which are known to impact fluorometer performance. While component performance was found to be comparable to the commercial units tested, the best configuration tested obtained a functional resolution of 0.1 ppb, a working concentration range of 0.1 to >300 ppb, and a cost of USD 59.13.

42 ENGINEERING↗