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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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At least 1,621 records · Page 90
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Learning-Based Building Flexibility Estimation and Control to Improve Microgrid Economics and Resilience: Preprint

This paper proposes a learning-based building flexibility estimation and control framework to improve system economics and resilience. A data-driven building load flexibility model consisting of weather forecasting and estimating load consumption is proposed to quantify building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) load flexibility. A reinforcement learning-based microgrid controller is proposed to dispatch distributed generators, distributed energy resources, and build HVAC loads while taking flexibility information as one of the inputs. Simulation analysis is conducted on the model of a real microgrid in California. The effectiveness of the proposed learning-based building flexibility estimation and control in reducing microgrid energy costs and improving the sustainability of critical loads is demonstrated.

building load flexibility↗
DOE OSTI2024

Economical methods for performing oxidative catalytic pretreatment of plant biomass using a single-stage two oxidant process

An improved alkaline pretreatment of biomass is provided that is a single-stage, two oxidant alkaline oxidative pretreatment process. The process uses a homogenous catalyst with at least two oxidants (Hydrogen peroxide and enhanced levels of oxygen) in an alkaline environment to catalytically pretreat lignocellulosic biomass in a single-stage oxidation reaction. The provided single-stage alkaline-oxidative pretreatment improves biomass pretreatment and increase enzymatic digestibility to improve the economic feasibility of production of lignocellulose derived sugars.

Hegg, Eric L.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluating Economic Impact: An Investment Tool for Large Language Model Integration in Workweek Management

This paper explores the development and application of an investment tool designed to quantify the costs and potential savings associated with integrating large language models (LLMs) into work week management optimization (WMO) within the nuclear industry. LLMs, with their advanced natural language processing capabilities, can significantly enhance various aspects of work management, such as problem identification, prioritization, planning, scheduling, information retrieval, and information summary. Our investment tool focuses on evaluating the return on investment (ROI) for LLM applications in WMO by considering four pivotal decision factors: model selection, application, user training, and hosting options. This paper details the development and implementation of the ROI model and illustrates its application through multiple case studies, analyzing the impact of different variables, such as work time saved, number of requests, and model performance, on the computed ROI over two years. The computed ROI is also compared over different hosting solutions. Our findings indicate that ROI increases with enhanced work time savings and optimal request load but can decline with high request volumes or increased model costs. This model aids decision-makers in the nuclear industry by providing a structured approach to assessing the economic viability and potential savings from integrating LLMs into WMO processes.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluating Economic Impact: An Investment Tool for Large Language Model Integration in Workweek Management

This paper explores the development and application of an investment tool designed to quantify the costs and potential savings associated with integrating large language models (LLMs) into work week management optimization (WMO) within the nuclear industry. LLMs, with their advanced natural language processing capabilities, can significantly enhance various aspects of work management, such as problem identification, prioritization, planning, scheduling, information retrieval, and information summary. Our investment tool focuses on evaluating the return on investment (ROI) for LLM applications in WMO by considering four pivotal decision factors: model selection, application, user training, and hosting options. This paper details the development and implementation of the ROI model and illustrates its application through multiple case studies, analyzing the impact of different variables, such as work time saved, number of requests, and model performance, on the computed ROI over two years. The computed ROI is also compared over different hosting solutions. Our findings indicate that ROI increases with enhanced work time savings and optimal request load but can decline with high request volumes or increased model costs. This model aids decision-makers in the nuclear industry by providing a structured approach to assessing the economic viability and potential savings from integrating LLMs into WMO processes.

99 - GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Data Center High-Temperature Liquid Cooling and Heat Reuse Techno-Economic Study: Preprint

Data centers are energy-intensive facilities with growing demands for efficiency and cost-effective operations. Smaller, more distributed edge inference data centers are expected to proliferate as AI applications require low latency closer to the user of AI tools, which presents a growing opportunity to explore the systems implications of liquid cooling on water and energy use. This study analyzes the implementation of high-temperature liquid cooling systems in a prototypical inference 1-MW data center and explores the potential for heat reuse across varying climates with a goal to optimize energy efficiency, reduce capital and operational costs, and identify opportunities for high-performance cooling and water use reduction infrastructure. This analysis evaluated configurations utilizing a peak day hourly sizing and systems performance spreadsheet to evaluate design and operational conditions from which component sizes, installed cost, operational cost, and performance metrics were determined for the Base case and the Elevated case. The techno-economic analysis included heat reuse applications across a range of heat recovery temperatures and heat rejection options. The analysis shows that high-temperature liquid cooling allows for improved energy efficiency, lower water consumption, and lower capital costs compared to traditional cooling approaches. Transitioning to elevated water inlet/outlet temperatures (50 degrees C/60 degrees C) eliminates the need for chillers, cooling towers, and heat recovery equipment in many scenarios across three distinct climate zones. This results in up to 75% capital cost savings for the cooling and heat recovery equipment, and with significantly reduced water consumption, especially in non-heat reuse applications. Heat generated from data centers can also be repurposed for space heating, domestic hot water, and other applications, and is most cost-effective when data center outlet temperatures exceed 55-60 degrees C.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Socio-Techno-Economic Feasibility of Deep Geothermal with EGS for Residential District Heating in the Northeastern United States

In this paper, we present socio-techno-economic simulation results for enhanced geothermal system (EGS) district heating systems in the northeastern United States. We applied the geospatial Distributed Geothermal Market Demand (dGeo) tool coupled with GEOPHIRES to evaluate the feasibility of geothermal deep direct-use, utilizing EGS reservoirs for providing residential heating with district heating systems. The results were combined with JEDI results to assess social impacts. Simulation results assuming doublet EGS reservoirs with target production temperature of 80 degrees C and newly constructed district heating systems indicate a wide range in system levelized cost of heat (LCOH) values ranging from ~$15/MMBtu to over $1,000/MMBtu, with most the attractive regions urban areas with high total thermal demand and high thermal demand density. We estimate about 60 GWth in potential installed capacity with LCOH values under $50/MMBtu and 100 GWth in potential capacity with LCOH values under $100/MMBtu, respectively.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

GEOPHIRES files for DDU techno-economic simulations

During 2017-2019, the U.S. Department of Energy funded six geothermal deep direct-use (DDU) projects to investigate feasibility of DDU for heating, cooling and thermal storage in the United States. In a follow-on study conducted at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), findings of these six projects were reviewed and analyzed, and additional simulations were conducted using the simulator GEOPHIRES to explore technical performance and cost-competitiveness of DDU. The results of the NREL study were published in the paper "Evaluating the Feasibility of Geothermal Deep Direct-Use in the United States." The GEOPHIRES files developed in that study are included in this submission. The reference for the paper under review is below: Beckers KF, Kolker A, Pauling H, McTigue JD, and Kesseli D (2021) ?Evaluating the Feasibility of Geothermal Deep Direct-Use in the United States?, Submitted to Energy Conversion and Management, Under Review.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Techno-Economic Optimization of the SurgeWEC Device

This is the post-access report for a Teamer-funded effort to optimize the SurgeWEC device, a near-shore pivoting flap wave energy conversion device used to desalinate water. Parametrically driven cost and performance models enabled an integrated optimization approach at the farm scale. The metric used for this study was the levelized cost of water (LCOW). The data-set includes: 1. A public-domain post access report 2. An excel file with the data and plots generated under this study

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2017

Economic and Physical Linkages of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Service Industry to Key Industries of the Economy: An Ad Hoc Report

This report examines the information and communications technology (ICT) services industry in response to an inquiry by the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis. The report answers several key questions: •How has the reliance on ICT services evolved in recent years for key infrastructure services such as air travel, freight transport, electricity and natural gas distribution, financial services, and critical health care, and for the household sector? •What ICT industry trends explain continued strong linkage to and reliance upon ICT? •What is the ICT industry’s reliance on grid-supplied power, uninterruptible power supplies, emergency generators and back-up energy storage technologies? •What are the observed direct effects of ICT disruptions induced by electrical system failures in recent history and how resilient are the components of the ICT industry?

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Economic implications of incorporating emission controls to mitigate air pollutants emitted from a modeled hydrocarbon-fuel biorefinery in the United States

The implementation of the US Renewable Fuel Standard is expected to increase the construction and operation of new biofuel facilities. Allowing this industry to grow without adversely affecting air quality is an important sustainability goal sought by multiple stakeholders. However, little is known about how the emission controls potentially required to comply with air quality regulations might impact biorefinery cost and deployment strategies such as siting and sizing. In this study, we use a baseline design for a lignocellulosic hydrocarbon biofuel production process to assess how the integration of emission controls impacts the minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of the biofuel produced. We evaluate the change in MFSP for two cases as compared to the baseline design by incorporating (i) emission controls that ensure compliance with applicable federal air regulations and (ii) advanced control options that could be used to achieve potential best available control technology (BACT) emission limits. Our results indicate that compliance with federal air regulations can be achieved with minimal impact on biofuel cost (~$0.02 per gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE) higher than the baseline price of $5.10 GGE -1 ). However, if air emissions must be further reduced to meet potential BACT emission limits, the cost could increase nontrivially. For example, the MFSP could increase to $5.50 GGE -1 by adopting advanced emission controls to meet potential boiler BACT limits. Finally, given tradeoffs among emission control costs, permitting requirements, and economies of scale, these results could help inform decisions about biorefinery siting and sizing and mitigate risks associated with air permitting.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗