News Releases issued in: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000

May 22, 2013
DOE-Supported Technology Passes Scale-Up Test Converting CO₂ into Valuable Materials
In a project funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Novomer Inc. (Ithaca, NY) has completed the world's first successful large-scale production of a polypropylene carbonate (PPC) polymer using waste carbon dioxide (CO₂) as a key raw material. By using CO₂ that would otherwise be emitted to the atmosphere, the process has the potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions while simultaneously reducing petroleum consumption and producing useful products for American consumers.

May 14, 2013
Expedition Provides New Insight on Gas Hydrates in Gulf of Mexico
A joint-federal-agency 15-day research expedition in the northern Gulf of Mexico yielded innovative high-resolution seismic data and imagery that will help refine characterizations of large methane hydrate resources in the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

May 10, 2013
Breakthrough Industrial Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Project Begins Full-Scale Operations
The Energy Department’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Christopher Smith today attended a dedication ceremony at the Air Products and Chemicals hydrogen production facilities in Port Arthur, Texas. Supported by a $284 million Energy Department investment, the company has successfully begun capturing carbon dioxide from industrial operations and is now using that carbon for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and securely storing it underground. This first-of-a-kind, breakthrough project advances carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies and demonstrates the potential to safely secure carbon dioxide pollution underground while providing an economic benefit and increasing our energy security.

May 08, 2013
NETL Scientist Named Finalist for Service to America Medal
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) metallurgist Dr. Paul Jablonski, was named a finalist for a Partnership for Public Service Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal – known as the Sammies – during a congressional breakfast ceremony today in Washington, DC.  The annual awards pay tribute to federal employees whose work advances the health, safety and well-being of Americans.

May 07, 2013
Carbon Storage Atlas, Employee Newsletter Earn International Communications Awards
The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) and its National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) recently walked away with two prestigious 2013 Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Awards presented by the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC). 

April 30, 2013
Regional Partnership Documentary Wins "Best of Show" Aurora Award
A documentary co-produced by Prairie Public Broadcasting (Fargo, N.D.) and the Plains CO₂ Reduction (PCOR) Partnership with support from the U.S. Department of Energy has received a 2012 Platinum Best of Show Aurora Award — the highest honor awarded — in the nature/environment documentary category.

April 23, 2013
Interagency Collaboration to Address Environmental Impacts of Shale Gas Drilling
A memorandum of understanding to perform collaborative research related to airborne emissions and air quality at natural gas drilling sites has been signed by the Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The research supports DOE's goal of enhancing America's energy security by contributing to the health and safety of workers in the nation's energy sector.

April 18, 2013
Hydraulic Fracturing Data Collection Tools Improve Environmental Reporting, Monitoring, Protection
Two data collection tools specifically developed for hydraulic fracturing are available to help regulatory agencies  monitor drilling and completion operations and enhance environmental protection.

April 17, 2013
DOE Accord Seeks Accelerated Development of Alaska's Vast Unconventional Energy Resources
Development of potentially vast and important unconventional energy resources in Alaska – including viscous oil and methane hydrates – could be accelerated under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed today by the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). 

April 09, 2013
Innovative Technology Improves Upgrading Process for Unconventional Oil Resources
An innovative oil-upgrading technology that can increase the economics of unconventional petroleum resources has been developed under a U.S. Department of Energy -funded project.

March 11, 2013
Data from Innovative Methane Hydrate Test on Alaska's North Slope Now Available on NETL Website
Data from an innovative test conducted last year that used carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrogen (N₂) injection to release natural gas from methane hydrates at a well on the Alaska North Slope is now available to researchers and the public on the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) website.

March 6, 2013
Alaskan Ice Road Water Supplies Augmented by Snow Barriers
In a project supported and managed by the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks have demonstrated that the use of artificial barriers—snow fences—can significantly increase the amount of fresh water supplies in Arctic lakes at a fraction of the cost of bringing in water from nearby lakes. The results promise to enhance environmentally sound development of Alaska’s natural resources, lowering the costs of building ice roads used for exploring for oil and natural gas in Alaska. They could also be used to help augment fresh water supplies at remote villages. 

March 4, 2013
NETL Earns Carnegie Science Awards for Advanced Materials, Corporate Innovation
For its leadership and innovation in science and technology, the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory has earned two Carnegie Science Awards from the Carnegie Science Center. NETL representatives will receive the Advanced Materials Award and the Corporate Innovation Award at the 17th annual award ceremony to be held May 3, 2013, at Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh.

February 14, 2013
NETL Research Results in New U.S. Patents
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) received nine patents in 2012 for innovations that address the Nation’s energy challenges. The patents include an integrated process for removing pollutants from fossil-fuel combustion systems; a metallurgical melting process to produce defective-free metal ingots; catalysts that make it easier to reform hydrocarbon fuels; stainless steel compositions and heat treatment processes to enhance stainless steel durability; a method to measure the circulation rate of coal solids in gasification reactors; and a process to separate and purify carbon dioxide (CO₂). Deployment of these technologies will enhance energy efficiency, improve metallurgical processes, and allow for better emissions monitoring and control.

February 8, 2013
Researching the Climate Change Implications of Methane Hydrates
What role do methane hydrates play in the global carbon cycle? How might Earth's vast stores of hydrates respond to a warming climate?  What impacts could large-scale gas hydrate dissociation have on the world's environment?  Working with other federal agencies and academia, NETL seeks to answer these and other vexing questions about methane hydrates or "fire ice." Read about this research in the latest edition of Environment Coastal & Offshore magazine here.  Browse the entire edition here.

January 31, 2013
Fossil Energy-Developed Fuel Cell Technology Being Adapted by Navy for Advanced Unmanned Undersea Vehicles
Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology being developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for coal-based central power generation is being adapted by the U.S. Office of Naval Research for use in advanced unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs).

January 29, 2013
DOE-Supported Project Advances Clean Coal, Carbon Capture Technology
Researchers at The Ohio State University (OSU) have successfully completed more than 200 hours of continuous operation of their patented Coal-Direct Chemical Looping (CDCL) technology - a one-step process to produce both electric power and high-purity carbon dioxide (CO₂). The test, led by OSU Professor Liang-Shih Fan, represents the longest integrated operation of chemical looping technology anywhere in the world to date.

January 28, 2013
New Set of Computational Tools and Models Expected to Help Enable Rapid Development and Deployment of Carbon Capture Technologies
An eagerly anticipated suite of 21 computational tools and models to help enable rapid development and deployment of new carbon capture technologies is now available from the Carbon Capture Simulation Initiative (CCSI). The toolset developed by CCSI, a public-private partnership led by the Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory, will help meet an urgent need by industry to take carbon capture concepts from the laboratory to the power plant more quickly, at lower cost and with reduced risk.

January 28, 2013
Breakthrough Large-Scale Industrial Project Begins Carbon Capture and Utilization
A breakthrough carbon capture, utilization, and storage project in Texas has begun capturing carbon dioxide and piping it to an oilfield for use in enhanced oil recovery. The project at Air Products and Chemicals hydrogen production facility in Port Arthur, Texas, is significant for demonstrating both the effectiveness and commercial viability of CCUS technology as an option in helping mitigate atmospheric CO2 emissions.

January 17, 2013
New Agreement Makes Innovative NETL Simulator Training Available to Pierpont Students
Community and technical college students in West Virginia will learn about the safe, efficient, and reliable operation of clean energy plants utilizing unique simulator based training in a new agreement signed with the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

January 15, 2013
NETL's New Supercomputer Ranks Among the World's Top 100
One of the world’s fastest, most energy-efficient supercomputers – expected to help energy researchers discover new materials, optimize designs and better predict operational characteristics – is up and running at the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Morgantown, W.Va.