The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy has announced up to $2.75 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects. Future amounts are subject to congressional appropriations. This funding is available under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0001854 , Innovative Technology Development to Enhance Fossil Power Systems Operability, Reliability, and Economic Performance. Selected projects will support DOE’s Fossil Energy Crosscutting Research Program, which bridges basic R&D of innovative technologies to the successful development of ultra-clean, reliable, high-efficiency fossil energy power systems. The goal is to seek innovative R&D projects to improve the performance, cost, and reliability of fossil energy technologies. 

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy has announced up to $2.75 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects. Future amounts are subject to congressional appropriations. This funding is available under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0001854 , Innovative Technology Development to Enhance Fossil Power Systems Operability, Reliability, and Economic Performance. Selected projects will support DOE’s Fossil Energy Crosscutting Research Program, which bridges basic R&D of innovative technologies to the successful development of ultra-clean, reliable, high-efficiency fossil energy power systems. The goal is to seek innovative R&D projects to improve the performance, cost, and reliability of fossil energy technologies. 

As our nation expands its technological horizons and stretches the boundaries of what is currently feasible, we open doors to a future that is bright with promise. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are the tools required to empower that promising future. Through advances in STEM, we can solve our nation’s energy and environmental challenges, maintain American competitiveness, and usher in a new era of prosperity and sustainability.   Reaching these new heights requires teamwork, dedication, and knowledge. It also requires a domestic workforce that is available and qualified for the jobs of the future. In 2017, The U.S. Department of Energy launched a new campaign to ensure a STEM-ready workforce, to take on the energy and environmental challenges of our future, to equip our nation for new jobs, and inspire the next generation of innovators. The initiative is STEM Rising and it’s a call to inspire, educate, and spark an upward trajectory to lifelong success through STEM. AnneMarie Horowitz, director of the STEM Rising program, said that DOE takes its responsibility as a STEM leader seriously.

The National Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP) Toolset has been selected as a finalist for a prestigious R&D 100 Award. NRAP is an NETL-led multi-lab partnership that also includes Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, Los Alamos National Lab, and Pacific Northwest National Lab. The Toolset is a software package that includes 10 science-based computational tools that predict environmental risk performance of geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) storage sites. These tools support industry and regulatory stakeholders as they design and implement safe and effective geologic carbon storage projects to sequester the large volumes of human-made CO2.

Today, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry (DOE) announced a new high-performance computing (HPC) initiative that will help U.S. industry accelerate the development of new or improved materials for use in severe environments.  “The High Performance Computing for Materials Program will provide opportunities for our industry partners to access the high-performance computing capabilities and expertise of DOE’s national labs as they work to create and improve technologies that combat extreme conditions,” said Secretary Perry. “This initiative combines two, crucial elements of the Administration’s mission at DOE – advances in high-performance computing and the improved transition of energy technologies to market.”

Multiphase flow research examines the way materials in different states like gas, liquid or solids with different chemical properties mix and flow together. Multiphase flows occur in most commercial energy and environmental processes, and understanding the interaction among these phases is critical to understanding and predicting the performance of many energy system devices. It’s a complex area of investigation but one which holds the key to unlocking advanced energy applications like using biomass feedstocks in energy-producing reactors. NETL, along with a team of researchers from other DOE National Laboratories, is on the task.  Biomass is an energy source from plants like wood, food crops, agriculture or forestry residues, algae or even fumes from landfills. But much work remains to find the most efficient ways to use biomass as an energy source. That’s why NETL researchers are applying their skills in multiphase flow to help design systems to effectively unlock energy from this renewable feedstock.

Chemical reactors—like fluidized beds, transport beds, and gasifiers—are critical and complex components of power generation systems that involve a variety of multiphase chemical reactions. Understanding the reactions and designing optimized reactors requires intricate modeling and simulation. A new toolset being developed by NETL multiphase flow science experts will make the optimization process faster and more efficient. NETL modeling and simulation experts are creating a new toolset for optimizing chemical reactors with the goal of creating technologies to reduce costs and increase efficiency of coal-based power generation systems. “The toolset has the potential to redefine how innovation comes about,” said Dr. Dirk Van Essendelft of NETL’s multiphase flow science team. “These new simulation and modeling tools will change how the technology development community conceptualizes, designs, and builds coal conversion reactors and plants that are economically attractive while reducing the environmental impact of fossil energy use.”

NETL is collaborating with Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (LBNL) and the University of Colorado Boulder to develop MFIX-Exa, the next generation of NETL’s internationally acclaimed Multiphase Flow with Interphase Exchanges (MFIX)—a suite of specialized computational fluid dynamic codes (CFDs) that help researchers study the simultaneous flow of gases, liquids, or solid materials.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in collaboration with Allegheny County’s Executive Office and the Allegheny County Housing Authority, hosted a Remake Learning Lab Day on May 24, 2017, at NETL’s South Park, Pa., site outside of Pittsburgh. Remake Learning Days offer innovative learning experiences for children. NETL’s program seeks to pique student interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This year’s Lab Day featured laboratory tours, presentations, and hands-on science activities led by a diverse group of laboratory professionals.   Remake Learning is a professional network of educators and innovators working together to enrich education for children and their families, caregivers, and educators. The network, which comprises more than 250 organizations, is a collaborative effort to inspire and empower lifelong learning in Pittsburgh, West Virginia, and beyond.

Contrary to that old cooking adage, “a watched pot never boils,” keeping a careful eye on things—in the kitchen or in the laboratory—can be essential to making a useable (or edible!) final product. Take chocolate, for instance, that foundational block of the food pyramid. An important part of creating high-grade chocolate is a step called tempering, or the melting, stirring, and cooling of the liquid chocolate to align the crystals that give it a smooth texture and a glossy shine. One of the key senses chocolatiers use to monitor tempering is sight, giving them information on the thickness and color of the batch to make sure it tempers evenly as it cools. But what if they had to do it blind?