The latest edition of Water-Energy Nexus News is packed with research efforts undertaken by NETL and its partners to deliver world-class technology solutions that enhance the nation’s energy foundation while helping to protect water resources for future generations. This quarter’s newsletter explores the development of ProteusLib, an open-source library of water treatment models built on NETL’s Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) platform. This work is creating a tool to complete technoeconomic assessments of early-stage water treatment technologies. Other updates in this edition of the newsletter include:

NETL researchers, working closely with experts at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), have designed a multi-cloud-based computational solution to complement on-site resources that will accelerate clean energy research across the agency.  The team then tested the cloud environment using the powerful NETL-developed deep-learning tool SmartSearch©, which helps to mitigate one of the biggest draws on a researcher’s time — searching for, acquiring, and transforming relevant data. 

The January 2022 edition of the RWFI E-Note Monthly, the newsletter of NETL’s Regional Workforce Initiative (RWFI), will include invitations for an upcoming webinar on the job-creating potential of hydrogen power. During the Energy 101 Webinar on Hydrogen and the Low-Carbon Economy, attendees will learn about the research being conducted by NETL in hydrogen technologies and how successes in research may lead to economic and workforce opportunities. The Biden Administration strives to create a clean energy sector, which can be achieved through a combination of hydrogen production from the country’s energy resources while simultaneously capturing and storing carbon dioxide. This approach holds great potential for workforce development. Attendance to the Energy 101 series is free, but spaces are limited. Interested parties are asked to register in advance for the event.

The December 2021 edition of the RWFI E-Note Monthly, the newsletter of NETL’s Regional Workforce Initiative, details deadline extensions for funding opportunities to establish a network of university-based, regional electric power cybersecurity centers. These centers are intended to address interrelated research and development challenges of cybersecurity and critical energy infrastructure and steps that need to be taken to build workforce expertise. The goal of this initiative is the creation of tools and training for the energy sector. The original deadline to engage with the University Based Cybersecurity Centers Program has been extended to Feb. 4, 2022. This month’s newsletter also highlights funding opportunities from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that focuses on increasing and broadening the participation of underrepresented researchers.

In this quarter’s Research Associate Spotlight and Mentor Profile, up-and-coming environmental engineer Preom Sarkar discusses the important contributions she is making in collaboration with NETL experts to create more environmentally friendly methods of flue gas desulfurization (FGD). FGD systems are used to scrub the gas released during fossil energy combustion to mitigate the release of pollutants such as sulfur oxide gases and mercury into the atmosphere. As a result of scrubbing, a complex wastewater containing a number of contaminants is formed that must be treated before it is acceptable for surface discharge. Sarkar conducts research on water management of power systems, with a specific focus on biological treatment of FGD systems. In this spotlight feature, Sarkar shares the journey that led her to apply for a research associate position at NETL and the new skills and invaluable experiences she has gained completing research with her mentor, Djuna Gulliver, Ph.D.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced its intent to fund projects through its University Training and Research Program, which is composed of the University Coal Research (UCR) program and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Other Minority Institutions (HBCU-OMI) program. The programs serve to prepare the next generation of engineers and scientists working to advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Projects will be managed by FECM’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Both opportunities would fund projects to conduct early-stage research and development of decarbonization approaches, such as exploring biomass feedstocks blended with waste coal and coupled with carbon capture and dedicated storage to advance net-zero energy production. They would also include projects that address the mitigation and remediation of legacy environmental impacts of coal-based generation.

The November 2021 edition of RWFI E-Note Monthly, the newsletter of NETL’s Regional Workforce Initiative, details a funding opportunity from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that focuses on increasing and broadening the participation of students in engineering careers. The NSF seeks to strengthen the future U.S. engineering workforce by enabling and encouraging the participation of all citizens in the engineering enterprise. The Broadening Participation in Engineering Program is supporting not only research to increase interest in engineering, but also collaborative endeavors to foster the professional development of a diverse and well-prepared engineering workforce. In addition, the program encourages the development of innovative approaches to building capacity through inclusivity and equity within the engineering academic experience.

NETL researchers supporting computational science & engineering (CSE) are working to develop science-based simulation models, mathematical methods and algorithms, and software tools required to address technical barriers to the advancement of next-generation technologies. This research helps to generate information and understanding beyond the reach of experiments alone, saving time, money and materials. The Lab accomplished many CSE successes in 2021. For example:

Advanced magnetics technologies with potential application in energy and electric vehicle manufacturing developed at NETL and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) were recently licensed to Pittsburgh-based startup CorePower Magnetics Inc. to bring them to the private sector. The technology license covers a broad portfolio of soft magnetics technologies developed by teams led by CMU’s Michael McHenry Ph.D., co-founder and chief scientist of CorePower Magnetics, and University of Pittsburgh’s Paul Ohodnicki Ph.D., co-founder and chief technology officer of CorePower Magnetics and former NETL researcher. This combination of novel magnetic materials and advanced manufacturing techniques enable a level of control in magnetics engineering not currently available. 

NETL’s ongoing water-energy research projects, including efforts to extract critical minerals (CMs) from water and other waste streams in support of the Administration’s work to revitalize coal, oil and gas, and powerplant communities impacted by the transition to clean energy, are highlighted in the latest edition of Water-Energy Nexus News. The newsletter recaps a presentation by Mengling Stuckman, Ph.D., in which she discussed the Lab’s research to support sustainable, domestic CM recovery from energy production waste streams. In remarks at a Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association water and waste management seminar, Stuckman explained how NETL’s efforts could help the U.S. end its reliance on foreign countries to obtain CMs. Other updates in this edition of Water-Energy Nexus News include: