Heather Quedenfeld has been named chief operating officer of NETL. During her 32 years of federal service, Quedenfeld has worked in all technology program-related areas, resulting in diverse experience at the NETL. She has held numerous senior level positions, including acting chief operating officer, deputy director for the Technology Development Center, associate director for Carbon Management research, acting chief of staff for the Laboratory director, and acting lead for the Office of Science and Technology Career Management. 

The continual growth of geologic carbon storage projects calls for the growth of comprehensive data resources to support project planning, geologic characterization and risk analysis. Researchers at NETL recently published a new dataset, the Catalog of U.S. Prospective Subsurface Storage Reservoir Sealing Formations, that aggregates prospective seal units for potential storage resources within the U.S. for geologic carbon storage in both onshore and offshore basins. 

Researchers from NETL, Blacksand Technologies LLC and the University of Utah are collaborating on a project to develop improved and low-cost manufacturing of ultralow oxygen reactive metal powders, which are used to create alloys needed for harsh energy-related environments.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management has announced that a NETL-led project focused on accelerating and de-risking critical minerals and materials (CMMs) technology development and commercialization will receive $75 million to develop the Critical Materials Supply Chain Research Facility (METALLIC), bringing the expertise of nine national laboratories to bear on the nation’s critical materials challenges.

Through the development, validation and application of a suite of multiphase flow tools, NETL has established itself as a leader in applying high-performance computing (HPC) to computationally demanding multiphase flow problems — research that is critical for designing next-generation energy systems that will meet the nation’s decarbonization goals.

Technology transfer officials from 13 Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories converged on NETL in Morgantown, West Virginia to exchange ideas, share successes related to efforts to move new energy technologies from laboratories to the marketplace, and meet with key NETL leaders.

Martin Webler, a business management specialist within NETL’s Technology Development Center (TDC), will retire at the end of March. During his 14-year tenure with the Lab he worked by the creed “People make jobs,” helping NETL grow, expand and change with the times.

By using software tools developed at the Lab, NETL helped co-author “Modeling Framework for Cost Optimization of Process-Scale Desalination Systems with Mineral Scaling and Precipitation,” which was recently published in the journal ACS ES&T Engineering.

NETL researchers have completed some of the first in-situ measurements of ammonia-fueled flames. The foundational combustion research will be used to validate computer models needed to design next-generation energy systems using ammonia as a carbon-free fuel.

NETL will showcase ongoing work by researchers from the public and private sectors to identify and address the nation’s greatest energy, environmental and economic challenges during the 2024 NETL Resource Sustainability Project Review Meeting, scheduled for April 2-4 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.