A new study by NETL researchers, in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers, demonstrated that existing U.S. underground gas storage (UGS) facilities can viably store hydrogen-methane blends, reducing the need to build new hydrogen infrastructure while meeting a range of the hydrogen demand projected for 2050 and helping to support the transition to a clean hydrogen economy.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) and DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) today announced nearly $47 million in funding for 22 research projects to advance the development of new and innovative measurement, monitoring, and mitigation technologies to help detect, quantify, and reduce methane emissions across oil and natural gas producing regions of the United States.

NETL will provide technical support and expertise to award the American-Made Direct Air Capture (DAC) Prizes, a series of interconnected competitions offering up to $115 million to advance carbon dioxide (CO2) removal technologies from hard-to-decarbonize sectors of the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) announced $6 million in funding for six university-led research and development projects that will repurpose domestic coal resources for high-value graphitic products and carbon-metal composites that can be employed in clean energy technologies.

Aluminum is a critical element used in thousands of important products, but it can often interfere with quick and effective extraction of valuable rare earth elements (REEs) from coal waste byproducts. Because aluminum interferes with the recovery of REEs from some sources, NETL researchers developed an effective, renewable, technology that can detect aluminum in liquids for removal, clearing the way for effective recovery of REEs.

March is Women’s History Month, providing NETL with an excellent opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women from across the Lab. As part of the celebration, women throughout our organization were invited to explain why it’s important for NETL to foster gender diversity within its workforce and discuss the steps they take to encourage more women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or other careers at NETL.

NETL researchers who asked the question — “How can we use coal without burning it and generating greenhouse gas?” — have been awarded a U.S. patent for an invention that transforms coal into a game-changing material to manufacture valuable products and generate jobs in coal communities as the nation transitions to clean energy.

North Allegheny’s Marshall Middle School Team 1 captured first place at the 32nd Western Pennsylvania Science Bowl (WPASB) middle school competition, which was held Saturday, March 4. Twenty-five teams from the region competed in the event, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NETL.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) and the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) today announced $4.5 million in funding for Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) to study ways to improve turbine performance and efficiency. This research supports our Nation’s efforts to ramp up the use of low-carbon fuels—including sustainable aviation fuels and hydrogen for power production—to help achieve the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.  

NETL researchers have reported the successful use of microwaves to accelerate sorbent regeneration – results that can lead to substantial reduction of expensive water and energy requirements of some promising direct air capture (DAC) technologies.