Energy leaders from around the world converged on NETL Pittsburgh Wednesday for an up-close review of the Lab’s growing expertise in a range of cutting-edge energy research areas including carbon dioxide (CO2) storage, conversion, and utilization; development of carbon free fuels; use of drones to monitor emissions from oil and gas production; and advanced alloy development.

NETL Director Brian Anderson hosted representatives from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Energy Team at the Lab’s Pittsburgh site today where they discussed how NETL energy analysis expertise can help support the nation’s transition to a clean energy future. The group also toured several NETL facilities focused on developing decarbonization technologies.

A unique partnership between NETL and the City of Pittsburgh supports the development of energy districts designed to meet the energy needs of individual neighborhoods using highly efficient and cost-effective technologies. In 2015, NETL and Pittsburgh leaders signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to transform the city’s energy system and aging infrastructure by implementing a “grid of microgrids” concept that spanned nine energy districts.

NETL has published “Cost of Capturing CO2 From Industrial Sources,” an update to an

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $156 million in funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for a first-of-a-kind facility to extract and separate rare earth elements (REE) and critical minerals (CM) from unconventional sources like mining waste.

With use of aerial drones increasing, NETL has been a major player in this area of technological development and is working on a new program with its partners to enhance the performance of America’s energy infrastructure and improve environmental integrity.

George Guthrie, Ph.D., has been named principal deputy director of NETL. Guthrie joins NETL from Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he served as deputy director for the applied energy programs, leading a diverse portfolio of applied R&D in applied energy and helping to establish and lead a place-based initiative in energy transition for the intermountain west. Guthrie is a scientist with over 30 years of experience in geosciences and applied-energy applications.

NETL researchers’ detective work to locate abandoned and undocumented oil and gas wells using drone flights, electromagnetic field detectors, light detecting and ranging (LiDAR) technology and even operation of a user friendly tip line were detailed in an article in National Geographic Magazine, one of the most widely read magazines of all time.

NETL experts will discuss research that supports expanding the use of hydrogen-fueled gas turbines to produce clean electricity while meeting environmental standards for low emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), pollutants that contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain.

The University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center’s (EERC) Produced Water Management Through Geologic Homogenization, Conditioning and Reuse (GHCR) project — funded by NETL and developed in partnership with the North Dakota Industrial Commission Oil and Gas Research Program and Nuverra Environmental Solutions — is a finalist in the Oil and Gas category of the 2022 Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Global Awards.