NETL technology initially used for carbon capture applications can play a significant role in removing toxic metals that flow from thousands of abandoned and active mines across the nation to pollute streams, destroy aquatic life and contaminate water supplies. Multi-functional Sorbent Technology (MUST) represents a game-changing, low-cost process to mitigate the devastating effects of acid mine drainage (AMD) on waterways, groundwater and fragile aquatic ecosystems.

The latest developments in applying big data concepts, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), to the energy sector by NETL were shared at the 2022 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Cybersecurity and Technology Innovation Conference held June 16-19 in a hybrid virtual and in-person setting.

NETL researchers have collaborated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, other contributing national laboratories and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Regional Initiative to Accelerate Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Deployment to release the report “Rules and Tools Crosswalk: A Compendium of Computational Tools to Support Geologic Carbon Storage Environmentally Protective UIC Class VI Permitting.”

The accomplishments of NETL’s Richard Dennis to advance the development of high-efficiency turbines for low-cost power generation were recognized at Turbo Expo 2022, a conference held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, for world leaders in the fields of turbomachinery and propulsion engineering.

NETL Director Brian Anderson highlighted new job opportunities as the U.S. transitions to a clean energy power sector and economy during the National Association of State Energy Officials’ (NASEO) 2022 Mid-Atlantic regional meeting in Charleston, West Virginia June 29.

The June 2022 edition of the RWFI E-Note Monthly, NETL’s Regional Workforce Initiative (RWFI) newsletter, is now available and includes details on a range of grant funding and training opportunities.

NETL is supporting a partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to launch and host the 2022 Global Clean Energy Action Forum September 21-23 in Pittsburgh.

Working as part of a three-year cooperative agreement with DOE-NETL, researchers have demonstrated that algae grown using carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by a fossil energy power plant can be processed into a nutrient-rich supplement for chicken feed to produce quality eggs and poultry products. 

A portable and economic process for quickly extracting lithium from natural brines and produced water from oil and gas extraction has been developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s NETL and is attracting commercialization attention from private industry as the world transitions to electric vehicles and develops renewable energy generators that store surplus electricity in batteries for future use.

NETL’s Natalie Pekney led a career development panel featuring women from across the U.S. Department of Energy during a virtual segment of the 2022 GirlCon, held Friday, June 17. Pekney joined Kate Klise and Christine Downs from Sandia National Laboratory, Charu Varadharajan from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Chris Morency from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as they discussed their day-to-day routines and offered words of wisdom for working for the federal government.