NETL Director Brian Anderson, Ph.D., will be a key panelist for a discussion of scientific achievements and the role of national laboratories in advancing energy transition during the 40th annual CERAWeek – the world’s preeminent energy conference set for Tuesday, March 8 in Houston, Texas. CERAWeek brings together global leaders to advance new ideas, insight and solutions to the biggest challenges facing the future of energy, the environment and climate. The event will be attended by public and private sector leaders from energy and utility industries and representatives from the automotive, manufacturing, policy and financial communities.  Speakers this year will include DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and a host of experts, authors, government officials and representatives from more than 100 countries.

The tutelage and guidance provided by NETL’s Ruishu Wright as she mentors research associate Abhishek Venketeswaran demonstrates how the Lab is working to apply new concepts to the energy sector while fostering the careers of tomorrow’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) specialists. Venketeswaran grew up in India and developed a passion for mathematics at an early age, which prompted him to pursue engineering. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras. Venketeswaran went on to earn his doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University at Buffalo before joining NETL’s internship program in September 2019 as a post-doctoral research associate administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE).

Above: Illustration of a simplified capture unit and storage facility. A buildout of America’s evolving carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies offer noteworthy job growth potential with no significant supply chain risks, according to an NETL-authored report released Thursday by Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. CCS is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) formed during power generation and industrial processes and storing it so that it is not emitted into the atmosphere. CCS technologies have significant potential to reduce CO2 emissions in energy systems to attain the clean energy goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

The February 2022 edition of the RWFI E-Note Monthly, the newsletter of NETL’s Regional Workforce Initiative (RWFI), will include details on funding opportunities for advancing undergraduate STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is vital for ensuring the growth of a future work force. The NSF’s Education and Human Resources Directorate seeks to significantly enhance its support for research, development, implementation, and assessment to improve STEM education at the nation’s two-year colleges. NSF encourages bold, potentially transformative projects that address immediate challenges facing STEM education at two-year colleges. These projects may also anticipate new structures and functions of the STEM learning and teaching enterprise. 

Co-sponsored by NETL, the 7th International Supercritical CO2 Power Cycles Symposium kicked off in San Antonio, Texas today, presenting an opportunity for the Lab to network with partners and describe its work advancing supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycle technologies that can enable carbon capture while generating power. The Symposium is a technical meeting to unite industry, academia and government agencies to advance supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle technology. The goal of the symposium is to create a network of expertise and technical understanding in the field. The theme of this year’s event is “Advancing Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Cycles from the Laboratory to Large-Scale Operation.”

NETL’s Sofiane Benyahia, Ph.D., has received the Charles W. Pierce Distinguished Alumni Award from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. The award is presented annually and recognizes alumni who have brought recognition to IIT through their outstanding contributions to the advancement of the chemical and biological engineering profession and exceptional dedication and support to the university. The award will be presented at IIT in Chicago. In the early 1900s, IIT was one of a handful of universities that offered a formal course of study in chemical engineering. The award honors the legacy of Charles W. Pierce, who is not only the first graduate of the department but is also recognized as the first African American who earned a degree in chemical engineering. After earning his chemical engineering degree, Pierce taught at Tuskegee Normal College (now Tuskegee University), where colleagues included Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver, prominent African American scientists.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced two funding opportunities, totaling $6.1 million, for student training and research on remediating legacy pollution from coal-based electricity generation and using carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to generate low-carbon power. One funding opportunity will provide $3.1 million to support DOE’s University Coal Research (UCR) program, and the other opportunity will provide $2.2 million in support of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Other Minority Institutions (HBCU-OMI) program. Moreover, up to $800,000 in additional funding related to emissions control is available across both programs. This funding will support up to 20 student engineers and scientists working over 2-3 years on research projects related to technologies critical to advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.  

GTI and S&P Global Platts today launched the Open Hydrogen Initiative (OHI), a new collaboration focused on brining industry within the hydrogen marketplace together to provide further transparency into t he environmental impact of hydrogen production and help unlock its full potential as an important driver of energy transitions.  As part of this initiative, GTI has invited NETL to participate in the effort as a result of NETL’s deep expertise and capabilities in Life Cycle Analysis. There is a high degree of variability in the carbon intensity of hydrogen production, even using the same technologies or pathways. Precise measurements of hydrogen’s carbon intensity at the production facility (also known as the asset level) are needed to more accurately reflect the environmental bona fides of a given kilogram of hydrogen produced and overcome the limitations of the “color-wheel” labeling model. An apples-to-apples comparison of hydrogen production carbon intensity would hold benefits for stakeholders throughout the value chain — producers, users, engineers, academia, market participants, investors and policymakers.  

A detailed final report was released Monday, Feb. 14 by NETL that encapsulates public and private sector input and key themes associated with fossil energy’s role in enabling an accelerated and affordable clean hydrogen future. The report, “Enabling an Accelerated and Affordable Clean Hydrogen Future – Fossil Energy Sector’s Role Workshop Final Report, was based on a two-day workshop hosted by NETL and Gas Technology Institute (GTI) in September. 

NETL released an analysis tool that will assist commercial developers and researchers evaluate the costs of manufacturing large volumes of solid oxide cells (SOC) and stacks, aiding the development and commercialization of SOC technology.  Highly efficient, ultralow emission SOC technologies are uniquely suited to address environmental concerns associated with electric power generation and hydrogen production, helping to meet clean energy goals that call for a net-zero carbon emission electricity sector by 2035 and economy-wide net-zero emissions by 2050.