NETL researchers pitched top-ranked clean energy technologies to potential industry, investment and government prospectors and partners during the recent TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo, earning TechConnect National Innovation Awards for their teams.

NETL’s Dustin McIntyre and Andrew Bean participated in TechConnect’s Innovation Challenge, which the organizer states is the largest multi-sector commercialization program for emerging deep technologies.

McIntyre showcased the Lab’s winning miniaturized laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) harsh environment sensor, which identifies elemental compositions of solids and liquids in the field, in real-time — essential for producing the nation’s energy while protecting the environment. McIntyre developed the LIBS sensor with his colleagues Daniel Hartzler and Chet Bhatt.

“Because the LIBS sensor is field-deployable, it has many potential on-site applications,” said McIntyre. “This includes critical carbon storage monitoring applications to assure that carbon dioxide captured from industrial sources will be safely and permanently sequestered underground.”

Bean presented NETL’s winning Advanced Infrastructure Integrity Modeling (AIIM), which integrates big data, big data computing, and multiple machine-learning and advanced spatial models to evaluate energy infrastructure integrity, identify potential infrastructure hazards, and support infrastructure use and reuse planning. AIIM was developed through the efforts of a team of NETL researchers and scientists that

includes Lucy Romeo, Andrew Bean, Jennifer Bauer, Kelly Rose, Alec Dyer, Rodrigo Duran, Madison Wenzlick, Dakota Zaengle, Isabelle Pfander, Patrick Wingo, Jake Nelson, Thomas Martin, Michael Sabbatino and Chukwuemeka Okoli.

“AIIM is a product of work sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management offshore oil spill prevention program,” said Bauer, principal investigator for the AIIM project. “However, AIIM also has strong and increasing relevance to offshore renewable, carbon storage, hydrogen and other sectors as the energy transition to carbon-neutral solutions may require use of or alignments with aging oil and gas offshore infrastructure. This work furthers the DOE mission space of ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy to drive a robust economy, national security and enabling environmental sustainability.”

Researcher participation in the Innovation Challenge was facilitated by Jessica Lamp, NETL’s technology transfer program manager, and her support team, who promoted the event and encouraged researchers to submit pitch applications. 

NETL is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.