The Lab presented its research in Gasification Systems, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Turbines, Sensors and Controls, Simulation-Based Engineering, University Training and Research and Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, technologies that will help realize a decarbonized economy and power sector, during the 2024 FECM/NETL Spring R&D Project Review Meeting in Pittsburgh April 23-25.

The event provided a public forum to present the results from more than 90 research projects funded by the Lab in support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) programs. Alexandra Hakala, NETL’s acting deputy director & chief research officer, and Bryan Morreale, NETL’s associate laboratory director for research & innovation, joined NETL Director Marianne Walck in participating in the meeting’s opening plenary session on April 23.

“The meeting was a wonderful opportunity for NETL to reacquaint itself with the research of its partners in academia, industry and other national laboratories, which is great for future collaboration, as the task of decarbonizing the economy is far too great a task for any one organization to tackle alone,” Walck said.

Hydrogen sourced from the country’s abundant natural gas supplies, coupled with new technologies and projects like carbon capture and storage, is an increasing focus of decarbonization efforts because of its potential to meet growing energy needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

During the project review meeting, NETL researchers delivered presentations on the Lab’s Advanced Energy Materials program, which is developing advanced alloys and high-performance materials that are key to realizing dispatchable, reliable, high-efficiency, decarbonized power generation from hydrogen.

Other NETL presentations explored the use of the Lab’s Institute for Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) platform for modeling and optimization to examine a complete range of technology options and ensure best choices are made to pursue avenues of decarbonization such as balancing costs, environmental sustainability and energy reliability.

Gasification research at NETL was also presented at the meeting. The Lab’s Gasification Program is developing innovative designs and technologies for converting diverse types of solid feedstocks into clean synthesis gas to enable the low-cost production of hydrogen, transportation fuels, chemicals, electricity, and other useful products to suit market needs. This crucial work supports the goals of clean hydrogen power, building a decarbonized economy and addressing environmental justice and job creation initiatives.

The Lab’s work in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) was also presented. The SOFC, as a fuel cell mode, is an electrochemical device that converts chemical energy of a fuel and oxidant directly into electrical energy. It can also function in water electrolyzer mode to produce hydrogen with a byproduct of oxygen. The NETL Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Program maintains a portfolio of research projects that address the technical issues facing the commercialization of SOFC and reversible SOFC technologies and includes pilot-scale testing projects intended to validate the solutions to those issues.

The Lab also hosted a contest for best student presentations and posters of the project review meeting in recognition of exceptional students supporting its R&D projects. Winners of the best poster presentation award were Gabriel Bonsall (Lehigh University) and Christopher Varela (University of Central Florida). Winners of the best paper presentation award were Zachary Chanoi (University of Texas at El Paso), Tanner Olson (Michigan Technological University), Filip Grajkowski (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Kevser (Hilal) Bektas (North Carolina State University).

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.