2016 Annual Report

Researchers and inventors are in an innovation race to develop the technologies that will enable nations around the world to access reliable, affordable energy to fuel development and power prosperity, while, at the same time, ushering in a robust, vital age of environmental stewardship. The United States is at the forefront of this evolution. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is playing a significant role in ensuring the nation’s energy security by innovating safe, affordable, and increasingly sustainable ways to use our domestic fossil energy resources.

For the foreseeable future, coal, oil, and natural gas will continue to shoulder the bulk of our energy demands, providing reliable, affordable power for our businesses, homes, industries, and transportation. Through in-house research and strategic partnerships with industry and academia, NETL, the only U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratory dedicated to fossil energy research, is working to eliminate the environmental impacts of fossil fuels. Our research is focused on energy challenges such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions through capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO₂), developing more efficient energy conversion processes, and demonstrating novel advanced energy systems. As evidenced in this report, we have a solid record of success.

The 2016 fiscal year was a period of productivity and positive transition for NETL. We continued to cultivate a well-trained, dynamic workforce to accelerate technology advancements and reach our Lab’s energy, economic, and environmental goals. We placed a new emphasis on diversity to foster collaboration, fresh ideas, and new perspectives. We also undertook a strategic reorganization designed to maximize our Lab’s productivity around six core competencies, discussed in detail in the following pages, which are driving our researchers to develop technology solutions for today and options for tomorrow. NETL’s ongoing portfolio of responsibility features nearly 1,400 nationwide energy research activities that engage experts and facilities in the private sector, government, and some of the nation’s most prestigious research universities, with a total award value of more than $15 billion and a nearly $10 billion performer cost-share. By leveraging resources and blending skills and knowledge, we are able to efficiently and affordably create and deploy technologies to enhance the nation’s energy foundation and protect the environment for future generations.

NETL is a valuable resource for the nation, and I am proud to lead our talented and driven group of energy innovators. NETL and its predecessor labs have been at the center of technology development for more than a century, consistently creating safe, affordable, and environmentally sound technical solutions that satisfy the world’s need for energy. We are committed to continuing this important work.

I invite you to read the accomplishment highlights from the past year of NETL’s success that appear on the following pages.