The Investment Pays Off

Commercial Successes from Fossil Energy R&D

MORE INFO National Energy Technology Laboratory's 2010

The Office of Fossil Energy's ultimate success comes when the advanced technologies emerging from our research activities are commercialized by the private sector. Presented here is solid evidence that the taxpayers' investment has paid real and measurable dividends. These are just a few recent examples of the technological innovations introduced through the Office of Fossil Energy R&D Program that now provide consumers cost-effective, clean, fossil fuel-based energy. 

• New Technologies that Enhance Environmental Protection, Increase Domestic Production, Result from DOE-Supported Consortium
  New technologies that help small, independent oil and natural gas operators contribute to domestic energy production while improving environmental protection have resulted from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) support of the Stripper Well Consortium (SWC). 

• DOE Research Grant Leads to Gas Turbine Manufacturing Improvements
  Research sponsored by DOE's Office of Fossil Energy has led to a new licensing agreement that will improve the performance of state-of-the-art gas turbines.

• Water Treatment System Cleans Marcellus Shale Wastewater
  A water treatment system that can turn wastewater into clean water has been shown to reduce potential environmental impacts associated with producing natural gas from shale formations in the Appalachian basin.

• Coronary Stents Improved by Novel Alloy
  Metallurgists at FE's National Energy Technology Laboratory have helped develop a new alloy that is increasing the safety of an important medical procedure by being used to manufacture more flexible and comfortable coronary stents.

• Fossil Energy R&D Returns Significant National Benefit in More Than Three Decades of Achievement
  R&D activities at DOE's Office of Fossil Energy have helped increase domestic energy supplies and security, lowered costs, improved efficiencies, and enhanced environmental protection over the past 30 years.

• DOE-Supported Coal Cleaning Technology Succeeds in Commercial Demonstration
  A novel technology that could help release some of the currently unusable energy in an estimated 2 billion tons of U.S. coal waste has been successfully demonstrated by a Department of Energy-supported project.

• Prestigious "Coal-Fired Project of the Year" Award Goes to Plant Demonstrating Innovative DOE-Funded Technology
  An innovative project demonstrating DryFining™ technology, a more cost-effective way to control coal-based power plant emissions while improving fuel quality, has been named the 2010 Coal-Fired Project of the Year by the editors of Power Engineering magazine. The project, managed by the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, was developed with funding from the Department of Energy’s Clean Coal Power Initiative and was originally implemented at Great River Energy's Coal Creek Station in Underwood, ND, in 2009.
• NETL's High-Speed Imaging System Successfully Applied in Medicine, Broad Spectrum of Industry
  A groundbreaking Department of Energy-developed imaging system originally designed to help create cleaner fossil energy processes is finding successful applications in a wide range of medical, chemical processing, energy, and other industries.
• Innovative Telemetry System Will Help Tap Hard-to-Reach Natural Gas Resources
  The commercialization of an innovative telemetry communications system developed through a U.S. Department of Energy research program will help U.S. producers tap previously hard-to-reach natural gas resources deep underground, resulting in access to additional supplies that will help enhance national energy security.
• Successful Clean Coal Technology Licensed for Commercial Application
  The U.S. Department of Energy has received the first installment from a repayment agreement for the Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH™) Process. A royalty license issued for the advanced methanol production system underscores the clean coal technology’s presence in the commercial market.
• Innovative Drying Technology Extracts More Energy from High Moisture Coal
  An innovative coal-drying technology that will extract more energy from high moisture coal at less cost and simultaneously reduce potentially harmful emissions is ready for commercial use after successful testing at a Minnesota electric utility. The DryFining(TM) technology was developed with funding from the first round of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI).