NETL recently released version 20.3 of its world-renowned Multiphase Flow with Interphase eXchanges (MFiX) software suite, which included an improved modeling capability that allows for more accurate descriptions of real particle-size distributions, offering an important new tool for designing next-generation energy systems to power the nation. The new feature was sponsored by NETL’s Crosscutting Research Simulation-Based Engineering program. “Our discrete element method (DEM) in MFiX received a significant enhancement with this update,” NETL’s Jeff Dietiker, Ph.D., said. “Fundamental testing in our Multiphase Flow Laboratory also demonstrates that fluidization and flow behavior, even in cold flow systems, can be greatly impacted by the feed-size distribution, so this new version will add great value to our modeling work, especially for modeling larger-scale, complex reactor systems of mixed feedstocks like coal, biomass and plastics, where high fidelity is critical.”

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has announced $6.4 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development projects under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) FE-FOA 0002397, University Turbines Systems Research (UTSR) — Focus on Hydrogen Fuels. The UTSR Program conducts cutting-edge research to increase the efficiency and performance of gas turbines while lowering emissions. There is renewed interest in the use of hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel, for turbine-based electricity generation. Hydrogen production from fossil fuels, coupled with carbon capture, utilization, and storage, can generate low-cost hydrogen with net-negative carbon emissions. Waste plastics could be added to the fuel mix to produce large quantities of hydrogen and to mitigate the impact of plastics in the environment.

NETL-supported research at Virginia Tech has been recognized by the American Energy Society (AES) as one of the top energy and technology developments of the year for its game-changing economic potential to supply the United States with a steady domestic source of vitally important rare earth elements (REE). The project, titled “Development of a Cost-Effective Extraction Process for the Recovery of Heavy and Critical Rare Earth Elements from the Clays and Shales Associated with Coal,” was chosen by AES as one of the energy technologies of the year in its 2020 Energy Awards. Judges found the project was one of the three “most interesting energy-tech developments of 2020,” with respect to the projected fastest-to-market and long-term impact. AES recognized Virginia Tech’s research as a step forward in developing a domestic supply chain of rare earth elements, which are vital to the manufacturing of personal electronics, energy infrastructure and defense technologies, among many other high-tech applications.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) announced plans to make more than $7 million in Federal funding available for cost-shared research and development to support the design, validation, and fabrication of a prototype carbon-based building. Funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002438, Design, R&D, Validation, and Fabrication of a Prototype Carbon-Based Building, seeks to solicit and competitively award research and development to validate carbon-based materials suitable for construction purposes. The FOA will include a single topic area that will focus on the design and build of a partial structure using carbon-based building materials.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has announced up to $5 million in federally funded financial assistance for research and development projects under the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002398, University Training and Research for Fossil Energy Applications. This funding opportunity will encompass two separate University programs, each with its own requirements and each with specific eligibility requirements. The two programs are University Coal Research (UCR) Program and Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Other Minority Institutions (HBCU-OMI) Program.

Innovative and reliable energy conversion systems are at the heart of America’s evolving energy infrastructure. They allow for the production of power, fuels and chemicals from both fossil fuels and renewable sources to provide the electricity that powers nearly every aspect of our daily lives. NETL’s role in advancing these systems ranges from designing novel experimental modeling tools to testing more efficient solutions to generating power and materials in ways that reduce environmental impact. In 2020, these advancements helped reduce time, cost and technical risk while enabling efficient operation to drive the energy systems of the future.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) have announced $3.3 million in Federal funding for cost-shared research and development projects under the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002399, Water Management for Thermal Power Generation. The FOA seeks to support the design, construction, and operation of engineering-scale prototypes of water treatment technologies for the nation’s existing and future fleet of thermoelectric power plants. It is envisioned that fossil asset owners or operators and technology developers will collaborate and advance near-term water treatment solutions that can be commercially deployed.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE) and NETL has selected 14 projects to receive $8.7 million in Federal funding for cost-shared research and development under Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002185, Coal-Derived Materials for Building, Infrastructure, and Other Applications, with the goal of fostering new uses for domestic coal resources. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage the projects, which will support the Lab’s Advanced Coal Processing Technologies Program. The program is focused on improving coal feedstock for power production and steel-making, producing high-value solid products from coal, and alternative technologies to produce high-performance carbon material from coal.

Future novel hybrid energy systems could lead to paradigm shifts in clean energy production, according to a paper published last week in Joule. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) three applied energy laboratories — Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) — co‑authored the paper describing such integrated energy systems. Their effort outlines novel concepts to simultaneously leverage diverse energy generators — including renewable, nuclear, and fossil with carbon capture — to provide power, heat, mobility and other energy services. The historic collaboration between the nation’s Nuclear Energy, Renewable Energy and Fossil Energy labs aims to address a grand national challenge from an objective, holistic perspective.

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to algorithms that can — for a given set of human-defined objectives — learn, predict and make decisions, significantly increasing the speed and efficacy of decision-making. Most AI applications use machine learning (ML) to find patterns in massive amounts of data. The patterns are then used for making predictions. AI and ML have factored prominently in the Lab’s computational science and engineering (CSE) work in 2020 through the development of science-based simulation models, mathematical methods and algorithms and software tools required to address the technical barriers to the development of next-generation technologies. This research helps to generate information and understanding beyond the reach of experiments alone, saving time, money and materials.