News and Feature Stories
The following news stories take an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at how NREL is advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
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July 2022
July 18, 2022
NREL Researchers Create Order From Quantum Chaos
In a new paper in PNAS, NREL researchers tackle one of the fundamental problems in quantum information science: how to produce pure elements of quantum information at practical temperatures.
July 18, 2022
Build Your Team! Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge Opens Registration
Want to design a zero-energy building while still in school? Register now and form a 2023 Design Challenge team to develop sustainable building expertise and tackle real-world problems through the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® collegiate competition.
July 15, 2022
NREL Set To Receive $5.4 Million in Funding To Research Turning Buildings Into Carbon Storage Structures
NREL has been selected to receive over $5.4 million from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for the development of technologies that can transform buildings into carbon storage structures.
July 15, 2022
NREL Addresses Energy Challenges for Sustainable Aviation
From sustainable fuels to airport infrastructure analysis to next-gen aircraft, NREL offers solutions for lowering emissions in a sector that is among the most difficult to decarbonize.
July 11, 2022
NREL OpenPATH Tool Enables Expanded E-Bike Pilot Program To Demonstrate Energy-Efficiency Benefits
The transportation sector is one of the largest contributors to the nation's carbon emissions. The fastest-growing form of electric vehicle made to help combat climate change, however, is not an electric car.
July 7, 2022
Solar Decathlon Honored With U.S. Green Building Council Leadership Award
Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon was honored with the Malcolm Lewis IMPACT! Award during the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Live conference.
July 6, 2022
NREL Innovations Open Door to Industry Collaboration, Commercialization
NREL researchers made for an inventive bunch in fiscal year 2021, even exceeding record-breaking activity in FY '20. A patent issued in November 2021 for compressed gas energy storage, for example, which covers the idea of injecting compressed natural gas into defunct oil and gas fracking sites, accounted for just one of 36 issued patents in FY '21.
July 1, 2022
NREL Scientists Explore How To Make PV Even Greener
How do we reduce the carbon impact of an already green technology?
July 1, 2022
DOE Recognizes NREL Hydrogen Researchers at 2022 Annual Merit Review Awards
The U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen Program recently honored three NREL researchers for their outstanding achievements at the 2022 Annual Merit Review and Peer Evaluation Meeting.
June 2022
June 29, 2022
News Release: Scientists Look to the Sky in Effort To Mitigate Carbon Problem
A global research effort spearheaded by NREL has assessed two promising technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While still in the early stages of development, direct air carbon capture and sequestration--together with other carbon dioxide removal strategies--are considered critical to achieving a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy.
June 27, 2022
News Release: NREL Analysis Highlights Strategies Beyond Recycling To Bolster Circular Economy for Solar and Battery Technologies
In a new comprehensive literature review, researchers at NREL discovered that alternatives to recycling may have untapped potential to build an effective circular economy for solar photovoltaic and battery technologies, such as reducing the use of virgin materials in manufacturing, reusing for new applications, and extending product life spans.
June 23, 2022
News Release: NREL Names Jennifer Logan to Leadership Team as Chief Financial Officer
Jennifer Logan joins NREL from the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Virginia, where she has served as chief financial officer and business/finance director. She will start with NREL on June 27, 2022.
June 17, 2022
Powering Ghana: USAID and NREL Provide Technical Assistance To Develop First Hydro-Solar Plant in West Africa
The first West African hydro-solar plant was deployed in Ghana in January, with technical support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
June 16, 2022
Q&A With Robynne Murray: Rebel With A Cause--And an Ice Axe
Growing up in Canada, Robynne Murray got her hands dirty clam digging in the Bay of Fundy. Now, at NREL, the mechanical engineer likes getting her hands dirty, manufacturing and evaluating new materials--like recyclable plastics and carbon fibers--for wind and tidal turbines and electric vehicles.
June 15, 2022
12 New Remote and Island Communities Join the Journey to Energy Resilience
The latest additions to the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project (ETIPP) more than double the number of communities advancing local energy goals through this DOE-funded, multi-lab, multi-partner effort.
June 15, 2022
Co-Optima Crosses the Finish Line
Just as the wheels keep turning on cars, trucks, and trains, the planet keeps spinning in its orbit. All the while, climate change is accelerating, along with the dire need to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions responsible for global warming.
June 15, 2022
American-Made Solar Prize Kicks Off Round 6
The sixth round of competition offers $4.1 million in prizes for those ready to revolutionize the solar industry.
June 15, 2022
Mining and Geothermal Industries Could Strike G.O.L.D. Through Partnership
A partnership between the mining and geothermal industries could lead both toward a more lucrative and greener future.
June 14, 2022
International Standards Are More Important (and Interesting) Than Most People Think
A new strategic business plan for marine energy standards showcases how close the industry is to wide-scale commercial use.
June 14, 2022
News Release: New Additives to Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells Boost Efficiency, Stability
Scientists at NREL have demonstrated a tin-lead perovskite cell that overcomes problems with stability and improves efficiency. The new cell, a tandem design with two layers of perovskites, measured a 25.5% efficiency.
June 14, 2022
Introducing the 2022 Electricity Annual Technology Baseline
Here's What You Need to Know About This Year's Annual Technology Baseline, Including Distributed Wind and Pumped Storage Hydropower Supply Curve Data for the First Time
June 13, 2022
NREL Is Helping Develop Colombia's Next Generation of Renewable Energy Leaders
NREL is building up young energy leaders in Colombia through hands-on training and education. A cohort of early-career energy sector leaders from Colombia traveled to NREL's campus in May 2022 to tour the facilities, learn from NREL's experts, and collaborate in person after nearly three years of working together virtually.
June 9, 2022
An Inventor Retires as His Solar Technology Takes Flight
When Greg Glatzmaier left NREL for the last time after a career that spanned four decades, he was already planning trips to Nevada and Spain. But not to play poker or hang out on the beach.
June 9, 2022
News Release: NREL Announces Participants for the 2022 Executive Energy Leadership Program
NREL has selected 20 leaders to participate in its 2022 Executive Energy Leadership program, which provides nontechnical businesses, governmental, and community leaders an opportunity to learn about advanced energy technologies, analytical tools, and financing to guide energy-related decisions and planning.
June 8, 2022
Fast Flow Future for Heavy-Duty Hydrogen Trucks
As the culmination of two years of work on the Innovating High Throughput Hydrogen Stations (IHS) Project, NREL researchers have successfully demonstrated high-flow-rate hydrogen fueling into a heavy-duty (HD) vehicle system.
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