February 2023
Q&A With Mou Paul: Artist Making Better Fuel Cells, Water Treatment Systems, and Cheese
As part of the Manufacturing Masterminds Q&A profile series, NREL senior staff scientist Mou Paul shares how she wanted to be a "great writer and a great scientist, too." Today, Paul has published fictional short stories as well as more than 40 scientific publications, won several high-profile awards, and earned more than 50 patents.
Leader in Geospatial Data Science Named Most Promising Scientist
From geospatial modeler to role model, Anthony Lopez shines in the STEM community.
NREL Removes Initial Barrier to Distributed Wind Turbine Certification
By funding the cost of preliminary reviews for certification applicants, NREL is helping ensure that small- and medium-sized turbine designs can be certified for use in homes, schools, farms, and remote communities.
Matthew Beard and Garry Rumbles Elected Fellows of AAAS
This week, NREL researchers Garry Rumbles and Matthew Beard were announced as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
January 2023
Solar District Cup Finalist Teams Announced
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition announced today that 45 teams from 39 schools are advancing as finalists in the class of 2022–2023.
NREL Launches Synthetic Biology Project To Advance Biofuel Discovery Technologies With LanzaTech, Northwestern, and Yale
Carbon-negative production of biofuels and biochemicals will be the focus of a recent biosystems design project launched by NREL, LanzaTech NZ Inc., Northwestern University, and Yale University.
Paul Denholm Distinguished as IEEE Fellow for Extraordinary Work in Renewable Energy
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has selected Paul Denholm from NREL to be a 2023 fellow based on his contributions to energy storage and renewable energy systems.
Electric Aviation Is Arriving, and Cybersecurity Is High Priority
A new NREL report assesses potential cyber needs for electrifying aviation infrastructure and how key stakeholders like airlines, utilities, equipment suppliers, and regulators may implement a cybersecurity approach.
NREL Receives $3.4M in Federal Funding To Evaluate Safety of Next-Generation Electric Vehicle Batteries
Donal Finegan, an energy storage researcher at NREL, will conduct cutting-edge research on next-generation electric vehicle batteries with funding from the ARPA-E Electric Vehicles for American Low-carbon Living (EVs4ALL) initiative.
NREL Leads the Charge to Electric Trucks at Port of New York and New Jersey
A team of NREL researchers collected detailed vehicle analysis to show how drayage trucks operating at the Port of New York and New Jersey could be strong candidates for electrification. Each electrified truck would help slash 76 tons of carbon emissions per truck each year.
Department of Energy Honors 12 From NREL
Staffers from NREL were honored for their work in helping move the country further away from the use of fossil fuels. The Secretary of Energy Achievement Award ranks as the highest form of recognition for federal and contractor employees within the department (DOE).
News Release: Thin, Lightweight Layer Provides Radiation Barrier for Perovskites in Space, Protection From Elements on Earth
An ultrathin protective coating proves sufficient to protect a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and harden it against environmental factors on Earth, according to newly published research from NREL.
Hydrogen Blending as a Pathway Toward U.S. Decarbonization
To reduce the emissions from natural gas service, blending hydrogen into natural gas pipelines could prove to be a promising, cost-effective pathway.
Bring on the Seismic Noise
Ten teams have been named semifinalists in the American-Made Geothermal Geophone Prize, each earning $75,000 in cash prizes and $75,000 in vouchers for technical assistance to advance technologies that will help deploy the renewable energy supplied by the heat of the Earth.
Powering the Future: NREL Research Finds Opportunities for Breakthrough Battery Designs
Using ultramodern capabilities and world-class laboratory facilities, NREL's energy storage researchers continue to push battery boundaries with materials development, thermal management, diagnostics, and modeling.
IN² Demonstration: Getting V2G Good To Go
For its 10th cohort, the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) formed an all-demonstration group where each participant would scope and perform a demonstration of their technologies. The key part of NineDot Energy's success is understanding the time and place to improve the grid. During the past summer, NineDot Energy installed a demonstration of its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging system in Brooklyn, New York.
A Treasure Trove for Rural and Commercial-Scale Solar Projects
Publications from eight teams capture insights for communities seeking to harness the resiliency and economic benefits of solar energy.
Clean Energy to Communities Program Launches: Stakeholder-Informed Program Meets Communities Where They Are
The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and NREL interviewed 164 stakeholders from 95 communities—representing 40 states and six tribes—to inform the creation of its new community technical assistance program: Clean Energy to Communities (C2C).
New Model Could Help Break Through Inefficiencies of Common Water Treatment Systems
In the coming decades, water scarcity and insecurity is likely to intensify across much of the United States, which is why NREL researcher Hari Sitaraman is working to improve reverse osmosis systems.
Prize Winners Design Ways To Make the Most of Hydropower
The winners of the Hydropower Operations Optimization Prize, which launched in early 2022, used complex strategies, models, analytics, and machine learning to help hydropower meet challenges like demand, environmental requirements, flood management, and integration with solar power.
Last Updated May 28, 2025