January 2025
Coming Soon: NREL's Most Powerful Research Wind Turbine Yet
A new 3.4-megawatt turbine will be added to NREL's Flatirons Campus to expand the capabilities of researchers focused on wind energy, grid integration, and more.
Early Career Spotlight: Scientist Carlos Baez-Cotto's Journey From Puerto Rico to NREL
Each month, the Materials, Chemical, and Computational Science Early Career Spotlight features one of the directorate's researchers to explore their interests, motivations, and achievements.
Closing the Loop: How NREL's Advanced Diagnostics Enable a Circular Battery Future
Battery experts at NREL are teaming up with researchers from Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc., Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Baker Hughes' Waygate Technologies to resolve bottlenecks facing the EV battery supply chain.
Strengthening Energy Resilience: NREL's Commitment to Disaster Recovery
NREL has been at the forefront of supporting communities in rebuilding and enhancing their energy systems for over a decade and provides insights into effective strategies for community and infrastructure resilience.
News Release: Improving Tandem Efficiency Can Lower Solar Photovoltaic Module Cost Per Watt
Increasing module efficiency and expanding manufacturing capacity play complementary roles in reducing costs of metal halide perovskite/silicon tandem solar modules, according to researchers at NREL.
HBCU Energy Education Prize Returns With Second Round of Its Inspire Track
Round 2 of the HBCU Clean Energy Education Prize Inspire Track is now open, supporting HBCUs in developing summer or academic-break STEM education programs that inspire K–12 and community college students to pursue energy careers.
NREL-Developed Silicon Carbide Inverter Part of Production-Intent Program at John Deere
In collaboration with John Deere, NREL researchers helped develop a a 200-kilowatt, 1,050-volt silicon carbide traction inverter with never-before-seen performance that is now part of a production-intent program at John Deere.
NREL's 2024 Standard Scenarios Now Available
Marking its 10th annual release, the 2024 Standard Scenarios provides valuable information on future trends in energy technology deployment and generation, energy costs, and emissions.
December 2024
Transportation Research Board To Recognize NREL Mobility Researchers at Annual Meeting
NREL will be in the spotlight at the 104th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board this month.
Two NREL Researchers Selected as Fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Two researchers from NREL have been named fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The New York-based organization bestowed the honor this fall to Zhiwen Ma and Bidzina Kekelia. Both men are senior engineers, and each holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering.
NREL Celebrates Another Year of Groundbreaking Research
These 20 stories highlight some of the laboratory's most impactful moments from 2024.
President Carter's Vision Helped Launch SERI and NREL
The staff of what is now NREL owes a considerable debt to former President Jimmy Carter. NREL was originally known as the Solar Energy Research Institute, founded in 1977 by the Carter administration.
JISEA and Colorado State University Plant Seeds of Sustainable Agriculture Through New Collaboration
JISEA Sustainable Agriculture Catalyzer convenes stakeholders to inform agricultural sustainability and resilience.
Community Solar and Beyond
Community solar—a solar energy deployment model that allows customers to buy or lease part of a larger shared solar photovoltaic (PV) system—is a growing area of PV development.
NREL's International Work Bridges Innovation and Development―With Benefits at Home and Abroad
NREL's partnerships with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of State, and countries and organizations across the globe are accelerating social, technical, and economic development worldwide.
NREL Partners With Academic Institutions To Boost Fundamental Research Training and Capacity at US Universities
DOE Office of Science-funded programs connect NREL researchers with students and faculty from historically underrepresented institutions, expanding the pool of American universities training the next generation of scientists and building research capacity at these institutions.
NREL Collaboration Could Realize Significant Energy Savings for Farm Tractors
A collaboration between NREL and Purdue University to create an optimized hydraulic system for farm tractors could increase their hydraulic efficiency by 50%.
Partnerships Grow at Clip of One per Day To Fast-Track Advanced Energy Solutions
Bringing new technologies to market is not for the faint at heart. Slow down and you might lose development momentum.
How NREL's Brooks Tellekamp Explores the Next Generation of Materials for More Efficient LEDs and Power Electronics
Brooks Tellekamp found his way to science through his high school's computing infrastructure. He helped the school's information technology expert, a retired Honeywell engineer who had worked on NASA contracts, to address computing infrastructure needs.
Bethany Frew's Farm Upbringing Led to a Systems Approach and a Renewable Energy Harvest
Because of her curiosity and expertise, she was selected as one of NREL's 2024 Distinguished Members of Research Staff.
Last Updated May 28, 2025