February 2021
Lighting the Path to Net Zero: NREL's Research Strategy Drives Deep Transportation Decarbonization
The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, accounting for about 28% of total carbon emissions. Turning that metric to zero stands as a critical task in the global push to drive down emissions to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
News Release: Groundbreaking Research into White-Rot Fungi Proves Its Value in Carbon Sequestration from Lignin
A foundational study conducted by scientists at NREL shows for the first time that white-rot fungi are able to use carbon captured from lignin as a carbon source.
Students Shed Light on Deep-Down Geothermal Benefits in Infographic Design Challenge
The Fall 2020 Geothermal Design Challenge asked students to tackle an important communications task—create infographics and data visualization to foster understanding of geothermal energy, broadly communicate its benefits, and help overcome key non-technical barriers to geothermal development.
NREL Advances in Battery Research with Physics-Based Machine Learning Accelerates Characterization of Cell Performance, Lifetime, and Safety
Energy storage scientists at NREL are turning to cutting-edge machine-learning techniques to strengthen understanding of advanced battery materials, chemistries, and cell designs.
NREL Software Automates Residential Solar Permitting, Replacing Painstaking Process for Local Governments
NREL has released a no-cost resource for cities and counties across the country to streamline distributed solar installation: SolarAPP (Solar Automated Permit Processing).
NREL Research Identifies Motivations, Methods for Achieving a Circular Economy for Wind Energy
Researchers at NREL are addressing critical challenges when it comes to achieving a circular economy for wind turbine components. The motivations for pursuing this research are outlined in a new journal article, "Wind turbine blade material in the United States: Quantities, costs, and end-of-life options."
NREL Discusses Circular Economy With High-Profile Partners in Fourth Partner Forum
At its fourth annual Partner Forum, NREL showcased its stable of leading experts and opened its virtual doors to partners, extending invitations to companies from around the world to engage in a collaborative effort to design a future replete with renewable energy solutions to the energy challenges of today.
New E-ROBOT Prize Encourages Robotic Innovation To Drive Energy Efficiency in Envelope Retrofit Solutions
The future of buildings is affordable, comfortable, and energy efficient. However, the current reality is that buildings consume 39% of all U.S. energy and 74% of all U.S. electricity at an annual cost of more than $400 billion.
CEMAC/JISEA Releases Global Clean Energy Manufacturing Data and Insights
The latest Benchmarks of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing report assesses market characteristics, global trade flows, and manufacturing value added for four clean energy technologies to support deeper insights into balance of trade effects on upstream materials.
Using Mathematical Models To Enable Transportation Decarbonization and Combat Climate Change
Conducted in partnership with USAID, an NREL study assessing the electrification potential of transit fleets in two Mexican cities determined that at least 80% of the operational bus days for the studied routes were suitable for electrification—with a 250-kWh battery in Mexico City and a 300-kWh battery in León.
NREL's dGen Analysts Team Up With Orlando Utilities Commission To Forecast Household Solar Adoption
NREL analysts tailor the Distributed Generation Market Demand model for Orlando energy planners, simulating individual household rooftop solar photovoltaic adoption potential through 2050—the highest-resolution projections for Orlando to date.
News Release: NREL Heats Up Thermal Energy Storage with New Solution Meant To Ease Grid Stress, Ultimately Improving Energy Efficiency
Scientists from NREL have developed a simple way to better evaluate the potential of novel materials to store or release heat on demand in your home, office, or other building in a way that more efficiently manages the building's energy use.
Data Democratized: RE Data Explorer Enhancements Deliver High-Value Renewable Energy Resource Data To Inform Decision-Making
Upgrade features new, high-resolution data sets and a streamlined, state-of-the-art interface.
Documenting a Decade of Cost Declines for PV Systems
NREL marks ongoing cost reductions for installed photovoltaic (PV) systems, while also establishing benchmark of PV-plus-storage systems.
News Release: From Saltwater to Drinking Water: NREL Announces 10 Winners of the Waves to Water Prize ADAPT Stage; Launch of CREATE Stage
NREL revealed 10 winners of the third stage of the Waves to Water Prize. These teams will walk away with a cash prize and an invitation to advance to the next stage of the prize, CREATE, where they will bring these ideas to life with proofs of concepts and prototyping of their novel wave-energy-powered desalination systems.
New Design Strategy Pushes Organic Photovoltaics Past 18% Efficiency
Holistic strategy optimizes electronic structure and morphology, opening a new route to higher-efficiency organic photovoltaic devices.
Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize Drives Recovery of Spent Batteries
On December 17, 2020, the Department of Energy announced seven winners of the Phase II Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize. These winners advance to the third and final phase of the competition.
REopt Lite Adds a Fresh Dimension: Combined Heat and Power
In its latest release, the REopt Lite team, which includes NREL and partners at Colorado School of Mines and Clean Energy Group, has added combined heat and power, expanding the model's scope beyond electric-only strategies to include a new universe of thermal energy opportunities.
How To Solve the Mounting Problem of Plastic Waste? Focus on Its Chemical Roots
DOE funding pairs NREL with academic, nonprofit, and industry scientists to transform how we create and recycle plastic.
NREL's Bryan Pivovar and Mark Ruth Recognized by DOE for Excellence in Integrated Energy Systems Research
Researchers analyzed commercial electricity generator with high-temperature steam electrolysis technology, advancing H2@Scale initiative.
Last Updated May 28, 2025