August 2018
Beta Version of MFI Tool Available for Testing
NREL's MFI tool can model a wide range of manufacturing scenarios. Members of industry, academia, other members of the research community, and the general public are encouraged to beta test the newest version of the tool.
Webinar August 22: Development of Real-Time Characterization Tools and Associated Efforts to Assist Membrane Electrode Assembly Manufacturing Scale-Up
In this DOE Fuel Cell Technologies Office webinar, Michael Ulsh of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will present an overview of early-stage research and development related to manufacturing of fuel cell membrane electrode assembly materials.
Energy Secretary Perry Digs into Research at NREL, Emphasizes Importance of Partnerships
In addition to the cool science he saw, public-private partnerships played a recurring role in Perry's remarks.
NREL Acquires Powerful New High-Performance Computing System
Eagle will be 3.5 times more powerful than current system dedicated to energy research
Sustainable Mobility: The Transportation World Beyond Tomorrow is Here Today
NREL's sustainable mobility research is moving beyond vehicles and roads, investigating the best way to get people and goods where they need to go with maximum convenience, efficiency, and affordability, while minimizing traffic congestion.
NREL Research Shows HOV Lanes and Purchase Rebates Are Effective Incentives for Plug-In Electric Vehicle Purchase
What does it take to persuade people who are considering the purchase of an electric vehicle to actually buy one? That burning question spurred analysts from NREL to find out.
Software Saves Energy, Costs, and More
NREL's foresee is a home energy management system that relies on user preferences to automate connected appliances and electronics in unprecedented ways.
Research Center to Explore New Class of Semiconductor
The unique material properties of hybrid organic/inorganic semiconductors could unlock new energy technologies. The goal of the new Center for Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Semiconductors for Energy (CHOISE) is to better understand and control the emergent phenomena of spin, charge, and light/matter interactions in these materials.
NREL Joins Partners and Peers for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Information Sharing and Review
NREL researchers recently participated in a vast amount of knowledge sharing about the growing hydrogen and fuel cell market and the early-stage research and development (R&D) that supports it.
Sreekant Narumanchi First NREL Researcher to Win an ASME K-16/EPPD Clock Award
Each year the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) elects a winner for the K-16/ Electronic and Photonic Packaging Division (EPPD) Clock Award. Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Machines (APEEM) Team Leader Sreekant Narumanchi of the Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center (THSC) is receiving this honor for 2018.
July 2018
International Partnership Revolutionizes Cross-Continental Travel with Alternative Fuels
Drivers relying on alternative fuels throughout the United States and Canada, especially those near the border, can now travel with more confidence than ever with the updated Alternative Fueling Station Locator. NREL and Natural Resources Canada combined their stations data to revolutionize this powerful U.S. Department of Energy tool, paving the way for drivers who rely on electricity, ethanol, biodiesel, natural gas, propane, and hydrogen to travel between the two countries seamlessly.
Envisioning Net-Zero Emission Energy Systems
NREL researchers contribute to a major journal article describing pathways to net-zero emissions for particularly difficult-to-decarbonize economic sectors.
Guangdong Zhu: Tapping Varied Experience to Advance Geothermal Energy
Guangdong Zhu's career has involved modeling work with a variety of high-temperature fluids, including geothermal resources and concentrating solar power.
PRECISE: Expanding Distributed Energy Systems from the West to the East
Pre-configuration, quasi-static time series, and autonomous operation are all features contributing to the expansion of distributed energy systems, thanks to advanced inverters and an NREL- and Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)-developed platform called PRECISE.
Q&A with Fatima Al Suwaidi: Visiting UAE Engineer Details How NREL and Masdar are Helping Shape Her Career Goals
Fatima is contributing to analysis work in the Integrated Applications Center at NREL. Her research spans floating photovoltaics, sustainable transportation, and the energy-water-food nexus, with a specific focus on economic viability analysis. This is a discussion of Fatima's work at both Masdar and NREL.
Community Banks and Credit Unions Report Success with Solar Loans, NREL Report Finds
A new NREL report finds that community and regional financial institutions , such as community banks and credit unions, are experiencing positive early performance of loans for photovoltaic systems.
SolarPILOT Released as Open Source; Tool Used to Optimize Solar Power Towers
Used by researchers and project developers, NREL's Solar Power Tower Integrated Layout and Optimization Tool (SolarPILOT(TM)) generates and characterizes power tower systems or systems using central receivers. The software--along with its companion ray-tracing tool SolTrace--is now being made available as open source on NREL's GitHub page. Both the SolarPILOT and SolTrace GitHub projects are open to contributions from users, and a webinar planned for July 18th will present the open-source projects.
Improved Way to Make III-V Solar Cells Could Hold Key to Lower Costs
Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are refining an old technique called hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE), which holds the potential to produce cheaper, more efficient solar cells.
NREL-Developed Tribal Energy Atlas Puts Resource Data in Tribes' Hands
The new Tribal Energy Atlas is a first-of-its-kind interactive geospatial application that allows tribes and others to conduct their own analyses of installed energy projects and resource potential on tribal lands.
First Standard for Chemical Characterization of Bio-Oil Approved by ASTM: NREL Paves the Way Towards Commercialization
The path toward biofuel commercialization became easier with a recent NREL-developed bio-oil standard that was approved by ASTM International. The standard quantifies the total carbonyl content of complex pyrolysis bio-oils through a faster and more reliable titration method.
Last Updated May 1, 2025