Skip to main content

Explore our collection of new stories for this topic.

Search or filter for a specific story using the options below.

November 2020

Nov. 9, 2020

NREL Invites U.S. Manufacturers To Help Advance Distributed Wind Technologies

NREL has issued a call to action for U.S. manufacturers of small- and medium-sized wind turbines by issuing a notice of intent under the Competitiveness Improvement Project to allow companies to prepare project ideas and teams in advance of a request for proposals planned for release in early 2021.

Nov. 6, 2020

Drivetrain Reliability Collaborative Seeks Gearbox Failure Causes, Solutions

NREL and Argonne National Laboratory researchers have teamed with industry partners such as SKF, Winergy, General Electric, and Afton Chemical to understand the causes of axial cracking, create a design life equation that accounts for it, and develop and validate solutions to reduce this and other causes of gearbox failure.

Nov. 5, 2020

Garvin Heath, JISEA Analyst, Is Defining Circularity for Next-Generation Energy Materials

Moving from a linear to a circular economy for energy materials starts with research and development. JISEA Analyst Garvin Heath and a team of researchers are leading the charge.

October 2020

Oct. 29, 2020

Energy I-Corps: SuperCohort to the Rescue

The DOE's researcher-entrepreneurship program forges ahead virtually under the leadership of Shelly Curtiss, former executive director of the Colorado Cleantech Industries Association.

Oct. 20, 2020

BOTTLE Consortium Launches To Change the Way We Recycle

The consortium will focus on two critical problems that are both essential to tackle the plastics pollution problem. The first challenge is how to upcycle today's waste plastics in a way that incentivizes their reclamation. The second undertakes the challenge of wholly redesigning tomorrow's plastics to be recyclable-by-design.

Oct. 2, 2020

News Release: R&D 100 Awards Honor Six NREL Innovations

R&D World magazine today presented NREL with four of its annual R&D 100 Awards for research innovations. In addition to the R&D 100 winners, two additional NREL technologies were given Special Recognition Awards.

Oct. 1, 2020

News Release: NREL, UK University Partner To Dive Deeper Into How Enzymes Digest Plastic

A collaboration between NREL, the University of Portsmouth, and other partners has determined two synergistic enzymes—PETase and MHETase—work effectively in tandem to break down polyethylene terephthalate, a type of plastic used to make single-use beverage bottles, clothing, and carpeting.

September 2020

Sept. 24, 2020

Scientists Offer Companies a Novel Chemistry for Greener Polyurethane

Through a novel chemistry using nontoxic resources like linseed oil, waste grease, or even algae, chemist Phil Pienkos and colleague Tao Dong, an expert in chemical engineering, have developed a groundbreaking method for producing renewable polyurethane without toxic precursors.

Sept. 15, 2020

Calling All Water Technology Innovators: NAWI FOA in Intensified Brine Management Open for Applications

Do you have the technological know-how to develop the desalination systems of tomorrow? Help strengthen the United States’ long-term energy and water security by joining forces with the largest federal investment in water treatment research in 50 years.

Sept. 9, 2020

NREL Selects U.S. Manufacturers To Develop Next-Generation Distributed Wind Technologies

Seven U.S. manufacturers selected to enter into negotiation to receive DOE Competitiveness Improvement Project awards, designed to accelerate deployment of small- and medium-sized wind turbines across the country and lower the cost of energy from distributed wind.


Share

Last Updated May 5, 2025