How NREL Is Fanning the Sparks of Innovation

During fiscal year 2019, NREL filed a record 124 patent applications and counted a record 233 disclosures — a category that includes 161 records of invention and 72 software records. NREL-developed software is protectable by copyright, while records of invention can be protected with patent applications.

Powering the Next Wave of Energy Converter Devices

A multiyear system design and validation project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office reached completion in 2019 and resulted in increased knowledge about development and validation of wave energy converter devices and their associated materials.

2019 Year in Review - NREL's Top 20 Stories

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) achieved many goals across the spectrum of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies in 2019, and the news coming from the laboratory shows it.

REopt Lite Evolves To Address User Priorities

The latest REopt Lite upgrades address users' growing focus on providing backup power to sustain critical load during outages. Expanded resilience capabilities enable users to optimally size new diesel generation and better understand the benefits and trade-offs of resilience.

Five NREL Scientists Included on List of Highly Cited Researchers

The list, compiled annually by Clarivate Analytics' Web of Science Group, this year ran to 6,216 names selected for "their exceptional influence and performance."

User Feedback Key to Supply Chain Modeling Tool Development

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed the Materials Flows through Industry (MFI) modeling tool, which applies a mine-to-materials analysis to a wide range of manufacturing scenarios, identifying and analyzing opportunities to reduce the energy and carbon intensities of the U.S. manufacturing sector.

CoMET Brings Together Collaboration in Composite Materials Manufacturing Research

Something about a 200-ft blade, heavier than an elephant, and spinning over 100 miles an hour, seems improbable--a triumph of manufacturing that often leaves onlookers in wonder. At NREL however, wonder is mixed with an ambition to improve. Beneath the towering test turbines at the National Wind Technology Center, NREL hosts a collaborative research environment for the growing composite manufacturing industry to build its skills and push its frontiers.

Virtual Tools Developed at NREL Create Real-World Savings

NREL researchers are creating useful software applications designed to help highlight potential costs and savings associated with renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. In doing so, they hope to shorten the path to commercialization and increase overall adoption of those technologies.

Beyond Lithium-Ion XII Imagines the Future of Next-Generation Batteries

NREL hosted twelfth annual symposium on energy storage.

Ron Judkoff Receives ASHRAE Distinguished Service Award for 41 Years of Pioneering Buildings Research