News and Feature Stories
The following news stories take an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at how NREL is advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
January 2023
Jan. 31, 2023
NREL Launches Synthetic Biology Project To Advance Biofuel Discovery Technologies With LanzaTech, Northwestern, and Yale
Carbon-negative production of biofuels and biochemicals will be the focus of a recent biosystems design project launched by NREL, LanzaTech NZ Inc., Northwestern University, and Yale University.
Jan. 31, 2023
Solar District Cup Finalist Teams Announced
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition announced today that 45 teams from 39 schools are advancing as finalists in the class of 2022–2023.
Jan. 31, 2023
Road Map Defines Path to a U.S. Offshore Wind Energy Supply Chain
A pair of NREL reports evaluates how the U.S. supply chain can evolve to support the national offshore wind energy target and position the industry for sustainable growth beyond 2030.
Jan. 30, 2023
NREL Leads the Charge to Electric Trucks at Port of New York and New Jersey
A team of NREL researchers collected detailed vehicle analysis to show how drayage trucks operating at the Port of New York and New Jersey could be strong candidates for electrification. Each electrified truck would help slash 76 tons of carbon emissions per truck each year.
Jan. 30, 2023
Electric Aviation Is Arriving, and Cybersecurity Is High Priority
A new NREL report assesses potential cyber needs for electrifying aviation infrastructure and how key stakeholders like airlines, utilities, equipment suppliers, and regulators may implement a cybersecurity approach.
Jan. 30, 2023
Paul Denholm Distinguished as IEEE Fellow for Extraordinary Work in Renewable Energy
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has selected Paul Denholm from NREL to be a 2023 fellow based on his contributions to energy storage and renewable energy systems.
Jan. 30, 2023
NREL Receives $3.4M in Federal Funding To Evaluate Safety of Next-Generation Electric Vehicle Batteries
Donal Finegan, an energy storage researcher at NREL, will conduct cutting-edge research on next-generation electric vehicle batteries with funding from the ARPA-E Electric Vehicles for American Low-carbon Living (EVs4ALL) initiative.
Jan. 30, 2023
Puerto Rican Voices Propel PR100 Study Forward
The PR100 one-year update on progress made during the first year of this two-year, stakeholder-informed study was presented to the advisory group of stakeholders and then to the public in a webinar on Jan. 23.
Jan. 26, 2023
Department of Energy Honors 11 From NREL
Staffers from NREL were honored for their work in helping move the country further away from the use of fossil fuels. The Secretary of Energy Achievement Award ranks as the highest form of recognition for federal and contractor employees within the department (DOE).
Jan. 26, 2023
News Release: Thin, Lightweight Layer Provides Radiation Barrier for Perovskites in Space, Protection From Elements on Earth
An ultrathin protective coating proves sufficient to protect a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and harden it against environmental factors on Earth, according to newly published research from NREL.
Jan. 24, 2023
Hydrogen Blending as a Pathway Toward U.S. Decarbonization
To reduce the emissions from natural gas service, blending hydrogen into natural gas pipelines could prove to be a promising, cost-effective pathway.
Jan. 23, 2023
Bring on the Seismic Noise
Ten teams have been named semifinalists in the American-Made Geothermal Geophone Prize, each earning $75,000 in cash prizes and $75,000 in vouchers for technical assistance to advance technologies that will help deploy the renewable energy supplied by the heat of the Earth.
Jan. 19, 2023
IN² Demonstration: Getting V2G Good To Go
For its 10th cohort, the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) formed an all-demonstration group where each participant would scope and perform a demonstration of their technologies. The key part of NineDot Energy's success is understanding the time and place to improve the grid. During the past summer, NineDot Energy installed a demonstration of its vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging system in Brooklyn, New York.
Jan. 19, 2023
Powering the Future: NREL Research Finds Opportunities for Breakthrough Battery Designs
Using ultramodern capabilities and world-class laboratory facilities, NREL's energy storage researchers continue to push battery boundaries with materials development, thermal management, diagnostics, and modeling.
Jan. 18, 2023
NREL Co-Authors Landmark National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization
In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration set an audacious goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050—and, in doing so, decarbonize the entire U.S. economy.
Jan. 18, 2023
A Treasure Trove for Rural and Commercial-Scale Solar Projects
Publications from eight teams capture insights for communities seeking to harness the resiliency and economic benefits of solar energy.
Jan. 18, 2023
Clean Energy to Communities Program Launches: Stakeholder-Informed Program Meets Communities Where They Are
The DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and NREL interviewed 164 stakeholders from 95 communities—representing 40 states and six tribes—to inform the creation of its new community technical assistance program: Clean Energy to Communities (C2C).
Jan. 17, 2023
Prize Winners Design Ways To Make the Most of Hydropower
The winners of the Hydropower Operations Optimization Prize, which launched in early 2022, used complex strategies, models, analytics, and machine learning to help hydropower meet challenges like demand, environmental requirements, flood management, and integration with solar power.
Jan. 17, 2023
New Model Could Help Break Through Inefficiencies of Common Water Treatment Systems
In the coming decades, water scarcity and insecurity is likely to intensify across much of the United States, which is why NREL researcher Hari Sitaraman is working to improve reverse osmosis systems.
Jan. 17, 2023
News Release: NREL Develops Systematic Framework To Compare Performance of Plastics Recycling Approaches
Researchers at NREL examined the benefits and trade-offs of current and emerging technologies for recycling certain types of plastics to determine the most appropriate options.
Jan. 12, 2023
New Chapter for Ancient Place: Creating Sustainable Housing and Jobs in Rural Alaska
NREL's Cold Climate Housing Research Center is working with the Native Village of Unalakleet, a small community sprawled on Alaska's northwest coast, to create a new model of housing—an affordable, energy-efficient, adaptable house that meets the myriad challenges facing rural Alaska.
Jan. 11, 2023
Nominate a Colleague for the Solar Decathlon Richard King Award by Feb. 1!
Know an influential U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Alum or Faculty Advisor who has impacted the clean energy economy? Nominate them for the Solar Decathlon Richard King Award by Feb. 1, 2023!
Jan. 10, 2023
NREL Team Wins 2023 Cooperative Research Award in Polymer Science and Engineering
NREL Materials Scientists Mou Paul and Abhishek Roy won the 2023 Polymer Science and Engineering (PMSE) Cooperative Research Award for their work in global water sustainability.
Jan. 9, 2023
What Is Marine Energy?
Marine energy has huge potential to deliver clean, renewable energy to communities around the world. But these budding technologies are still up and coming and need people—like students, researchers, industry partners, and more—to help them succeed.
Jan. 5, 2023
Our Most Popular and Powerful Water Power Moments From 2022
The NREL water power team tallied up the most popular events, news stories, and videos published over the last year.
