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.
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April 2022
April 6, 2022
Q&A With Parthiv Kurup: A Practical Captain To Helm the Clean Energy Transition
As part of the Manufacturing Masterminds Q&A profile series, Parthiv Kurup shares how his analyses are streamlining manufacturing processes to reduce the sector's energy consumption while reducing costs.
April 6, 2022
Tapping Hydropower's Potential: New Hydropower Prize Challenges Innovators to Improve Grid Reliability and Resiliency
In partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office has launched the Hydropower Operations Optimization (H2Os) Prize to support a reliable, resilient grid. The Phase 1 submission window closes on May 20, 2022.
April 5, 2022
Solar Decathlon Turns 20!
2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, an international collegiate competition that has helped popularize renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, while training the clean energy workforce of tomorrow.
April 4, 2022
NREL Scientist Joins United Nations Team in Identifying Opportunities To Slow Climate Change
Rising temperatures and sea levels. More frequent and severe hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and droughts. Deteriorating air and water quality. These trends can be traced back to climate change—with cities facing disproportionate risks due to rapid population growth.
April 4, 2022
NREL Gets Electric Off the Ground With R&D, Analysis on Battery-Powered Aircraft and Seacraft
Some have called 2023 the "year of the electric vehicle (EV)," noting the dozens of new battery-powered models set to come available in the United States across all vehicle classes.
April 1, 2022
The Year in Review
The recently released 2021 annual reports for the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF), the Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) research platform, and Advanced Computing offer a snapshot of the impact of NREL research: highlights from the diverse projects, publications, patents, partnerships, and technical breakthroughs realized in the last year.
March 2022
March 31, 2022
NREL Senior Research Fellow Honored for International Leadership and Innovation in Energy Chemistry
NREL Senior Research Fellow Bob McCormick was recently recognized with one of the highest honors by the American Chemical Society, known as the Henry H. Storch Award in Energy Chemistry for his research on alternative and low-carbon fuels, including the chemistry of fuel-engine interactions.
March 31, 2022
Ocean Energy? River Power? There Is a Toolkit for That
A newly revamped software offers marine energy developers a way to analyze how well their technology might perform in various ocean and river sites.
March 31, 2022
CatCost Online Tool Offers Insight Into Catalyst Manufacturing Cost and Environmental Impact
Scientists from NREL's Catalytic Carbon Transformation and Scale-Up Center have sought to reduce barriers to early-stage catalyst cost estimation by developing CatCost, a free and publicly available cost estimation tool that aims to equip researchers with the information they need to make informed R&D decisions.
March 30, 2022
Amazon Joins NREL-Led BOTTLE Consortium To Help Change the Way We Recycle
A new collaboration between Amazon and NREL-led BOTTLE Consortium could be a major step toward developing solutions to global plastic pollution.
March 30, 2022
Q&A With Robin Burton: Stakeholder Engagement and Energy Justice in the Puerto Rico 100 Study
Robin Burton is the co-PI of the Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transitions to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100). The stakeholder-driven project will generate multiple pathways for Puerto Rico to meet its commitment to 100% renewable electricity by 2050.
March 28, 2022
Harnessing Hydropower To Achieve a Sustainable Future
NREL Hydropower Technical Lead Greg Stark reflects on how the conversation around hydropower is changing and NREL is honored to be part of it in 2022.
March 24, 2022
More Power to the Women
For Women's History Month 2022, the NREL marine energy and hydropower groups are taking a look at the work of six NREL women who are interested in renewable energy technologies, specifically water power technologies. Here are the second three.
March 24, 2022
Roadblocks to Transportation Access
Underserved populations in urban neighborhoods and remote rural communities, alike, often have few transportation options. While the underlying conditions differ, wherever mobility inequity surfaces it diminishes peoples' opportunities for success and quality of life.
March 24, 2022
Transportation Innovation Bridges Divides
Mobility limitations present major impediments to securing a better job, home, education, healthcare, and overall quality of life. Learn how NREL researchers are working with partners in underserved communities to identify energy-efficient transportation solutions that can increase mobility equity.
March 24, 2022
Battery Research Tackles New Challenges for Behind-the-Meter Stationary Storage Systems
Researchers at NREL are leading the development of new lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery designs specific to stationary storage requirements.
March 23, 2022
DOE Launches Study To Consider Equitable Pathways To Power Puerto Rico With 100% Renewable Energy
An analysis led by NREL is now underway to supply Puerto Rico with options for achieving a renewable, reliable, and equitable electric power system.
March 23, 2022
Creativity and Exploration Drive Marine Energy Research
NREL Marine Energy Team Lead Mike Lawson believes 2022 will be defined by collaboration with current and future industry leaders.
March 17, 2022
Power to the Women
For Women's History Month 2022, the NREL marine energy and hydropower groups are taking a look at six NREL women who are interested in renewable energy technologies, specifically water power technologies. Here are the first three.
March 15, 2022
Back-to-Back: Fossil Ridge Wins Colorado High School Science Bowl for Second Year in a Row
Defending their title and defeating 16 teams from across the state, a Fossil Ridge High School team has become the winners of the 32nd annual Colorado Regional High School Science Bowl.
March 15, 2022
Six Wave-Powered Prototypes to Set Sail
Six teams of marine energy innovators are advancing from the DESIGN to the BUILD Contest of the Ocean Observing Prize with their ocean-observing technologies.
March 15, 2022
Aging Gracefully: How NREL Is Extending the Lifetime of Solar Modules
DuraMAT, a multi-laboratory consortium led by NREL, is exploring ideas that could extend solar module lifetime up to 50 years.
March 14, 2022
News Release: Scientists Show Large Impact of Controlling Humidity on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from air conditioners are expected to climb as economic growth drives efforts to control both temperature and humidity, according to an analysis by scientists from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Xerox PARC.
March 14, 2022
Collaboration With UL Supports Development of New Requirements for Cybersecurity and Modern Energy Systems
In collaboration with UL, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is developing an Outline of Investigation for a cybersecurity certification standard for distributed energy resources (DERs) and inverter-based resource (IBR) devices.
March 9, 2022
News Release: 2022 NREL Industry Growth Forum Presenters Will Pitch to Motivated Cleantech Investors
NREL announced today the list of 40 presenters for the 2022 NREL Industry Growth Forum (IGF), which is set for April 13-14 at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. The selected companies represent a wide range of clean and sustainable technology startups from around the world.
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