Transportation RD&D Recognized with DOE Awards
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized four members of NREL’s Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center team with awards at the 2014 Annual Merit Review (AMR) and Peer Evaluation Meetings in Washington, D.C., June 16-20. The annual meetings provide researchers leading projects funded by the Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Program and the Vehicle Technologies Office with an opportunity to share accomplishments with representatives from DOE, industry, and other labs.
Each year at the AMRs, DOE programs present awards to recognize overall contributions and achievements in specific areas. This year’s winners from NREL's Transportation and Hydrogen Systems Center were:
Wendy Dafoe, for strong and long-lasting commitment to advancement of the Clean Cities mission. Dafoe’s support has included launching the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC), directing efforts to improve coalition effectiveness, managing the formation of high-profile industry partnerships, and ensuring the accuracy and impact of data and outreach materials. This work has helped establish the AFDC as EERE’s most popular website, build Clean Cities’ national network of nearly 100 coalitions, and bring together stakeholders in the public and private sectors.
Gi-Heon Kim, for invaluable contributions to the Computer-Aided Engineering for Electric Drive Vehicle Batteries (CAEBAT) project. The CAEBAT DOE-industry collaboration is accelerating the development and lowering the cost of lithium-ion batteries for next-generation electric-drive vehicles through creation of new design tools. Technical monitor and advisor for the project, Kim is the lead developer of the pioneering Multi-Scale Multi-Domain Model that serves as the underpinning of all tools in development by CAEBAT’s 11 industry partners.
Jennifer Kurtz, for outstanding performance in technology validation. Kurtz has developed strong relationships with hydrogen infrastructure providers, automotive OEMs, fuel cell companies, and early market technology providers. As the hydrogen analysis group manager, she has implemented unique methodologies for the compilation, analysis, and dissemination of data from validation projects, and has provided valuable feedback to both industry partners and to the government on the state-of-the-art of fuel cell electric vehicles, hydrogen infrastructure, and early fuel cell markets.
Michael Penev, for strong analysis support of DOE’s market transformation subprogram. Penev has been instrumental in leading the development of cost estimates for the Hawaii Hydrogen Initiative (H2I) and site-specific cost analysis for the General Services Administration's (GSA) Fort Armstrong site. Penev has helped create a positive return on investment cash flow scenario by selling PV power to the grid during peak hours and buying off-peak grid power for water electrolysis for the hydrogen refueling station.
DOE also granted an award to Todd Deutsch of NREL’s Chemical and Materials Science Center.