Patrick joined the Thermal Systems R&D Group at NREL in 2018. His research interests include thermal energy storage (TES), concentrating solar power, solar thermochemical processing, and advanced materials for renewable energy technologies. He currently supports the Thermal Energy Systems Group with:

• Design and de-risk of electric thermal energy storage plant and system components.
• Design and evaluation of receiver and solar field performance by ray tracing.
• Component evaluation for manufacture and assembly.
• Techno-economic analyses in cost of hydrogen production.
• Design and thermomechanical modeling of sCO₂ heat exchangers.
• Solid particle stability and flowability testing.

Prior to joining NREL, Patrick completed his M.S. thesis with and was employed by the Professorship of Renewable Energy Carriers (PREC) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH, Zurich) where he contributed to the ‘Solar-to-Liquid’ project. His focus was on the fabrication, characterization, installation, and testing of reticular porous ceramic structures for a directly irradiated, high-temperature (1500°C) receiver/reactor for solar fuel generation.

Previous experiences include: an internship with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) investigating electron mobility in silicon devices; academic work characterizing corrosion potentials of steels together with Alfa Laval; undergraduate research in the Computational Biomechanics Laboratory at the University of Denver; and extensive machining experience.

Education

M.S. Materials & Manufacturing Engineering, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

M.B.A., University of Denver (DU)

B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Denver (DU)