NREL's People Bring Mission and Vision to Life

This is the text version of the video NREL's People Bring Mission and Vision to Life.

[Text on screen: NREL's People Bring Mission and Vision to Life]

[The camera spans over the entrance to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, including a sign reading "NREL | National Renewable Energy Laboratory U.S. Department of Energy".]

[Music plays while footage of people working in a laboratory shows on screen.]

>>Martin Keller, NREL director: We are here at NREL to create a better planet for our grandchildren and our children and our families.

>>Roderick Jackson, laboratory program manager for building technologies R&D: I look at my job as almost a calling.

Numerous people: NREL's vision is a clean energy future for the world.

>>Amanda Kolker, laboratory program manager for geothermal technologies: I love that world piece. We want our solutions to be applicable across the United States and across the world.

>>Lindsay Spritzer, quality assurance manager: With the scientists here, we can definitely achieve that.

>>Martin Keller: It's a very ambitious vision.

>>Peter Green, director and chief research officer: It's an ethos of the lab; it's a shared purpose.

>>Adam Bratis, laboratory director for Bioenergy Science and Technology: We are trying to change the world through renewable energy and energy efficiencies.

>>Nicole Shoemaker, associate general counsel: An inclusive energy transformation … that's truly what it means. Truly bridging that gap and making all of these technologies accessible to every community is incredibly important.

>>Andrea Watson, Strategic Partnerships Office director: We have our critical objectives, our critical areas that we need to grow and expand in order to achieve our vision.

[On screen: The words "Integrated Energy Pathways" appear above footage of a person presenting concepts on a whiteboard.]

>>Peter Green: The first is integrated energy pathways … in short, is how you achieve the grid of the future.

[On screen: The words "Electrons to Molecules" appear above footage of a person in a laboratory pouring liquid into a funnel.]

>>Peter Green: The second one is electrons to molecules, arising from the notion that you can't electrify everything, and so what you like to do is convert the energy from renewables to electric fuels.

>>Peter Green: The third one is a circular economy for energy materials.

[On screen: The words "Circular Economy for Energy Materials" appear above footage of a person carrying materials in a laboratory.]

>>Peter Green: You're going to have to figure out how you're going to develop processes and mechanisms to create materials in a way that you minimize the cost to the environment. You wanna figure out, then you will produce things in such a way that you can recycle them and reuse them.

>>Wale Odukomaiya, research scientist for building technologies: My work is advancing energy because buildings are responsible for about 40% of all primary energy consumption. And so the path to decarbonization, to net zero, goes right through buildings.

>>Otto Van Geet, principal engineer for labs and data centers: I've been lucky enough to be involved in the development of our campus here at NREL, a nice showcase and living laboratory.

>>Lorelle Mansfield, group research manager for for materials science: I work in the solar energy area. What I do is work on small-scale solar cells, and we're aiming to have larger-scale solar cells. Solar is a great energy resource for the world.

>>Adam Bratis: The strategy allows us to all align in a singular focus toward that mission and to track our progress, both internally and with our external partners. Because we're not gonna change the planet alone, and we have to do that in collaboration with many others.

>>Amanda Kolker: That collaboration between worldwide renewable research and industry with our national lab is very much how my particular technology is going to advance.

>>Jordan Cox, researcher for cybersecurity and resilience: This is really a place that needs people, and a diverse group of people, to solve today's best energy challenges.

>>Lindsay Spritzer: The people are absolutely what keeps me at NREL. I've never worked with such a great group of people that are so supportive of each other and all have a clear, aligned vision for the future.

>>Carishma Gokhale-Welch, partnership development manager: The other reason I love working at NREL is that I truly believe in intergenerational equity, and I feel like we owe the next generation and the generations to come a world that's at least as good as we found it.

>>Nicole Shoemaker: That's what really drives me—knowing that we can actually make this affordable and accessible for traditionally underserved communities.

>>Roderick Jackson: It really allows us to reach the needs of people where they are with technology that helps us get to that clean energy future.

>>Andrea Watson: Climate change; energy justice and the importance of energy equity for all; recovery economically from the global pandemic—these are just a few reasons why we need to understand where we're going together and what's the pathway for achieving that.

>>Riccardo Bracho, senior project leader for international programs: These are foundational changes that have to happen today so that the clean energy future is our reality in the near term, which is what we need.

>>Martin Keller: We have to create this innovation and close some of the gaps we have in the energy transition to make it a reality. This is why this is an urgent matter. Time is ticking, so we have to get going.

[On screen: Music plays while icons of tools animate before the appearance of the NREL logo and tagline, Transforming Energy.]