NREL Researcher Uses His Field Experience To Help Increase Energy Affordability for Americans Through the Weatherization Assistance Program At 17 years old, NREL researcher Cory Chovanec was traveling door to door in his hometown of Berlin, Wisconsin. His mission: to sell enough vacuum cleaners to qualify for an all-expenses-paid trip … [continued]
New Study Demonstrates Efficient Performance—Even on Frozen Alaska Soils New energy storage research from NREL, a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory, has demonstrated a way to store and reuse heat underground to meet the heating demands of cold regions like Alaska. Published on June 17 in the journal Energy & Buildings, the … [continued]
As Aviation Continues To See Greater Demand, NASA and NREL Show How Regional Airports Can Become Energy Nodes Between fleets of rental vehicles and ground support equipment, electricity demand at U.S. airports might quintuple in the next 20 years. Smaller regional and general aviation airports, which often have simple rural … [continued]
A team of scientists across several U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories has unraveled how light and a previously unknown form of certain nickel-based catalysts together unlock and preserve reactivity. This research, described in the journal Nature Communications, could potentially advance the use of abundant nickel in place of more expensive … [continued]
In 2024, NREL completed the full buildout of Kestrel, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s newest high-performance computing (HPC) system. This new supercomputer now boasts roughly 56 petaflops of computing power to accelerate progress in energy research, including through the use of artificial … [continued]
Key Process Improvements Save Energy and Cut Costs for Recycling Polyester With Enzymes A successful collaboration involving a trio of research institutions has yielded a road map toward an economically viable process for using enzymes to recycle plastics. The researchers, from NREL, the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and the University of … [continued]
U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy to Communities Program Helped Edgartown, Massachusetts, Plan for a Microgrid To Support Municipal Buildings in Emergencies There is no bridge to the island of Martha’s Vineyard from mainland Massachusetts: If you want to get there, you have to take a ferry or plane. The island’s … [continued]
30 Local Leaders Join Two New Energy to Communities (E2C) Peer-Learning Cohorts on Electricity Load Growth and Utility Engagement The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is excited to announce the 30 local participants across 25 states, territories, and Tribes selected for two new Energy to Communities (E2C) peer-learning cohorts, managed … [continued]
Science Sometimes Ends With a Taste Test Experiments lead to a greater understanding, deeper insights, and sometimes they even bear fruit. That was certainly the case last summer at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), where researchers nurtured a dozen tomato plants. Tucked into a corner … [continued]
NREL Announces Chip-to-Grid Consortium, Invites Collab Around Energy-Data Integration Over the past decade, energy demand from U.S. data centers has tripled—doubling in just the last two years. And the growth is not slowing down. Utilities are wondering where to add generation. Meanwhile, companies queue for that power. Governments are deciding … [continued]
