The NETL Regional Workforce Initiative will present a free Future of Work Webinar from 1 to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21. This online event will explore how rapid technology and societal changes have affected workforce training and created significant challenges in various industries, including the energy and advanced manufacturing sectors. The webinar is free, but registration is required. Interested persons can register for the webinar here.

NETL has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for energy storage opportunities and research needs that could lead to advances in energy storage technologies. Areas of interest include fossil-fueled electricity generating units, fossil-fueled poly-generation facilities and suitable fossil-fueled industrial applications. 

NETL will develop four projects to protect the nation’s power grid and ensure reliable access to electricity.

NETL announced today up to $4.5 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects for fossil power plants. The projects fall under an amendment to funding opportunity announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0002001.000001, Crosscutting Research for Coal-Fueled Power Plants. This amended FOA aims to develop advanced dry cooling technologies suitable for fossil power plants.

NETL’s K-12 STEM Education & Outreach team members facilitated active learning experiences at several elementary schools throughout September and October, fostering the next generation of energy experts through engaging activities involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects. Additionally, ambassadors from the Lab’s STEM Ambassador program provided information about careers in energy to spread the Lab’s mission to secure and enhance the nation’s energy foundation while protecting the environment.

Developing technology solutions that enhance the nation’s energy foundation and protect the environment for future generations requires a comprehensive understanding of the complex behavior of natural and engineered systems, both at surface level and deep underground. NETL made significant strides in 2019 by advancing innovative earth-energy data computing tools and characterizing shale-based oil and gas operations.

NETL experts will share their innovative research and development (R&D) work with scientists from around the world next week at the nation’s premier educational forum for chemical engineers. Dozens of NETL personnel will converge in Orlando, Florida, Nov. 10-15 for the American Institute for Chemical Engineers’ (AIChE) 2019 Annual Meeting. Academic and industry experts will address a wide range of topics relevant to cutting-edge research, new technologies and emerging growth areas with more than 7,000 chemical engineers.

NETL was proud to celebrate National Veterans Small Business Week by hosting the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) West Virginia District Office Veteran Small Business Day Tuesday, Nov. 5. 2019, at its Morgantown, West Virginia, site. The event included contacts, resources and professionals available to give small business owners the tools they need for maneuvering the business world and provide a foundation for doing business with the federal government. Karen Friel, SBA West Virginia district director provided opening remarks at the event.

Key researchers and leadership from the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) are set to present the details of revolutionary energy technologies at the eighth annual TransTech Energy (TTE) Start-Up Development Conference, taking place Oct. 28-30 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

A team of researchers from NETL and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) recently developed equations to more simply determine how the viscosity of foamed cement is affected by the addition of bubbles into the slurry. Understanding the connection between an increase of bubbles concentration and the ensuing changes in viscosity is crucial for predicting how well the foamed cement will perform in wellbores, which will enable safer oil and gas production. The work was recently featured in a special issue of  Fluids, an international journal.