The September 2021 edition of RWFI E-Note Monthly, the newsletter of NETL’s Regional Workforce Initiative, highlights how communities can apply for funds to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and build economic diversity and resiliency to mitigate impacts during future economic challenges.

In June 2021, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management announced up to $6.75 million in funding for the Subsurface Hydrogen Assessment, Storage, and Technology Acceleration (SHASTA) project, which will leverage the unique capabilities and demonstrated expertise of NETL, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to determine the viability, safety, and reliability of storing pure hydrogen and challenges associated with hydrogen/natural gas blends in subsurface environments.

A new superalloy, developed by Haynes International and tested by a collaborative effort led by NETL, has received American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) approval for use in the next generation of power plants that will operate with enhanced efficiency and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of NETL’s continued efforts to advance net-negative carbon emission technologies, the Lab has embarked on several projects to study gasification systems capable of cleanly and affordably producing hydrogen, a versatile fuel and chemical precursor that will enable U.S. energy security and resiliency and provide economic value and environmental benefits for diverse applications across multiple sectors.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced up to $3 million in funding for four national public power associations to help increase regional and state-level engagement in DOE’s emerging carbon management work and advance energy storage technologies at U.S. power generation facilities.

NETL’s José Figueroa, supervisor, Carbon Capture Team, has received the Great Minds in STEM™ (GMiS) Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award for advancing projects critical to the success of U.S. decarbonization efforts while serving as an exemplary professional who is helping to ensure a talented and diverse pipeline of researchers for the future.

The Advanced Clean Energy Summit (ACES), scheduled for Sept. 21-22, held by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and organized with support from NETL, will showcase the latest in sustainable energy technology and practices, such as hydrogen power and carbon capture.

Learn about the latest developments in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/NETL Carbon Capture Program in this month’s edition of the Carbon Capture Newsletter. The DOE/NETL Carbon Capture Program is developing the next generation of advanced carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technologies that can provide step-change reductions in both cost and energy requirements as compared to currently available technologies.

The same technology that turns a frozen entrée into a delicious hot meal in minutes is being advanced by NETL researchers to bring revolutionary changes to the field of reaction chemistry and produce valuable chemicals like hydrogen using less energy and at lower cost. “At NETL, we are working to unleash the power of microwaves to advance gasification of carbon materials to significantly cut costs and reduce energy requirements while achieving higher yields and greater selectivity of products,” said Mark Smith, Ph.D., a member of NETL’s Reaction Engineering Team.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced approximately $10 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development (R&D) projects under funding opportunity announcement (FOA) 2519, Natural Gas Demand Response Pilot Program.