The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy (FE) has selected nine projects to support the development of advanced technologies that will foster early adoption of small-scale modular coal-gasification. Used for power and other applications, these technologies may open new market opportunities for domestic coal. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will manage these nine projects.

One of my great privileges as director of a national laboratory is to celebrate with our researchers as they receive much-deserved accolades from outside organizations. This year our researchers garnered numerous awards and recognition:  

The Department of Energy today announced nine projects to receive approximately $4 million in cost-shared federal funding to improve the technical, environmental, and economic performance of new and existing technologies that extract, separate, and recover rare earth elements (REEs) from domestic U.S. coal and coal by-products.

Market demand for low-carbon energy is growing, and geologic carbon storage (GCS) is a technology that can enable continued and sustainable use of abundant fossil energy resources. Ensuring that GCS can safely and effectively store large volumes of anthropogenic CO2 away from the atmosphere for thousands of years requires a solid understanding of the subsurface and a thorough understanding of potential environmental risks and how those risks can be mitigated and avoided.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry has announced approximately $36 million in federally-funded financial assistance to advance carbon capture technologies. Under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office Of Fossil Energy (FE), the Design and Testing of Advanced Carbon Capture Technologies funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will support cost-shared research and development projects that will continue the development of carbon capture technologies to either the engineering scale or to a commercial design.

The Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) officially opened their Illinois Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage (ICCS) project during a ceremony today at the National Sequestration Education Center at Richland Community College in Decatur, Illinois.

Today, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry (DOE) announced a new high-performance computing (HPC) initiative that will help U.S. industry accelerate the development of new or improved materials for use in severe environments. 

In a cross-disciplined approach, NETL researchers explore biogeochemistry and chemical reactions to help develop more effective ways to store carbon dioxide (CO2) underground and enhance production of oil and natural gas, all while protecting the environment for future generations.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), as part of its support for the City of Pittsburgh’s initiative to become a global leader in clean energy planning, modeling, and implementation, is supporting the installation and testing of a prototype fuel cell system in Pittsburgh. FuelCell Energy, Inc.—a company specializing in delivery of clean, innovative, and affordable fuel cell solutions to energy needs—under a cooperative agreement funded by NETL, will install the prototype fuel cell system for testing at the NRG YIELD facility in Pittsburgh.

Geothermal energy, heat energy derived below the earth’s surface, could be a dependable source of renewable energy. Depending on the temperature of the underground reservoir, the heat energy available can be used in a wide variety of applications including electricity generation or district heating and cooling. Opportunities for tapping its potential are expanding as new technology approaches, like use of directional drilling and pressurized water, continue to emerge.