As a recognized leader in research data curation, collaboration and virtualization for the national decarbonization effort, NETL’s geo-data infrastructure work was on display at national summits in October. The Lab’s digital infrastructure and resources are invaluable in advancing decarbonization projects related to carbon capture and storage (CCS), critical minerals (CM) and hydrogen.

At the 2023 National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine's U.S. Research Data Summit and separately at the 2023 Geological Society of America (GSA) Connects Conference, NETL showcased its cutting-edge data infrastructure. Both of these summits were important opportunities for NETL to share and raise awareness for its focus on the development of advanced, safe and reliable data-science solutions to support the nation’s transition to a decarbonized economy and energy sector to address climate change.

One key NETL-developed asset showcased during these conferences was the Energy Data eXchange (EDX), a robust, mature and highly relevant data repository aligned with the summit's goals of enhancing collaboration and reducing research duplication.

 EDX offers vetted, authoritative resources, facilitating the development of safe, reliable next-generation technologies for various stakeholders, including commercial, regulatory and research and development professionals. Soon, EDX will transition to a multi-cloud environment, improving accessibility and integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies to democratize digital infrastructure for all while specifically addressing CCS challenges. The recently released Executive Order on “The Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” features directives on ensuring safe and secure implementation of AI and data-driven efforts. EDX and NETL’s Science-based AI/Ml Institute (SAMI) are working with DOE leadership to support and meet the requirements delineated under this executive order.

The EDX upgrade aligns with SAMI, which leverages AI/ML and high-performance computing to accelerate technology development for clean and efficient energy production. Since 2020, SAMI has focused on ensuring the appropriate and trustworthy reuse of data, such as that stored on EDX, to drive applied energy research in line with decarbonization needs.

NETL decarbonization efforts several areas of research in CCS. NETL has launched EDX DisCO2ver, a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded platform with data integration, model/tool virtualization, and the capacity to be a central hub for diverse Energy Data eXchange for Carbon Capture and Sequestration (EDX4CCS), like the CO2-Locate Database, the Class VI Data Support Tool Geodatabase, the CO2 Pipeline Route Planning Database and the CCS Environmental Justice-Social Justice (EJ-SJ) Database, as well as those from the National Energy Risk Assessment Partnership (NRAP).

NETL is also developing EDX Spatial, a spatial data visualization platform that allows researchers and industry professionals to map out historical data collection points, enhancing accessibility and user comprehension of the vast data resources.

Kelly Rose, Ph.D., NETL’s senior fellow for computational science and engineering, highlighted the democratization of data for energy research at the summit as a panelist speaker. EDX4CCS was also featured as a prime resource for addressing CCS needs on the summit’s pre-event support document.

NETL developments were also featured at the GSA Connects Conference, an event that promoted cross-sector collaboration in geoscience. NETL highlighted research in CCS, CM and hydrogen at the conference. EDX supports the safe, secure, and responsible data-driven future for CCS, critical minerals and hydrogen.

These products and developments are supporting NETL’s role in decarbonization and will enhance future efforts, such as the DOE-funded hydrogen hub projects, driving low-cost, clean hydrogen development. All these research sectors align closely with the White House's Energy Communities effort and other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) programs dedicated to fostering equitable transitions for economic, environmental and social progress. 

NETL is a DOE national laboratory that drives innovation and delivers technological solutions for an environmentally sustainable and prosperous energy future. By leveraging its world-class talent and research facilities, NETL is ensuring affordable, abundant and reliable energy that drives a robust economy and national security, while developing technologies to manage carbon across the full life cycle, enabling environmental sustainability for all Americans.