National Renewable Energy Laboratory Technology Marketing Summaries

The development of high-power, high-energy, long-life, and low-cost rechargeable batteries is critical for the next-generation electric and hybrid electric vehicles. Among various battery technologies, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are promising energy storage devices as a result of the high energy densities, low self-discharges, and long cycle lives of known LIBs. Market analysis projects that the LIB market will increase to over $77 billion within the energy storage, electric vehicles, and... read more

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have seen increased commercialization and investment into R&D as energy efficiency begins to play a larger role in cutting emissions.  The U.S. Department of Energy expects to phase out tungsten bulbs by 2014, and compact fluorescents by 2020, leaving LEDs with virtually the entire lighting market. LED fixtures prices have also seen a 25% drop over the last two years, along with higher adoption in large commercial buildings and outdoor applications.... read more

With the annual potential of over 1.3 billion dry tons of biomass, the prospective growth of biomass related industries is tremendous. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) leads the DOE’s National Bioenergy Center, with research spanning the full spectrum from fundamental science to demonstration in fully integrated pilot plant scale operations. Plant cell walls represent a vast renewable carbon source. Biofuels derived from plant cell wall material is a promising renewable... read more

Thin film solar cells have been the focus of many research facilities in recent years that are working to decrease manufacturing costs and increase cell efficiency. Cadmium telluride (CdTe) has been well recognized as a promising photovoltaic material for thin film solar cells because of its near-optimum bandgap of ~1.5 eV and its high absorption coefficient. Researchers at NREL have found a unique way to dramatically increase efficiencies of substrate-configured CdTe solar cells.

Substrate-con... read more

Energy storage cells (also referred to herein as "cells" or "batteries") sold for consumer use in portable electronic devices and other applications have occasional failure in the field. These cells have typically passed a wide variety of safety tests, such as those required by governmental shipping regulations and by other certification organizations, but fail after the cells have been in use over time (e.g., several months), even though there have been no other reported problems with the... read more

Antireflective (AR) coatings on solar cells increase the efficiency of the cells by suppressing reflection, which allows more photons to enter a silicon (Si) wafer and increases the flow of electricity. Traditional AR coatings however, add significant cost to the solar cell manufacturing process. NREL scientists have devised a method and created a nanostructured Si wafer, or black Si, which eliminates the need for a traditional AR coating while achieving comparable or higher solar cell... read more

Demand for the production of bio-based fuels is on the rise around the world and in the United States due to a growing desire to overcome dependency on petroleum derived fuels.  Furthermore, there is a strong desire to produce bio-based fuels from renewable cellulosic materials from non-food based feedstocks such as crop residues, woodchips, dedicated energy crops, industrial and other waste sources.  This practice would lessen the utilization of food crops for humans and livestock as... read more

The solar market has changed dramatically over the last three years as an influx of low cost silicon (Si) and entered the market. The once high cost for solar panels, along with high margins for solar manufacturers, has been removed. The current market is characterized by consolidation, increasing competition, and steady bankruptcies. In order to gain a competitive edge, manufacturers are now looking to decrease the amount of materials used in solar photovoltaic (PV) cells. Traditionally this... read more

Duty cycles capture the influence of one variable in relations to the whole system. This allows for analysis in determining the impact of new variables, which are important in accurately gauging the systems in vehicles. In the collection of large data from fleet vehicles, there still exists a need to easily and accurately quantifying overall fleet operational characteristics (driving speed, distance, amount of stops…). The potential benefits of new vehicle technologies being introduced... read more

With the annual potential of over 1.3 billion dry tons of biomass, the prospective growth of biofuels is great. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) leads the DOE’s National Bioenergy Center, with research spanning the full spectrum from fundamental science to demonstration in fully integrated pilot plants.

The distinguishing aspects are that currently, lipid extraction from algae is a difficult process and is performed with solvents or high pressure. These processes use toxic... read more

Lighting controls offer significant potential for reducing that energy use, and new technologies that have emerged in recent years have enabled a wide range of innovative strategies, from room-level awareness of occupancy and daylight sensing to building-wide coordination of a fully networked system. About 40% of the average facility’s electrical load is dedicated to lighting, creating a sizeable market for energy efficient lighting hardware and software tools. The global market for... read more

Cellulose is the most abundant renewable fuel resource on Earth, accounting for about half of the organic material in the biosphere, and is the major polysaccharide found in plant biomass. Cellulosic biomass is a favorable feedstock for fuel ethanol production because it is both readily available and less expensive than either corn or sugarcane. A typical biomass feedstock is comprised of approximately 30-45% cellulose, 30-40% hemicelluloses, 15% lignin and 10% of other components.... read more

The solar market has changed dramatically over the last three years as an influx of low cost silicon (Si) has entered the market. In order to gain a competitive edge, manufacturers are now looking to decrease the amount of materials used in solar photovoltaic (PV) cells.  While traditionally this effort has concentrated only a few thin-film manufacturing materials and techniques, the drop in Si prices has forced for the development of innovations in deposition and advanced manufacturing... read more

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are a promising candidate for energy storage of electric drive vehicles due to their high power and energy density. The total electric vehicle LIB market shipped 2,400 units in 2008 generating over $28 million in revenue and is predicted to be greater than $10 billion by 2015. However, violent incidents reported for LIBs and consequent safety concerns pose a major obstacle to LIB market acceptance. Safety mitigation technologies used in small capacity consumer... read more

A parabolic trough power plant generates electricity using concentrated sunlight as the heat source for its power cycle. A parabolic trough plant is comprised of multiple rows of single- linear focusing collectors concentrating direct beam radiation onto tubular receivers (also known as heat-collection elements [HCEs], absorbers, or receivers) located along the focal line. Receivers are designed to minimize heat loss to the environment while absorbing as much sunlight as possible. NREL has... read more

At production costs less than $.80/Watt, Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) thin film technology exists as the lowest cost per watt choice for solar technology.  This characteristic is due partly to the single-phase nature of the absorber layer and the ease with which the CdTe source material can be formed into thin films required for module production.

During the 20+ years of research, NREL’s CdTe Group has directed its efforts at producing CdTe structures that allow more light to... read more

Ethylene is the most produced gaseous organic compound in the chemical industry and future demand is forecasted to grow at an average of 4.1 % per year.  It is the raw material used to manufacture polymers such as polyethylene, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, and polystyrene as well as fibers and other chemicals used in the industrial and consumer markets of packaging, transportation and construction. It can be used directly as a fuel, or serve as a precursor for longer carbon chain... read more

Alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG) is widely used as an organic synthesis intermediate, a medical and biochemical reagent, and as a nutritional additive in food and sports drinks.  Typically, it is produced from a derivative of petroleum and concentrated hydrochloric acid.  However, the rising cost of petroleum has led to the exploration and development of alternative, biological production systems for fuels and chemicals.  Recently, a number of organizations have successfully... read more

There currently exists a gap in the wavelength spectral window from roughly 530 nm to 570 nm, known as the “green gap,” where realization of efficient green LEDs is proving to be very difficult.  Current white light generation techniques rely on color mixing from red, blue and green light.  While reasonable red and blue LEDs are available for this scheme, availability of a good green LED poses a significant technological challenge.

For over a decade, wide bandgap III-V... read more

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2010 International Energy Outlook, solar energy is expected to grow globally by 12.7% per year until 2035; more than any other renewable energy source. To meet this demand, the renewable energy industry must develop and manufacture photovoltaic (PV) cells that are less expensive, more reliable, and more efficient in converting solar energy into electricity.

Quantum efficiency (QE) is the standard test which indicates how well a... read more

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2010 International Energy Outlook, solar energy is expected to grow globally by 12.7% per year until 2035; more than any other renewable energy source. The growth of on-site DC (Direct Current) power in new and existing buildings has significant energy savings potential through the elimination of inverters necessary to convert DC source power into AC (Alternating Current) as well as the elimination of equipment normally used to... read more

Neutron detectors are vital in the national security effort to detect special nuclear material at the hundreds of U.S. ports of entry. Special nuclear material emits neutrons which rarely occur spontaneously, therefore detection can be correlated to the existence of special nuclear matter found in plutonium and plutonium based weapons. Currently, the most common type of neutron detector uses pressurized tubes containing rare Helium-3 gas. This 60 year old instrumentation is bulky, costly, and... read more

In the United States, residential and commercial buildings together use more energy and emit more carbon dioxide than either the industrial or transportation section.  According to the Department of Energy, buildings use 39% of our total energy, two-thirds of our electricity, and one-eighth of our water. As a result of these fundamental environmental issues, the increasing cost of energy and our current economic challenges, there has been a growing urgency to operate building systems with... read more

Many current cooling systems for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) with a high power electric drive system utilize a low temperature liquid cooling loop for cooling the power electronics system and electric machines associated with the electric drive system.  These vehicles may contain additional cooling or thermal management systems for other vehicle components, such as an internal combustion engine, batteries, or the vehicle passenger cabin.  The cost of the separate low temperature... read more

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that a $1 per watt installed photovoltaic (PV) solar energy system - equivalent to 5-6¢/kilowatt hour (kWh) — would make non subsidized solar competitive with the wholesale rate of electricity, nearly everywhere in the United States.  In order to reach this goal, manufacturers in the highly competitive solar manufacturing industry have placed a greater focus on two important aspects of their processes - throughput and efficiency.... read more

Portable electronic applications including cell phones, laptop computers, as well as electric vehicles or hybrid electric vehicles require dependable rechargeable batteries.  The lithium ion (Li-ion) battery is the preferred source for portable energy storage due to its desirable energy to weight ratio. The materials used in the development of anodes, cathodes and electrolytes are directly responsible for the performance characteristics of Li-ion batteries.  In order to meet... read more