NREL – Meet Three Women Making Waves in Marine Energy Research

March 30, 2020

To offer some light in a tough time, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) celebrates Women’s History Month and highlights the innovation and leadership of women in marine energy research.

Representing two national laboratories, NREL and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), as well as the Department of Energy (DOE), the three women featured here direct departments to advance marine energy research and technology, conduct research themselves, and manage projects. These researchers demonstrate the impact women have in the water power industry and exemplify the variety of marine energy careers.

Jennifer Daw

As a senior researcher and group manager in NREL’s Integrated Application Center (IAC), Jennifer Daw focuses her work on integrated strategies for energy, water, and land/food systems, with an emphasis on the water systems, including water utilities, wastewater, hydropower, and marine energy.

Daw began working at NREL nearly a decade ago, and her work to leverage the energy-water-food nexus to develop sustainable solutions has become increasingly relevant over the years. When addressing complex, global issues caused by population growth, extreme weather events, obsolete infrastructure, and other factors, Daw believes that a comprehensive, cross-sectoral approach is key to creating balance that supports the environment, communities, and the economy. See how Daw’s background in water systems sustainability supports the IAC’s systems-based approach.

Carrie Schmaus

Carrie Schmaus is an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Science, Technology, and Policy Fellow in DOE’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO). She has a background in marine science and policy and joined WPTO as a Sea Grant Knauss Fellow.

For Schmaus, her work at DOE is driven by her passion for marine energy research and the impact it has on communities, the environment, aspiring marine scientists, and “the greater good.” Read why Schmaus encourages diversity in science and technology and her tips on how to get involved in the renewable energy sector.

Genevra Harker-Klimeš

Genevra Harker-Klimeš leads PNNL’s Coastal Sciences Division. An expert in oceanography with a background in the physical aspects of the ocean, Harker-Klimeš develops marine renewable energy devices at PNNL as part of a DOE initiative.

Working in the male-dominated world of oil rigs and boats, she quickly learned that her knowledge and perseverance were useful to advancing in the marine energy field. Harker-Klimeš appreciates that her work at PNNL promotes a cross-section of knowledge, where industry experts collaborate to address the country’s leading energy issues. Learn how Harker-Klimeš’ love for travel, outdoor spaces, and the ocean led her to working in marine energy.

The marine energy industry has the potential to provide consistent, predictable clean power and support global energy demands. Follow in the footsteps of Daw, Schmaus, and Harker-Klimeš and see how other women in water power are paving the way for a more diverse representation in the water power industry through both hydropower and marine energy research.

Super Secret Perovskite Solar Cell Company Bursts Out Of Stealth Mode

HPT has collaborated with NREL on perovskite ink for solar cells, like this one developed by NREL researcher David Moore (Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL).

For the past six years, a major US oil and gas holding company has been collaborating with the National Renewable Energy Lab on new breakthrough perovskite solar cell research. What a twist!

The effort has been conducted through a relatively new division of the firm and it hasn’t attracted much attention, except that earlier this month they finally let something slip on the newswires and now the cat’s out of the bag.

Oil Company Hearts Perovskite Solar Cells

The holding company in question is Hunt Consolidated, Inc., parent of the 80-year-old privately held global oil and gas leader Hunt Oil and of a somewhat lesser known entity called Hunt Perovskite Technologies.

So, why has a major fossil fuel company been collaborating with NREL on cutting edge research leading to the next generation of low cost solar cells?

After all, other global oil and gas stakeholders are venturing into renewable energy. However, they are mainly focused on market-proven technologies that don’t disrupt their fossil fuel business, at least not for the time being.

Hunt’s new perovskite research is a whole ‘nother kettle of fish. It could have a profound, widespread impact on the energy marketplace and accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewables.

That’s because perovskite technology can push down solar costs far below today’s costs. Perovskite solar cells are also lighter and more flexible, which means they have a greater range of application.

For a bonus, perovskite solar cells can be “printed” with a relatively conventional high-volume manufacturing process.

Perovskite solar cells are only just beginning to edge out of the laboratory, now that researchers have finally worked out the kinks. Once they hit the shelves, they will kick the global solar market into a whole new level of activity.

As for why Hunt, last week Forbestook a crack at the mystery and noted that the current head of the family business, Hunter L. Hunt, spent the past 10 years creating and then spinning off a new high voltage power line company.

That venture, along with the company’s investment arm Hunt Energy Enterprises, indicates that Hunt Oil is looking more holistically at new high tech opportunities in the energy market aside from just digging up stuff out of the ground.

More & Better Perovskite Solar Cells

The main challenge with perovskite as a solar cell material is durability, and researchers have been trying various formulas to improve durability without sacrificing too much solar conversion efficiency.

Hunt Perovskite Technologies launched in 2013 with a focus on the perovskite durability problem, as a corporate partner of NREL.

The work came to fruit late last year, when Hunt was able to demonstrate an ink-based manufacturing process for its new solar cell, to the satisfaction of the International Electrotechnical Commission. According to Hunt, the new solar cell exceeds IEC standards for temperature, humidity, white light and ultraviolet stress while achieving a fairly impressive solar conversion efficiency of 18%.

Legacy companies like Hunt are not going to shed their fossil fuel interests willy-nilly, but in a press statement Hunter Hunt indicated that his family business is prepping for change.

“We strategically chose to develop perovskite solar several years ago; we envisioned its strategic importance as an innovative new energy technology in addressing the world’s energy needs for the future, as well playing a part in combating climate change,” he said.  “As part of the global energy transition that is occurring, our solar team is hoping to make a meaningful contribution.”

Automated Electric Shuttle Makes its Debut on NREL Campus

The EasyMile automated electric shuttle took its inaugural ride around the NREL campus this week.

NREL’s intelligent campus ventures accelerated this week with the introduction of an automated electric vehicle in its employee shuttle fleet.

Designed to cover short distances and predefined routes, the fully electric EasyMile EZ10 shuttle took its inaugural ride on Monday, transporting staff and visitors around NREL’s South Table Mountain campus after a dedication ceremony marking its first day of operation.

Attending the dedication were NREL Director Martin Keller, Associate Laboratory Directors Johney Green and Julie Baker, and shuttle partners Jeff Womack of MV Transportation and Sharad Agarwal of EasyMile. The event drew local press from The Denver Post, CBS4, and the Golden Transcript, who interviewed Green as well as Kevin Walkowicz, manager of NREL’s Advanced Vehicles and Fueling Infrastructure Group, and Jeffrey Gonder, manager of NREL’s Mobility, Behavior, and Advanced Powertrains Group.

The automated vehicle serves as one of two circulator shuttles primarily transporting staff to and from the parking garage during peak hours. For the first year, onboard vehicle stewards from MV Transportation, the lab’s shuttle service subcontractor, will monitor vehicle operations to ensure safety.

The shuttle can carry up to 12 passengers and is designed to travel along a pre-programmed route. It is equipped with a full range of sensors and an intelligent vehicle system to detect obstacles and avoid collisions. Real-time data processing allows the driverless vehicle system to decide how to behave as it progresses safely along the road.

In-Use Operations Data to Inform Research Efforts

NREL will collect and analyze vehicle and charging system operational data to help researchers better understand associated energy use, charging and energy storage needs, and autonomous systems operation and control.

“The results of our data analysis effort will help inform the design and optimization of intelligent energy management systems onboard these types of vehicles—such as managed wireless charging or predictive route-based propulsion system control,” said Walkowicz.

NREL will also explore ways in which these systems can enable intelligent load management for the entire campus in scenarios with a high concentration of energy coming from renewables or behind-the-meter energy storage.

“It will also feed into NREL’s mobility modeling and energy impacts analyses of connected and automated vehicles, in particular related to automated mobility districts—campus-sized implementations of connected and automated vehicle technologies geared to realize the benefits of a fully electric automated mobility service within a confined region or district,” said Gonder.

Ultimately, this research effort will provide insight into a variety of areas important to the connected, intelligent, and automated vehicle space including grid integration, intelligent charge management, energy use, urban mobility, and human interactions with automated transportation systems.

Learn more about NREL’s transportation research and its on-campus sustainability efforts.

 

NREL Update: How Fast Can You Pump Hydrogen For An EV? NREL, Mercedes and GM Plan To Find Out

Pumping hydrogen for fuel cell-powered EVs is a bit trickier than plugging into an electric recharging station.

The pressure in HFEV tanks can get up into the 10,000 psi range, so hoses, fittings, gauges, and other fuel station gear all has to perform well under such pressure.

Even so, the optimal speed for pumping hydrogen for an HFEV at a station is not yet well defined at the moment, given the need for continuing station tank resupply, and for the fresh generation of hydrogen used to fill the tanks.

To help determine the optimal operational flow and requirements for HFEV stations, the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, CO, in a partnership with Mercedes-Benz and General Motors, is testing hydrogen filling at the lab’s Hydrogen Infrastructure Testing and Research Facility (HITRF), according to a facility spokesperson.

“It’s a cradle to grave investigation,” said the NREL guide who recently led a tour of the facility where new carbon fiber-reinforced tanks were on display.

The HITRF integrates commercial and test equipment in a system to mimic a hydrogen station, and it is the only facility in the national lab complex capable of fueling to the SAE J2601 standard — a fast-fueling protocol that dispenses 70 megapascals (MPa) of hydrogen at -40°C to the vehicle with a 3–5 minute fueling time, NREL’s program description says. A megapascal is about 145 psi. The SAE standard is “Fueling Protocols for Light Duty Gaseous Hydrogen Surface Vehicles.”

NREL and its partners are experimenting at the HITRF to help reduce the cost and installation time for a new hydrogen fueling station, to improve the stations’ availability and reliability, and to ensure the success of future hydrogen infrastructure deployment. One accident would attract far too much press attention.

The HITRF, with 340 kg of hydrogen storage on site, is the first facility of its kind in Colorado and serves as a proving ground for current generation component, system, and control testing, as well as perform testing for next-generation technology and controls.

NREL is also tapping federal funding for the HITRF, and helping US Department of Energy to test the hydrogen station equipment performance, or HySTEP devices as part of the US Department of Energy’s H2FIRST project.

The cost of each commercial hydrogen filling station could be high. One indicator of cost is that the Japanese government has invested $378 million to develop hydrogen infrastructure, of which about $1 million will be spent on each hydrogen station, according to a recent market analysis by Frost & Sullivan. “The cost of implementing a variable hydrogen pressure nozzle fuel station for storage and generation…has been the primary choking point in infrastructure expansion,” they say.

Other companies and entities involved in HFEV station development partnerships include the Hydrogen Energy Association, Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, HyFIVE, Linde, the California Fuel Cell Partnership, Ballard, and UK H2 Mobility, the analysts say.

The market for HFEVs, or fuel cell EVs, as they refer to them, is bright according to the analysts, who say about two million fuel cell vehicles are expected to be on the roads globally by 2030.

“The global market for FCEVs is estimated to reach about 583,360 units (per year) by 2030, with Asia Pacific (APAC) countries such as Japan and South Korea dominating the market with 218,651 and 80,440 units, respectively. FCEV markets in Europe and North America are projected to reach 117,000 units and 118,847 units, respectively, by 2030,” they say.

DOE targets having about 500,000 fuel cell cars on the road by 2030, Frost & Sullivan says.

Apart from its support of HFEV station development, DOE is supporting research that is working to reduce the price of an 80 kW fuel cell stack system to as little as $30. Along with reductions in the price of fuel cell stacks, efforts are also ongoing to lower the cost of hydrogen production to less than $2/kg, using the proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis method, the analysts point out.

Over the next decade, an estimated $10 billion will be invested globally in developing hydrogen technology and infrastructure by a group of private investor companies in conjunction with Toyota, Daimler and BMW, Frost & Sullivan reckon.

The Californian government has approved an expenditure of $20 million annually on hydrogen station deployments with private companies, which had already invested over $20 million at the end of 2017, the analysts say.

NREL: Envisioning Net-Zero Emission Energy Systems

NREL researchers contribute to a major journal article describing pathways to net-zero emissions for particularly difficult-to-decarbonize economic sectors

As global energy consumption continues to grow—by some projections, more than doubling by 2100—all sectors of the economy will need to find ways to drastically reduce their carbon dioxide emissions if average global temperatures are to be held under international climate targets. Two NREL authors contributed to a recently published article in Science that examined potential barriers and opportunities to decarbonizing certain energy systems that are essential to modern civilization but remain stubbornly reliant on carbon-emitting processes.

Difficult to Decarbonize Energy Sectors Contribute 27% of Carbon Emissions

Many sectors of the economy, such as light-duty transportation, heating, cooling, and lighting, could be straightforward to decarbonize through electrification and use of low- or net-zero-emitting energy sources. However, some energy uses, such as aviation, long-distance transport and shipping, steel and cement production, and a highly reliable electricity supply, will be more difficult to decarbonize. Together, these sectors contribute 27% of global carbon emissions today. With global demand for many of these sectors growing rapidly, solutions are urgently needed, the article’s authors write.

“The timeframes and economic costs of any energy transition are enormous. Most technologies installed today will have a lifetime of perhaps 30 to 50 years and the transition from research to actual deployment can also be quite lengthy,” said Bri-Mathias Hodge, an author on the paper and manager of the Power Systems Design and Studies Group at NREL. “Because of this we need to be able to identify the most pertinent issues that will need to be solved fairly far in the future and get started now, before we find ourselves heavily invested in even more carbon-intensive, long-term infrastructure.”

Diverse Expert Perspectives Informed Study

Discussion of the article’s underlying issues began at an Aspen Global Change Institute meeting in July 2016. “The diversity and depth of expertise at the workshop—and contributing to the paper—were outstanding,” said Doug Arent, the other NREL researcher to contribute to the paper and deputy associate lab director for Scientific Computing and Energy Analysis. “It was great to hear the different perspectives and learn about new areas that are related to our work at NREL, but that I don’t get to hear about every day at NREL,” added Hodge.

Considering demographic trends, institutional barriers, and economic and technological constraints, the group of researchers concluded that future net-zero emission systems will depend critically on integration of now-discrete energy industries. Although a range of existing low or net zero emitting energy technologies exist for these energy services, they may only be able to fully meet future energy demands through cross-sector coordination. Collaboration could speed research and development of new technologies and coordinating operations across sectors could better utilize capital-intensive assets, create broader markets, and streamline regulations.

Research Should Pursue Technologies and Integration to Decarbonize These Sectors

The article’s authors suggest two broad research thrusts: research in technologies and processes that could decarbonize these energy services, and research in systems integration to provide these energy services in a more reliable and cost-effective way.

The Science article concludes by stating, “if we want to achieve a robust, reliable, affordable, net-zero emissions energy system later this century, we must be researching, developing, demonstrating, and deploying those candidate technologies now.”

NREL’s collaboration with Purdue University’s School of Mechanical Engineering has yielded new insights for lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery electrodes at the microstructural level, which can lead to improvements in electric vehicle (EV) battery performance and lifespan.

Electrochemical simulation within a 3D nickel manganese cobalt electrode microstructure during a 20-minute fast charge. Streamlines represent Li-ion current in the electrolyte phase as ions travel through pores between the solid active material particles. Colors represent current magnitude. Illustration by Francois Usseglio-Viretta and Nicholas Brunhart-Lupo, NREL.

NREL’s collaboration with Purdue University’s School of Mechanical Engineering has yielded new insights for lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery electrodes at the microstructural level, which can lead to improvements in electric vehicle (EV) battery performance and lifespan. A stochastic algorithm developed by Purdue University, as part of NREL’s Advanced Computer-Aided Battery Engineering Consortium, is prominently displayed on the cover of the 10th anniversary issue of American Chemical Society’s Applied Materials and Interfaces. The NREL/Purdue team’s corresponding article, “Secondary-Phase Stochastics in Lithium-Ion Battery Electrodes” detailing the research and resulting discoveries, is showcased inside.

This work builds on earlier phases of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Computer-Aided Engineering for Electric-Drive Vehicle Batteries (CAEBAT) program. NREL’s energy storage team has led key research projects since CAEBAT’s inception in 2010, resulting in the creation of software tools for cell and battery design, as well as advancements in crash simulations used by many automakers.

This next phase of CAEBAT focuses on Li-ion electrode microstructure applications (accurately simulating the physics and geometric complexity of a battery) to better understand the impact materials and manufacturing controls have on cell performance. Li-ion batteries represent a complex non-linear system and considering EVs use larger batteries with more complex configurations, it is imperative to understand the interplay between electrochemical, thermal, and mechanical physics.

Says Kandler Smith, NREL co-author on the article, “Batteries are an exceedingly complex system—both in terms of their physics and geometry. In a real battery, it’s difficult to get a clear view of what’s going on inside, because so few measurements are possible. Models are a place where all physics can come together and the advantage of the model is that everything can be measured and probed. As we build an increasingly accurate physical understanding of batteries, we can expect that technological advances will follow.”

The secondary phase in Li-ion electrodes, comprised of inert binder and electrical conductive additives, has been found to critically influence various forms of microstructural resistances. This phase has benefits for improved electronic conductivity and mechanical integrity but may block access to electrochemical active sites and introduce additional transport resistances in the pore (electrolyte) phase, thus, canceling out its original advantages.

Because the secondary phase is important for electrode mechanical integrity and electronic conductivity, its recipe and morphology will have a strong impact on battery kinetics and transport. The algorithm created and explained in the journal article explores morphologies for this phase. Stochastics comes into play as each microstructure variant is numerically generated multiple times using random seeds to ensure statistically relevant conclusions. By simulating battery electrochemistry on the various microstructure geometries, researchers can calculate the pore size of an electrode’s microstructure geometry as well as the lithium displacement within an electrode to evaluate the difficulty of movement. Finding ways to overcome resistances via electrode microstructural modifications can greatly improve overall Li-ion battery performance.

The value of this work is that improvements to Li-ion batteries—the most expensive and complex component in EVs—is helping to overcome the concerns consumers have that limit EV adoption, including restricted driving range and high costs.

NREL: New Study Indicates Shorter-Term Storage Can Reduce Variable-Generation Curtailments

Storage devices, like this one-megawatt battery at the National Wind Technology Center, can reduce variable generation curtailments. Photo by Dennis Schroeder / NREL 47219

Increasing the penetration of variable energy sources such as solar and wind energy in the grid—without introducing heavy curtailment—does not require costly, very-long-duration storage, says a new study by National Renewable Energy Laboratory researchers Paul Denholm and Trieu Mai.

Historically, energy storage has been considered too pricey an option for integrating wind and solar into the grid, and utilities have relied on less expensive options. However, declining costs indicate that energy storage solutions may play a greater role in providing grid flexibility and storing because of their ability to decrease the amounts of curtained wind and solar generation.

When wind and solar are curtailed, grid operators cannot use all of the available renewable resources (i.e., there is more wind blowing than the grid can utilize). Often, this means that the grid must rely on a fossil-fuel energy generation source, rather than a cleaner source of energy. But with storage solutions, operators can save some of that excess energy, and thereby incorporate more renewable energy into the grid.

“Interest in very-high-renewable systems warrants further exploration into storage’s role in the future grid,” says Mai.

The team’s study, “Timescales of Energy Storage Needed for Reducing Renewable Energy CurtailmentPDF,” examines the amount and configuration of energy storage required to decrease variable-generation curtailments under high-renewable scenarios. Researchers developed a case study based on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Vision report, in which variable generation provides 55% of the electricity demand in the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid system in 2050. Analysis results showed that the amount of avoided curtailment falls off rapidly with storage durations longer than 8 hours, with the first 4 hours providing the largest benefit.

Denholm and Mai developed several energy mix scenarios based on the isolated ERCOT grid system, and found that deploying wind and solar together produced much lower levels of curtailment than when deployed individually.

“Wind and photovoltaics play well together,” Denholm says. However, the mix that produces the least amount of curtailment uses about twice as much wind as solar.

Among all energy mixes analyzed, there was little incremental benefit to deploying costly, very-long-duration or seasonal storage—at penetrations of up to 55%, the greatest benefit is found with the first 4 hours of storage.

NREL, University of Washington Scientists Elevate Quantum Dot Solar Cell World Record to 13.4 Percent

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) established a new world efficiency record for quantum dot solar cells, at 13.4 percent.

Colloidal quantum dots are electronic materials and because of their astonishingly small size (typically 3-20 nanometers in dimension) they possess fascinating optical properties. 

Quantum dot solar cells emerged in 2010 as the newest technology on an NREL chart that tracks research efforts to convert sunlight to electricity with increasing efficiency. 

The initial lead sulfide quantum dot solar cells had an efficiency of 2.9 percent. Since then, improvements have pushed that number into double digits for lead sulfide reaching a record of 12 percent set last year by the University of Toronto. 

The improvement from the initial efficiency to the previous record came from better understanding of the connectivity between individual quantum dots, better overall device structures and reducing defects in quantum dots.

 NREL scientists Joey Luther and Erin Sanehira are part of a team that has helped NREL set an efficiency record of 13.4% for a quantum dot solar cell.

The latest development in quantum dot solar cells comes from a completely different quantum dot material. The new quantum dot leader is cesium lead triiodide (CsPbI3), and is within the recently emerging family of halide perovskite materials. 

In quantum dot form, CsPbI3 produces an exceptionally large voltage (about 1.2 volts) at open circuit.

“This voltage, coupled with the material’s bandgap, makes them an ideal candidate for the top layer in a multijunction solar cell,” said Joseph Luther, a senior scientist and project leader in the Chemical Materials and Nanoscience team at NREL. 

The top cell must be highly efficient but transparent at longer wavelengths to allow that portion of sunlight to reach lower layers. 
Tandem cells can deliver a higher efficiency than conventional silicon solar panels that dominate today’s solar market.

This latest advance, titled “Enhanced mobility CsPbI3 quantum dot arrays for record-efficiency, high-voltage photovoltaic cells,” is published in Science Advances. The paper was co-authored by Erin Sanehira, Ashley Marshall, Jeffrey Christians, Steven Harvey, Peter Ciesielski, Lance Wheeler, Philip Schulz, and Matthew Beard, all from NREL; and Lih Lin from the University of Washington.

The multijunction approach is often used for space applications where high efficiency is more critical than the cost to make a solar module. 
The quantum dot perovskite materials developed by Luther and the NREL/University of Washington team could be paired with cheap thin-film perovskite materials to achieve similar high efficiency as demonstrated for space solar cells, but built at even lower costs than silicon technology–making them an ideal technology for both terrestrial and space applications.

“Often, the materials used in space and rooftop applications are totally different. It is exciting to see possible configurations that could be used for both situations,” said Erin Sanehira a doctoral student at the University of Washington who conducted research at NREL.

The NREL research was funded by DOE’s Office of Science, while Sanehira and Lin acknowledge a NASA space technology fellowship.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

NREL Inks Technology Agreement for High Efficiency Multijunction Solar Cells

October 24, 2017

MicroLink Devices opens the door for new multijunction solar cell applications

October 24, 2017

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has entered into a license agreement with MicroLink Devices, Inc. (Niles, IL) to commercialize NREL’s patented inverted metamorphic (IMM) multijunction solar cells. 

While high-efficiency multijunction solar cells are commonly used for space satellites, researchers have continued to look for ways to improve cost and performance to enable a broader range of applications. 

The IMM technique licensed by MicroLink Devices enables multijunction III-V solar cells to be grown with both higher efficiencies and lower costs than traditional multijunction solar cells by reversing the order in which individual sub-cells are typically grown.

Two hands holding the IMM solar cellA 6-inch MicroLink Devices high-efficiency, lightweight and flexible ELO IMM solar cell wafer. Photo courtesy of MicroLink Devices

The IMM architecture enables greater power extraction from the higher-bandgap sub-cells and further allows the use of more efficient low-bandgap sub-cell materials such as Indium Gallium Arsenide. 

In contrast to traditional III-V multijunction solar cells, IMM devices are removed from their growth substrate, allowing the substrate to be reused over multiple growth runs – a significant component in reducing overall device costs. Removing the substrate also reduces the weight of the solar cell, which is important for applications such as solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles.

MicroLink Devices is an Illinois-based ISO 9001 certified semiconductor manufacturer specializing in removing active semiconductor device layers from their growth substrate via a proprietary epitaxial liftoff (ELO) process. 

By utilizing its ELO capabilities, MicroLink will be able to make thin, lightweight, and highly flexible IMM solar cells which are ideal for use in unmanned aerial vehicles, space-based vehicles and equipment, and portable power generation applications. 

“IMM makes multijunction solar cells practical for a wide variety of weight-, geometry-, and space-constrained applications where high efficiency is critical,” said Jeff Carapella, one of the researchers in NREL’s III-V multijunction materials and devices research group that developed the technology.

“Former NREL Scientist Mark Wanlass pioneered the use of metamorphic buffer layers to form tandem III-V solar cells with three or more junctions. 

This approach is very synergistic with our ELO process technology, and MicroLink Devices is excited to now be commercializing IMM solar cells for high-performance space and UAV applications,” said Noren Pan, CEO of MicroLink Devices.

MicroLink and NREL have collaborated to evaluate the use of ELO for producing IMM solar cells since 2009, when MicroLink was the recipient of a DOE PV Incubator subcontract from NREL. 

Tests of MicroLink-produced IMM solar cells conducted at NREL have demonstrated multiple successful substrate reuses and efficiencies exceeding 30%.

NREL has more than 800 technologies available for licensing and continues to engage in advanced research and development of next-generation IMM and ultra-high-efficiency multijunction solar cells with both academic and commercial collaborators. 

Companies interested in partnering to advance research on or commercialize renewable energy technologies can visit the EERE Energy Innovation Portal, which features descriptions of all renewable energy technologies funded by the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. 

Parties interested specifically in ongoing development of IMM solar cells can contact Dan Friedman, Manager of NREL’s High Efficiency Crystalline Photovoltaics Group, for more information.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

NREL Charges Forward to Reduce Time at EV Stations

Shortening recharge times may diminish range anxiety, increase EV market viability, however Speeding up battery charging will be crucial to improving the convenience of owning and driving an electric vehicle (EV). 

The Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is collaborating with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and industry stakeholders to identify the technical, infrastructure, and economic requirements for establishing a national extreme fast charging (XFC) network.

Today’s high power EV charging stations take 20 minutes or more to provide a fraction of the driving range car owners get from 10 minutes at the gasoline pump. 

Porsche is leading the industry with the deployment of two XFC 350kW EV charging stations in Europe that will begin to approach the refueling time of gasoline vehicles. Photo courtesy of Porsche.

Drivers can pump enough gasoline in 10 minutes to carry them a few hundred miles. Most of today’s fast charging stations take 20 minutes to provide 50-70 miles of electric driving range. 

A series of articles in the current edition of the Journal of Power Sources summarizes the NREL team’s findings on how battery, vehicle, infrastructure, and economic factors impact XFC feasibility.

“You can charge an EV today at one of 44,000 stations across the country, but if you can’t leave your car plugged in for a few hours, you may only get enough juice to travel across town a few times,” says NREL Senior Engineer and XFC Project Lead Matthew Keyser. 

“We’re working to match the time, cost, and distance that generations of drivers have come to expect—with the additional benefits of clean, energy-saving technology.”

While XFC can help overcome real (and perceived) EV driving range limitations, the technology also introduces a series of new challenges. More rapid and powerful charging generates higher temperatures, which can lead to battery degradation and safety issues. 

Power electronics found in commercially available EVs are built for slower overnight charging and may not be able to withstand the stresses of higher voltage battery systems which are expected for higher power charging systems. XFC’s extreme, intermittent demands for electricity could also pose challenges to grid stability.

The XFC research team is exploring solutions for these issues, examining factors related to vehicle technology, gaps in existing technology, new demands on system design, and additional thermal management requirements. Researchers are also looking beyond vehicle systems to consider equipment and station design and potential impact on the grid.

NREL’s intercity travel analysis revealed that recharge times comparable to the time it takes to pump gas will require charge rates of at least 400 kW. 
Current DC Fast Charging rates are limited to 50-120 kW, and most public charging stations are limited to 7kW. 

XFC researchers have concluded that this will necessitate increases in battery charging density and new designs to minimize potential related increases in component size, weight, and cost. 

It appears that a more innovative battery thermal management system will be needed if XFC is to become a reality, and new strategies and materials will be needed to improve battery cell and pack cooling, as well as the thermal efficiency of cathodes and anodes.

“Yes, this substantial increase in charging rate will create new technical issues, but they are far from insurmountable—now that we’ve identified them,” says NREL Engineer Andrew Meintz.

Development of a network of XFC stations will depend on cost, market demand, and management of intermittent power demands. 
The team’s research revealed a need for more extensive analysis of potential station siting, travel patterns, grid resources, and business cases. 

At the same time, it is clear that any XFC network will call for new infrastructure technology and operational practices, along with cooperation and standardization across utilities, station operators, and manufacturers of charging systems and EVs.

These studies provide an initial framework for effectively establishing XFC technology. The initiative has attracted keen interest from industry members, who realize that faster charging will ultimately lead to wider market adoption of EV technologies.

This research is supported by the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office. Learn more about NREL’s energy storage and EV grid integration research.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for the Energy Department by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.