Award Data

The Mobile Fuel Cell Generator (MFCG) addresses needs to increase the reliability of electricity delivery, using equitable, inclusive, sustainable solutions. To address this problem, RockeTruck is developing a portable generator that can be easily transported to deliver clean electric power when grid power is not available. This can include temporary needs, such as utility-mandated “Public Servi ...

XUV Lasers, in collaboration with Colorado State University, proposes to develop and commercialize key components for the implementation of ultra-intense laser systems operating at greatly increased repetition rates. Ultra-high power, ultrashort pulse lasers systems are the central tool driving many of the recent advances in high energy density plasma science. They enable the generation of high en ...

The Problem Being Addressed The laser-based electron accelerator is an innovative tool to obtain GeV to TeV electron energies for high-energy particle physics experiments. The development of high-power laser systems for these accelerators, however, puts stringent challenges on the very limits of the laser materials themselves. The enormous heat generated by the high power creates great thermal str ...

The massive scale of global plastics production, which reached 390 million metric tons in 2021, has resulted in significant environmental challenges, including carbon emissions and pollution. A staggering 75% of discarded plastic ends up in landfills, while a mere 9% is recycled, causing a considerable amount to enter our ecosystems. Therefore, it is crucial to create affordable biodegradable plas ...

As TRISO-coated nuclear fuels are increasingly planned for use in forthcoming commercial reactor designs, qualification strategies for the fuel form are of increasing interest. In the shortterm, it is expected that U.S. based reactor developers will collect irradiation experiment data for their TRISO fuel designs that deviate in any product specifications or extend outside of the operational envel ...

Statement of the problem or situation that is being addressed. In the past, the cost and complexity of high temperature heat exchangers for nuclear reactors have been inversely proportional due to the difficulties inherent in manufacturing finely-detailed welded or brazed structures. To address this problem, additive manufacturing is being used to produce a heat exchanger with extremely large surf ...

This project aims to advance and commercially translate technology that uses concentrated solar radiation to convert natural gas directly into high-quality graphite and hydrogen. The solar-driven pyrolysis process involves no catalyst and releases zero CO2 as it captures carbon in the form of high-value graphite in a scalable, roll-to-roll (R2R) process. The pyrolysis process also produces a high- ...

Floating offshore wind power is poised for rapid growth in the US, where approximately 2/3 of the US offshore wind energy potential (2.8 out of 4.3 TW) exists over waters deep enough to require the use of floating platforms. However, cost remains an obstacle to extensive, rapid deployment of floating offshore wind. Anchoring floating wind installations to the sea floor is presently up to 15% of to ...

Lithium is a strategic mineral commodity that is fundamental to achieving U.S. energy independence. Today, the U.S. is reliant on other countries for a vast majority of its battery critical minerals processing, which poses risk of disruption to domestic supply chain. Our fundamental objective is to take a leading role in the development of a robust domestic minerals extraction and processing suppl ...

This project will develop and prototype a new class of lightweight, high-performance wave energy converters for short-duration deployment and installation in smaller-scale applications. It is anticipated that the size of the wave energy converter will be in meter or submeter scale, the weight is in kilogram level or less, while the output power will be 5~10 W/m3 or 50~100 mW/kg. The novel energy h ...