Award Data

Bright coherent light sources in the soft x-ray region of the spectrum are useful for a variety of applications of interest to DOE in the basic sciences, nanoscience and biology, and for technological applications. At Free-Electron Laser Facilities, peak power output of the x-ray pulses is enhanced by using a mid-infrared laser pulse instead of a near-infrared pulse. The current front end for mid- ...

The Department of Energy is developing a series of machines that will further advance the nation¿s fusion energy program. The magnets used in these systems will require advanced insulation solutions, in order to allow for operation at elevated temperatures and in high-radiation environments. The electrical insulation used in future fusion devices must be capable of withstanding the combined loa ...

Currently, the thermoelectric (TE) materials used in modules for vehicle waste heat recovery suffer from operation temperatures and figures of merits (FOM) that are too low. To address these problems, a new alloy semiconductor material system, based on a new alloy, has been identified. However, the potential for this new alloy system to replace currently used TE materials is limited by the alloy ...

Improved hydrogen separation membranes are needed for next generation power systems. Recent advances in metal membrane technology have identified a Pd alloy composite membrane that is not susceptible to embrittlement and poisoning problems, which have prevented widespread industrial use of Pd for high-temperature H2 separation. However, there is still a need to prepare thin membranes on porous ...

Bio-oils produced from fast pyrolysis of cellulosic biomass are a promising option to produce renewable liquid fuels from sustainable, domestically produced biomass-resources. However, bio-oils must be upgraded if they are to be used as home heating oil, or as replacements for gasoline and diesel fuel. This project will develop technology for upgrading bio-oils by aqueous-phase hydrogenation and ...

Statement of Problem: The US DOE has set a goal to advance photovoltaics (PV) technology to reach installed costs of less than $1/Watt. This requires module costs below $0.50/ Watt. Thin film PV provides the lowest documented production cost per watt ($0.67) of any PV technology. Module reliability has a direct impact on the levalized cost of energy (LCOE), or the cost of the energy produced by ...

Improved ignition methods are needed for advanced vehicle combustion systems, in particular those that allow reliable ignition of lean mixtures in gasoline engines at elevated pressures. Laser ignition is a candidate technology having the potential to address these needs. However, despite more than 40 years of laser ignition research, the technology is not yet in commercial use. A critical proble ...

Development of a solid with high conductivity of Mg2+ cations will allow application of that substance as membrane in magnesium-air batteries. These batteries will be much cheaper, safer, and at the same time store much more energy than lead-, lithium- or sodium batteries with the same weight. Such batteries would be ideal for electric vehicles and for the off-peak storage of renewable elect ...

Due to huge levels of computing parallelism and higher performance per watt, comuting accelerators are crucial for increasing HPC efficiency. This is economically significant for small and medium size manufacturing companies (SMMs) and essential for transition to Exascale computing. However, due to high procurement costs, in-house maintenance of an accelerated HPC cluster is prohibitive for many ...

Electrons play a very key role in plasma chemistry and dynamics of low temperature plasmas. Improved capability for measuring electron number density, ne, and electron energy distribution function, EEDF, in weakly ionized low temperature plasmas would benefit both fundamental study and application areas. For example, the capability would directly benefit emerging research targeted at modifying and ...