PNNL

What’s in store for the future of energy technology? Researchers and professionals from over 20 countries and 45 states will soon gather to share innovative ways of addressing America's energy challenges through technological advancements. The ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit will hold its 7th annual conference and showcase from February 29 to March 2 at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor, MD.

The summit's Technology Showcase will feature 250 energy technologies, including seven projects and tools from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

A PNNL scientist examines a multi-bed adsorption chiller with heat recuperation. PARTNER PAVILION BOOTH PNNL — Booth 507

Visit PNNL's Partner Pavilion booth to speak with our researchers and learn about energy and environmental research. Our research areas include battery chemistry, biofuels and biochemical, grid-scale energy storage, processing of lightweight metals and alloys, soft and permanent magnets, fuel cells, HVAC technologies, power grid analytics and operation, and distributed controls for the grid and buildings. Our Partner Pavilion booth will feature the following topics:

Power Grid Visualization and Decision Support

Shared Perspectives is a software tool that allows a user to seamlessly interact with underlying tools for data management, modeling, simulation, and analysis. The underlying tools are part of the GridOPTICS tool suite, which uses high performance computing, distributed controls, and advanced algorithms. In its current form, two different entities can share information simultaneously and selectively. Shared Perspectives was designed to be a resource for effective communication, collaboration, and coordination among electric utilities.

Buildings-to-Grid Connectivity

Upwards of 70 percent of the nation's electricity is used to keep building structures heated, cooled, well-lit, and functioning. Transactive control, a critical component of this buildings-to-grid concept, is a system of signals representing electricity costs and power needs, exchanged seamlessly via two-way communication across the power system. The concept has been successfully tested in several demonstration projects. PNNL is now testing transaction-based energy management across three campuses with a collection of tools and techniques to coordinate electricity generation and consumption onsite.

Novel Carbon Capture

PNNL has developed a reusable organic liquid that can pull harmful acid gases, such as carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide, out of industrial processes, natural gas streams, and power plant emissions. The process could directly replace current methods and capture double the amount of harmful gases in a way that is less expensive and consumes less energy. The tool may be used in a number of industrial process applications and for removal of carbon dioxide from natural gas production streams.

EXHIBIT FLOOR BOOTHS Non-Wire Methods for Transmission Congestion Management through Predictive Simulation and Optimization — Booth 715

PNNL is advancing high-performance-computing techniques that can assess unused power transmission capacity in real-time to manage congestion in the power grid. This type of assessment is traditionally performed annually using only conservative, worst-case scenarios. Computing techniques that rate transmission capacity in real-time could improve the existing transmission infrastructure by up to 30 percent and facilitate increased integration of renewable generation into the grid—all without having to build costly new transmission lines.

Consortium for Advanced Sorghum Phenomics (CASP) — Booth 843

Drought and salinity put stress on plants, making it difficult for them to flourish. PNNL is addressing this problem through The Consortium for Advanced Sorghum Phenomics (CASP). The mission of CASP is to accelerate the breeding of biomass sorghum to maximize yield under drought conditions. Research from the CASP project will ultimately lead to an increase in production of renewable transportation fuels and expansion of bioenergy production into affected areas, both of which will enhance the economic and energy security of the United States.

Genset Heat Recovery Adsorption Chiller for Military Forward Operations Bases — Booth 844

Compared to typical home environments, the conditions on military forward operating bases (FOBs) can be harsh. High temperatures and limited electrical power and water supplies place heightened demands on heating and cooling technologies. To combat this problem, PNNL and collaborators are developing a compact adsorption chiller that will run off waste heat generated by portable power-generating equipment onsite, reducing fuel use by up to 50 percent.

Catalyzed Organo-Metathetical (COMET) Process for Magnesium Production from Seawater — Booth 1018

Magnesium is one of the most promising materials in the future of vehicle manufacturing. Because it's lighter than both steel and aluminum, magnesium can be used to create lightweight car parts, reducing fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions without compromising vehicle performance or safety. But current methods for obtaining and utilizing magnesium are intensive and expensive. PNNL is developing a new process to produce magnesium from seawater using a low-temperature, low-energy dehydration process projected to be significantly less expensive and more efficient than any conventional magnesium extraction method available today.

For more information, contact energyenvironment@pnnl.gov.