Research and Development

Through programs such as Transformative Power Generation, High-Performance Materials, and Advanced Coal Processing, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is conducting research and development

Inspecting generators has always been a time-consuming and expensive job, yet one that needs to be done at regular intervals. An impressive new visual inspection robot can save owners many days of unnecessary

Chezy and Manning developed equations that are used to determine the average volumetric flowrate in open channels. This article explains a laboratory method that was developed and tested to further identify

Fusion research and development have been ongoing for decades, and many people probably believe a fusion power system will remain out of reach for decades longer. But the truth is that more than 100 tokamaks have been constructed and the science behind fusion is well-understood. What has been elusive is generating net energy from a […]

Buoyed by two major developments last week for prospective customers, NuScale Power is maintaining “strong program momentum” toward commercialization of its small modular reactor (SMR) technology, the company told POWER.  On Oct. 16, the Department of Energy (DOE) approved a $1.355 billion award to fund the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP), a potential 720-MWe NuScale […]

Compact (H-type) vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) are not as familiar as their horizontal-axis, propeller-type cousins. The two have their origins in the windmills of the 12th century, and even earlier, but the former has lacked financing, and research and development resources that have been poured into the latter to produce some of the lowest-cost energy […]

TerraPower and X-energy will each receive $80 million in initial federal funding under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) to build their two distinct advanced nuclear reactors and begin operating them within seven years.  Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette made the much-awaited announcement about the first ARDP awards in a brief Twitter […]