Recent lbnl_et items

Integrating AI Data Centers with the Power Grid

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) has triggered an unprecedented surge in electricity demand, with US data center energy use projected to double or triple 2023 levels by 2028. This exponential growth places strain on grid infrastructure, which can hinder timely construction of desired computing capacity. To bridge this supply-demand gap, utilities and AI developers are increasingly turning to demand flexibility, a strategy that incentivizes shifting or reducing power use during peak periods of grid stress. Data centers are uniquely equipped for flexible operations due to their digital workloads, built-in redundancy, and onsite energy assets. This article outlines four primary mechanisms to enable data center flexibility: computational load flexibility (shifting tasks temporally or geographically), flexible use of core facility infrastructure adjustments, energy storage utilization, and onsite electricity generation. To encourage adoption, utilities are deploying...

In-Situ tuning of Catalyst Surface Chemistry for Understanding Proton-Transfer in Bipolar Membranes

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bipolar membranes (BPMs) provide a platform to isolate and study heterolytic water dissociation (WD) and the reverse H+/OH- recombination reactions (H+/OH- RC) within a confined ionic heterojunction formed between acidic and alkaline ionomer membranes. Previous work has demonstrated that incorporating nanoparticle catalysts within the heterojunction can reduce the overpotentials (i.e., change in transmembrane bias) to drive WD and H+/OH- RC. Various mechanistic hypotheses have been proposed to explain the observed rate enhancement, typically invoking local electric fields and catalyst surface chemistry. However, the fundamental role of the catalyst within the BPM remains unclear, and alternative modalities for interrogating H+-transfer kinetics in BPMs are thus necessary. Here, we report a platform for controlling the WD and H+/OH- RC catalyst chemistry in-operando by polarizing the catalyst layer via an orthogonal circuit and measuring the full-cell (e.g., BPM water electrolyzer...

Structure of iridium oxide catalysts dictates performance differences for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A systematic catalyst loading study reveals the higher catalytic activity of amorphous iridium oxide arises from bulk participation via suggested electrochemical descriptors, while identifying loading-independent intrinsic electrochemical properties. Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are promising zero-emission technologies. However, their high cost remains a barrier to widespread adoption. Iridium oxide is commonly used as an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst, and its cost and scarcity make it essential to reduce its loading while increasing its activity. Evaluation of iridium oxide activity should be carried out in the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) configuration to replicate realistic operating conditions. Herein, we present a comprehensive benchmarking framework to accurately evaluate the amorphous and crystalline iridium oxides at the MEA level. By systematically varying the catalyst loading, this study confirmed that each MEA was utilized...

Understanding Water Dissociation Physics through Controlled Oxide Surface Chemistry

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Bipolar membranes (BPMs) provide a platform for the interconversion between electric and chemical potential gradients and the precise control over local ion concentrations and fluxes, making BPMs attractive materials for many electrochemical processes. In reverse bias charge carriers must be generated via heterolytic water dissociation (WD, 2H2O → OH- + H3O+), and which must be accomplished at high rates and low overpotentials to realize scalable BPM applications. It is hypothesized that WD is driven by a combination of electric field and catalytic effects within the bipolar junction. However, the extent to which each contributes to observed rates, and the possible interplay between the two, is yet to be resolved. Here, we explore the interfacial physics within the BPM to understand the kinetics and mechanisms of water dissociation on TiO2 and graphene oxide (GO) derivative catalysts. Using a membrane-potential-sensing testbed we isolate the WD polarization signature in a BPM...

Behavioral Interventions for Waste Reduction: A Systematic Review of Experimental Studies

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Wasteful behavior poses major environmental, economic, and social challenges, yet the behavioral science literature on waste reduction remains fragmented. This systematic review synthesizes 99 experimental and quasi-experimental studies published between 2017 and 2021 that test behavioral interventions to reduce waste. This period captures a critical phase when global waste management systems faced unprecedented disruptions, including the 2017 launch of China's National Sword policy, which dramatically reshaped global recycling markets and exposed critical weaknesses in international waste systems. We adopt a broad definition of waste-including both discarded materials (e.g., food, trash, recyclables) and inefficient resource use (e.g., electricity, water, fuel)to better capture the full range of behaviors where interventions can reduce environmental impact and allow cross-domain comparisons. Our goal is to examine the behavioral interventions used, how interventions are structured,...

Activating magnetite ores for aqueous ironmaking at high current densities

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Low-temperature electrochemical cells reducing iron oxides to metal in alkaline electrolytes can support fully electrified steelmaking processes. Previous studies on these cells have primarily focused on high-surface-area hematite, Fe 2 O 3 , reactants... Low-temperature electrochemical cells reducing iron oxides to metal in alkaline electrolytes can support fully electrified steelmaking processes. Previous studies on these cells have primarily focused on high-surface-area hematite, Fe 2 O 3 , reactants whereas attempts to reduce suspensions of magnetite, Fe 3 O 4 —one of the two feedstocks for existing ironmaking reactors—have generally been limited to low rates of reaction (<30 mA cm -2 ). Here, we control the crystalline domain size of Fe 2 O 3 and Fe 3 O 4 particles in 10 M NaOH electrolytes to study how the nanoscale morphology of oxides controls the rate of electrochemical ironmaking. Rotating-ring disk electrode measurements of Fe 2+ , in-situ Raman spectroscopy of...

Correction to “Anions in Corrosion: Influence of Polymer Electrolytes on the Interfacial Ion Transfer Kinetics of Cu at Au(111) Surfaces”

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Correction to “Anions in Corrosion: Influence of Polymer Electrolytes on the Interfacial Ion Transfer Kinetics of Cu at Au(111) Surfaces”

Cooperative Adaptive Junctions Govern Overall Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiencies for overall water splitting on particulate systems is low, below 3%. This limitation is in significant part due to the poor understanding, and thus inability to engineer, carrier-selective electron and hole contacts to the hydrogen- and oxygen-evolving electrocatalysts on the light-absorbing semiconductor particle. With dual-working-electrode and element-specific electric-potential measurements on SrTiO₃ model semiconductors by operando ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we show that selective carrier collection emerges from cooperative adaptive junctions. Under illumination, hole collection by metal-oxide electrocatalysts drives metal cation oxidation that increases the effective interface electron barrier and improves hole selectivity. Simultaneously, electrons accumulate on metal hydrogen catalysts like Pt, forming hydridic species that lower the electron barrier. These findings challenge the idea that differences...

Engineering CoOx-Based Self-Supported Anodes for Pure-Water-Fed Anion-Exchange-Membrane Electrolysis

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Commercial membrane electrolyzers rely on acidic fluorocarbon membranes and ionomers, requiring the use of expensive IrOx-based oxygen-evolution catalysts. Anion-exchange-membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) operate in an alkaline environment, enabling the use of non-precious-metal catalysts. Here, we study and engineer CoOx-based catalyst-coated anodes deposited via hydrothermal synthesis directly onto porous transport layers both with and without thermal annealing. Self-supported, nanoneedle-structured Co3O4 anode, formed by annealing the as-synthesized cobalt carbonate hydroxide, Co(CO3)x(OH)y, outperforms the baseline Co3O4 nanoparticle ink-based anode in pure-water-fed AEMWE, due to improved catalyst layer continuity and thus electroactive surface area. The as-synthesized and unannealed Co(CO3)x(OH)y), however, appears to undergo substantial conversion to a more-active CoOx(OH)y phase predominantly at the surface, with nominally Co3+ present and higher electrical conductivity,...

Anions in Corrosion: Influence of Polymer Electrolytes on the Interfacial Ion Transfer Kinetics of Cu at Au(111) Surfaces

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The corrosion kinetics of metals in the presence of polymer electrolyteswhich are frequently used in devices for the electrochemical production of hydrogen, hydrocarbons, and alcoholsis convoluted by transport and ill-defined reactive interfaces that mask the fundamental reaction kinetics. Underpotential-deposited monolayers of Cu at Au(111) surfaces provide a structurally well-defined active site for interfacial ion transfer with a fixed number of sites available for adsorption. Here, we investigate the adsorption behavior of Cu at Au(111) surfaces across a series of sulfate and sulfonate electrolytes to understand how anion structure influences the kinetics of elementary interfacial ion-transfer reactions. The influence of anion structure is most significant at high adsorbate coverage, with similar adsorption isotherms and kinetics observed for sulfates and two molecular sulfonates. In contrast, a suspended perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer reduced both the equilibrium coverage...

Electrostatic‐Attraction‐Driven Self‐Assembled Graphene‐Disordered Rocksalt Composite Cathode for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

ABSTRACT Disordered rocksalt cathodes hold promise for achieving high‐capacity lithium‐ion batteries while using low‐cost, earth‐abundant elements. However, their electrochemical performance remains critically limited by their poor electronic conductivity. Conventional strategies such as high‐energy ball milling with excess carbon additives can improve conductivity but remain challenging to scale and often produce defects and increase surface area, thereby accelerating capacity degradation. Herein, we report an alternative approach of electrostatic‐attraction‐driven self‐assembly to fabricate Li 1.2 Mn 0.6 Ti 0.2 O 1.8 F 0.2 (LMTOF) particles uniformly wrapped with electronically conductive graphene sheets without associated materials degradation. The graphene‐wrapped LMTOF demonstrates significantly improved cycling stability (89% capacity retention after 100 cycles) and superior rate capability compared with an LMTOF‐carbon composite electrode fabricated using the conventional...

Anion-exchange membrane water electrolysis: insights from round-robin testing

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As research and industrial interest in anion-exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) grows, there is an increasing need for reliable baselines and cross-lab validation of results. The wide variety of material sets and operating conditions under consideration for AEMWE has thus far limited efforts for standardization. In this study, round-robin testing was conducted in deionized water and KOH-based supporting electrolyte by 5 institutions from academia, national laboratories, and industry to provide baseline performance data and identify sources of cross-lab variability. Baseline membrane electrode assemblies were fabricated with commercial catalysts, membranes, and transport layers using standard techniques and tested using reagent-grade electrolytes, aiming for accessibility rather than state-of-the-art performance. From all tests, the average voltage at 1 A/cm² was 2.72 ± 0.17 V and 1.87 ± 0.03 V in deionized water and 0.1 M KOH, respectively. The maximum in-house...

Comparisons of Real-World Vehicle Energy Efficiency with Dynamometer-Based Ratings and Simulation Models

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Software tools for fuel economy simulations play an important role during design stages of advanced powertrains. However, calibration of vehicle models versus real-world driving data faces challenges owing to inherent variations in vehicle energy efficiency across different driving conditions and different vehicle owners. This work utilizes datasets of vehicles equipped with OBD/GPS loggers to validate and calibrate FASTSim (software originally developed by NREL) vehicle models. The results show that window-sticker ratings (derived from dynamometer tests) can be reasonably accurate when averaged across many trips by different vehicle owners, but successfully calibrated FASTSim models can have better fidelity. The results in this paper are shown for nine vehicle models, including the following: three battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), four plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), one hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), and one conventional internal combustion engine (CICE) vehicle....

Future Projections of Lifecycle Cost and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Light-Duty Vehicles

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Vehicles with electrified powertrains carry the promise of significant reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a lifecycle analysis (LCA) standpoint compared to conventional internal combustion engine (CICE) vehicles. However, trade-offs exist between different types of electrified powertrains in terms of cost, consumer acceptance, and GHG reduction efficacy for different operating conditions. The open-source tool CarGHG was developed with an aim to enable the exploration of a plethora of parametric study scenarios, including the cost of electrification technologies, different driving patterns and charging habits, and the cost and carbon intensity of electricity and fuel blends. This paper introduces the framework of CarGHG, then showcases total cost of ownership (TCO) and LCA GHG results for select models of light-duty vehicles. Another capability of CarGHG, which is the ability to estimate the performance of “virtual” vehicle models (perceived vehicle design specifications...

The global policy landscape of ISO 50001 energy management systems

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

While many options exist to improve industrial demand-side energy efficiency, energy management systems (EnMSs)—particularly those aligned with ISO 50001—are proven to drive continuous and meaningful energy performance improvements. Governments leverage these EnMSs in their policies to advance national objectives including enhancing industrial competitiveness and achieving environmental goals. Existing research has focused on the impact of EnMSs at the company level, while comprehensive work on EnMSs in a global policy context is lacking. We seek to close this gap by investigating the extent to which current national policies incorporate the utilization of EnMSs, particularly the ISO 50001 standard. Our paper employs a hybrid approach, combining a literature review and expert interviews across 28 governments representing > 86% of global primary energy consumption. We dissect policy mechanisms, governance levels, underlying motivations, and trends in present EnMS policies. We...

Opportunities and Challenges for Industrial Water Treatment and Reuse

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

As the impact of water scarcity in the United States (U.S.) continues to grow through the 21st century, it is critical to develop strategies to reduce water use and improve the security of water resources. One such strategy is to diversify the sources from which water is supplied. Industrial withdrawals represent the fourth largest category of U.S. water use, the majority of which is sourced from fresh surface and groundwater. In this study, we critically explore the potential of industrial wastewater to serve as an alternative water resource through direct treatment and reuse. We begin by reviewing the state of the art of water use, treatment, and reuse across six representative industries: food and beverages, primary metals, pulp and paper, petroleum refining, chemicals, and data centers and campuses, highlighting key challenges and opportunities toward the expansion of reuse. We then employ a technoeconomic assessment of water treatment processes to analyze the capital investment,...

Resource use, physical flows, and costs of select technologies and facilities in U.S. chemicals, cement, iron and steel, food, and non-manufacturing industries

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We present a structured dataset that characterizes select technologies and facilities across U.S. industry. This dataset enables consistent, cross-sector techno-economic and energy/emissions characterization of U.S. industrial production for modeling and benchmarking analysis. The dataset covers six manufacturing sectors—ammonia, cement, ethanol, ethylene and propylene, iron and steel, and food, and three non-manufacturing sectors—agriculture, mining, and construction. Organized as an industry-level JSON array, the dataset integrates standardized assumptions, characterizations of incumbent and emerging technologies , and inventories of existing facilities. The assumptions harmonize units and prices, normalize operating costs using common feedstock and fuel base-lines, apply chemical engineering plant cost index factors to capital costs, and index all cost values to 2018 USD. For manufacturing sectors, the dataset provides facility-level inventories including 36 ammonia, 97 cement,...

Heat Transfer Fluids as Co‐Diluents in Localized High‐Concentration Electrolytes for High‐Rate Lithium Metal Batteries With Enhanced Safety

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Localized high-concentration electrolytes (LHCEs) have been identified as promising electrolyte formulations for lithium metal batteries, due to their effective interphase formation and promotion of compact Li deposition, yet their practical implementation is often limited by reduced ion transport kinetics. In this study, two industrially established fluorinated ethers are identified for the first time in battery research as effective co-diluents as they combine a broad electrochemical stability window with a low viscosity and intrinsic non-flammability. Incorporating these components, commonly used as heat transfer fluids, yields safer, less flammable electrolyte formulations with enhanced ion mobilities. In particular, the ternary co-diluent formulation shows improved ion mobility by reducing the electrolyte's viscosity while limiting excessive ion clustering. Based on the improved electrolyte transport kinetics, lower overvoltages and higher Coulombic efficiencies at current...

Design Trade-Offs in Composite Fuel Cell Membranes: Effects of Reinforcement and Chemical Additives

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes are critical components in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, where performance depends on balancing ionic conductivity, mechanical durability, and chemical stability. This study characterizes a composite membrane (NC700) featuring PFSA-impregnated expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) reinforcement and cerium-based radical scavengers, benchmarked against unreinforced NR211. Complementary techniques, including electron microscopy, X-ray scattering, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and dynamic mechanical analysis, identify the structural and compositional strategies employed in NC700. Water sorption isotherms reveal lower water uptake for NC700 across all conditions, attributed to reinforcement and cerium incorporation. Reinforcement reduces in-plane swelling from 11% to 2.1% at 90% RH, confirming strong swelling anisotropy, while maintaining mechanical properties at elevated temperatures. While the ionic conductivity...

Resource Accreditation in U.S. Resource Adequacy Mechanisms: Emerging Challenges and Solutions

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Resource adequacy (RA) mechanisms in the U.S. are currently undergoing significant changes, to address several emerging challenges: an increase in extreme weather events, higher reliance on intermittent and energy-limited resources, retirement of older generation, and data center load growth. A key part of these changes is in how resources are credited toward RA needs (“resource accreditation”). This paper provides an overview of resource accreditation in U.S. RA mechanisms, the drivers behind recent changes in accreditation methods, and recent and forthcoming changes in resource accreditation in two regions: California and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region (see map, below). Other regions, including the PJM and ISO-NE regions, are also implementing major changes to their RA mechanisms, but California and MISO are most advanced in implementing changes to resource accreditation. The paper also discusses PJM’s current approach to resource accreditation,...

Evaluation of a catalytically aided thermal regeneration method for quartz filter-based black carbon sensing

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Black carbon (BC)–a strong indicator of diesel particulate matter and other sources of incomplete carbonaceous fuel combustion–is an important air pollutant that affects public health, yet low-cost sensors capable of long-term, autonomous BC monitoring remain underdeveloped. We report on the development and evaluation of a novel BC prototype sensor that integrates soot collection on a quartz filter, in-situ optical transmission measurement, and thermal filter regeneration. To enable regeneration at lower temperatures, we evaluated the catalytic effects of various alkali metal salts pre-applied to the filter. Among these, cesium carbonate (Cs2CO3) exhibited the strongest catalytic activity, lowering the temperature required for complete BC removal by up to 190 °C and reducing energy consumption by more than 75% compared to that required for untreated filters. The catalytic effect persisted through 10 BC collection–regeneration cycles. These findings demonstrate the potential of...

Improving energy efficiency while reducing anthropogenic heat from buildings: how retrofits influence the building stock and urban microclimate in Los Angeles

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Anthropogenic heat (AH) from buildings contributes to urban overheating, especially during heat waves, yet building retrofit studies usually evaluate energy savings without assessing impacts on AH. This study quantifies how common building retrofit measures affect both building energy use and AH emissions across the City of Los Angeles. Using a bottom-up urban building energy modeling framework coupled with high-resolution local weather from the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Building Effect Parameterization (WRF-BEP), we evaluate eleven retrofit measures and two multi-measure retrofit packages. HVAC and LED lighting retrofits provide the largest city-wide annual site energy savings, while roof coating is most effective for reducing AH. A package optimized for energy savings reduces summer site energy use by about 32% (2.3 TWh), while a package incorporating AH-focused measures reduces the total AH by over 50% (137 PJ) with minimal difference in energy savings. The...

Operando Depth-Resolved Measurement of Solvation Entropy, Interfacial Transport, and Charge-Transfer Kinetics in Lithium-Ion Batteries