NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

Technical Report

NREL/TP-6A70-72926

INL/EXT-18-52273

DOE/NETL-2019/2046

December 2018

Summary Report of the Tri-Lab 

Workshop on R&D Pathways for Future 

Energy Systems, July 24–25, 2018

Douglas Arent,1 Peter Balash,2 Richard Boardman,3

Shannon Bragg-Sitton,3 Jill Engel-Cox,1 David Miller,2

and Mark Ruth1

1 National Renewable Energy Laboratory

2 National Energy Technology Laboratory

3 Idaho National Laboratory
NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

15013 Denver West Parkway

Golden, CO 80401

303-275-3000 • www.nrel.gov

Technical Report

NREL/TP-6A70-72926

INL/EXT-18-52273

DOE/NETL-2019/2046

December 2018

Summary Report of the Tri-Lab 

Workshop on R&D Pathways for Future 

Energy Systems, July 24–25, 2018

Douglas Arent,1 Peter Balash,2 Richard Boardman,3

Shannon Bragg-Sitton,3 Jill Engel-Cox,1 David Miller,2

and Mark Ruth1

1 National Renewable Energy Laboratory

2 National Energy Technology Laboratory

3 Idaho National Laboratory

Suggested Citation

Arent, Douglas, Peter Balash, Richard Boardman, Shannon Bragg-Sitton, Jill Engel-Cox, 

David Miller, and Mark Ruth. 2018. Summary Report of the Tri-Lab Workshop on R&D 

Pathways for Future Energy Systems, July 24–25, 2018. Golden, CO: National Renewable 

Energy Laboratory. NREL/TP-6A70-72926. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy19osti/72926.pdf.
NOTICE

This work was authored in part by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by Alliance for Sustainable 

Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308; in part by the 

Idaho National Laboratory, operated by Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy under 

Contract No. DE-AC07-05ID14517; and in part by MESA for the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy 

Technology Laboratory under Contract No. DE-FE0025912. Partial funding provided by the U.S. Department of 

Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The views expressed herein do not necessarily 

represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by 

accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, 

irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do 

so, for U.S. Government purposes. 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable 

Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications. 

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports produced after 1991 

and a growing number of pre-1991 documents are available 

free via www.OSTI.gov. 

Cover photo by Dennis Schroeder: NREL 39578.

NREL prints on paper that contains recycled content. 
iii

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Executive Summary

Under Secretary of Energy Menezes called for an integrated view of U.S. Department of Energy 

(DOE) applied energy activities and requested that the three applied energy laboratories—Idaho 

National Laboratory (INL), the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), and the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)—take a fresh look at their portfolios for gaps 

and coordination opportunities. A workshop was held July 24–25, 2018 with teams from DOE, 

INL, NETL, and NREL. Workshop participants identified key technical areas and outlined 

several priority research and development (R&D) areas, including: 

• Integrated systems modeling, analysis, and optimization, including developing tools

for unprecedented understanding and optimal management of the U.S. energy

infrastructure and interdependencies

• Integrated systems engineering, development and testing, including developing and

investing in validation of new architectural frameworks across all supply and use sectors

• Innovative, core, multi-sector and multi-program technologies, including developing

technologies that will enable highly efficient, resilient, and affordable tightly coupled

energy systems.

• Approaches for security and resilience of integrated energy systems.

Workshop participants identified numerous unique, high-leverage, collaborative R&D areas. 

Exemplary Grand Challenges & Opportunities for an Integrated Energy Systems Initiative

include: 

• R&D roadmaps for new technologies and approaches – e.g. heat integration, hydrogen,

natural gas utilization, and dynamic interactions with the grid

• Roadmaps for transition to future energy systems addressing security, resilience and

reliability

• New energy analytic optimization tool sets that reflect emerging energy system

interdependencies and complexities

• Coupling energy, water, fuels, transportation, smart buildings and transmission,

distribution, and communications models to understand cross-system effects (e.g., high

penetration of DER on transmission)

• Validated design strategies to meet resiliency and reliability standards for tightly coupled

and coordinated energy systems

• Architectures and next-generation, real time, adaptive control frameworks for clean,

resilient and secure coupled and coordinated energy systems of 2030 and beyond

• New class of scalable sensor control devices and frameworks to impact and enable

current and future systems, including ultra low-cost sensors and sensors that are accurate

through disturbances to transform system resilience and reliability

• Continental data analytics and information framework for 100% visibility of the entire

U.S. energy system.
iv

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Further, across a broad range of materials, process and cyber related R&D areas that would 

uniquely accelerate Integrated Energy Systems, additional high impact opportunities identified 

include: 

• Developing new materials, processes and systems for carbon utilization 

• Designing, building and validating tightly coupled, carbon dioxide (CO2) utilization, 

multi-product, resilient systems

• Designing, building and validating system operations, economic functionality and control 

strategies to meet resilience and reliability standards for tightly coupled and coordinated 

energy systems

• Designing, building and validating tightly coupled, low emission, multi-product, high 

thermal output resilient systems

• Advancing distributed hydrogen-based fuel cell technologies within integrated delivery 

systems 

• Advanced separations technologies of ores and waste materials to select critical materials

• New hybrid technologies for produced, waste, and cooling water treatment, utilization, 

and recycling 

• Combining microbes and waste carbon monoxide (CO) and CO2 for manufacture of high 

value products in integrated carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) 

systems 

• Delivering new capabilities to design, test and validate new materials for extreme 

environments 

• Delivering opensource software platforms for high performance computing (HPC) 

materials design tools (50x speedup) 

• Coupling additive manufacturing, supply chain knowledge, and molecular and device 

simulation, testing and validation for integrated energy systems

• Designing and validating integrated hydrogen production, delivery, utilization, and 

storage systems 

Finally, workshop participants indicated a critical next step would be to develop an R&D 

roadmap for an “Integrated Energy System Initiative” to inform an initial multi-year program 

plan (MYPP).
v 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Table of Contents

Background ................................................................................................................................................. 1

Workshop Purposes ................................................................................................................................... 1

Vision and Charge....................................................................................................................................... 1

Messages that Framed the Workshop ...................................................................................................... 2

Sessions....................................................................................................................................................... 2

Session 1. Challenges and Perspectives from the Applied Offices ........................................................ 2

Session 2. Lab Perspective on Opportunities for Collaborative R&D ................................................... 5

Session 3. Coordinated Energy Systems ................................................................................................ 5

Session 4. Tightly Coupled Hybrid Energy Systems ............................................................................. 6

Session 5. Technology Development Opportunities .............................................................................. 8

Breakout Discussions ................................................................................................................................ 9

Tools and Capabilities ............................................................................................................................ 9

Modeling and Simulation .............................................................................................................. 9

Experimental Systems ................................................................................................................. 10

New Technologies ................................................................................................................................ 11

Thermal Storage .......................................................................................................................... 12

Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Plus (CCUS+) ............................................................ 12

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Plus (SOFC)+ ......................................................................................... 12

Separations of Critical Materials and Use of Water .................................................................... 12

Cybersecurity ........................................................................................................................................ 13

Synthesis and Pathway Forward............................................................................................................. 14
1 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Background

The world relies on energy for every aspect of life and for well-being. Given impetus from 

the DOE Undersecretary for Energy, the lab directors for the three applied energy DOE 

laboratories—Idaho National Laboratory (INL, nuclear), the National Energy Technology 

Laboratory (NETL, fossil), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, 

renewables)—agreed to organize and advance cooperation among the laboratories (labs) to help 

the nation maintain and increase American prosperity through development of the nation’s future 

energy systems. Accordingly, laboratory fellows and initiative leads from each of the labs were 

asked to organize and participate in a meeting to (1) help establish a broader inter-lab team for 

performing technical and economic assessments of future energy infrastructure buildout and 

(2) identify priority areas for collaborative technology development that will enable U.S. 

industry to better utilize the spectrum of U.S. natural resources in achieving energy security, 

ensuring economic stability, and addressing environmental sustainability for the foreseeable 

future.

This report summarizes the viewpoints, discussion topics, and recommendations from the 

workshop held July 24–25, 2018 at NREL facilities in Golden, Colorado. The workshop included 

Undersecretary Menezes, the Assistant Secretaries (or their representatives) for DOE Offices of 

Nuclear Energy (NE), Fossil Energy (FE), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), 

and Electricity (OE); a few DOE deputy assistant secretaries and program directors; and the 

laboratory director from each of the applied energy labs. Approximately 12–15 program and 

technology development managers or leads from each lab also participated in the meeting. 

Workshop Purposes 

1. To identify unique multi-programmatic R&D opportunities across FE, NE, OE, and EERE 

science and technology (S&T) areas that would be valuable to DOE and the nation

2. To inform DOE S&T roadmap efforts and advance program concepts for collaborative, 

multi-lab R&D that serves the nation. 

Vision and Charge 

Two themes underscore the value proposition of the national laboratories, innovation and

cooperation. 

In recent years, the labs have shown effective cooperation under crosscutting programs such as 

the Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium and the Carbon Capture Simulation Initiative. 

However, significant opportunities still exist to work collaboratively to develop solutions and 

identify technology pathways to reach DOE’s goals, which include developing a holistic future 

energy infrastructure capable of achieving the fullest potential of the country’s energy resources 

across the entire energy sector, which includes the electrical grid, industry, and transportation 

systems.
2 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Identification, analysis, and optimization of our future energy systems can only be achieved by 

understanding the natural resource potential of the United States, and the potential role and 

benefits of current, emerging, nascent, and yet-to-be-developed technologies. Analysis is crucial 

to understanding resource production and conversion pathways, and to identifying technology 

gaps, which in turn spurs innovation and technology inventions. In addition, analysis can help 

inform stakeholders across industry and local, regional, and national institutions, as well as U.S. 

citizens and their representative decision makers of the benefits and impacts of energy use, 

technology choices, and system dependencies.

Innovation is the key to designing, developing, and deploying the energy systems of the future 

that will be efficient, flexible, reliable, resilient, secure, economically competitive, and meet 

environmental protection standards. 

Messages that Framed the Workshop

• Well-articulated vision and objectives of our future energy system will help drive S&T

and R&D roadmaps and investments. 

• Deeper cross-program and multidisciplinary expertise will be crucial to elucidating 

complex technical R&D roadmaps. 

• There are multiple options to advance and utilize U.S. energy resources. 

• Through technology innovation, the U.S. energy sector continues to evolve and is now 

accomplishing breakthroughs once considered infeasible (e.g., natural gas/oil export). 

• Innovation options should not be pigeonholed in one sector—there are compelling needs 

and motivation for integrated systems thinking. 

• Innovation requires new technologies and establishing the right policies, markets, and 

regulations. 

• Fossil, nuclear, and renewable energy each have their own challenges, but all will have 

roles in our energy future. 

• The future electricity grid will play the significant role of ensuring an economic, secure, 

and reliable integrated energy system, but system-level solutions must be found to 

address increasingly complex reliability and security challenges. 

The energy systems of the future will require a collaborative effort that includes fossil, nuclear, 

and renewables to achieve needed and desired technological goals and advancements. In addition 

to working with each other, the labs need to continue to engage with other agencies (e.g., U.S. 

Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and U.S. Department of Transportation) 

and external stakeholders to ensure a reliable energy future.

Sessions

Session 1. Challenges and Perspectives from the Applied Offices

Fossil, nuclear, and renewable energy all face challenges with regard to their inclusion in future 

energy systems. The current core challenges with large-scale thermal generation are economic 

competitiveness and flexible operation of nuclear and coal. Several light water reactors have 

recently been shut down in advance of their license expiration, and potential closures have been 

announced for as many as a dozen additional plants. Coal plant retirements continue to occur as 
3 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

a result of historically low natural gas prices, rising plant maintenance, and increasingly stringent 

environmental standards. To help address these issues, smaller, more flexible modular units to 

increase efficiency, improve economics, reduce environmental impacts, and advance versatility 

are being explored. R&D pathways for future energy systems were discussed, and the need 

to develop a roadmap with success indicators was highlighted. Renewables face continuing 

challenges related to grid integration, curtailment and cost-effectively meeting increased loads 

associated with transportation and industrial electrification. 

Perspectives presented during the session includes: 

• Key NE R&D areas identified included advanced fuels, materials and instrumentation, 

plant life extensions, enhanced safety, economics, and advanced and small modular 

reactors development, including megawatt-scaleup expanded uses for nuclear energy. 

o Notable discussion points included: 

̶ Nuclear power in the United States has been trending downward in recent years, 

with the total generation being maintained through power uprates and efficiency 

improvements. 

̶ The U.S. nuclear energy industry is considered the most qualified and can supply 

the safest most-advanced technology, but the United States is losing global 

markets and international influence as some countries are accelerating new reactor 

deployments and offering take-back of spent fuel. 

̶ Three major challenges facing nuclear energy in the United States are (1) the cost 

of new reactor construction (due to new reactor design inadequacy, joint plant 

siting and operating permit requirements, and a largely inexperienced construction 

workforce), (2) limited domestic materials supply chain industries, and (3) lack of 

a clear path to final dispositioning of spent fuel. 

̶ Industry use of heat, steam, and electricity requires delivery systems that have not 

been developed or demonstrated.

• Key FE R&D areas identified included flexible operations, machine learning, advanced 

turbines, fuel cells, CO2 capture and utilization, and hydrogen.

o Notable discussion points included: 

̶ Coal plants in the 21st century will be modular with increased efficiency, the 

ability to cycle, and reduced emissions. They will have carbon capture and 

storage.

̶ Oil and gas will benefit from big data and predictive analysis to increase 

extraction efficiency above the current 10% for tight oil and gas reservoirs. 

• Key EERE R&D areas included integration of renewable energy with the broader grid, 

avoiding curtailment of renewables when generation exceeds demand, establishing new 

transmission and electricity distribution networks, and transportation and industry 

electrification. 

o Notable discussion points included: 

̶ Core technologies are poised for further increases in productivity and efficiency. 

̶ High performance computing is enabling integration. 
4 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

̶ Advanced controls and more-sophisticated operating systems enable renewables 

to offer new services to the grid. 

• Key OE R&D areas identified included ensuring grid and microgrid reliability and 

resiliency, advanced distributed control systems, energy storage, and transactive energy. 

o Notable discussion points included: 

̶ Computing and artificial intelligence/machine learning will play an increasingly 

important role in grid design, simulation, and management.

̶ OE is addressing North American grid vulnerability. 

̶ Megawatt-storage is becoming increasingly valuable. 

̶ Cybersecurity is critical; there is a need to work closely with new DOE Office of 

Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response. 

̶ Future energy systems will need to be more flexible and more secure. 

Possible areas of collaboration identified include: 

• Development of technical and functional and operating requirements (F&OR) 

• Modular technology advancement and advanced manufacturing

• Hybrid/integrated systems design, evaluation, and demonstration 

• Grid integration, and reliability; grid stability and grid services

• Energy storage at scales ranging from seconds to seasonal

• Carbon utilization—for example, capture (FE), bioengineering (EERE), and thermal 

energy substitution of combustion sources of heat (NE) 

• Modeling, simulation, and optimization

• Advanced materials

• Food-energy-water nexus

• Next-generation batteries or other electric storage devices

• Thermal and chemical energy storage. 

In summary, there are multiple potential areas of collaboration for the applied energy labs. The 

workshop participants were able to identify and expand on some, but not all, the areas where 

crosscutting lab efforts could be beneficial. Open cross-lab communication and industry 

involvement will be key to advancing the future of nuclear, fossil, and renewable energy 

systems. Furthermore, the co-development of computational tools; the co-development of 

shared, collaborative testing and demonstration facilities; and the transfer of technologies should 

be a priority. Such collaborations should be both among the DOE laboratories and also with 

industry as key partners. Technology decisions need to be science-based but should engage 

stakeholders and consider interactions with current and potential markets and policies at the 

federal and state levels. 
5 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Session 2. Lab Perspective on Opportunities for Collaborative R&D

The three laboratories offered broad overviews of their research portfolios, including highlights 

of current collaborative efforts that address some aspects of hybrid and coordinated energy 

systems. The labs were strongly supportive of collaboration being a key component of 

innovation and of providing sound guidance to the build-out of the nation’s future energy 

infrastructure. And, INL, NETL, and NREL are in a unique position to collaborate across energy 

sectors to advance technologies across the board. Common views included developing 

coordinated power, transportation, and industry energy systems as well as developing hybrid 

energy systems. A significant point of collaboration that was discussed involved integrated 

energy systems where fossil, nuclear, and renewable energy all contribute to a resilient, reliable, 

flexible, and balanced energy ecosystem. Analysis tools still under development and being used 

by the labs can be standardized to apply consistent boundary conditions and criteria for 

comparing outcomes. Working with key stakeholders—including industry—and with technology 

and policy goals in mind is recognized as a best practice for advanced analytic efforts. 

Additional topic areas representing collaboration opportunities identified through the exchange 

included: 

• High performance computing 

• Co-development of dynamic systems modeling tools for co-simulation with 

unit operations 

• Valuation of baseload and intermittent generation, including definition of metrics

• Energy state awareness

• Physical and cybersecurity

• Data science and big data analytics

• Advanced sensors and instrumentation

• High-level (front-end) to low-order unit operations control systems 

• Subsurface science

• Smart materials

• Precompetitive consortia with industry. 

Each of the above ideas represents potential programmatic research thrusts that, when organized 

and structured, offer critical S&T innovation opportunities that would benefit multiple 

technologies. And, in particular, they are highly valuable to hybrid and coordinated energy 

systems. 

Session 3. Coordinated Energy Systems

As the U.S. electric grid evolves, greater coordination among energy systems (i.e., fuel sources 

and supply chains, generation assets, distribution infrastructure, and end users) will be required 

to ensure resilience, reliability, and economic benefits. Coordinated energy systems typically 

refer to geographically distinct resources that interact through infrastructure, such as the 

electrical grid, a natural gas network, or the food-energy-water nexus.

Coordination typically occurs via market mechanisms. R&D opportunities to increase energy 

resiliency and flexibility were a dominant theme for the coordinated energy systems session of 

the workshop. Major issues include system evolution (e.g., transition paths from today’s system); 
6 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

infrastructure needs; interdependencies between electric, heat, and chemical energy; and control 

and cybersecurity issues. 

Key R&D challenges identified include:

• Diversity and coordination among energy sources (fossil, renewables, and nuclear) 

provide resiliency and flexibility; however, there is a need to address the barriers to 

achieving these benefits. 

• Achieving increased resilience and flexibility will require identifying economic energyrelated products and understanding market constraints that inform technology 

opportunities. 

• Metrics that quantify the value of greater coordination among energy systems should be 

developed. 

• With the increased availability of natural gas in much of the United States, there is a need 

for a robust R&D program to consider the full spectrum of natural gas supply, 

distribution, and use—as a fuel for both electricity generation and industrial boilers—but 

also as a chemical feedstock. 

• Developing methodologies to understand the food-energy-water nexus and using this 

understanding to identify advanced energy technology needs. 

Opportunities for collaboration included: 

• High-risk coordinated energy system R&D: development of approaches to leverage DOE 

investment to achieve the capital investments needed for large-scale research

• Development of R&D roadmaps for new technologies and approaches—for example,

heat integration, hydrogen, natural gas utilization, and dynamic interactions with the grid

• Unification of assumptions and modeling approaches across the national laboratory 

complex and among the applied energy offices

• Leveraging of facilities via data sharing, virtual integration, and researcher access across 

the lab complex for demonstration. 

It was broadly recognized that a single-solution architecture or combination of technologies 

would be inappropriate for all regions. Instead, a robust R&D approach should identify and 

develop a suite of technologies and approaches that will enable solutions that address local 

preferences, utilize regional resources, and are appropriate to the regional geographic 

considerations to enhance the reliability and resiliency of the entire energy ecosystem. 

Research to enable greater coordination of energy systems must broadly consider all energy 

sources as well as their varied uses.

Session 4. Tightly Coupled Hybrid Energy Systems

Tightly coupled hybrid energy systems refer to integrating multiple technologies with various 

time constants for reacting to system disturbances. These systems can increase the economic 

value of dedicated energy resources and independent systems through more efficient use of 

intermittent non-dispatchable, and underutilized energy sources. They can also provide a range 

of services to the grid, including power on demand and maintenance of power phase, frequency, 

and voltage, as well as multiple other energy products or energy-intensive products, such as 

chemicals, thermal energy for industrial processing or district heating, or water treatment. 
7 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Creating a highly efficient, low-cost, tightly coupled energy system will require the development 

of interdependent subsystems that are connected through electrical and properly designed heat 

and mass transport systems. Tightly coupled systems must also be resilient to inherent or 

unplanned system perturbations. They require system-wide monitoring, state awareness, and 

application of supervisory or fully automated control systems that anticipate and adjust energy 

flows and unit operations in accordance with energy availability and market signals. Advanced 

technologies that could be part of future hybrid systems include: 

• Thermal, chemical, and electrical energy delivery and storage systems

• Advanced power generation technologies, including hybrid systems that reduce exergy 

destruction (i.e., the loss of available work as heat, waste products, or electrical 

grounding) 

• Advanced heat transport and heat exchangers

• Smart control systems and condition-based monitoring 

• Cyber-secure communications and coordinated control 

• Advanced fuel production and processing (fossil and nuclear) 

• Stable water systems and natural water cycles

• CO2 capture and utilization. 

Key R&D challenges identified include:

• Optimizing the interoperability of the various technologies in hybrid energy systems to 

establish economic competitiveness through maximized use of capital; higher overall 

system operational efficiency flexibility, and reliability and meeting of environmental 

standards and other project-specific external objectives

• Developing and applying system simulation tools that accurately model energy and mass 

transport phenomena, physical system dynamics, and virtual control systems 

• Applying digital real-time simulation with hardware testing in the loop to verify select 

system components, monitoring control systems, and system inertial traits that are 

difficult to model; and to verify and validate modeling tools and control algorithms 

• Ensuring aggregated system stability during and throughout intentional control 

maneuvers and unplanned process upsets 

• Applying cyber-secure process sensors and data fusion to support state awareness 

assessments, process diagnostics, and automatic or supervisor controls 

• Developing resilient process controls that involve mixed human/automated control 

response 

• Avoiding the risk of codependencies between the technologies, which would reduce 

flexibility and resiliency

• Managing intellectual property of individual energy companies that may be a roadblock 

to collaboration and coordinated operation. 

Opportunities for collaboration identified included: 

• Development of a modeling “toolkit” of extreme events that covers complex 

technological interdependencies and challenges of the power sector

• Collaborative design, testing, and verification of tightly coupled energy system 

configurations, as part of a national test bed
8 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

• Smart control systems and cyber-secure communications and control 

• Innovative technologies and processes for CO2 capture and utilization

• Development and application of system modeling and optimization tools that cover the 

entire range of energy sources and breadth of hybrid opportunities. 

Tightly coupled hybrid systems offer enhanced resiliency and the ability to quickly recover from 

disasters through the use of multiple generation technologies. Workshop participants discussed a 

goal of developing a power system with high efficiency, resiliency, reliability, and low cost of 

energy under load following and flexible operations. To ensure a highly resilient, tightly coupled 

hybrid energy system, research should be conducted to develop a “toolkit” or database of 

extreme events that could impact energy systems operation against which models could be 

tested. Simulation of integrated system operation would offer insights for possible technology 

combinations and systems integration concepts that are region-specific, considering local

resources, transportation options, and local market needs and preferences. 

Session 5. Technology Development Opportunities 

Technology development opportunities vary across sectors and include enhancement of existing 

assets and future transformational technologies. Specific technology advances were proposed 

and discussed for each energy sector. Examples of these are provided in Table 1. Most of these 

technology needs are common to all energy sectors. Because these advancements can be applied 

to multiple generation technologies, or in tightly coupled hybrid systems, they represent 

collaboration opportunities. 

Table 1. Technology Development Opportunities Identified by each Energy Sector: 

Illustrating the Benefit of Collaboration

Fossil Energy Nuclear Energy Renewable Energy

• Efficiency

• CO2 control

• Flexible and resilient power

• Water management

• Control of pollution/waste

• Hybrid microturbine/fuel cell

configurations

• Thermal energy storage 

• Flexible and hybrid-capable

reactors

• Reactors for distributed, 

versatile, and dispatchable 

operations

• Dispatchable thermal energy 

delivery systems 

• In-pile sensors

• Advanced fuels and 

materials

• Supply chain improvements

• Next-generation materials

• Hybrid power generation 

approach

• Waste to energy systems

• Geothermal advancements

• Electrochemical process

Key R&D challenges identified include:

• Enabling advancement of all power generation sectors simultaneously by focusing on 

storage, materials, security, and supply chains 

• Developing hybrid or integrated energy systems with the ability to load follow, allowing 

for flexible operation according to consumer needs

• Developing standard methods to measure multiple metrics to value future energy system

attributes; defining their “objective function” and constraints
9 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

• Integrating cybersecurity measures during the development of new technology and 

systems (cyber-informed, consequence-based engineering)

• Leveraging transformational technologies such as additive manufacturing and predictive 

maintenance in power generation

• Implementing hydrogen at scale in the power sector and in industry 

• Converting CO2 into marketable products (via reductive chemistry)

• Utilizing big data from an applied lab perspective (i.e., focus on the application rather 

than data science)

• Decreasing cost to enhance technology marketability

• Developing tools and methods to enable a “systems-of-systems" approach that looks both 

from the top down as well as the bottom up to seek innovative options and 

transformational concepts; focus on “what-if” scenarios 

• Optimizing existing legacy and future transformational assets. 

Opportunities for collaboration identified included: 

• Materials design, synthesis, and characterization

• Novel CO2 reduction science, devices, and processes

• Novel thermal energy materials and systems

• Design and simulation tools 

• Development of a coordinated strategy to address cybersecurity. 

Focusing on commonalities such as energy storage, materials, security, and supply chains will 

offer DOE and the nation unprecedented opportunities for high-impact, high-leverage R&D 

innovation across the applied energy portfolio. 

Breakout Discussions 

Tools and Capabilities

Several tactical steps were defined in the Tools and Capabilities breakout session that will aid in 

broader development of a strategy for future energy systems. These initial steps are categorized 

within modeling and simulation and experimental systems, as described below. The goal for 

energy systems evaluation and selection is robust decision-making under uncertainty to 

determine optimal energy system solutions, utilizing input from: 

1. A wide array of modeling and simulation tools and analyses 

2. Component and system-level demonstration and testing. 

Modeling and Simulation

An array of modeling and simulation tools are available across the DOE lab complex to evaluate 

energy systems, energy markets, and the technical performance of individual components. Many 

similar tool sets approach questions from a different paradigm, making different assumptions 

regarding current and future performance, opportunities, and other variables. It is important to 

understand the unique roles each of these tools and approaches plays in assessing energy system 

performance so that results can be applied appropriately and in a complementary fashion. 

Workshop participants identified several steps to enable coordination of modeling and simulation 

activities with the goal of achieving a common understanding: 
10 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

1. Define key functional areas for energy systems (e.g., key metrics and performance 

characteristics) 

• Tool sets will be needed to quantify multiple metrics and the interaction among those 

metrics. 

• Metrics will need to be defined clearly, with the definitions being agreed-upon. 

2. Identify computational tools available to assess these functional areas—produce a matrix 

of these tools 

• Conduct a survey of applicable tools across the DOE lab complex, academia, and 

industry; identify lead labs and contributors for each tool or analysis approach

• Conduct a workshop to review available tools, identify gaps, and set “standardization” 

approaches

o Engage stakeholders and regulators 

• Identify model complexity level—for example, easy, medium, or expert

o Models will be needed at varied scales of accuracy and complexity to support 

decision-making at various stages

• Determine whether a model has been validated or identify what is needed for verification 

and validation 

• Establish best practices across the community

3. Develop a modeling framework with the various tools that allows for big-picture, holistic 

modeling with targeted outputs (i.e., an inter-sector energy model) 

• Technology-rich, with high spatial and temporal resolution; compatible with exascale 

computing 

• Requires commonality of assumptions, or transparency of assumptions 

4. Serves as a computational test bed for performing numerical experiments, optimization, 

and uncertainty quantification. 

• Establish a live database of models and associated data (versus a fixed database) for 

evaluating a variety of energy systems, market scenarios, and technology and system 

innovations. 

5. Develop a standard collaboration platform 

6. Incorporate data analytics

7. Define and analyze various integrated energy system scenarios using the suite of simulation 

tools. 

Experimental Systems

As with modeling and simulation, several facilities are available across the DOE complex, or 

within industry and academia, and could be applied to advance integrated energy system R&D. 

These facilities could be leveraged via virtual integration (e.g., connection via real-time data), 

and these virtual integrated systems could provide enhanced capabilities for verification and 

validation of simulation tools. Participants identified several steps to enable coordinated use 

of experimental facilities: 
11 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

1. Develop a database of experimental capabilities and gaps 

• Designate a point of contact for each facility to manage experiment interfaces 

2. Establish a framework for robust, “informed” design of experiments 

• Use computational tools for improved experiment design 

3. Establish interconnectivity of geographically disperse systems to maximize benefit at 

the least cost; this interconnectivity requires a: 

• Standard for communications protocol among platforms 

• Data management protocol for high-value, dynamic experiments. 

 Additional considerations for experimental systems include: 

• Need data to drive models; experiments need to be carefully designed to ensure the 

necessary data were captured. 

• Interconnectivity between laboratories may need to be real-time. 

o Requires determination of what data needs to be exchanged and at what time 

resolution 

o Some data sharing may not need to be real-time (e.g., use of data sets from one test

or laboratory as a boundary condition for other tests or experiments) 

• Model-driven experiments

o Hardware-in-the-loop testing combined with reduced order models (digital twins)

o Use models to develop energy system control strategies that can be tested robustly 

in hardware-in-the-loop systems. 

o Possible models for a new multi-lab program include an “Energy Systems Integration 

Lab Consortium.” 

• Review best practices and lessons learned from the Grid Modernization Lab Consortium 

and other DOE multi-lab initiatives.

New Technologies

Participants in the New Technologies breakout session attempted to synthesize ideas discussed 

during the first day of the workshop, which centered on both the meaning of scale, regional 

differences in energy systems, and the interconnectivity of energy. Characteristics of systems 

to be developed by DOE through the labs emanate from the long-term perspective, intrinsic 

to national laboratories, regarding technology development, which involves: 

• Holistic view of energy

• Economic stability

• Environmental sustainability

• Energy security

• Geopolitical security. 
12 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

So, commonalities such as storage, materials, and security were emphasized. Those participating 

in the breakout session reported four main areas for collaboration: 

• Thermal storage—solid, phase change, thermal chemical; thermal pumped storage 

• Carbon capture and utilization +: Reactive capture, hydrogen utilization, use of products. 

• Solid oxide fuel cells + 

• Separations and recycling of critical and other materials, including water and 

sustainability. 

These four areas could encompass pathways developed at earlier “Big Ideas” summits held 

across the labs. The “plus” signs (+) indicate the desire to move beyond current program lines 

to leverage synergistic lab capabilities. 

Thermal Storage

Over the past decade, the growth of intermittent renewables has fostered significant interest in 

electric energy storage, especially the use of batteries. Less research has focused on developing 

the potential of thermal energy storage. Thermal storage could be used to alleviate temperature 

cycling in coal plants while enhancing flexible output. So-called “pumped thermal” storage 

methods could buffer fossil or nuclear generator output to meet widely variable daily grid 

demands. Projected costs for pumped thermal are comparable to pumped hydroelectric, but with 

no geographic or land-use issues. This type of energy storage at a thermoelectric plant would 

allow flexible output while ensuring the availability of base-load generation when extreme 

weather curtails wind or solar supplies. 

Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Plus (CCUS+) 

Manufacturing of hydrogen from fossil systems could be integrated into the DOE H2@ Scale

initiative, joining a nuclear-wind hydrogen concept. Developing supercritical CO2 cycles to 

apply to different prime movers would also fit under CCUS+. Combining the use of microbes 

and the use of waste CO and CO2 could lead to high-value products. Making products while also 

capturing CO2—reactive capture—offers promise. Gasification of coal or hybridization of 

natural gas and biomass to produce hydrogen, fuels, or power could complement ongoing 

renewable-nuclear hybrid analysis. Manufacturing oxygen along with hydrogen at scale could 

be considered. 

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Plus (SOFC)+ 

Solid oxide fuels cells, which are currently part of the FE program, could be deployed 

in distributed generation applications with synergies to solar photovoltaics, energy storage, and 

other direct current energy sources. Fuel-flexible hybrid gas-turbine/fuel cell systems are being 

developed to raise the efficiency of power generation to 70%. Future hybridized configurations 

of SOFC with small modular nuclear reactors could also be explored. 

Separations of Critical Materials and Use of Water

New technologies require critical minerals and materials (e.g. rare earths, nickel, lithium, and 

cobalt) for which the exploitation and processing has yet to be comprehensively analyzed from 

a sustainability perspective that includes both energy and water intensity. Hybrid cooling water 

technologies for thermal applications is an area ripe for further R&D as water sufficiency issues 

continue to mount. 
13 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Cybersecurity 

Cybersecurity is one aspect of secure and resilient energy systems; other aspects involve 

physical security from both human and natural threats. Security is focused on protecting people, 

information, and physical assets. That protection extends from preparing to avoid events to 

safely withstanding events and finally to recovering from events. 

Cybersecurity is arguably the security aspect that is now undergoing the greatest changes, and 

thus, it is the one with the greatest needs and opportunities for applied R&D. Thus, cybersecurity 

for energy systems is likely to have opportunities to adapt best practices both from other aspects 

of energy security and from the implementation of cybersecurity in other domains (e.g., 

information technology and banking). 

One key cybersecurity development opportunity is to incorporate cybersecurity in all stages 

of energy system development, starting with the initial stages. That involvement could involve 

conducting attack system analysis at each development stage to (1) identify security 

requirements and (2) design the energy system and the cybersecurity aspect of it simultaneously. 

Co-design has been found to result in lower-cost systems with higher security in other domains. 

Methods for attack system analysis for the energy sector are not yet mature, so they would need 

to be developed and would likely consider information exchange and decision methods. Related 

development opportunities involve developing the tools, methods, and training techniques to 

perform constant threat analysis to identify key threats and estimate their potential impacts.

A second key cybersecurity development opportunity involves a new discipline: cyber-informed 

engineering, which focuses on: 

• Methods to measure security complexity and quantify sufficiency 

• Methods to constrain complexity especially in dynamically sufficient systems; these 

methods could include modularity, anomaly detection tools, and digitally-informed 

prognostics. 

• Methods to address dynamic simulation, including those that provide situational and state 

awareness

• A cybersecurity capability-maturity modeling tool.

Additional opportunities include: 

• Augmentation of existing engineering standards and ownership issues 

• Study and quantification of autonomous energy system security performance especially 

for self-configuration and healing systems; the effort should consider dynamics and 

distributed versus centralized security options 

• Design of security for transactions and markets. 

One way to initiate a cybersecurity development effort involves using a near-term case study 

that could involve an existing class of equipment undergoing a technology evolution. The effort 

would involve implementing some cyber-informed engineering practices and quantifying the 

value of addressing cybersecurity issues. Lessons learned through that effort would help identify 

specific gaps and R&D needs.
14 

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Synthesis and Pathway Forward

The workshop addressed key issues where system-level integration of the U.S. energy use 

sectors (i.e., electricity, transportation, and industry) ensures U.S. competitiveness by 

domestically producing energy products and services using U.S. natural resources in a 

responsible manner that values both the present and future generations. Strategies emerged that 

would reduce the overall cost of energy by providing increased operational flexibility, increased 

efficiency, higher utilization of generation assets, and higher quality of energy services provided 

by the system. Future collaborations between the applied (and other) national labs were 

identified that would enable advancements in technologies meant to secure reliable and 

affordable energy for the American public. Through collaboration, renewable, nuclear, and fossil 

energy R&D efforts have the potential to pursue unique strategic R&D to innovate key enabling 

technologies; evaluate, design, build and validate hybrid systems; elucidate optimization and 

control schemes; and contribute to a resilient, affordable, secure U.S. energy system.

The input of the workshop participants indicated multiple unique, high value-added areas of 

collaborative R&D across the applied energy programs of DOE. Recognizing the high potential 

for hybrid and coordinated energy systems for the United States, participants identified four 

topical areas for new or enhanced S&T efforts:

• Integrated systems analysis, modeling, and optimization, including developing tools for 

unprecedented understanding of the U.S. energy infrastructure and interdependencies 

• Integrated systems engineering, development and testing, including developing and 

investing in testing and verification of new architectural frameworks across all supply 

and use sectors

• Innovative, core, multi-sector and multi program technologies, including developing 

technologies that will enable highly efficient, resilient, and affordable tightly coupled 

energy systems. 

• Approaches for security and resilience of integrated energy systems. 

Each of these areas, as discussed above, has multiple aligned outcomes that are critical to 

enabling the U.S. industry to better utilize the spectrum of U.S. natural resources in achieving 

energy security, ensuring economic stability, and addressing environmental sustainability for the 

foreseeable future. The outcomes form an initial basis for formulating detailed R&D roadmaps 

that collectively would—as an “Integrated Energy System Initiative”—offer compelling highimpact innovations that are uniquely aligned to the missions of the DOE and its lead national 

laboratories.