1 Advanced!Technologies!for!Clean!Energy!Manufacturing!!!!!!Isaac!Chan,!U.S.!Department!of!Energy!

Advanced(Technologies(for(Clean(Energy(Manufacturing(

Isaac(Chan,(U.S.(Department(of(Energy

The!U.S.!manufacturing!sector!remains!a!powerful!driver!of!the!U.S.!economy,!even!after!significant!job!

losses!and!an!upsurge!in!competition!from!imported!goods!over!the!past!two!decades.!Manufacturing!

contributed!nearly!$1.6!trillion!to!U.S.!GDP!in!2009!(based!on!

current!dollars),!or!about!11%!of!the!total,!and!created!more!

wealth!than!any!other!sector. Clean!energy!manufacturing—

now!on!its!way!to!becoming!a!trillionOdollar!global!enterprise—

presents!a!rare!opportunity!for!productively!focusing!

investments!and!revitalizing!U.S.!manufacturing.!Potential!

benefits!of!investing!in!clean!energy!technology!include!

increasing!domestic!manufacturing!capabilities!in!clean!energy!

manufacturing,!providing!access!to!environmentally sound,!

clean!energy!options;!improving!our!position!in!an!emerging,!highOvalue!global!market;!creating!

enduring,!highOpaying!domestic!jobs;!and!stimulating!economic!growth.!

Advances!in!technology!are!needed!to!reduce!the!time!and!cost!required!to!translate!clean!energy!

innovations!into!commercial!processes,!products,!and!companies!in!the!U.S.!!Some!of!the!most!pressing!

challenges!in!manufacturing!arise!from!the!need!to!costOeffectively!produce!lowOcost,!highOperformance,!

reliable,!and!longOlife!energy!technologies!at!high!throughput!rates.!!Advanced,!innovative,!and!ultraO

efficient!materials,!processes,!and!products!are!required!to!lower!costs!and!sustainably!deliver!the!first!

choice!in!equipment!and!components!for!generating!clean,!affordable!energy.

Some!potential!technology!areas important!to!manufacturing,!particularly!for!clean!energy!technology,!

include:!

• Manufacturing+and+modification+of+large+engineered+surfaces!O!Processes!are!needed!to!improve!or!

enable!costOeffective!production!of!engineered!surfaces!at!large!scale!for!clean!energy!devices,!such!

as!textured!silicon!for!light!trapping,!textured!tubes!and!pipes!for!heat!transfer,!or!large!blades!with!

enhanced!aerodynamics!or!other!specialized!properties.!The!challenge!is!to!reliably!manufacture!

structures!with!dimensions!in!the!tens!or!hundreds!of!meters!while!consistently!providing!functional!

features!in!the!range!of!10!to!100!nanometers.!

• Manufacturing+and+assembling+methods+for+ultra4thin+components!O!CostOeffective,!highO

throughput!manufacture!of!clean!energy!technologies!will!require!methods!for!handling!very!thin!

crystalline!or!flexible!polymeric!materials.!Critical!challenges!include!consistently!meeting!exacting!

product!quality!parameters!without!defects,!increasing!process!control,!reducing!expenses,!and!

adaption!to!highOvolume!manufacturing.!

• Micro4manufacturing+for+clean+energy+systems!O!Innovative!microOmanufacturing!techniques!are!

sought!for!highOvolume!production!of!microOdevices!or!engineered!microOsurfaces!that!can!be!

applied!to!a!variety!of!clean!energy!technologies.!Such!innovative!techniques!might,!for!example,!

lead!to!continuous!rollOforming!with!embedded!microOfeatures.!Some!of!the!key!challenges!are!to!

Examples of Clean Energy Technology

 Resource recovery and reuse 

 Renewable feedstocks

 Electricity storage

 Fuel cells

 Renewable energy (solar, wind, 

geothermal, bioenergy, hydro)

 Nuclear fission and fusion

 Advanced vehicles
2 Advanced!Technologies!for!Clean!Energy!Manufacturing!!!!!!Isaac!Chan,!U.S.!Department!of!Energy!

achieve!effective!use!of!microOtechniques!in!highOthroughput!production;!successful!fabrication!of!

thinOwalled!microOdevices!on!a!large!scale;!and!uniform!micro!features!over!large!surface!areas.

• Bio4inspired+or+biological+manufacturing!O!Applied!concepts!are!needed!to!explore!use!of!biological!

systems!to!provide!entirely!new!approaches!to!manufacturing!at!the!macroO,!microO!and!nanoO

scales.!Complex!and!sophisticated!biological!structures!hold!untapped!potential!to!outOperform!

current!microOfabrication!or!nanoOfabrication!techniques.!Challenges!include!highOthroughput!

biological!growth!and!engineering!the!biological!structure!for!optimal!performance.

• Flexible manufacturing+methods+for+clean+energy+technology!O!Manufacturing!platforms!need!to!be!

more!flexible!and!modular!to!costOeffectively!provide!greater!responsiveness!to!rapidly!shifting!

customer!requirements.!Approaches!such!as!singleOsetup,!toolOless!manufacturing!may!be!possible,!

decoupling!production!from!the!economies!of!scale!required!in!traditional!machining.!Distributed!

systems!(e.g.,!modular,!autonomous) are!needed!to!reduce!unit!manufacturing!costs,!improve!the!

energy!efficiency!of!clean!energy!technologies,!and!enable!wider!use!in!smaller!applications.!The!

challenges!include!developing!plugOandOplay!architectures;!machining!complex!features!in!metals,!

ceramics,!and!composites!with!a!high!level!of!accuracy;!and!creating!simplified!tooling!and!

operations.!

• Smart+manufacturing+(SM)!O!Advanced!and!adaptive!smart!manufacturing!(SM)!technologies!are!

needed!for!clean!energy!technology!to!attain!high!throughput!rates,!improved!product!quality,!high!

flexibility,!and!expanded!market!share.!SM!encompasses!the!development,!comprehensive!

integration,!and!assimilation!of!multiple,!knowledgeOintensive!technologies!and!operating!

strategies—not!only!at!plant!sites,!but!at!enterprise!(multiOplant)!and!regional!(multiOcompany)!

levels.!The!SM!concept!seeks!to!make!full!use!of!IT!hardware!and!software!advances!embodied!in!

the!‘cyber’!infrastructure.!SM!creates!robust!“manufacturing!intelligence”!to!reduce!energy!

consumption;!improve!the!sustainability!of!operations;!drive!environmental,!health,!and!safety!

incidents!toward!zero;!and!dramatically!increase!the!competitiveness!of!U.S.!industrial!sectors.!

• Low4cost,+real4time+process+control!O!New!control!schemes!are!needed!to!optimize!energy!and!

material!efficiency!while!maintaining!the!high!quality!of!clean!energy!products.!Process!control!is!a!

significant!challenge!for!some!newer!clean!energy!technologies!that!have!dramatically!ramped!up!

production!over!the!last!few!years.!For!some!technologically!sophisticated!products,!realOtime!

inspection!and!monitoring!of!product!quality!will!become!an!increasingly!critical!challenge!as!the!

rates!of!throughput!increase.!

• Molecular+scale+manufacturing!O!Manufacturing!new!products!at!the!molecular!scale,!as!required!

for!some!current!and!emerging!clean!energy!technologies,!will!benefit!from!tools!that!can!analyze!

complex!processes!with!unprecedented!scales!of!granularity.!Sophisticated!information!processing!

capabilities!will!be!essential!for!integrating!product!design!and!production!processes!at!very!small!

scales.!New!molecularOscale!processes!and!control!systems!will!require!sensing!and!measurement!

technology!well!beyond!today’s!state!of!the!art.!

• Computational+technologies!O!Sophisticated!hardware!and!software!will!be!required!to!enable!the!

efficient!application!of!advanced!manufacturing!systems,!such!as!digital!engineering!and!

manufacturing,!advanced!robotics,!and!other!intelligent!production!systems.!Advanced!

computational!tools!will!reduce!development!time!and!time!to!market,!resource!requirements,!and!

energy!inefficiencies.!