Episode Details

Disclaimer: This episode was produced when the laboratory operated as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The laboratory is now the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR).

Hosts Kerrin Jeromin and Taylor Mankle discuss recent stories from NREL:  

• NREL’s Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) Test Bed is a cutting-edge facility that can enable utilities to model and evaluate distribution systems, from simulating electric vehicle impacts to integrating renewable energy sources, emphasizing its role as a crucial resource for utilities and partners to experiment with innovations in a risk-free, controlled environment. Applications for new projects are currently open until Dec. 1. 
•  Researchers at NREL and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted a U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office-funded study on mooring systems for wave energy converters at the upcoming PacWave South test site off the coast of Oregon. The study aimed to find cost-effective mooring solutions for diverse wave energy converter prototypes, narrowing down from 43 designs to propose specific mooring systems for different anchoring areas, with decisions now pending approval from relevant authorities. 
• NREL and ACE Green Recycling are collaborating to develop economically viable recycling techniques for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, addressing the challenges posed by diverse battery types and the shift from cobalt-containing to cobalt-free batteries in the market. NREL's expertise in cell production, modeling, and analysis will support ACE in evaluating their proprietary LFP recycling technology, aiming to bridge the sustainability-profitability gap in battery recycling. 
• NREL's study on energy storage highlights the importance of storage systems lasting more than four hours, addressing the changing landscape of energy demand, particularly in winter, where longer-duration storage becomes vital due to prolonged and significant demand peaks, potentially paving the way for alternative technologies to compete with lithium-ion batteries in terms of cost and service lifetimes, ultimately enhancing grid reliability and integrating renewable energy efficiently. 

This podcast is hosted by Jackson Fletcher, Kerrin Jeromin, Taylor Mankle, and Nataleah Small and written and produced by Hannah Halusker, Allison Montroy, and Kaitlyn Stottler. Editors are Joe DelNero, Brittany Falch, and Taylor Mankle. Graphics by Brittnee Gayet. Music by Ted Vaca and Chuck Kurnik, Jim Riley, and Mark Sanseverino of Drift BC. Peaks to Power is created by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory of the Rockies in Golden, Colorado. Email us at podcast@nlr.gov. Follow NLR on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, and Facebook.