Nuclear is up to the challenge of energy storageNuclear NewsResearch & ApplicationsAugust 20, 2020, 11:54AM|Nuclear News StaffThe Department of Energy is asking for input on an Energy Storage Grand Challenge (ESGC) Draft Roadmap and Request for Information (RFI) and recently extended the response deadline to August 31. While there is no “N” for nuclear in “ESGC,” nuclear is definitely part of the DOE’s plan for future energy storage technologies and integrated energy systems designed to improve the efficiency and reliability of U.S. energy markets. In fact, the House Energy and Water Appropriations Committee has called for $4 million in the Office of Nuclear Energy’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget to support energy storage. INL leads the way: Idaho National Laboratory is leading the integrated energy systems research of the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy, and that research “seeks to maximize energy utilization, generator profitability, and grid reliability and resilience through novel systems integration and process design, using nuclear energy resources across all energy sectors in coordination with other generators on the grid,” according to Shannon Bragg-Sitton, who works at INL as both the Integrated Energy Systems Lead for Nuclear Science and Technology as well as the National Technical Director, Integrated Energy Systems and DOE-NE Crosscutting Technology Development.Bragg-SittonThe deployment flexibility gained by energy storage is key to integrated energy systems. “Energy storage systems—including electrical, thermal, and chemical storage options—are expected to play a key role in managing variable grid energy demands using both variable renewable generators and thermal generators, such as nuclear energy, that have traditionally provided baseload electricity,” Bragg-Sitton told Nuclear News.Putting ideas to the test: A key component of DOE-NE’s integrated energy systems research is to develop a flexible “ecosystem” for modeling, analysis, and optimization of integrated energy systems that can accommodate various reactor types, renewable technologies, energy storage components, and energy users, including water desalination, district heating, hydrogen production, synthetic fuels, and chemicals. “This modeling ecosystem supports optimized system design, identifying the appropriate component sizes for a specified energy application, and optimized real-time energy dispatch, whether that energy is in the form of heat or electricity, and whether that is derived from real-time generation or from stored energy sources,” Bragg-Sitton said. “A lot of work is going on right now. We are installing energy storage in our laboratory for testing and demonstration in the coming year.”This rendering of a portion of DETAIL identifies the MAGNET (Microreactor Agile Nonnuclear Testbed), TEDS (Thermal Energy Distribution Systems) and HTSE (High-Temperature Steam Electrolysis) equipment. Image: INLSpecific elements of TEDS, the Thermal Energy Distribution System being installed at INL’s DETAIL lab, are shown in this rendering. Image: INLIn DETAIL: The integrated energy systems laboratories at INL are housed in the Dynamic Energy Transport and Integration Laboratory (DETAIL). DETAIL incorporates multiple subsystems, connecting heat and electricity producers, thermal and electrical storage, and multiple heat and electricity customers through a thermal and electrical network. Each component will be able to operate either independently or in response to the needs of the lab-scale grid.The thermal components of the DETAIL testbed are funded by DOE-NE. They include a High-Temperature Steam Electrolysis (HTSE) system; a Microreactor Agile Nonnuclear Testbed (dubbed MAGNET), which will use electrical heating elements to emulate the heat from nuclear fuel; and a Thermal Energy Distribution System (TEDS).“The High-Temperature Steam Electrolysis system is currently operational, and TEDS and MAGNET are being installed now,” Bragg-Sitton said. “They are expected to be fully operational by December.”ESGC Background: The DOE created the ESGC in January 2020 with the goal of accelerating the development, commercialization, and utilization of next-generation energy storage. The ESGC Draft Roadmap outlines a department-wide strategy to accelerate innovation across a range of storage technologies based on three concepts to ensure that the United States retains a global leadership role: Innovate Here, Make Here, Deploy Everywhere.The preparation of the Draft Roadmap was a crosscutting effort managed by the DOE’s Research Technology Investment Committee to provide planned activities for the five tracks of the ESGC: Technology Development, Manufacturing and Supply Chain, Technology Transition, Policy and Valuation, and Workforce Development.Responses to the RFI must be submitted electronically to rticstorage@hq.doe.gov no later than August 31.Tags:doeenergy storage grand challengeheat storagehydrogeninlintegrated energy systemsrfithermal energyShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
INL’s MARVEL could demonstrate remote operation on a micro scaleThe Department of Energy launched a 14-day public review and comment period on January 11 on a draft environmental assessment for a proposal to construct the Microreactor Applications Research Validation & EvaLuation (MARVEL) project microreactor inside Idaho National Laboratory’s Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility.The basics: The MARVEL design is a sodium-potassium–cooled thermal microreactor fueled by uranium zirconium hydride fuel pins using high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU). It would be a 100-kWt reactor capable of generating about 20 kWe using Stirling engines over a core life of about two years.The DOE proposes to install the MARVEL microreactor in a concrete storage pit in the north high bay of the TREAT reactor building. Modifications to the building to accommodate MARVEL are anticipated to take five to seven months. Constructing, assembling, and performing preoperational testing are expected to take another two to three months prior to fuel loading.Go to Article
DOE looks to dispose of Savannah River process equipment as LLWThe Department of Energy is considering disposing of contaminated process equipment from its Savannah River Site (SRS) at a commercial low-level waste facility using its recent interpretation of the statutory term “high-level radioactive waste,” which classifies waste generated from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel based on its radiological content rather than its origin.Go to Article
Trump leaves space nuclear policy executive order for Biden teamA hot fire test of the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi was not completed as planned. The SLS is the vehicle meant to propel a crewed mission to the moon in 2024. Source: NASA TelevisionAmong the executive orders President Trump issued during his last weeks in office was “Promoting Small Modular Reactors for National Defense and Space Exploration,” which builds on the Space Policy Directives published during his term. The order, issued on January 12, calls for actions within the next six months by NASA and the Department of Defense (DOD), together with the Department of Energy and other federal entities. Whether the Biden administration will retain some, all, or none of the specific goals of the Trump administration’s space nuclear policy remains to be seen, but one thing is very clear: If deep space exploration remains a priority, nuclear-powered and -propelled spacecraft will be needed.The prospects for near-term deployment of nuclear propulsion and power systems in space improved during Trump’s presidency. However, Trump left office days after a hot fire test of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket did not go as planned. The SLS rocket is meant to propel crewed missions to the moon in 2024 and to enable a series of long-duration lunar missions that could be powered by small lunar reactor installations. The test on January 16 of four engines that were supposed to fire for over eight minutes was automatically aborted after one minute, casting some doubt that a planned November 2021 Artemis I mission can go ahead on schedule.Go to Article
Slaybaugh named to lead Berkeley Lab’s Cyclotron RoadSlaybaughThe Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory recently named Rachel Slaybaugh, ANS member since 2003 and associate professor of nuclear engineering at the University of California–Berkeley, to lead the lab’s Cyclotron Road Division.Get to know her: Prior to coming to Berkeley, Slaybaugh served as a program director for the DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), whose mission is to advance high-potential and high-impact energy technologies. From 2017 through 2020 at ARPA-E, Slaybaugh led programs supporting research in advanced nuclear fission reactors, agriculture technologies, and sensing and data analytics for four years.Go to Article
Reclassification of HLW could reduce risks while saving billions, DOE saysAn engineered stainless steel container designed to hold LLW at Hanford. Photo: Bechtel National, Inc.A Department of Energy report to the U.S. Congress shows that the reclassification of high-level radioactive waste could save more than $200 billion in treatment and disposal costs while allowing DOE sites to be cleaned up sooner—all still without jeopardizing public health and safety.The report, Evaluation of Potential Opportunities to Classify Certain Defense Nuclear Waste from Reprocessing as Other than High-Level Radioactive Waste, identifies potential opportunities for the DOE to reduce risk to public and environment while completing its cleanup mission more efficiently and effectively. Those opportunities are based on the DOE’s 2019 interpretation of the statutory term HLW, which classifies waste based on its radiological characteristics rather than its origin.Under the DOE’s interpretation of HLW, waste from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel may be determined to be non-HLW if the waste (1) does not exceed concentration limits for Class C low-level radioactive waste as set out in federal regulations and meets the performance objectives of a disposal facility; or (2) does not require disposal in a deep geologic repository and meets the performance objectives of a disposal facility as demonstrated through a performance assessment conducted in accordance with applicable requirements.Go to Article
EPRI names Rita Baranwal as new VP of nuclear, CNOBaranwalThe Electric Power Research Institute today announced Rita Baranwal as its new vice president of nuclear energy and chief nuclear officer. Baranwal succeeds Neil Wilmshurst, who was promoted to senior vice president of energy system resources in November.Baranwal most recently served as the Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for its Office of Nuclear Energy, where she managed the DOE's portfolio of nuclear research for existing and advanced reactors and new designs. Baranwal unexpectedly resigned from that position late last week.Go to Article
The year in review 2020: Waste ManagementHere is a look back at the top stories of 2020 from our Waste Management section in Newswire and Nuclear News magazine. Remember to check back to Newswire soon for more top stories from 2020.Waste Management sectionFirst-ever cleanup of uranium enrichment plant celebrated at Oak Ridge: The completion of the decades-long effort to clean up the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant was celebrated on October 13, with Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette joining U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and other state and community leaders at the East Tennessee Technology Park, where the uranium enrichment complex once stood. Read more.Go to Article
The year in review 2020: Research and ApplicationsHere is a look back at the top stories of 2020 from our Research and Applications section in Newswire and Nuclear News magazine. Remember to check back to Newswire soon for more top stories from 2020.Research and Applications sectionARDP picks divergent technologies in Natrium, Xe-100: Is nuclear’s future taking shape? The Department of Energy has put two reactor designs—TerraPower’s Natrium and X-energy’s Xe-100—on a fast track to commercialization, each with an initial $80 million in 50-50 cost-shared funds awarded through the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. Read more.Go to Article
John Gilligan: NEUP in support of university nuclear R&DJohn Gilligan has been the director of the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) since its creation in 2009 by the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE). NEUP consolidates DOE-NE’s university support under one program and engages colleges and universities in the United States to conduct research and development in nuclear technology. The two main R&D areas for NEUP funding are fuel cycle projects, which include evolving sustainable technologies that improve energy generation to enhance safety, limit proliferation risk, and reduce waste generation and resource consumption; and reactor projects, which strive to preserve the existing commercial light-water reactors as well as improve emerging advanced designs, such as small modular reactors, liquid-metal-cooled fast reactors, and gas- or liquid-salt-cooled high-temperature reactors.Go to Article
DOE issues Versatile Test Reactor draft EIS, confirms INL as its “preferred alternative”The Department of Energy has begun the environmental review of its proposed Versatile Test Reactor (VTR), releasing a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for public review and comment on December 21. The sodium-cooled, fast-neutron-spectrum VTR is intended to enhance and accelerate U.S. research, development, and demonstration of innovative nuclear energy technologies.Go to Article