Argonne National Laboratory

Energy Research Overview

Ed Daniels

Deputy Associate Laboratory Director

Energy Engineering and Systems Analysis

presented to

National Conference of State Legislatures

Task Force on Energy Supply

McCormick Place, Chicago

August 5, 2012

About Argonne

Argonne is America's first national laboratory—founded in 1943; designated a national laboratory in 1946

Managed by The University of Chicago (UChicagoArgonne,LLC) for the U.S. Department of Energy (government owned, contractor operated) 2,800 employees and 5,000+ facility users $650M annual budget 1,500-acre, wooded site in DuPage County, Illinois

The pioneer of most civil nuclear technologies

More than 200 active projects each year focused on:

Energy—Energy storage, alternative energy and efficiency, nuclear energy

Biological and environmental systems National security

Multi-program/multi-disciplinary research

Oversight by DOE/SC

Research sponsors: DOE, Other Federal Agencies, State of Illinois, private

sector

Department of Energy National Laboratories

Mastering hierarchical

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Argonne: Science-based Solutions to Global Challenges

Energy production, conversion, storage and use

National Security

Environmental Sustainability

Use-inspired science and engineering…

… Discovery and transformational science and engineering

Major User Facilities Science and Technology Programs

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Major Scientific User

Facilities

Advanced Photon Source Center for Nanoscale Materials

Electron Microscopy Center

Argonne Leadership Computing Facility

Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System

United States Energy Supply

and Demand

Energy consumption in the United States has tripled since 1950

The United States consumes 20% of the world’s annual petroleum production; we consume about 18 million barrels per day and import about 8 million barrels per day

The United States consume more petroleum than the next 4 largest consumers of oil combined

Natural gas has overtaken coal as the largest source of primary energy in the United States

Petroleum Supply and Demand

The economic downturn after the financial crisis of 2008, improvements in efficiency, changes in consumer behavior and patterns of economic growth, and fuel switching in the electricity generation sector all contributed to the decline in petroleum consumption. At the same time, increased use of domestic biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel), and strong gains in domestic production of crude oil and natural gas plant liquids expanded domestic supplies and reduced the need for imports.

Snyder - Argonne – Cellulosic and Advanced Biofuels 2012

Year

Production

Gallons

(Millions )

Exports

Gallons (Millions)

1980 175 <200

1985 610 <200

1990 900 <200

1995 1400 <200

2000 1630 <200

2005 3410 <200

2010 10935 400

2011 14631 1190

2012 Expected to decline slightly

U.S. Ethanol Production

Crude Oil Prices Have Equilibrated at $85-$100 per

barrel in the short run

Sources of Electricity Generation in the United

States

Renewable Electricity Generation Dominated by

Wind

World Energy Consumption

is Driven by Growth in Asia

High-degree of Uncertainty for World Oil Prices

Sustainable Energy: Requires

Continuing Innovations in Science and

Technology

Wind Solar

Carbon Sequestration

Biomass

Electrical Transmission

Energy Storage

Advanced Nuclear Energy

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Argonne is developing the next generation of efficient technology and alternative energy sources to promote energy independence through:

Technology for efficient transportation

Transformational technology for industry

Development of technology and systems to enable increased use of renewable energy.

Alternative Energy & Efficiency

Argonne’s ‘omnivorous engine

methanol

formaldehyde

Conversion of CO2 to liquid fuels

Nancrystalline Diamond Pump Seals

Vehicle Technologies – Driving U.S. Transportation

Forward

Batteries

Vehicle Systems

Emissions Control

Applied Materials Research Argonne’s “omnivorous” engine

Argonne’s Advanced Powertrain Research Facility

Transformational 21st Century Transportation

Fully electrified United States transport system (cars & light trucks) will:

Cut US oil consumption by 1/3 (7.2 million barrels oil/day)

25% well-to-wheels reduction in carbon footprint

Need 2 to 5X improvement in battery energy density

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Lithium-air batteries: The Holy Grail?

Potential for 10X the energy density of current batteries

400-mile electric vehicles

Compatible interface membranes for

separations

Nanoporous carbons for transport and conductivity

Stable electrolytes with required ionic conductivity

Catalysts for making and breaking Li-O and O-O bonds

at specified energies

Advanced Battery Materials

Manufacturing R&D

Advanced Battery Materials Synthesis and Manufacturing R&D capability provides unique resource to support development of “production ready” processes for industry.

Related facilities include a Cell Fab Lab and a Battery Post-test Diagnostic Lab.

Concept drawing of Argonne’s Materials Engineering Research Facility. The facility is rated for high-hazard materials.

View of pilot-labs in the Materials Engineering Research Facility. Cell fab line.

Advanced Manufacturing R&D

2”, 250g melt, 1.5 Amp

5”, 6kg melt, 15 Amp Experimental Furnaces

22”, 130kg melt, 200 Amp Pilot

2700kg melt, 8000 Amp Pilot Refractory lined furnace

Developing transformational process technology for domestic manufacturing

Research and development Ultra-fast Boriding Process

Nanomanufacturing for Energy

Efficiency

Scalable process technology for the production of nanotechnologies

High-Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering of Ultra-hard and Low-friction Nanocomposite Coatings

Nanoscale Electrodeposition Process for Manufacturing High Selectivity Catalysts

Atomic Layer Deposition for Nanostructured Photovoltaics, Catalysts, Membranes and Energy Storage Materials

Large-Scale Manufacturing of Nano-Particulate-Based Lubrication Additives for Improved Energy Efficiency and Reduced Emissions

Development, Characterization, Production, and

Demonstration of Nanofluids for Industrial Cooling Applications

HiPMS Sputtering Chamber for production performance and cost studies

Sample preparation for QC evaluation of thermal nanofluids

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Biomass

Wind

Solar

Geothermal

Renewable Energy Technology

Process conditions for production of advanced solar cells are being developed to enable commercial manufacture.

Skid-mounted separative bio-reactor for pilot trials to verify performance and effectiveness for organics acids.

Argonne environmental engineer Gayathri Gopalakrishnan studies potential biofuel crops.

Biomass—Growing New Energy Sources

Our biomass research includes:

Improving energy efficiency for product recovery through the Argonne-developed Separative Bioreactor

Evaluating the potential use of contaminated and unused land to grow crops for biofuel

Developing chemical and biological approaches to the production of infrastructure-compatible advanced biofuels and chemicals

Membrane Fabricated by Argonne for Separative Bioreactor

Solar—Creating a Brighter Future

Our solar energy research includes:

Improving the efficiency of low-cost photovoltaic materials by depositing both transparent conductors and photovoltaic active materials onto nanoporous scaffolds

Improving concentrating solar power with the development of novel heat exchange concepts, heat transfer fluids and thermal storage media

Employing consumer-choice modeling to develop a utility-based understanding of market responses to metering and price signals for photovoltaic market penetration

Atomic Layer Deposition for Solar Cells

Wind—Harnessing Clean Energy

Our wind energy research includes:

Development of wind power forecasting techniques

Improving the efficiency and reliability of drivetrain components in windmills by smart surface and lubrication engineering

Development of direct drive superconducting systems

The Challenge: How will we meet the world’s future energy demands?