Renewable energy

Mines' Kathryn Johnson is co-leading the controls work for the innovative 10‐MW Ultraflexible Smart Floating Offshore Wind Turbine (USFLOWT).

[Editor's note: This article first appeared on the Oak Ridge National Laboratory website. ORNL has provided Mines Newsroom with permission to re-share it here.] By Jeremy Rumsey, Oak Ridge National

Applied chemistry PhD student Sarah Zaccarine will be doing electrolyzer degradation studies at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as part of her graduate thesis research.

“The core of the existing relationship between Mines and NREL is materials science for renewable energy," said Ryan M. Richards, professor of chemistry and the Mines lead of Nexus. "Through this seed funding, we were able to create new connections from Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Petroleum Engineering, Civil Engineering."

Researchers believe the de-carbonization of the steel industry can be achieved by connecting ironmaking to renewable electric power through electrolytically produced hydrogen.

Noah Sandoval’s experiences teaching environmental science led him to pursue a graduate degree in Advanced Energy Systems at Mines.

“We’re targeting the highest electric efficiency ever for something that’s powered by a fossil fuel – the world’s first 70 percent efficient natural-gas fueled power generation system,” said Robert Braun, professor of mechanical engineering. “It’s natural gas, but it’s clean and there are very few emissions other than carbon dioxide.”

Professor Sebnem Duzgun's work could help researchers identify the presence of geothermal resources based on surface and subsurface characteristics.

The global low-carbon revolution could be at risk unless new international agreements and governance mechanisms are put in place to ensure a sustainable supply of rare minerals and metals, a new

"Cost is the main barrier to the widespread adoption of polymer electrolyte fuel cells,” Assistant Professor Svitlana Pylypenko said.