You are browsing the archives of SNL.

Representative thin crystalline-silicon photovoltaic cells – these are from 14 to 20 micrometers thick and 0.25 to 1 millimeter across. (Image by Murat Okandan)

Via press release, Sandia National Lab announced that scientists have developed microphotovoltaic cells that could revolutionize the way solar energy is collected and used.

The cells are fabricated using microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) techniques common to today’s electronic foundries. They are expected eventually to be less expensive and have greater efficiencies than current photovoltaic collectors that are pieced together with 6-inch- square solar wafers.

Benefits for microphotovoltaic cells include new applications, improved performance, potential for reduced costs and higher efficiencies.

Eventually units could be mass-produced and wrapped around unusual shapes for building-integrated solar, tents and maybe even clothing,” said Sandia lead investigator Greg Nielson. This would make it possible for hunters, hikers or military personnel in the field to recharge batteries for phones, cameras and other electronic devices as they walk or rest.

Other possible applications for the technology include satellites and remote sensing.

From 14 to 20 micrometers thick (a human hair is approximately 70 micrometers thick), microphotovoltacis are 10 times thinner than conventional 6-inch-by-6-inch brick-sized cells, yet perform at about the same efficiency. Because flexible substrates can be easily fabricated, high-efficiency PV for ubiquitous solar power becomes more feasible.

Share

Via press release, Sandia National Laboratories will use $4.2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to modify and enhance its existing Battery Abuse Testing Laboratory (BATLab), with the goal of developing low-cost batteries for electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

The tests help to determine how much abuse lithium-ion batteries can safely handle. Sandia tests everything from regular small cells up to full-sized modules and packs for hybrid vehicles.

The DOE-funded FreedomCAR program turned to Sandia to investigate the possibility of safely using lithium-ion batteries. But before lithium-ion batteries could be placed in vehicles, extensive safety tests needed to take place. With the recent stimulus funds, the BATLab will be able to greatly increase the number of tests it does.

The $4.2 million in funding is part of a $104.7 million economic stimulus package to further develop the nation’s efforts in clean energy and efficient technologies across seven DOE national laboratories.

The $104.7 million ARRA funding is concentrated on three priorities: advancing carbon fiber manufacturing and processing technologies to help reduce the weight of vehicles; developing integrated building systems to reduce U.S. carbon emissions and expanding facilities for fabricating and testing advanced battery prototypes for fuel-efficient vehicles.

Share

One the heels of our story on Western Troy Capital Resources’ little nuke announcement, we get word that a Sandia National Lab team has a new small-reactor design. The reactor’s output is projected to be in the range of 100 to 300 megawatts of thermal power, and structurally it would be “about the size of half a fairly large office building,” as the press release puts it. The small-scale economically efficient nuclear reactor could be mass-assembled in factories and supply power for a medium-size city.

The timing of this release is a little odd because it turns out that it was actually announced last December. Regardless, Tom Sanders is leading the SNL research team that has a goal to create an exportable, proliferation-resistant “right-sized reactor” that incorporates intrinsic safeguards, security and safety, and still can produce electricity for less than five cents per kilowatt hour.

The proposal offers a way for possible export sales of the reactor to developing countries that do not have the infrastructure to support large power generation. The smaller reactor design decreases the potential need for a country to develop an advanced nuclear regulatory framework. As noted by WTCR, there is also a possible market for small reactors in developed countries that have remote cities (like Canada). But SNL acknowledges that the first customers might be military bases in the U.S. and in other countries.

The reactor design includes an integrated monitoring system that provides the exporters of such technologies a means of assuring the safe, secure and legitimate use of nuclear technology.

The reactor system is built around a small uranium core submerged in a tank of liquid sodium. The liquid sodium is piped through the core to carry the heat away to a heat exchanger, which is also submerged in the tank of sodium. In the Sandia system, the reactor heat is transferred to a very efficient supercritical CO₂ turbine to produce electricity. This form of heat management is considered “passive” in as much as a meltdown isn’t possible

The Sandia “right-sized” reactors are breeder reactors, meaning they generate their own fuel as they operate. Thus they are designed to have an extended operational life and only need to be refueled once every couple of decades, which also helps alleviate proliferation concerns.

SNL reports that the reactor will include what the lab terms “nuke-star” antiproliferation technology. Given the relative maturity of reactor technology, it is probably safe to assume that nuke-star technology is really at the center of SNL’s belief that manufacturing reactors at this scale can now move forward. But, understandably, the lab is revealing little about how nuke-star works. Sanders, however, says, “[The reactor core is replaced as a unit and] in effect is a cartridge core for which any intrusion attempt is easily monitored and detected.” The reactor system has no need for operator fuel handling.

About 85 percent of the design efforts are completed for the reactor core. The team is seeking an industry partner through a cooperative research and development agreement. The CRADA team will be able to complete the reactor design and enhance the plant side, which is responsible for turning the steam into electricity.

The lure is, “It could also be a more practical means to implement nuclear-based load capacity comparable to natural gas-fired generating stations and with more manageable financial demands than a conventional power plant,” says Sanders. The cost projections suggest the cost could get down to $250 million once they are made in a mass-production mode.

Share

R&D Magazine hosts the R&D 100 Awards, which are presented annually to researchers who have developed the year’s 100 most outstanding advances in applied technologies. ACerS just learned that 49 out of the 100 awards were presented to U.S. national labs. The labs competed in an international pool that included universities, start-ups and large corporations.

Winners on the list that may be of particular interest include:

• Ultrasensitive Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Source and Interface, Pacific Northwest National Lab
• FemtoScope: a time microscope, Lawrence Livermore National Lab
• High-temperature Silicon Carbide Power Module, Sandia National Lab
• Argonne/Envia Composite Electrode Material Technology to Enable Plug-in Hybrids and All-Electric Vehicles, Argonne National Lab
• Nanocrystal Solar Cells, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
• Clay-Liquid CO₂ Removal Sorbent, National Energy Technology Lab
• Fire-Resistive Phase Change Material, Oak Ridge National Lab
• NanoCoral Dendritic Platinum Nanostructures for Renewable Energy Applications, Sandia National Lab
• Hard X-Ray Nanoprobe, Argonne National Lab
• Hyperspectral Confocal Fluorescence Microscope System, Sandia National Lab
• Spectral Sentry—Protecting High-Intensity Lasers from Bandwidth-Related Damage, Lawrence Livermore National Lab
• Superhard and Slick Coating, Argonne National Lab
• Rhombohedral Single Crystal SiGe, NASA Langley Research Center

The DOE is particularly pleased with the awards. “The Department of Energy’s national laboratories are incubators of innovation, and I’m proud they are being recognized once again for their remarkable work,” says DOE Secretary Steven Chu. “The cutting-edge research and development being done in our national labs is vital to maintaining America’s competitive edge, increasing our nation’s energy security and protecting our environment. I want to thank this year’s winners for their work and congratulate them on this award.”

Share

Credit: Randy Montoya / Sandia National Labs

Four newly designed solar power collection dishes called SunCatchers were unveiled at Sandia’s National Solar Thermal Test Facility. The new dishes are the next-generation model of the original SunCatcher system. Engineers say they are designed for high-volume production, ease of maintenance and cost reductions, and could be in commercial service by 2010.

The modular solar-thermal power SunCatcher uses precision mirrors attached to a parabolic dish to focus the sun’s rays onto a receiver, which transmits the heat to a Stirling engine. The engine is a sealed system filled with hydrogen. As the gas heats and cools, its pressure rises and falls. The change in pressure drives the piston inside the engine, producing mechanical power, which in turn drives a generator and makes electricity.

The new dishes are an improvement over the original SunCatcher system. “Six first-generation SunCatchers built over the past several years at the NSTTF have been producing up to 150KW [kilowatts] of grid-ready electrical power during the day,” says Chuck Andraka, the lead Sandia project engineer. “Every part of the new system has been upgraded to allow for a high rate of production and cost reduction.”

The new SunCatcher is about 5,000 pounds lighter than the original, is round instead of rectangular to allow for more efficient use of steel, has improved optics, and consists of 60 percent fewer engine parts. The revised design also has fewer mirrors — 40 instead of 80. The reflective mirrors are formed into a parabolic shape using a stamped sheet metal  technique, similar to that used to form the hood of a car. The mirrors are made by using automobile manufacturing techniques. This approach, according to SNL and its partner, Stirling Energy Systems, allows high-volume production, cost reductions and easier maintenance.

“The new design of the SunCatcher represents more than a decade of innovative engineering and validation testing, making it ready for commercialization,” says Steve Cowman, CEO of SES. “By utilizing the automotive supply chain to manufacture the SunCatcher, we’re leveraging the talents of an industry that has refined high-volume production through an assembly line process. More than 90 percent of the SunCatcher components will be manufactured in North America.”

The new SunCatcher minimizes both cost and land use and has numerous environmental advantages, Andraka says. “They have the lowest water use of any thermal electric generating technology, require minimal grading and trenching, require no excavation for foundations and will not produce greenhouse gas emissions while converting sunlight into electricity.”

Share