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Research Topics in New Energy, Green Technology, and Smart Grid Technology

DOE Microgrids Program 2021_103122A
[DOE Microgrids Program 2021 - Department of Energy]
 
 

1. Power Electronics and Transistors

-- Power Electronics

  • Power Converter Topologies
  • Power Electronics Device Characterization 
  • Power Circuit Synthesis, Analysis and Application
  • Design, Modeling and Control of Power Electronic Converters 

-- Power Transistors

  • SiC (Silicon Carbide) and GaN (Gallium Nitride) devices 


2. Smart Grid Technologies and Networking, Modern Power System Operation and Planning

-- Smart Grid Technologies

  • Grid Management Systems
  • Transactive Energy Systems
  • Virtual Power Plant
  • Power System Stability, Control, and Optimization
  • Power System Monitoring, Operations and Control 
  • Power System Modeling and Simulation
  • Power System Reliability and Cybersecurity
  • Distributed Control Applications Applied to Electrical Networks 
  • Smart Grids and Microgrids
  • Microgrid Practical Implementations
  • Microgrid Analysis
  • Advances in Management of Grid Dynamics
  • Architectures and Models for the Smart Grid
  • Optimization of Smart Grids
  • Applied Machine Learning for Intelligent Energy Systems
  • Smart Electricity Distribution Systems
  • Service-oriented Architectures for Smart Grids
  • Forecasting Energy Consumption and Energy Prices
  • Grid Architecture (including interoperability)
  • Scalable Infrastructures for Smart Grids
  • Fault Tolerance and Disaster Recovery in Smart Grids
  • Dynamic Discovery in Smart Grids
  • Load Balancing in Smart Grids
  • Forecasting Grid Imbalances
  • Technologies and Solutions for Improving Grid Resiliency
  • Adaptive Grid Topologies
  • Grid-to-vehicle and Vehicle-to-grid, Micro-grid
  • Smart Grid Standards, Co-simulation, Test-beds, and Field Trials
  • Large-scale monitoring, control and demand response
  • Smart metering infrastructure and technologies
  • Management and control of distributed energy generation, storage and consumption
  • Advanced data fusion, mining and modeling in smart grid
  • Renewable energy generation and new energy sources
  • Advanced smart grid applications: grid-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-grid, Micro-grid
  • Standardization and benchmark

-- Smart Grid Networking and Communications

  • The Whole Picture - Sense, Communicate, Compute, Control
  • Architecture of Web Services Interface for A Home Energy Management System
  • Smart Meter Deployment
  • Broadband Wireless and Smart Grid
  • Sensors Use for Energy Management
  • Advanced Metering Infrastructure
  • Communications and Networks for Smart Grids and Smart Metering
  • Enabling Information and Communication Technologies
  • Wide-area Visualization for Enhanced Situational Awareness (PMUs, Micro-PMUs, and Other Visibility and Control Devices and Applications)
  • Communication and Cyber Security
  • Transport Layer Mechanisms for Smart Grids
  • IP Interoperability in the Smart Grid
  • “Enernet of Things” – or “Grid of Things
  • Smart Grid Specific Protocols (DNP3, ICCP)
  • Smart Grid Cyber Security and Privacy
  • Security (physical and cyber)
  • Cyber Attack Impact on Critical Smart Grid Infrastructures
  • Smart Grid Sensor Technology
  • Wireless Communications and Networks for the Smart Grid Last Mile
  • Grid Edge Enabling Technologies
  • Ultra-wide-area Monitoring and Measurements
  • Ultra-wide-area Actuation and Control
  • Energy Internet
  • Load Modeling and Control
  • Predictive Defense Model of the Smart Grid
  • Smart Grid and Smart Grid Security
  • Cyber-physical Systems
  • Energy Storage Management and Modeling
  • Support for Storage, Renewable Resources and Micro-grids
  • Advanced Energy Storage Systems: Lithium ion Batteries and Beyond
  • Software for Smart Grids
  • Smart Grid Services and Management Models
  • Demand Side Management, Demand Response, Dynamic Pricing
  • Cloud Computing and the Smart Grid
  • Machine Learning in Smart Grids
  • Energy Data Analytics
  • Smart Grid Data and Analytics
  • Big Data Predictive Analytics for the Energy Generation
  • Handling of Big Data in Grid Operations – Real-time Applications and Archiving
  • Use of Cloud Technologies for Grid Operations
  • Climate Change Impacts on Power Grids
  • Renewable Energy Management
  • Renewable (Green) Energy Sources and Systems as Wind Power, Hydropower, Solar Energy, Biomass, Biofuel, Geothermal Energy, Wave Energy, Tidal Energy, Hydrogen & Fuel Cells, Li-ion Batteries, etc.
  • Solar, Wind and Energy Storage Integration in Smart Grids
  • Smart Grids Transmission Infrastructure
  • Wireless Power Transmission
  • Implementation and Projects on Smart Grids

-- Modern Power System Operation and Planning

  • Converged Infrastructures, Including Smart Cities 
  • Renewable Energy Integration
  • Regulatory Drivers and Impediments
  • Emerging Technologies of Modern Power System Operation and Planning
  • Coordination and Integration of EMS, DMS, Renewables
  • Utility/Service Providers Issues and Opportunities 
  • Utility/Service Provider Business Models 
  • System Planning to Accommodate High Levels of Distributed Energy Resources and Grid-edge Actors 
  • System Operations in the Face of High Penetration of Distributed and Renewable Resources (technology enabled system operations)
  • Stakeholder Opportunities and Risks (Consumers, Prosumer, Microgrids, and Smart Building Operators)
  • Weather Forecasting for Power Prediction (or Power Forecasting) to Drive Business: (smart grid management, integration of renewables and energy trading, etc.)
  • Bottom Up Forecasting and Micro-climate Weather Forecasting
  • Other Emerging Topics
 

3. Energy Storage and Utilization, Clean Vehicle Technologies and the Smart Grid

  • Nanoscale Materials, Structures and Devices
  • Super Capacitors (electrodes, electrolytes, etc.)
  • Electrical Energy Storage 
  • Chemical Energy Storage 
  • Electrochemical Energy Storage 
  • Thermal Energy Storage 
  • Mechanical Energy Storage 
  • Quantum Battery
  • Lithium-sulfur Battery 
  • Lithium-metal Battery 
  • Lithium-silicon Battery 
  • Lithium-ion Battery Materials (electrodes, catalysts, electrolytes, etc.)
  • Advanced Lead-acid Battery
  • Electrode Materials and Electrolytes
  • Electric Vehicles Integration
  • Smart Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
  • Electric Vehicle Charging Integration in Distribution Grids
  • Pricing Models for Charging Stations
  • Hybrid Car Energy and New Battery Technologies
  • Grid Integration of Plug-in Electric Vehicles and Distributed Renewable Energy Resources
  • Integration of Electric Vehicles and Battery Technology
  • Modeling and control of Hybrid Electric Vehicles
  • EV-smart Grid Integration
  • Internet of Electric Vehicles and Smart Grid 
  • Vehicles-to-grid Communications 
  • Dynamic Spectrum Access Technologies for Internet of Electric Vehicles (IoEV) 
  • Grid-based Network and Services for IoEV 
  • IoEV for Smart Grid 
  • Power Scheduling for Charging IoEV 
  • Modeling and Simulation for the Interaction of Grids and EVs
  • Battery Control for HEV and Energy Storage Systems
  • IC Engine Management Systems
  • Materials for Fuel Cell Applications (electrodes, electrolytes, membranes, electrolytes, catalysts, etc.)
  • Hydrogen Energy Materials for Hydrogen Production, Hydrogen Storage, Hydrogen Delivery
  • Next-generation Energy Storage Applications (thermoelectric materials, metal-air batteries, Na-S batteries, solar cells, heat storage, etc.)
  • Alternative Vehicular Energy
  • Electric, Fuel Cell and Hybrid Vehicles
  • Other Emerging Topics

4. Environmental Law and Energy Infrastructure, New Energy Technologies and Green/Smart Buildings

-- Environmental Law and Energy Infrastructure

  • Greenhouse Gases

-- Energy Efficiency and Green Buildings

  • Intelligent and Energy-efficient Buildings
  • Application of Nanomaterials in Construction

-- Nuclear Energy 

  • Advances in Nuclear Power Plants
  • Nuclear Energy and Global Environment
  • Hybrid energy system

-- Hydrogen Production

  • Hydrogen Production Using Nuclear Energy
  • Wind-to-Hydrogen Production
  • Photoelectrochemical (PEC) Device to Produce Hydrogen

-- Offshore Wind Research

  • Small, Midsize, Large Wind Turbine Research
  • Emerging Wind Turbine Technologies
  • Gearbox Reliability
  • Onshore and Offshore Wind Energy Development
  • Wind Power Plants Development
  • Power Transmission Solutions for Wind Energy
  • Energy Storage for Wind Power
  • Offshore Geotechnics and Energy
  • Offshore and Onshore Wind Farms Utility Grid Connections and Integration
  • Offshore and Onshore Wind Assessment, Certification and Risk Analysis
  • Onshore Wind Farm Environmental Impact Assessment
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) for Wind Turbine Blade Inspections
  • Legal Aspects of the Supply and Construction of Onshore Wind Farms

-- Identification, Assessment and Mapping of Geothermal Resources

  • Development, Expansion and Maintenance of Thermal Databases
  • Modeling of Hydrothermal Systems
  • Enhanced Geothermal Systems Technologies to Capture Energy from Resources
  • Hydrothermal and Resource (Hot Water and/or Steam) Confirmation and Applications
  • Low-Temperature Hydrothermal Resources (with Temperatures at or below 300°F) and Applications
  • On-site Borehole Temperature-Depth Logging
  • Measurement and Analysis of Rock Sample Thermal Conductivity

-- Biomass Characterization

  • Biomass Process and Sustainability Analyses
  • Whole-Systems Modelling and Analysis
  • Energy Crop Strategies
  • Waste-to-Energy (WtE)/Energy-from-Waste (EfW)
  • Availability of Agricultural and Forest Residues
  • Biomass Feedstocks for Renewable Energy Generation
  • Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) and Urban Waste Feedstocks
  • Biochemical and Thermochemical Conversion Technologies, Including Biorefining
  • Integrated Biorefinery Processes
  • Biorefinery: Chemicals and Materials from Biomass
  • Anaerobic Digestion Technologies (Biogas, Biomethane, Hydrogen)
  • Chemical and Catalyst Science
  • Biocatalysis for Bioresource Transformation
  • Metabolic Engineering and Fermentation Processes
  • Microalgal Biofuels
  • Micro and Macro Algae Technology
  • Algae Cultivation and Harvest
  • Algae Production and Conversion Systems
  • Biological Hydrogen Production
  • Feedstock Production and Genetic Improvement of Plants
  • Bioethanol Production from Lignocellulosic Biomass
  • Purified Lignins
  • Lignofuel Production Plants
  • Future Opportunities for Lignocellulosic Feedstocks

-- Wave and Tidal Energy Resource Characterization

  • Device Development, Testing, and Environmental Modelling
  • Power Take-off and Device Control
  • Environmental Impact and Appraisal
  • Grid Connection and System Aspects

-- Methane Hydrate Systems

  • Synoptic View on Methane Hydrates
  • Systems Models of Methane Hydrate Behavior
  • Basic Physics and Chemistry of Methane Hydrates
  • Methane Hydrate Resource Assessment
  • Methane Hydrate Production Analysis
  • GeoEnvironment: Hydrates in the Past and the Present
  • Methane Hydrate Related Geohazards
  • Methane Hydrate Role in the Global Carbon Cycle
  • Methane Hydrate Research and Development
  • Methane Hydrate Laboratory and Field Characterization

-- Hot Dry Rock (HDR) Geothermal Energy

  • Exploration 
  • Drilling  
  • Direct Use 
  • Geothermal Heat Pumps  
  • Electricity Production 
  • Advanced Technologies

 

 5. Green Computing and Communications Technologies, Green Society Applications

  • Green infrastructure sustainable design and technologies 
  • Energy- and power-constrained devices and gateways 
  • Ultra-low power systems architectures 
  • Low-power, distributed data processing on sensors  
  • Energy-efficient M2M wired and wireless communications and networking  
  • Optimization and/or analysis in green computing and communications (including core network optimization)  
  • Green big data, cloud, and data center architecture  
  • Green technologies for 5G (SDN, IoT, and crowdsourcing, etc.)  
  • Energy harvesting communications and networks 
  • Smart metering infrastructure and technologies  
  • Large-scale monitoring, control and demand response  
  • Advanced data fusion, mining and modeling in smart grid  
  • Management and control of distributed energy generation, storage and consumption  
  • Advanced smart grid applications: grid-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-grid, Micro-grid 
  • Smart sensing systems  
  • Smart city  
  • Green vehicle, green home, green buildings and green anything  
  • Green industrial automation and control  
  • Intelligent Transport Systems and control  
  • Energy efficiency in aerial/UAV communication networks  
  • Green social networks  
  • Applications of blockchain in energy management and trading
 

6. Energy Systems

  • Energy storage and conversion
  • Energy systems at the nexus of control and machine learning
  • Building energy systems
  • Control co-design for energy systems
  • Wind turbin control
  • Airborne wind energy systems
  • Marine Energy systems
  • Energy aware robotic systems
  • General energy systems
  • Directed-energy Weapons (DEW): high-power microwave (HPM) weapons, lasers are considered point weapons

  • Other Emerging Topics


7. Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS)

  • Post-combustion carbon capture (the primary method used in existing power plants)
  • Pre-combustion carbon capture (largely used in industrial processes)
  • Oxy-fuel combustion systems.


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