Industrial Funding Selections: 2024 Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Cross-Sector Technologies Funding Opportunity

City/State: Ames, Iowa

Federal Funding: $2,600,000

Project Lead: Ames National Laboratory

Partners: G.RAU Inc.; Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy; TauMat, LLC; ATI Special Metals and Alloys; Barrow Green, LLC; Iowa State University

Description: Ames National Laboratory and partners aim to develop and demonstrate a solid-state elastocaloric heat pump (EHP) which aims to overcome the limitations of current industrial heat pumps that rely on volatile liquid refrigerants and complex systems. The key innovation in active elastocaloric regenerator (AER) configuration for mechanical energy recovery will be leveraged to optimize heat transfer efficiency. The work aims to identify and validate elastocaloric materials at industrially relevant operating temperatures, develop economically viable AERs and efficient EHPs, and demonstrate cross-cutting potential of the technology by developing an EHP and using it for ethanol distillation at a scale of 2 kW. The proposed system will target distillation applications to reduce energy consumption by a factor of 3 or more and to decrease the carbon intensity of important distillation applications, such as corn ethanol, by 40%–80%.

City/State: Worcester, Massachusetts

Federal Funding $2,750,000 

Project Lead: Worcester Polytechnic Institute 

Partners: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment Institute; Reading Bakery Systems; Electric Power Research Institute; Alliance for Pulp and Paper Technology Innovation; IPG Photonics

Description: Worcester Polytechnic Institute and partners aim to develop and demonstrate process heating electrification utilizing laser technology and integrate laser technology with other heating and drying technologies including ultrasound and infrared. Proposed efforts also include development of models, sensors, and an artificial intelligence based algorithmic framework. The project will leverage an existing pilot-scale drying testbed at WPI to demonstrate enhancement in energy efficiency of up to 40% in food applications and 20% in paper applications with required capacity and with improvement or no degradation in product quality. Successful research leading to commercialization would advance electrification approaches for reducing on-site greenhouse gas emissions in the food processing and paper industries. 

City/State: North Las Vegas, Nevada

Federal Funding $3,000,000 

Project Lead: Blue Mountain Energy

Partners: Danfoss; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Honeywell; University of Virginia; University of New Hampshire

Description: Blue Mountain Energy and partners aim to develop and evaluate an innovative and cost-effective high-lift air-source oil-free closed-cycle mechanical vapor compression heat pump. Key features include an advanced compression cycle, patented heat exchanger, oil-free expansion valve, oil-free compressor, and hybrid bearing system that will together enable better performance at higher temperature in heat pumps using low-global warming potential refrigerants. The work will enhance major components for compressor development and aligns with the emerging focus on low-global-warming-potential refrigerants.

City/State: Alameda, California

Federal Funding: $2,999,376

Project Lead: Rondo Energy, Inc.

Partners: National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Description: Rondo Energy aims to develop an advanced heat battery with cross-sector applications to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in hard-to-abate industries. The objectives of this project include determining a suitable advanced material for use in high heat (>1300°C) applications, developing lab- and sub-scale systems for performance and safety testing, demonstrating technical performance metrics consistent with 25-40% increased storage capacity without reductions in operational performance, and developing technoeconomic and life cycle models to validate cost performance and >85% greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Deployment of the technology could provide a viable alternative to fossil fuel use for high temperature industrial heating applications, which could significantly reduce on-site greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed temperature increase represents up to a 40% increase in energy storage density over current approaches, and a pathway to service applications up to 1100°C. The technology is scalable with several potential applications across the industrial sector.

City/State: Southfield, Michigan

Federal Funding:  $1,203,971

Project Lead: Lawrence Technological University

Partners: IPG Photonics; PPG Industries; Whirlpool Corporation

Description: Lawrence Technological University and partners aim to validate and fully pilot a lower-energy, laser-based powder coat curing technology for industrial coatings applications to replace existing, inefficient natural gas curing ovens. The team would advance laser-based curing technology for lower temperature coating systems (<250°C) such as powder paint systems as well as higher temperature systems (>400°C) targeting porcelain enamel and other specialty coating applications. In addition to improving energy efficiency and reducing on-site GHG emissions, the technology has the potential for improved curing cycle times and reduced cooling requirements, which would reduce the physical footprint of the curing process. The team would disseminate project results to a wide range of industry and stakeholder communities to maximize potential impacts.

City/State: University Park, Pennsylvania

Federal Funding:  $2,491,443 

Project Lead: The Penn State University 

Partners: Saint-Gobain Ceramics & Plastics Inc.

Description: Penn State University and its partners aim to develop and demonstrate a novel ceramic siliconized silicon carbide (Si-SiC) heat exchanger for heat recovery in direct fired processes at high temperatures of over 800°C, a space that is currently limited to metal-based heat exchangers operating at lower temperatures due to the corrosive nature of the exhaust. The team aims to increase the heat exchanger effectiveness, doubling the heat transfer rates while resisting corrosion and minimizing pressure drop, using geometries identified through topological optimization, and hence improve overall energy efficiency of the process. The proposed designs will be fabricated using additive manufacturing, and the design philosophy of low maintenance products will further the chance of successful industrial adoption.

City/State: College Park, Maryland

Federal Funding: $1,468,298

Project Lead: University of Maryland: College Park

Partners: Carrier Research Center, Inc., Boeing Research & Technology

Description: The University of Maryland and its partners plan to develop a transformative cost-effective, highly efficient, cross-media polymer-based heat exchanger for low- to medium- temperature waste-heat recovery. The design utilizes the high thermal conductivity of metals, while keeping the weight and cost of the heat exchanger low by utilizing polymers to create lightweight, high-performance composites. The work will leverage several advancements: (1) substantially higher thermal conductivity from an innovative and patented wire fin cross media approach, (2) customized low-cost additive manufacturing process, (3) design and optimization for enhanced thermal and hydraulic performance of polymer heat exchanger, and 4) modular and scalable heat exchanger design. The resulting heat exchangers will be tailored for heating and cooling applications in a wide range of environments including data centers, power plants, and HVAC systems.

Full Title: Aqueous-Phase Roll-to-Roll Continuous Manufacturing of Robust and Tunable Graphene Oxide Membranes for Fractionation of Complex Feedstocks

City/State: Atlanta, Georgia

Federal Funding: $2,126,875

Project Lead: Georgia Tech Research Corporation

Partners: Mott Corporation

Description: The Georgia Institute of Technology and its partner aim to: (1) develop and scale-up a continuous roll-to-roll fabrication process for the robust and tunable reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and rGO-X nanofiltration membrane technology, and (2) assemble spiral wound elements and operate a continuous pilot skid to optimize separation characteristics. GO-based compositions along with the polymeric supports can enable excellent performance and stability in harsh conditions of high pH, high temperature, and high solid content loading. The spiral wound rGO and rGO-X membrane modules will be extensively evaluated, optimized, and validated by demonstration for six-month continuous operation. Impact areas can also extend to emerging challenges of removing high molecular weight compounds in pyrolyzed bio-oils, crude biofuels, waste plastics, etc. The project’s technical approach truly advances graphene oxide membranes and demonstrates the energy balance through modeling in early stages. The technology has a high impact potential in decarbonizing various cross-sectoral spaces. 

City/State: Des Plaines, Illinois

Federal Funding: $2,280,000

Project Lead: GTI Energy

Partners: Bloom Engineering; Pre-Heat Inc.

Description: GTI and its partners aim to design, build, and demonstrate a high-temperature heat exchanger called the radiative exchanger with secondary emitters (RESE). The heat exchanger will be capable of preheating combustion air up to 500°C from high temperature and corrosive exhaust gases of up to 900°C, enabling utilization in many high temperature processes. The design philosophy focuses on practicality and cost reduction. The RESE will save fuel and emissions while improving the durability compared to existing heat exchangers. The proposal demonstrates advancements in materials-based modeling. The proposed work highlights the significance of efficient and practical high-temperature heat exchanger adoption while saving energy and greenhouse gas emissions from reduced fuel consumption.

City/State: Amherst, New York

Federal Funding: $3,000,000

Project Lead: The Research Foundation for SUNY on Behalf of the University at Buffalo

Partners: Marquis Management Inc.; Media and Process Technology Inc.; GTI Energy

Description: The State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo and its partners aim to develop and scale up new, solvent- and heat-resistant carbon-doped titanium oxide (CDTO) membranes with precisely controlled pores and ultrahigh permeance that can be applicable as an alternative to conventional thermal separations. The properties of the CDTO membranes and its stability in high temperatures of up to 250°C make them ideal for organic solvent separation at high rates, and the membranes will target separation of similarly sized solutes in industries such as food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. The goals include development of high separation performance membranes with effective regeneration methods, scale up of membrane modules and demonstration of membrane bundles with a prototype system at a scale of 20 kilograms of crude oil per day  for >500 hours of crude soybean oil processing. The project aims to prove recovery of organic solvent and removal of impurities while eliminating phase change, thus reducing the energy intensity. Through recent publication, the team has shown the ability to tune the membrane’s selectivity in terms of molecular weight of target molecules, providing confidence in a cross sectoral applicability of the platform technology.

City/State: Austin, Texas

Federal Funding:  $2,371,167 

Project Lead: The University of Texas at Austin

Partners: Membrane Technology and Research, Inc.; BASF

Description: The researchers at UT Austin have developed long-lifetime silver ion based facilitated transport membranes (FTMs), which show stability when exposed to reducing agents, removing a key obstacle for FTM commercialization. Advances in the team achieving the FTMs as thin-film composite membranes allow for higher flux and make the membranes economically viable. The team and its partner aim to improve the selectivity performance of long-lifetime FTM and achieve a larger scale of production by producing continuously coated thin-film composite membranes and developing membrane modules for testing at the pilot scale. In addition to reducing energy intensity in mining valuable olefins from petrochemical waste streams, the team identifies unique cross-sectoral need for unsaturated hydrocarbon separation in fruit and vegetable shipping. In petrochemicals, the technology can be used in hybrid membrane distillation systems to reduce energy consumption from cryogenic distillation and greenhouse gas emissions from subsequent flaring. It can also reduce energy consumption from banana shipping by allowing refrigerated air to be recirculated without overripening the fruit.

City/State: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Federal Funding: $2,497,554

Project Lead: Philadelphia Water Department

Partners: Iowa State University, The Mott MacDonald Group

Description: The Philadelphia Water Department, a water resource recovery facility, seeks to optimize the performance of autothermal pyrolysis for converting wastewater biosolids into biochar and gas together with Iowa State University and the Mott MacDonald Group. This technology will replace land application, landfilling, and incineration of biosolids, which will in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate the regulatory concerns associated with current industry standard processes. The application presents credible evidence of the potential to reduce sludge volumes by at least 85%. 

City/State: New York, New York

Federal Funding: $2,494,408

Project Lead: Columbia University

Partners: New York City Department of Environmental Protection, DC Water, Resbonds, and City University of New York-City College of New York

Description: Columbia University, in conjunction with several leading water resource recovery facilities, will develop and implement control strategies to minimize N₂O emissions from biological nitrogen removal and other processes, while concurrently increasing process efficiency. Since 2006, the applicants have developed an in-depth, broad-ranging understanding of the microbial mechanisms, metabolic pathways that ultimately contribute to different engineering factors, operating conditions, and reactor configurations associated with N₂O production and emission at water resource recovery facilities via multiscale direct measurements and modeling. The project has significant potential for near-term reductions of greenhouse gas emissions through changes in operational parameters.

City/State: Champaign, Illinois

Federal Funding: $2,495,585 

Project Lead: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Partners: Stanford University, Urbana Champaign Sanitary District, Current Water Technologies, Inc., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Colorado State University, Visage Energy

Description: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in partnership with Current Water Technologies, Urbana Champaign Sanitary District, Stanford University, Colorado State University, Visage Technologies, and the US Army Corps of Engineers, will focus on minimizing N₂O emissions from ammonia removal processes, bypassing traditional nitrification/denitrification steps. Ammonia removal via ion-exchange and electrolysis has been demonstrated as an alternative to conventional biological processes. If successful, this project could contribute to substantial N₂O reductions. The project will focus on minimizing N₂O emissions reductions from ammonia removal processes, bypassing traditional nitrification/denitrification steps.

City/State: Knoxville, Tennessee

Federal Funding:  $2,500,000 

Project Lead: University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Partners: Carollo Engineers, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and First Utility District of Knox County

Description: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in partnership with Carollo Engineers, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and First Utility District of Knox County proposes to use nanobubbles in various water resource recovery facility aeration processes. The project includes a novel combination of learning and AI processes with actual on-the ground activities, yielding a strong probability of overall success. The nanobubbles promise both improved oxygen transfer, and decreased energy requirements for aeration, given their unique buoyancy characteristics. The utilization of nanobubbles in various water resource recovery facility aeration processes does represents a significant opportunity to reduce both scope one and two greenhouse gas emissions, particularly N₂O.

City/State: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Federal Funding:  $2,237,383

Project Lead: Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College

Partners: South Baton Rouge Wastewater Treatment Plant, Kingdom Technology Services

Description: The application from Louisiana State University with the Baton Rouge Wastewater Treatment Plant and Kingdom Technology Services demonstrates that the interaction of chlorine compounds, widely used for disinfection, with the hydroxlyamine present in wastewater residuals, creates a strong potential for N₂O emissions. N₂O has a global warming potential 298 times stronger than CO₂, so it is a very significant greenhouse gas. The application articulates a compelling strategy to reduce or even eliminate the greenhouse gas emissions from this unit process by combining an effective catalyst (TiO₂) with UVC LEDs to replace chlorine, while meeting disinfection standards, which is precisely in accord with the FOA objectives. This is a highly novel proposal addressing a previously underrecognized source of N₂O emissions.