ESIF Stewardship Summary 2022
NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) is a research space designed to find solutions to the challenges and identify opportunities within our rapidly evolving energy system.
Work at the ESIF delivers breakthroughs in energy systems integration, grid modernization, energy storage, cybersecurity, transportation, hydrogen, homes and buildings, and grid-edge technologies.
The ESIF is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) user facility.
Directors' Note
NREL's stewardship of the nationally unique integrated research infrastructure at ESIF ensures state-of-the-art service for our diverse users—including pioneering cities, federal agencies, tech innovators, and the utility sector. These valued partners amplify the facility's impact by disseminating their discoveries and implementing new ways to power and protect the changing energy system.
We're also proud of the capabilities and infrastructure upgrades that came online this year at the ESIF. Many of them support the buildout of NREL's Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) platform—the nation's most powerful research capability for clean energy technology validation.
Our achievements in 2022 are a testament to how we keep pace with unprecedented change.
Fiscal Year 2022 Facility Performance Metrics
total users:
total users:
DOE Sponsors of ESIF Fiscal Year 2022 Projects
This pie chart represents U.S. Department of Energy sponsors of ESIF projects in 2022.
ESIF Research Outcomes in FY 2022
This half-circle chart represents the body of work from Fiscal Year 2022 ESIF projects, including 55 peer-reviewed publications, 3 issued patents, 5 software records of invention, and 6 licensed intellectual property.
Ten Infrastructure and Capability Upgrades
1. Hydrogen Truck Fast Fueling System
DOE's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office sponsored the development of a first-of-its-kind heavy-duty hydrogen research station at the ESIF. This station supports research to reduce the fueling time for heavy-duty hydrogen vehicles, so it is comparable to the fueling time for conventional diesel vehicles.
"This research opens the door for evaluating new hydrogen fueling concepts that shape the future of decarbonized transportation," said project leader Shaun Onorato. This summer, NREL worked with industry partners Air Liquide, Honda, Shell, and Toyota, to demonstrate and fill a semitruck-sized hydrogen storage system in under 10 minutes.
2. New Grid-Forming Inverter Test Bed
A grid-forming inverter test bed allows NREL and partners to demonstrate ways for power electronics to stabilize renewable power systems. "Until now, inverters have relied on the bulk power system for overall stability. Now, we are showing that inverters can collectively provide grid services in ways that are very useful for stability and resilience," said Gab-Su Seo, an NREL senior engineer.
3. New High-Power DC Charging Vehicle
NREL acquired a new high-power DC charging vehicle—the Hyundai IONIQ 5—with support from the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office. "The IONIQ 5 represents a new era of electric vehicles (EVs) with faster charge powers and faster charge times that could become comparable to fueling a car with gas," says EV researcher Ed Watt. "NREL's characterization of these vehicles and their charging performance under varied conditions can help encourage widespread adoption of EVs in the market."
4. Higher-Power Platform for Electrolyzer Stack Evaluation
Upgrades and maintenance added new features to the ESIF's electrolyzer stack evaluation platform for easier and more economical production of hydrogen. Additions included deionized water supply capacity and filtering and greater versatility for electrical connections. "There are few lab capabilities like this out there in the world, especially at this size. Any industry partner interested in proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis can configure the test bed for their needs. In 2022, that included PlugPower and Nel Hydrogen," said ESIF Operations Manager Greg Martin.
5. New High-Power Charging Unit
Envisioning the "gas station" of the future, NREL's electric vehicle researchers installed a 150-kW Tritium charger earlier this year, bringing the first DC-fed high-power charging unit to the ESIF. "We're trying to reduce the costs of installing charging sites," says Chief Engineer Andrew Meintz. "Charging stations in this design would share power on a common bus to reduce the need for upstream grid power upgrades while delivering a good customer experience." The charger will support a project with the Electric Power Research Institute funded by the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office.
6. Energy Security and Resilience Laboratory Construction
Construction has commenced on the ESIF's new Energy Security and Resilience Laboratory. The lab will be the operating center for the ARIES Cyber Range, which emulates complex, multilayer energy system networks for the evaluation of emerging threats. "The cyber range is useful for testing cybersecurity technologies in a realistic simulation of the grid, to understand performance before we employ these technologies out there in people's lives," described DOE Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk.
7. Energy Savings for Commercial Refrigeration
NREL acquired a fluid conditioning module to assess energy savings for buildings using water-based cooling. With this capability, NREL, Commonwealth Edison Co., and the DOE Building Technologies Office demonstrated up to 62% energy savings in a project focused on the high-use refrigeration display cases at convenience stores and small supermarkets. "We showed how environmentally friendly upgrades to a common technology can also benefit customers through cost savings," said project lead Alex Bulk.
8. 500 kW Battery Energy Storage
A new lithium iron phosphate battery energy storage system is ready to power research in microgrid and grid-edge projects. "ESIF is a premier site for microgrid testing and evaluation," says electrical engineer Kurtis Buck. "These two new battery units, which combine to 500 kW, were customized with versatile plug-ins to connect with the technologies of our diverse partners. The Universal Interoperability for Grid Forming Inverters project will be one of the first to use it."
9. New Low-Temperature Electrolyzer Stations
The DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office added 12 testing stations to the ESIF laboratories to explore innovations in hydrogen production using low-temperature electrolysis. Like solar energy was two decades ago, clean hydrogen is currently in profitability limbo, held back by the high capital costs of electrolyzers. "NREL has unique hardware for testing electrolyzer stacks, allowing us to achieve new benchmarks in cost and performance," says Guido Bender, an NREL project leader.
10. Improved Connectivity for Cross-Lab Research
Connectivity to MW-scale DC power distribution now spans several key areas of the ESIF. "We are designing algorithms that have never existed on the electrical grid, and partners need proof that these methods will work," says Fei Ding, an expert in grid automation and control. "This distribution bus integrating ESIF assets allows us to show our method in a real setting."
Interested in Power Electronics?
On a new 360-degree tour of NREL's power electronics laboratories, virtual visitors can view the innovative technologies that support the digitization of the electric power grid. The DOE Advanced Manufacturing Office, now DOE's Advanced Manufacturing and Materials Office, helped NREL establish this research environment.
"Power electronics are the building blocks to clean energy goals for the grid," says Akanksha Singh, a power electronics researcher at NREL. With so many details in the design of these components, everything—especially hardware that supplies heavy-duty power—must be tested for ruggedness and reliability.
Facility R&D Impact
Silica Sand Offers Low-Cost Path to Long-Duration Energy Storage
An NREL-led innovation offers a breakthrough alternative to long-duration electricity storage. The aptly named ENDURING (EcoNomic long-DURation electrIcity storage by using low-cost thermal eNerGy storage) project has already developed the ability to store excess renewable power in superheated sand and reuse it for thermal or electrical loads. The technology is gaining industry attention as an abundant and safe stand-in for natural gas as it moves toward a scaled-up demonstration.
Sponsor: ARPA-e
ESIF resource: Power Systems Integration Laboratory
Electric Vehicle Manufacturers Mobilize Around Cybersecurity for Charging Infrastructure at NREL
Leaders in the electric vehicle industry—such as Ford Motor Co., Rivian, BMW, and Eonti—gathered at the ESIF twice in 2022 out of a shared concern for cyber intrusions on EV charging infrastructure. The international working group successfully demonstrated digital trust between vehicles and charging stations and evaluated methods of encrypting information exchanged. ESIF offered participants a neutral space for precompetitive testing using advanced research assets funded by DOE's Vehicle Technologies Office. DOE will also help explore pathways to scaling this promising method of cyber defense.
Sponsors: SAE International and Eonti
ESIF resource: Electric vehicle research infrastructure evaluation platform
NREL Analyzes Impact on Vehicle Batteries From Grid Integration
Vehicle-to-grid connections can improve grid reliability, but the batteries experience wear in the process. At the ESIF, researchers cycled vehicle batteries from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles through two use cases—one that used the battery for grid reliability and another that did not—to show how grid integration affects battery durability and capacity over time. The research provides crucial data for understanding the value of vehicle-to-grid technologies.
Sponsor: DOE Vehicle Technologies Office
ESIF resource: Optimization and Control Laboratory
Industry Partners Demonstrate System Restoration Using Inverter-Based Microgrids
Using the ESIF's Advanced Distribution Management System Test Bed, industry partners Central Georgia Electric Membership Corporation and Survalent demonstrated improved energy resilience using fault location, isolation, and service restoration on systems with a high number of distributed energy resources and utility-owned microgrids. Fault location, isolation, and system restoration is a high priority for utilities, and more advanced strategies are now possible using grid-edge resources. Utilities anywhere could use this approach to reduce the impact of outages.
Sponsor: DOE Office of Electricity
ESIF resource: Advanced Distribution Management System Test Bed
From Components to Systems, NREL and Partners Enhance Cybersecurity of Solar Plants
NREL is working with industry partners to detect and mitigate cyberattacks at solar plants from the inverter to the system level. The team's multilevel approach secures devices by design using the most trusted cybersecurity and cryptography protocols, and protects data using blockchain technology. This project is an all-in-one answer to solar PV cybersecurity, validated with hardware-in-the-loop capabilities at the ESIF, and piloted at a solar plant in Arkansas.
Sponsor: DOE Solar Energy Technologies Office
ESIF resource: System Performance Laboratory
Auto-Detection of Contaminants Improves Hydrogen Quality
In a collaboration with a California state agency, NREL developed a hydrogen contaminant detector interface to verify hydrogen fuel quality in nearly real time. When the fueling hose of a hydrogen dispenser is depressurized after fueling, the system automatically collects some of the vented hydrogen gas, which is otherwise wasted, and delivers it to a contaminant detector that checks hydrogen purity after every fill. NREL demonstrated the detector at the ESIF, showing how the technology can help prevent the introduction of impurities into hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and enable reliable vehicle operation.
Sponsors: California Air Resources Board and the DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies
Office
ESIF resource: Hydrogen Infrastructure Testing and Research Facility
Modeled Insights Could Make Wind Energy More Competitive and Open New Markets
A detailed analysis performed using NREL's Eagle supercomputer in the ESIF Data Center produced novel insights and higher-accuracy data for future wind deployments. Issues such as sound constraints, bat nesting, and shadow flicker are among many other considerations when siting wind turbines. This research by NREL delivers high-spatial fidelity data of all such effects on total wind power so researchers, system planners, and policymakers have reliable information to work from.
Sponsor: DOE Wind Energy Technologies Office
ESIF resource: High Performance Computing Data Center
Partners
Tours
Tours of the ESIF are one way to learn about the important research that takes place there. Restrictions from COVID-19 contributed to a built-up demand for in-person events and tours, including the busiest week on record in May 2022, when 23 groups of visitors came through the facility. Guests included dignitaries from foreign governments, members of the Biden-Harris Administration, congressional representatives, and private sector partners.
Partner Highlight
In September of 2022, NREL welcomed Andrew Forrest, chairman of Fortescue Future Industries, and a delegation of the company on a tour of the ESIF. Fortescue announced it will partner with NREL and the state of Colorado in a 10-year effort to create green jobs in America and advance green hydrogen production and technologies. A top-10 mining company based in Australia, Fortescue is shooting for net-zero emissions by 2030. "We are planning this investment because of NREL's exemplary scientific and research competence in this technology," said Forrest at the signing event.
U.S. Department of Energy Partners
Advanced Manufacturing Office
Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
Bioenergy Technologies Office
Buildings Technologies Office
Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response
Federal Energy Management Program
Grid Modernization
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office
Office of Electricity
Solar Energy Technologies Office
Vehicle Technologies Office
Industry, Nonprofit, Academic, and State Partners
3M
Air Liquide
Amphenol Thermometrics
Analog Devices
BREK Electronics
California Air Resources
BMW
BTC Power
Board GO-Biz
Central Georgia EMC
ChargePoint
CharIN
Chemours
ComEd
Cornell University
Cummins
DigiCert
Dioxide
Eaton Corp.
Electric Hydrogen
Electric Power Research Institute
Electrify America
Electricore Inc.
ElectroCat Consortium
Element One
Emerson
Enertronics Inc.
EOn-Sun
Eonti Inc.
EVGo
Exelon
Ford Motor Co.
General Electric
General Motors Co.
Giner Labs
Gore
Hawaiian Electric Co.
Honda Motor Co.
HyPoint
Hyundai Motor Co.
Ionomr Innovations Inc.
Ivys
Leap PV
Lubrizol
Mainstream Engineering
Membrion
Middleton
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Nel Hydrogen
NeoCharge
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
Nikola
Optiv
PARC
pH Matter
PhiHong (Zerova)
Plug Power
Proton
Resonant Link
Rivian
Rogers Corporation
San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Shell
Shifted Energy
Shine JuiceBox 3.0
Southern California Gas Co.
Span.io
TCPoly
TDA Research
Tetramer Technologies LLC
Titan Advanced Energy Solutions
Tokyo Electric Power Company
SAE International
Shell
Survalent
Toyota Motor Co.
Treadstone
Triton Systems
QAI
U.S. Department of Defense
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Columbia
University of Delaware
University of Washington
Versogen
XMarkLabs LLC
Top 10 Most Downloaded Publications
- Storage Futures Study: Key Learnings for the Coming Decades
- Cybersecurity Certification Recommendations for Interconnected Grid Edge Devices and Inverter Based Resources
- A Guide to Updating Interconnection Rules and Incorporating Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Standard 1547 (IEEE Std 1547)
- Identification and Testing of Electric Vehicle Fast Charger Cybersecurity Mitigations
- Zero Export Feeder Through Transactive Markets
- Hydrogen Component Leak Rate Quantification for System Risk and Reliability Assessment Through QRA and PHM Frameworks: Preprint
- Wind Plant Performance Prediction Benchmark Phase 1 Technical Report
- Federated Architecture for Secure and Transactive Distributed Energy Resource Management Solutions
- A Primer on the Unintentional Islanding Protection Requirement in IEEE Std 1547-2018
- Prototype Integrated Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powered Data Center
Our Thank You
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Download the executive summary of the ESIF Fiscal Year 2022 accomplishments.
For more information about NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility, visit our website.
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