(Invited) The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Materials Network

Abstract

Affordable, reliable, high performance materials and manufacturing technologies are key for most transformational technology advancements, including those in critical domestic energy applications. However, many materials discoveries in the laboratory either never reach widespread market deployment or spend decades in the development cycle at a cost of many tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. In response, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has established the Energy Materials Network (EMN) to accelerate the materials-to-market process by better integrating the stages from materials discovery through manufacturing. The EMN is a network of national lab-led consortia that support both industry- and government-led research (e.g. CRADAs and FOA awards) on specific energy-related material challenges. The EMN framework facilitates industry stakeholder engagement to ensure that the research is immediately relevant, with high-impact commercial potential. To date, EMN consortia have been set up in the seven technology areas of: light-weight materials for transportation; precious-metal-free catalysts for fuel cells; water-splitting materials for hydrogen production; advanced catalysts for biomass conversion; new materials and designs for photovoltaic modules; advanced solid-state hydrogen storage materials; and advanced caloric materials for refrigeration. This presentation will describe the vision of the EMN as an enduring national resource, and discuss recent technical accomplishments in the current network of EMN consortia.