Providing key insights to support national energy goals.
U.S. competitiveness in the commercial and industrial sectors hinges on the availability of energy systems that can provide power efficiently and economically.
Though cutting-edge experiments and deep technical expertise, ORNL’s Energy Systems Development Group is addressing the central challenges of developing advanced energy systems, working to translate technological innovations into industry adoption and ultimately accelerate the deployment of advanced systems.
Capabilities & expertise to drive commercial innovation
The Energy System Development group leads ORNL’s experimental development across several thermal systems. To provide reliable data and insight supporting the evolution of next-generation energy technologies, the group leverages a unique set of capabilities and broad expertise, including:
- The largest molten halide salt test facilities in the DOE complex, as well as other supercritical carbon dioxide and water test facilities,
- Deep expertise in advanced optical techniques for fluid flow and heat transfer,
- A 4,500 ft2 thermal-hydraulics high bay with 1.6 MW of electrical power and 1 MW of chilled water capacity, and
- A comprehensive skillset covering mechanical design, computational fluid dynamics and design optimization, and experimental testing.
This unique combination of facilities and talent allows the group to take on complex challenges and provide actionable insights to reactor developers, major DOE facilities and projects, and component manufacturers.
Collaborations across the energy landscape
The Energy Systems Development Group supports feasibility and preconceptual design efforts for multiple thermal energy systems in collaboration with other laboratories and industry. Current projects include:
- Partnering with industry to test innovative sensor technologies
- Providing experimental platforms to validate system components and computational models
- Supporting early-stage design with performance data, computational design optimization, and system modeling
The group recently completed collaborative testing of next-generation sensors developed by industry partners. These efforts enable faster development cycles by proving real-world performance early in the technology lifecycle.
The group’s focus on advancing technologies through technology readiness levels 4-6 results in de-risked and demonstrated concepts that are ready for market acceptance and late-stage investment.
Building the Future of Advanced Energy Systems
By reducing technical uncertainty and increasing the confidence of system designs, ORNL’s Energy Systems Development Group is providing key insights that aim to meet growing industrial and commercial energy demands and support the nation’s energy goals.