Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer

Renewable Energy Lab Uncovers Lithium Solution
While developing electrochromic window technology, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) unexpectedly discovered a revolutionary thin-film lithium battery technology-one that holds promise for many applications. But it's not really surprising. According to NREL Senior Scientist Edwin Tracy, electrochromic technologies that dynamically control transmitted light in high-performance windows are really nothing more than thin-film batteries that change color. Through their electrochromic windows expertise, Tracy and his NREL research colleagues, See-Hee Lee and Ping Liu, saw a way to make solid-state, thin-film lithium batteries in a reverse configuration, a long sought-after goal in the field. Thin-film batteries can degrade very fast, Tracy said. That's because the reactive lithium metal anode is necessarily constructed on the top and thus more prone to environmental exposure. If there were a way to bury it beneath the cathode and electrolyte in a reverse configuration, it would be a much more durable device.

NREL, SkyFuel Tech Reflects a Bright Future for Solar Power
Solar power has been nipping at the heels of fossil fuels for decades; however, it hasn't yet found a way to be cost-competitive on a large scale. That could change soon, according to Gary Jorgensen, a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Jorgensen and SkyFuel Chief Technology Officer Randy Gee have developed a thin silver polymer film reflector to substitute for bulkier glass mirrors on solar-collecting parabolic troughs. The film has the potential to reduce concentrator costs by about 35 percent. Glass is highly durable, but is heavy and hard to shape without added cost, Jorgensen said. Once industry sees the advantages of the silver polymer and is convinced the product is durable in an outdoor environment, the sky is the limit. Gee said the film, trademarked ReflecTech® Mirror Film, has the same performance as the heavy glass mirrors, but at a much lower cost and much lower weight. It also is much easier to deploy and install. The glossy film uses several layers of polymers with an inner layer of pure silver. SkyFuel has developed the first parabolic trough solar concentrating collector to use this film—SkyTrough™.