(344a) Overview of the U.S. DOE Fossil Energy Advanced Energy Systems Program

The Department of Energy’s Advanced Energy Systems Program –managed within the Office of Fossil Energy and implemented by the National Energy Technology Laboratory– has been developing both second generation and transformational technologies that will drive towards developing efficient, low cost, near-zero emission fossil fuel based power conversion systems.  Advanced energy conversion systems — consisting of turbines, combustion, gasification and fuel cells —are critical in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and are designed to enable low-cost, efficient carbon dioxide capture and utilization from existing and new fossil fuel power plants.    The research being supported by DOE’s AES Program leverages public and private partnerships to support the goal of providing multiple fossil-fuel conversion solutions to enable the continuation of low cost power generation under existing and proposed emission control regulations.  Fossil Energy is targeting demonstration of 2^nd generation AES technologies that result in a net efficiency gain of 4 percentage points and a CO₂ capture cost of less than $40/tonne in the 2020-2025 timeframe.  Fossil Energy is also committed to exploring “step-change” transformational R&D of technologies designed to increase net efficiency gains of more than 8 percentage points with a corresponding CO₂ capture cost of less than $20/tonne by the 2035 timeframe.  The AES Program is managing a portfolio of over 50 research projects from the laboratory to pilot scale (>1 Mwe).  Key developments include 3,100^oF natural gas and H₂ fueled turbines, supercritical CO₂ power cycles, pressurized oxycombustion, chemical looping combustion, solid oxide fuel cells and gasification.  This presentation will summarize the U.S. DOE’s efforts to support the development of these advanced power conversion technologies and have 2^nd generation systems ready ready for commercial demonstration by 2020 and transformational systems ready for demonstration by 2035.