Newswise — Striking a balance between lower-risk, near-term improvements and high-risk, long-term innovations in materials and manufacturing science is the most promising path to a sustainable energy future for the United States and the world, according to a report released today by the Energy Materials Blue Ribbon Panel convened by The Minerals Metals & Materials Society (TMS).
“Linking Transformational Materials and Processing for an Energy Efficient and Low-Carbon Economy: Creating the Vision and Accelerating Realization,” also called the “Vision Report,” culminates the first phase of work in a two-part study commissioned by the Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) in February 2010. The studies will support the development of a core materials science and engineering (MSE) research and development portfolio to meet the nation’s energy challenges.
The complete Vision Report is available by request from TMS or as a PDF download at http://energy.tms.org.
Isaac Chan, acting program manager for the DOE/ITP, commended the work of the Blue Ribbon Panel's scientists and thought leaders for their ambitious effort, and expressed optimism about the prospects for progress on national energy security and carbon emission reductions goals that the Vision Report makes possible.
"The strategic opportunities and solutions identified in the report point the way toward truly transformational advances in new materials science and engineering," said Chan. "Our challenge ahead is to move this work forward in order to convert the ideas into a blueprint for action that can speed our movement toward a more energy-efficient and low-carbon society."
While the Vision Report addresses an array of technologies in which new materials and processing breakthroughs can lead to future transformational advances, it also highlights improvements in energy materials that can deliver significant payoffs in the near term. Of these, MSE applications supporting increased vehicle and industrial efficiency offer the greatest potential near-term impact, according to the report. Nuclear fission was likewise identified as a high-priority, near-term energy solution. Batteries for energy storage not only emerged as a leading focus in the foreseeable future, but also as the highest priority for MSE innovation in the longer term.
Other high-priority, MSE-enabled energy technologies identified as yielding benefits in the long term included nuclear fusion, as well as fuel cells and hydrogen technologies. Solar technology, while being designated as a moderately important MSE opportunity in the near term, would grow as a higher priority over time by virtue of development focused on alternatives to silicon and increasing energy conversion rates, according to the report.
To realize the fullest potential of these priority technologies, the Panel examined the materials- and processing-driven elements that could make the highest impact across the areas of energy source and use. The report distilled the Panel’s findings into four MSE cross-cutting themes determined to have the highest value:
• Functional Surface Technology: Specific technologies include catalysts, nanomaterials and nano-level processing, coatings, electrochemical material systems, and thin film technologies.• Higher Performance Materials for Extreme Environments: Key elements are metallic materials, ceramics, engineered polymers, and electronic materials. Multi-Materials Integration in Energy Systems: Most energy technologies, such as batteries, fuel cells, and solar cells, involve systems of different classes of materials. The report stressed that more effective integration of these components is needed to optimize efficiency of these systems, focusing on such technologies as joining processes, composite materials, thermal management materials and processes, and smart materials.• Sustainable Manufacturing of Materials: This encompasses net shape processing methods, industrial heating and waste heat utilization, and resource recovery and recycling.
The report further notes that each of these cross-cutting themes is supported by three foundational areas—key technology groups that are vital to accelerating progress from research to realization. They are Computational Modeling; Advanced Characterization; and Integrated Process Control and Sensors.
“The Blue Ribbon Panel's work has confirmed in my mind what professional engineers can accomplish,” said Diran Apelian, Energy Materials Blue Ribbon Panel chair and 2008 TMS President. “Their work is significant because it calls for national investments in materials processing and synthesis (manufacturing) as a path forward to reducing our nation’s carbon footprint and developing renewable energy sources.”
TMS will commence Phase II of the project by convening a Technical Working Group for each of the four cross-cutting themes in September 2010. Charged with identifying and prioritizing the highest impact research and development areas that address the Vision Report’s recommendations, the Technical Working Groups will develop technical roadmaps for the cross-cutting areas, with a final report consolidating these recommendations and addressing interdependencies due to be published by the end of 2010.
About TMSTMS is the professional organization encompassing the entire range of materials science and engineering, from minerals processing and primary metals production to basic research and the advanced applications of materials. Included among its professional and student members are metallurgical and materials engineers, scientists, researchers, educators and administrators from more than 70 countries on six continents.
For more information on TMS, visit our Web site at: http://www.tms.org
RSS