Alterative Energy Focus Day: Wednesday, January 20, 2010

7:30 Registration And Coffee

Lowering costs, improving performance and scale!

8:00 - 9:10 Progress & Developments Of Next Generation Solar Cells

With single junction achieving over 20% efficiency and multijunction cells achieving over 30% (>40% under concentration!), solar cell R&D stands at the edge of a new age. This session will discuss current research poised to bring about completely new paradigms in solar cell performance. What will be covered:

  • Nanostructure technologies for 3rd generation solar cells
  • Organic technologies for low cost, scalable solar cells
  • Lattice-mismatched and new material systems for achieving 35% one sun cells
  • The path to 50% efficiency with concentrator solar cells

Session Leaders:

Dr. Ryne P. Raffaelle
Director, National Center for Photovoltaics
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Dr. Robert J. Walters
Head, Solid State Devices Branch
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

Dr. Steven Ringel
Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
and Director, OSU Institute for Materials Research, The Ohio State University

Enabling soldiers to lighten their loads of extra battery packs!

9:15 - 10:25 Advancements In Lightweight Solar Power

Solar cell technologies combining high efficiency, light weight, and flexibility are enabling portable power with energy density sufficient to significantly decrease a soldier’s battery requirement. This session will highlight these technologies which are seeing rapid deployment for solider use and discuss how they can form building blocks of power stations for forward bases.

What will be covered:

  • Feasibility of solar power to meet soldier field power needs - power system analyses
  • Leveraging space solar array technology development – bringing the advances in space down to earth
  • Thin film solar cell technologies –status and ultimate capabilities

Session Leaders:

Dr. Alex Howard
Research Materials Engineer
Advanced Space Power Group, Air Force Research Laboratory

Phillip Jenkins
Head, Imagers & Detectors Section
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

David M. Wilt Tech Lead
Advanced Space Power Generation
Air Force Research Laboratory

Enhancing the capabilities of warfighters!

10:30 - 11:40 Alternative Energy Initiatives For The Tactical Battlefield

The DoD is developing a common power architecture so that any power source on the battlefield can be interconnected and intelligently managed with other power sources to efficiently meet demands for electric power on the tactical battlefield. This session will discuss the primary benefit that will establish an architecture that will allow for interoperability between various sources of power on the battlefield and the systems that need power.

What will be covered:

  • Current tactical electric power landscape
  • Ongoing initiatives and vision for the future
  • Energy interfaces with other operational considerations

Session Leader:

Clifford W. Anderson
Logistics S&T Thrust Manager
Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare and Combating Terrorism Department, ONR

11:45 - 12:45 Lunch

Setting standards in the renewable energy charge!

12:45 - 1:55 Renewable Energy R&D: Opportunities And Challenges

The U.S. military is not just setting standards in the areas of advanced weaponry. It's also leading the renewable energy charge. It’s involved in solar, geothermal and wind projects and its stake in the field will continue to grow. This session will cover how the DoD is tailoring its installation energy strategy to address efficiency improvements to existing buildings, constructing highly efficient and sustainable new facilities.

What will be covered:

  • Renewable energy from soar, wind, biomass, geothermal, and ocean resources

Session Leader:

Dr. Nancy Crews
President
Custom Manufacturing & Engineering

Military goes Green: Reducing emissions and lowering costs!

2:00 - 3:10 Renewable Biofuel Replacements For DoD

With the very high true cost of JP-8 delivered to the battlefield (> $10/gal), distributed production of biomass-derived fuels is an attractive technology. Biomass material can be converted to liquid biofuels that can potentially be drop-in replacements to petroleum-derived fuels. Several feedstocks (e.g., algae, food waste, garbage, energy crops) and conversion platforms (e.g., fast pyrolysis, hydrothermal liquefaction, lipid esterification, fermentation) are being actively explored. This session will discuss finding biofuels that work with the demanding requirements for military propulsion, transportation, and power generation.

What will be covered:

  • Cost of alternatives to petroleum-derived JP-8
  • Progress on conversion technologies
  • Requirements for military biofuels

Session Leader:

Dr. Paul E. Yelvington
Group Leader, Energy Conversion Technology Focus
Mainstream Engineering Corporation

Fuel consumption and DoD initiatives!

3:15 - 4:25 Alternative Fuels To Petroleum

With fuel prices soaring, the U.S. military, the country’s largest single consumer of oil, is turning into an alternative-fuels pioneer. The military is increasingly concerned that its dependence on oil represents a strategic threat. U.S. forces in Iraq alone consume 40,000 barrels of oil a day trucked in from neighboring countries. This session will cover the opportunities to provide more agile forces, reduce the fuel to the front line, the logistics footprint, the risk to personnel and achieve significant savings.

What will be covered:

  • Updates on synthetic blends
  • Opportunities for cost savings
  • Examining alternatives to current energy sources

Session Leader:

Dr. Rick Roby
CEO
LPP Combustion