When updating a 100-year-old house, you consult a building architect. What about updating the 100-year-old U.S. electrical grid, one of the most complex engineered systems on the planet? Well, a grid architect, of course. A new PNNL report describes seven paradigm shifts that have proven especially useful for modern grid planning and operations. Chief among these is the need to view the grid as a network of structures for maximum visibility across the system... read more. 

Early experimental results from PNNL strongly suggest that a new method known as Intelligent Load Control rapidly reins in a building's energy demand by shifting peak load to "valleys" while also keeping occupants comfortable. The results could help advance transactive energy concepts nationwide. The new method can be deployed in buildings to help manage traditional utility rate structures, including monthly demand charges... read more. 

With the arrival of fuel cell forklifts and new fuel cell vehicles, ultra-low emission hydrogen fuel cells are on the brink of mainstream adoption. For fuel cell vehicles to become commonplace, liquid hydrogen must be easily accessible. PNNL and partners are developing a novel approach for liquefying hydrogen based on magnetocaloric refrigeration. This new approach could reduce the cost of liquefying hydrogen by 25 percent or more... read more.