Energy storage technology holds the key to ushering in the electric vehicle transformation and in creating the grid of the future with integrated resiliency and flexibility. Today’s battery technology is not enough. Newer chemistries, battery designs, and manufacturing processes are neededto usher changes in energy storage that can fundamentally transform the world and lead to the birth of new industries.
As an EERE Energy Storage Intern, you can be a part of the energy storage solution we need! The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Energy Storage Internship Program offers 10-week, hands-on, practical internships atU.S. national laboratories.
As an intern in the EERE Energy Storage Internship Program, you will gain a competitive edge as you apply your education, talent, and skills to research and development projects focused on energy storage. You will be mentored by and research alongside DOE scientists and subject matter experts, developing long-term relationships between yourself, researchers and others at your hosting laboratory.
The EERE Energy Storage Internship Program is sponsored by the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office. Learn more about why you want to apply for an AMMTO Summer Internship.
EERE Energy Storage Internship Details
Application Cycle
AMMTO Summer Internships are open for applications during the Fall/Winter of each year
2023 Application Year
Online Applications Open
December 2022
Applicants will have the opportunity to review a project catalog of projects provided by hosting facilities to find a suitable match for their interests and educational discipline. Project catalogs can be found on the respective program page.
Application Deadline
February 2023
Applicants should not contact research facilities/mentors after the application deadline
Applicants may contact mentors to ask questions about projects during the application period.
Application Review
February 2023
Internship Notification
March 2023
Candidates are notified of selections and receive offer letter to accept or decline internship
Internship Period
May - September 2023
Candidates accept their internship offer and begin their ORISE internship.
Interns must complete 10-weeks of internship
In most cases, interns will have the opportunity to collaborate with their hosting laboratory to ensure internship dates work best for the intern and mentor. However, some hosting laboratories have separate requirements for summer internship periods.
Application Review and Selection
In the application process, you will review available projects for your ORISE summer internship and provide your preference for which project and mentor you want to intern with for the summer. Mentors will review complete applications and project preferences to determine their ORISE intern selections and best match for their projects. Mentors may contact you directly or schedule interviews with you as part of the review process, and we encourage you to engage with them to determine the best fit for you and your potential mentor.
However, mentor selection is only one part of the review process. Mentor selection of your application does not guarantee you will be selected to participate in an internship program.
Once selections are finalized by EERE AMMTO, ORISE will notify you and your mentor if you are selected for an internship program.
Eligibility
In order to be considered, applicants must meet each of the following criteria:
Be a U.S. citizen.
Be at least 18 years old by May 1 of the internship.
Meet one of the following conditions:
Recent graduate: Have earned an undergraduate or graduate degree in the past two years in a discipline related to energy storage.
Undergraduate students, graduate students, and postgraduates, earning a degree in the past two years, are eligible to apply.
For detailed information about eligibility, review the current Zintellect Opportunity posting.
Appointment Details
Appointments will be for 10 consecutive weeks during the months of May-September. Factors such as class schedules, housing availability, and laboratory schedules may be taken into consideration when determining appointment start and end dates.
An appointment involves a full-time commitment at the host laboratory with the intern in residence on-site at the specified location.
Interns are required to have health insurance coverage during the appointment period and to provide proof of this coverage prior to the start of the appointment.
Stipend and Other Benefits
Stipend: Based on academic level at the start of your internship appointment.
Travel: Travel reimbursement for inbound and outbound expenses if you live more than fifty miles, one-way, from your assigned hosting laboratory.
Housing Allowance: A housing stipend will be provided. Additional housing stipend may be provided to offset high cost of living in certain locations.
Training/Research Allowance: A training allowance may be provided to offset relevant costs, such as fees for submitting research for publication, access to relevant training, etc.
Project Catalog for the EERE Energy Storage Internships
Applicants submitting an application to the EERE Energy Storage Internship Program are required to select one to three projects. Review the list below to determine which projects you are most interested in for your internship. Submit your project preferences in the relevant section in your Zintellect application. While your preferences will be taken into consideration during the final selection process, it is not guaranteed that you will be offered one of the projects listed.
This project catalog will be updated throughout the application period. If you do not see any projects of interest to you, check back often for updates throughout the application period. All available projects will be finalized 2 weeks prior to the application deadline.
For technical assistance with navigating Zintellect, contact Zintellect Support at Zintellect@orau.org.
Project Title
Citizenship Required
Reference Code
Posted Date
Posted Datetime
Hosting Site
Internship Location
Description
Yes
LLNL-Wan1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Berkeley, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project focuses on examining Li-ion transport phenomena at the interfaces in all solid-state lithium batteries. First-principles based simulations in combination with machine-learning models will be used to understand Li-ion transport mechanisms at complex interfaces and predict Li-ion transport coefficients as a function of local chemistry and structures.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Berkeley, CA
Mentor:
Liwen Wan
wan6@llnl.gov
9254223490
Internship Coordinator:
Ashley Mata
mata5@llnl.gov
9254227249
Yes
LLNL-Wan2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Berkeley, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project focuses on predicting interfacial degradation in energy related systems, such as batteries and solar cells. A combination or subsets of the modeling techniques/tools, including density functional theory, cluster expansion, (hybrid) Molecular dynamics/Monte Carlo, kinetic Monte Carlo and machine-learning models, will be used to explore the configurational space of interfaces and study the kinetics of phase evolutions and degradation under various synthetic and operating conditions. The theoretical predictions of interfacial structure and chemistry will be directly compared with the state-of-the-art experimental characterization of interfaces.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Berkeley, CA
Mentor:
Liwen Wan
wan6@llnl.gov
9254223490
Internship Coordinator:
Ashley Mata
mata5@llnl.gov
(925) 422-7249
Yes
NETL-Duan1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
I. Project Purpose and Objective Once H2 is produced from methane reforming methods coupled with CO2 capture, efficient storage and transportation methods are needed before it can be used. Currently, there are several possible storage and transportation methods for H2, such as tank storage & pipeline transport under high pressure, or transformation of H2 into carriers such as metal hydrides (MHx), formic acid (CH3OH) or ammonia (NH3). The energy densities of MHx and NH3 are compatible with coal. In addition to their potential as hydrogen carriers, metal hydrides can be used for smart-grid energy storage, neutron moderation, electrochemical cycling, thermal storage, heat pumps, and purification/separation. Transforming gas phase H2 into liquid (NH3) and/or solids (MHx) are game-change technologies for H2 storage & transportation. In this study, combining atomistic-level simulations with machine-learning (ML) techniques, we will computationally search and synthesize metals and their alloys as H2 carriers which have better performance in terms of H2 storage capability, energy consumption, transportation, and release of H2. The targeted material systems will be implemented in stationary power applications such as fuel cells or concentrating solar power plants that can meet the goal set by the Department of Energy. II. Benefits and Justification: Production of efficient, decarburized H2 from domestic natural gas supplies and storage it into MHx carriers: Solid state MHx possesses advantages such as easy to store and transport hydrogen, superior gravimetric and volumetric energy densities, low operating cost. In particular, solid-state hydrogen storage under moderate temperature and pressure provide the important safety advantage over the gas and liquid storage methods in both transportation and stationary power applications, where in the latter case the gas and thermal managements can be integrated to further boost the overall efficiency. Benefits from the metal hydride R&D for hydrogen storage can come from multiple revenue streams, including grid services and emerging markets, such as backup power systems and fuel cells, that provide demand in the near term (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy15osti/62518.pdf). III. Major R&D Challenges: Current research focuses of the metal hydride materials for hydrogen storage include improving the volumetric and gravimetric capacities, hydrogen absorption/desorption kinetics, reaction thermodynamics, and long-term stability of potential material candidates, which are mainly driven by insufficient understanding about the basic physical and chemical properties of metal hydrides, in particular, under their reactive conditions as well as upon tuning the thermodynamic and kinetic properties through nano-engineering. Thanks to recent advances in computational power and the emergence of supercomputers that enabled various modeling approaches at different length and time scales for various phenomena in metal hydrides, theoretical modeling play a critical role in elucidating phenomena associated with thermodynamics and kinetics of metal hydrides. Yet, development of metal hydride materials with hydrogen capacity meeting or surpassing the DOE target has not been identified (https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/metal-hydride-storage-materials). IV. Our approach We propose to develop a ML approach that relies upon established experimental and theoretical evidences to gain a comprehensive understanding and boost MHx design. The essence of this approach will be to assess materials’ optimal performance for H2 storage. The predicted promising MHx will be validated by experimental measurements and the overall performance will be further evaluated by process modeling. For FY22 internship summer project, as part of our ongoing efforts we propose two tasks: (1) develop a MHx database; (2) Develop a machine-learning model to select and design MHx with high performance for H2 storage.
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
A strong demand for low-cost and high-energy-density rechargeable batteries has spurred lithium-sulfur (Li-S) rechargeable battery research. First, sulfur is an abundant and low-cost material. Second, the Gibbs energy of the lithium (Li) and sulfur reaction is approximately 2,600 Wh/kg, assuming the complete reaction of Li with sulfur to form Li2S, more than five times the theoretical energy of transition metal oxide cathode materials and graphite coupling. With these advantages, Li-S batteries could be both high energy density and low cost, satisfying demand in energy storage for transportation application. The major obstacle for sulfur cathode is the loss of sulfur cathode material as a result of polysulfide dissolution into common electrolytes, which causes a shuttle effect and significant capacity fade. The polysulfide shuttle effect leads to poor sulfur utilization and fast-capacity fade, which have hindered widespread use of rechargeable Li-S batteries. On the lithium electrode side, the lithium metal degradation through lithium dendrite formation during lithium deposition process. At Berkeley Lab, we are conducting a holistic investigation of the Li-S rechargeable battery from cathode electrode design, new electrolyte integration and lithium dendrite prevention.
The intern will be part of the larger team of graduate students, postdocs and staff to perform Li-sulfur battery investigation. The intern will be trained to make sulfur electrodes, use the new electrolytes to build Li-sulfur coin cells, and test cells, as well as perform data analysis. The intern will collaborate closely with a mentor in the team for day to day learning and research. The intern will provide weekly research update to the team and write periodic research reports. Depending on the progress, most interns in the past resulted in co-authorship in peer-reviewed journal articles after they finished internship.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Internship location: Berkeley, CA
Mentors:
Gao Liu
gliu@lbl.gov
510-486-7207
Chen Fang
cfang@lbl.gov
Yes
NETL-Wright1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This summer project is focused on investigation of zinc anode materials for zinc-air batteries, including chemical composition and coating modification. Zinc–air batteries are promising as energy storage systems with the advantages of low cost, high safety, environmental friendliness, and large theoretical energy density. However, there are challenges on zinc anodes including passivation, dendrite growth and hydrogen evolutional which limit the practical applications and scale-up of zinc–air batteries. This project consists of two main parts: literature review and experimental studies on zinc anode improvement for Zn-air batteries.
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
The student will have the opportunity to learn and use state-of-the-art additive manufacturing tools to design and fabricate 3D-architected current collectors for Li-ion batteries. 3D architectures with structural control down to the nano- and microscale are extremely important for next generation Li batteries with high energy density electrodes such as Li and Si. Rational 3D electrode design, enabled by additive manufacturing, can increase the energy and power density of batteries and improve their cycle life by mitigating mechanical degradation. The student will learn more about the electrochemistry of batteries, use CAD software to design electrode and current collector structures, fabricate samples using some of the most cutting edge 3D printers, and characterize the morphology and performance of the samples using scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, and electrochemical testing. The student will also learn to analyze their results and propose solutions to improve their electrode design iteratively. At the end of the project, the student will receive training on presenting their research by writing and oral presentation.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentor:
Xiaoxing Xia
xia7@llnl.gov
Internship Coordinator:
Elaine Lee
lee1040@llnl.gov
Yes
LLNL-Qian1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Methane is a far more dangerous greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide because methane warms our planet by 86 times as much as the latter. Methane is receiving increasing attention, as President Joe Biden just announced a fight against methane emissions at the crucial COP26 climate change meeting in 2021.
Our project develops novel bioreactor technology to biologically convert methane into valuable chemicals and liquid fuels for the reduction of methane emission while creating revenue. Technically, methane-consuming methanotrophs are embedded in a bio-compatible hydrogel and transformed into unique gas mass transfer-efficient geometries by state-of-the-art 3D printing techniques. In collaboration with others national labs, universities, biotech companies and local wastewater treatment plants, our invention exhibited 10s-fold of improvement in biocatalytic performance over prevailing stirred tank bioreactors and has been awarded over $2M research funds.
Due to its highly multi-disciplinary nature, our research provides various training in knowledge and experimental experience. Depending on individuals’ interest and career plans, students are welcomed to select one or more subjects as below.
Hydrogel encapsulation technology,
Microbial culture, biocatalysis measurement and bioproducts recovery,
Complex 3D geometry design using advanced engineering design tools,
3D printing techniques, in particular direct ink writing and projection micro-stereolithography,
Communication with external collaborators to learn industrial demands and business models,
Skills in proposal writing, manuscript preparation and presentations.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentors:
Fang Qian
qian3@llnl.gov
925-424-5634
Samantha Ruelas
ruelas7@llnl.gov
925-4233-2221
Internship Coordinator:
Lisa Palmer
Palmer4@llnl.gov
925-422-2408
Yes
LANL-Mehta1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Los Alamos, NM
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Microreactors are 4 kWt to 40 MWt compact, transportable nuclear reactors aimed to be used solo at remote sites, or in conjunction with renewables to provide 24-hour power throughput. The need for multiphysics tool and analysis is evident to model these novel reactors. The intern will have opportunity to work on either (i) development, or (ii) application side. The development side spans new methods and tools for advanced M&S. The application side consists of parametric studies of the space reactors to estimate their operation on extraterrestrial surfaces. A successful execution of project can lead to proceedings or journal paper.
Hosting Site:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Internship location: Los Alamos, NM
Mentor:
Vedant Mehta
mehta@lanl.gov
Internship Coordinator:
Cassandra Casperson
casperson@lanl.gov
Yes
LLNL-Ye1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
All-solid-state lithium batteries using highly conductive, nonflammable solid-state electrolytes are promising to further improve energy density and address safety concerns. However, the manufacturing of ASSLBs is still far away from practical application; the battery performance is also limited by the ionic conductivity and interfacial stability. In this project, we aim to develop new experimental technologies to address manufacturing obstacles and improve battery performance. One of the promising technologies is the additive manufacturing, such as direct ink writing and laser powder-bed fusion. The students will have the opportunities to learn the manufacturing of ASSLBs, including powder synthesis and modification, ink preparation, 3D printing, and post processing. The students will also learn how to assemble batteries including coin cells, split cells, and pouch cells, and how to test and analyze battery performance. The students will be trained by postdocs and staff scientists with intense battery experience and will practice presentation and writing skills during the stay.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentor:
Jianchao Ye
Ye3@llnl.gov
9254236696
Yes
llnl-wood1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Solid-state batteries have the potential to revolutionize energy storage by providing significantly higher energy densities and improved safety compared to conventional Li-ion batteries. However, robust high-capacity Li metal anodes are required to realize this technology. Current Li metal anode designs suffer from significant degradation over time at high charging rates due to non-uniform Li plating/stripping and loss of contact with the solid electrolyte during cycling. Carbon scaffold hosts have been shown to mitigate this problem in liquid electrolyte systems by providing abundant Li nucleation sites and creating a uniform electric field that helps eliminate current density hotspots, but they have not been well explored in solid-state systems. This project is focused on investigating the effects of scaffold architecture and chemistry on the resulting Li morphology and anode performance by varying the porosity, tortuosity, and interface chemistry of a carbon/solid polymer electrolyte scaffold. Understanding the relationship between these design parameters, Li morphology, and electrochemical performance will help advance the development of stable Li metal anodes for safer, high-energy-density solid-state batteries with fast charging times.
Depending on the background of the applicant, internship activities could include: 3D printing carbon materials, developing polymer electrolyte formulations, and/or assembling coin cells and testing their electrochemical performance.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentor:
Marissa Wood
wood70@llnl.gov
925-423-6029
Yes
LLNL-Zhou1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project is focused on applying the state-of-the-art machine learning models such as graph neural networks and generative models to study the evolution of dendrites. Lithium dendrites are metallic microstructures that may form on the surface of the anode during charging and lead to severe problems such as battery failure through internal short circuits as well as battery capacity fading. This project will simulate the detailed kinetic process of dendrite growth, a problem requiring computational simulations on very large time and length scales. The participant will learn to use deep-learning methods and software platform such as PyTorch in a scientific machine learning setting, develop data-driven neural network models as surrogate model that operate on coarse-grained scales, and analyze the results to gain new physical insight.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentor:
Fei Zhou
zhou6@llnl.gov
925-422-3679
Yes
LLNL-Zhou2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project is focused on applying the state-of-the-art machine learning models such as graph neural networks and generative models to study the evolution of dendrites. Lithium dendrites are metallic microstructures that may form on the surface of the anode during charging and lead to severe problems such as battery failure through internal short circuits as well as battery capacity fading. This project will simulate the detailed kinetic process of dendrite growth, a problem requiring computational simulations on very large time and length scales. The participant will learn to use deep-learning methods and software platform such as PyTorch in a scientific machine learning setting, develop data-driven neural network models as surrogate model that operate on coarse-grained scales, and analyze the results to gain new physical insight.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentor:
Fei Zhou
zhou6@llnl.gov
925-422-3679
Yes
LBNL-Whittaker1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Berkeley, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Lithium is integral to both current generation and next-generation battery technologies, but lithium supplies are becoming increasingly controversial due to the inefficiency and environmental impact of primary extraction and separations. This project will investigate the production of a novel source of lithium for battery production that supplies not one but two essential battery elements, lithium and fluorine. The successful applicant will perform chemical and structural characterization of mineral precursors, test environmentally benign extraction methods, and synthesize next generation battery electrodes directly from these resources.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Internship location: Berkeley, CA or virtual
Mentor:
Michael Whittaker
mwhittaker@lbl.gov
510-486-5294
Yes
LBNL-Whittaker2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Berkeley, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Context refers to information that surrounds a central concept and provides resources for its appropriate interpretation. Context is important for understanding the mineralogy of lithium-bearing clay minerals because lithium is never a majority element and most often occurs in low abundance, but has high economic value, for example as an essential battery element. Here, we use chemical context, in the form of quantum chemical data from the Materials Project (MP), and semantic context, derived from natural language processing (NLP) of mineralogical texts, to derive thermodynamic data for lithium sources that are difficult to obtain directly because the structures and compositions are not fully known.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Internship location: Berkeley, CA or virtual
Mentor:
Michael Whittaker
mwhittaker@lbl.gov
510-486-5294
Yes
LLNL-Orme1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
At LLNL we are developing a new capability for optimizing and fabricating electrodes for energy storage devices. This is an integrated experimental and computational project with a team of engineers and scientist that are interested in battery performance from atomistic interactions to macroscopic device performance.
We are looking for an intern who will work on a part of this project that focuses on developing a deeper understanding of interfacial reactions at anode and cathode surfaces using in situ imaging. This component will couple electrochemical measurements with optical imaging and atomic force microscopy. These techniques generate movies of the evolving interface and quantify processes such as metal (lithium/zinc) nucleation and growth, SEI formation, and intercalation. These studies form a bridge between the atomistic and device-level modeling efforts. The intern will work closely with the atomistic modeling team to better understand fundamental parameters such as surface energy and activation barriers. At the same time, the results will inform reaction rates that are used to model and then optimize battery electrodes.
The student intern will have the opportunity to develop instrumentation and to learn advanced in operando techniques such as electrochemical atomic force microscopy. We intend for the intern to have their own project, but also experience what is like to be part of a larger team effort.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentor:
Christine Orme
orme1@llnl.gov
925 423-9509
Yes
LLNL-Roy1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
The realistic 3D simulation of energy storage devices is often not achievable using commercial tools, which lack scalability with respect to the size of the problem and computational resources. Built on the finite element software Firedrake, EchemFEM is an open-source code aiming to provide scalable simulation continuum-scale electrochemical models through a user-friendly Python inferface. In this internship, the student will investigate electrochemical systems for energy storage from the literature (Li-ion batteries, supercapacitors, flow baterries, etc.), and consider their extension to 3D. Through doing so, they will expand the capabilities of the open-source EchemFEM code.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentor:
Thomas Roy
roy27@llnl.gov
925-409-1193
Yes
ANL-Supekar1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Lemont, IL or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
GOAL This project seeks to understand the economic and emissions reduction potential stationary energy storage systems in carbon-intensive manufacturing industries in the United States.
BACKGROUND The industry sector is one of the largest consumers of energy in the form of fuels, steam, and electricity. As the world pursues decarbonization to meet the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, industry is expected to move towards greater degree of efficiency in operations, electrification of its unit processes, and use of cleaner fuels such as green hydrogen, e-fuels, biofuels, and on-site generation of renewable energy. This creates significant opportunities for the industry sector to work in conjunction with the energy utilities sector to find mutually beneficial ways to this increased demand and supply of clean energy in a cost-effective and reliable manner. Energy storage technologies are expected to play an enormously important role in facilitating this play between the two sectors, particularly given the heterogeneity that exists across and within different industries in terms of the composition, duration, variability, and flexibility (or lack thereof) of their energy demands.
SCOPE In this work, we will use existing demand response modeling tools created by Argonne National Laboratory and other DOE national labs along with electric and thermal energy loads data from industries to estimate the economic costs and benefits and carbon emissions reduction that could be achieved by using medium- to long-duration (2 – 6 hours) energy storage. The initial focus will be on hard-to-decarbonize industries such as chemicals, iron & steel, cement, and pulp & paper manufacturing. The analysis will consider local and federal policies and incentives in the context of specific energy storage and renewable energy generation technologies.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITY Students engaged in this project will have the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of key energy storage technologies in terms of their function, economics, and life cycle emissions. Students will also learn about energy systems models and different pathways and technologies to decarbonize the complex industrial sector, all the while drawing from basic knowledge they may have gained in their undergraduate engineering curriculum in subjects including thermodynamics, manufacturing processes, linear algebra, and calculus.
Hosting Site:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Internship location: Lemont, IL or virtual
Mentors:
Sarang Supekar
ssupekar@anl.gov
6302524391
Nwike Iloeje
ciloeje@anl.gov
Yes
LLNL-li1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Electrochemical devices such as Lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells are multiphysics systems involving complex transport phenomena of charge and mass, which are often described by a coupled system of partial differential equations. Efficient simulation approaches of such systems are often challenging. Many electrochemical devices are described by a transient system that requires discretization in the time dimension. While fully implicit formulation provides unconditional stability for linear problems, small timesteps are still required for nonlinear problems to ensure Newtonian convergence. Since using uniformly fine timesteps is often time consuming, employing adaptive time stepping approach can provide outstanding improvement on computational efficiency. In this project, the student will explore different time stepping schemes applied to nonlinear electrochemical systems, mainly targeted at Lithium-ion batteries. The focus will be more on complex schemes such as adaptive time stepping for efficiency and Crank-Nicolson method for accuracy. The study for different preconditioners on the corresponding linear system is also required. The student will also investigate possible decoupled algorithms to solve multiphysics electrochemical systems sequentially, with improved or even unconditional stability.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentor:
Hanyu Li
li97@llnl.gov
9795712819
Yes
NETL-Lander1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Safe and secure utilization of energy is dependent upon addressing challenges related to material stability, functional and secure monitoring of infrastructure, and accuracy in detection and measurement. It is envisioned that by leveraging quantum sensing materials such as nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in nanodiamonds (NDs) and integrating them with the optical fiber sensing platform, lower detection limits not previously attainable may be achieved in various chemical sensing modalities. Improvements in performance by at least an order of magnitude may be possible without substantially increasing (and in some cases reducing) the overall cost. First principles density functional theory (DFT) modelling can provide rich information regarding the materials’ bulk and surface electronic and optical properties, which can directly support experimental observation of quantum materials’ sensing capabilities. In the past, NETL studied the surface and bulk electronic and optical properties of NV centers in nanodiamonds by using DFT in conjunction with experimental approaches to develop a sensing model for electric and magnetic field detection. Our theoretical and experimental results were promising and provided further insight into sensitive detection of targeted chemical species.
Color centers in solid materials are potentially lucrative for multiple applications. Understanding their surface and bulk electronic and optical properties could provide useful information regarding the materials’ suitability in sensing of chemical species and aid in intelligent experimental design and construction. In this work, we propose to study the electronic and optical features of the defects in candidate quantum materials by calculating bandstructures, density of states, relaxation times of excited states, as well as other spin relevant features. We will focus our study on the vacancy centers in the group-IV color centers (silicon-vacancy (SiV), germanium-vacancy (GeV), tin-vacancy (SnV) and lead-vacancy (PbV)) and compare their defect properties to identify optimal quantum materials for the sensing applications of chemical species with free spins. The proposed objectives will be achieved by using first principles DFT methodologies as installed in our state-of the art high performance supercomputing facility. From this study, we expect that the trainee will be able to learn hands-on skills pertained to material modelling using DFT calculations. In addition, the trainee will gain knowledge of the electronic and optical properties of promising quantum materials useful for sensing applications.
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project aims to develop understanding of chemical and physical properties of state-of-the-art electrolyte and electrode materials developed for multivalent batteries using ex-situ/in-situ Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), variable temperature viscometry and density analysis. This multimodal analysis of electrolyte and electrode materials will be used to establish the correlative understanding of functional properties of electrochemical interface in multivalent batteries.
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a valuable tool in investigating the physical properties and assessing the performance of electrochemical devices. Currently, it is standard practice to analyze EIS data using equivalent circuits. While this practice is very useful, it can be challenging to connect the resulting analysis to other types of experimental data.
We are looking for an intern who will work with a team of electrochemical modeling experts to implement EIS modeling capabilities into existing (and validated) physics-based models. The student will also work with electrochemical experimentalists in applying and validating what they have developed. In addition, they will apply their model to EIS data to extract relevant physical data.
Familiarity with physics-based modeling and/or electrochemistry are not required. The student will need to demonstrate competence in computer programming to feasibly complete this project.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentors:
Nicholas Brady
brady22@llnl.gov
Victoria Ehlinger
ehlinger1@llnl.gov
(925) 422-6185
Yes
LLNL-Brady2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
As the range of applications for electrochemical energy storage continues to expand, identifying suitable materials for each specific application is becoming a bottleneck for research and development. An additional complication is the wide range of electrochemical techniques available to probe the relevant physics. Coupling physics-based models with high performance computing and advanced computational techniques, we believe we can develop a suite of tools to not only select the preferred experimental technique, but also the optimal experimental conditions.
We are looking for an intern who will work with a team of electrochemical modeling experts to leverage existing physics-based models to design high-throughput electrochemical experiments to rapidly and accurately quantify key material properties relevant to energy storage applications. The student will also work with experimental experts to validate their findings as well as tailor their tool to maximize its utility.
Familiarity with physics-based modeling and/or electrochemistry are not required. The student will need to demonstrate competence in computer programming to feasibly complete this project.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentors:
Nicholas Brady
brady22@llnl.gov
Victoria Ehlinger
ehlinger1@llnl.gov
(925) 422-6185
Yes
LLNL-Brady3
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
As electrification increases in our modern economy, batteries are becoming a dominant form of energy storage. This switch has initiated a new challenge: accurately determining a battery’s remaining energy or state of charge (SoC) in real-time. Accurate SoC estimation is essential for optimal device operation as well as essential for battery management systems.
We are looking for a student who will work with a team of electrochemical modeling experts to leverage existing physics-based models to design in-line protocols to rapidly, precisely, and seamlessly determine a device’s real-time SoC during operation. In addition, the student will also work with experimental battery experts to validate their findings against real devices.
Familiarity with physics-based modeling and/or electrochemistry are not required. The student will need to demonstrate competence in computer programming to feasibly complete this project.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentors:
Nicholas Brady
brady22@llnl.gov
Victoria Ehlinger
ehlinger1@llnl.gov
(925) 422-6185
Yes
LLNL-Brady4
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
As battery technology and performance increase, the range of applications that can be powered by batteries continues to expand. A challenge inherent to applications that demand large amounts of energy (stored in batteries) is managing the battery system. This is commonly done through dedicated software and hardware collectively known as the battery management system (BMS). Accurate assessment of a battery’s “wear and tear” – also referred to as the battery’s state of health (SoH), is essential for battery management systems as well as for operator and device safety.
We believe through our expertise in electrochemistry, physics-based modeling, as well as optimization we have the knowledge necessary to develop accurate protocols to evaluate a device’s SoH. We are looking for an intern who will work with a team of electrochemists and modeling experts to assist in the development of these protocols and validate their results against real devices.
Familiarity with physics-based modeling, optimization, and/or electrochemistry are not required. The student will need to demonstrate competence in computer programming to feasibly complete this project.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentors:
Nicholas Brady
brady22@llnl.gov
Victoria Ehlinger
ehlinger1@llnl.gov
(925) 422-6185
Yes
LLNL-Bucci1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
The properties of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are determined by the electrochemical and kinetic properties of their constituent materials as well as by their underlying microstructure. Microstructural design can be leveraged to achieve a leap in performance and durability.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentor:
Giovanna Bucci
giov.bucci@gmail.com
6178722891
Internship Coordinator:
Thomas Roy
roy27@llnl.gov
Yes
LLNL-Bucci2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
In this project, we investigate a porous electrode structure, as a strategy to increase the surface area, and provide structural stability for Li-metal anodes. The student will contribute to the development of a new computational framework to simulate the large topological changes associated with Li plating/stripping. The model will be used to predict the current density distribution as a function of material and structural properties, and to simulate electroplating within the host microstructure.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentor:
Giovanna Bucci
giov.bucci@gmail.com
6178722891
Internship Coordinator:
Thomas Roy
roy27@llnl.gov
Yes
SNL-Rosewater1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)
Albuquerque, NM or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
The Energy Storage Technology and Systems Department has a position open for a graduate R&D summer intern interested in control and analysis of grid energy storage systems. The Energy Storage Test Pad (ESTP) at the Sandia National Laboratories is a facility that performs experiments on grid scale energy storage systems. Charge and discharge decisions for grid connected batteries are automated in real-time based on specific market and tariff structures and conditions. We are in the process of developing a library of open-source software-based control models that can optimize the operation of energy storage systems under many of these structures and conditions. Over the course of the summer, the intern will design, implement, and test a new optimal control system for a grid connected energy storage device in our lab. If successful, the intern will be encouraged to publish their new control system in an appropriate conference or technical journal as well as in our open-source library. The intern will be provided instruction, reference materials, and support from staff researchers to help them be as successful as possible in this task.
Hosting Site:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)
Internship location: Albuquerque, NM or virtual
Mentor:
David Rosewater
dmrose@sandia.gov
5058443722
Internship Coordinator:
Sharon Ruiz
saruiz@sandia.gov
5058442518
Yes
LLNL-Jayathilake1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Grid-scale energy storage technologies are critical to fulfill national energy demand and achieve climate security. They enable integration of high levels of renewable energies into the power system by overcoming challenges due to variable power generation. Redox flow batteries are particularly promising for grid-scale storage because of their scalability, durability, and potential low cost. In redox flow batteries, energy is stored in external electrolyte tanks and electrolytes are circulated through the cell units to achieve electrochemical energy conversions (Fig 1-A). The storage capacity is proportional to the electrolyte tank size, thereby providing a direct pathway to scale.
In this project our aim is improving durability and efficiency of low-cost flow batteries. Our work is focused on designing & manufacturing components of flow batteries and assembling & testing them in full devices. The proposed work for summer internship will be mainly focused on designing advanced electrodes for flow battery applications.
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Interfacial polymerization is a versatile technique that can produce many different types of materials unique in structure and function. Nano-threads, thin-films, and capsules are three different applications of this technique that can be synthesized using a wide array of chemistries. These materials can be programed to be stimuli responsive depending on monomer combinations, this being an attractive quality in capsules. In this project we will investigate the various chemistry to fabricate multilayer capsules with various guest encapsulated within the core fluid. we will explore a variation of control release mechanism of the core fluid. this project will involve various characterization techniques such as TGA, MS, and FTIR.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentor:
Magi Yassa
yassa1@llnl.gov
9257247711
Yes
SNL-De-Angelis1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)
Albuquerque, NM or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
The participant will work on developing advanced visualization and data analysis components for batteryarchive.org, a public battery data repository that has users in industry and academia in over 50 countries. To visualize the data will require data resampling, filtering, and compression. The libraries the participant will generate will become part of the battery archive open source project and the work has the potential of being published in peer-reviewed articles. The participant will learn advanced front-end programming techniques, including REACT.JS (the modern internet building block) and Python techniques for managing large datasets. The participant will learn about the operation and testing of Li-ion batteries. The participant will also learn how to write publications based on the analysis from the results they generate.
Hosting Site:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)
Internship location: Albuquerque, NM or virtual
Mentors:
Valerio De Angelis
vdeange@sandia.gov
Yuliya Preger
ypreger@sandia.gov
Internship Coordinator:
Sharon Ann Ruiz
saruiz@sandia.gov
Yes
ORNL-Allu1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Oak Ridge, TN
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project aims at designing Structured Electrodes for lithium ion batteries with controlled architecture on the order of 100’s microns that offer enormous potential to advance battery performance in thick electrodes by providing pathways that optimize the time‐ and length‐scales associated with ion transport. This requires designing the cathode and anode structured electrode geometries for fabrication to show an energy/power density improvement ≥ 10% over a conventional battery. To this end, we need to conduct electrochemical simulations that further explore charge/discharge rates to predict the necessary concentration gradients as a function of structured electrode geometry to determine the optimal designs for fabrication. The intern will summarize the results in a report and/or journal article, make presentations to the group.
Hosting Site:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Internship location: Oak Ridge, TN
Mentor:
Srikanth Allu
allus@ornl.gov
8655768784
Yes
LLNL-Ye2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Are you enthusiastic in developing a battery that can be used in extremely cold weather? If so, please join our team to evaluate battery materials and architectures for such application. Our team is investigating new materials and manufacturing methods, adopting in situ characterization tools to study battery kinetics, and establishing digital twin battery models to tackle the challenges in low-temperature batteries. You will learn the fundamentals of Lithium ion batteries, how to assemble research-level cells and conduct electrochemical characterizations. You will learn from advanced manufacturing team for electrode material synthesis and simulation team for guidance of electrode architectural designs and choice of electrolytes. You will have the opportunity to design the experiments and test your own ideas along with the overall project goal. The comprehensive team environmental will help you gain enriched intern experience in battery field.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentors:
Jianchao Ye
Ye3@llnl.gov
9254236696
Marcus Worsley
worsley1@llnl.gov
Yes
PNNL-Karakoti1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Richland, WA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Lead batteries are one of the most reliable batteries that are the cornerstone of the start, light and ignition functions of the commercial vehicles. However, these batteries suffer from high battery weight, limited cycle life and loss of active material from the hard sulfation of the active mass resulting in capacity fading that prevents their widespread use in advanced battery applications such as the hybrid electric vehicles or their use in regenerative breaking technology. Specifically, understanding the sulfation mechanisms have gained widespread research interest for improving the performance of lead batteries in advanced battery applications. This project is focused on investigating the sulfation mechanism of negative active material in the lead acid batteries using combined imaging and spectroscopic approach. The goal is to study the reversible dissolution and growth of lead sulphate during charge-discharge cycles as a function of current density, paste chemistry and explore the effect of additives in reducing or increasing the size as well as growth rate of lead sulfate crystals. This will include imaging the nucleation of lead sulfate in-situ and study the growth kinetics as well as the chemistry of the crystals during the electrochemical cycling in presence and absence of additives. Based on the understanding of the events triggering the nucleation and growth of lead sulfate crystals, new combinations of additives will then be investigated to reduce the size of the crystals and promote its electrochemical conversion to active mass. Overall, understanding the complex relationship between active materials, additives and electrochemical parameters through a multi-modal characterization approach will help to resolve the current challenges of lead batteries and facilitate their application in other vehicle technologies.
Hosting Site:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Internship location: Richland, WA
Mentors:
Ajay Karakoti
ajay.karakoti@pnnl.gov
5093716827
Vijay Murugesan
vijay@pnnl.gov
5093716540
Yes
LLNL-Lin1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
The potential to incorporate sophisticated designs in electrochemical systems, such as Li-ion batteries, to improve device performance continues to grow as advanced manufacturing methods mature. The research community, however, lacks guidance on selecting the appropriate geometric features and structures to include in such designs. This is a result of the multiphysics nature of the system, involving mass transfer, electrostatics, and complex chemical reactions. To mitigate this complexity, topology optimization has emerged as a promising computational tool to help guide design. One of the challenging aspects of topology optimization is that the optimized design is often quite sensitive to the numerous parameters involved in the algorithm, such as the objective function, constraints, and initial guess. In this project, the student intern will explore different combinations of these parameters and their sensitivity on the generated designs for Li-ion battery electrodes. To list a few examples of areas of interest, the initial geometry provided to the optimizer can guide the optimization toward different local optima; the interpolation scheme used to transition from solid to liquid material properties can affect convergence; and the amount of filtering/smoothing applied can affect the minimum feature size and help avoid unphysical designs. The student intern will work towards understanding how these aspects affect the optimization algorithm and the ultimate device performance.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentors:
Tiras Lin
lin46@llnl.gov
Thomas Roy
roy27@llnl.gov
Internship Coordinator:
Marcus A. Worsley
worsley1@llnl.gov
Yes
LLNL-Hernandez2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Understanding and ultimately predicting material degradation and lifecycle properties as a function of environment and time is a challenging yet critical part of materials development. Many electrochemical systems rely on device-lifetime limiting semipermeable membranes to selectively transport ionic species between electrodes, to serve as electronic insulators and to act as barriers to the bulk transport of unwanted reactants and dissolved gases like H2 and O2. Development of robust, efficient and durable electrochemical technologies is vital for efficient energy storage and utilization of clean, albeit intermittent, electrons arising from renewable energy streams. Commercial electrochemical systems, including fuel cells, electrolyzers and redox flow batteries, have traditionally relied on proton-exchange membranes (PEM) to facilitate the flow of H+ ions. Alkaline anion exchange membranes (AAEM) have attracted considerable interest as a means to navigate some of the economic hurdles native to PEM-based technologies. Despite many advances over the past decade, AAEM long-term stability towards hydroxide mediated degradation remains a significant challenge. This project seeks to understand the relationship between membrane performance (conductivity, mechanical integrity, etc.) the underlying degradation mechanisms by hydroxide attack, loss of water/disruption of water channels, and higher-order morphological changes. We will integrate membrane synthesis and accelerated aging within an electrochemical device testing and characterization of fielded membranes.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentors:
Maira R Ceron Hernandez
ceronhernand1@llnl.gov
9254097004
James Oakdale
oakdale1@llnl.gov
9254244157
Internship Coordinator:
Lisa Palmer
palmer4@llnl.gov
9254222408
Yes
LLNL-Hernandez1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
The ability to easily and cheaply transport carbon dioxide (CO2) from point-sources such as power plants to multiple, potentially distant utilization sites of widely varying scales will enable wider utilization of captured CO2 from flue gas. We will use a carbonate-based sorbent capable of capturing and storing CO2, and of delivering the captured CO2 to algal cultivation.
This project will investigate algal growth rates and productivity using algal-mediated desorption of CO2 from carbonate-composite sorbents as the sole carbon source, compared to algae growth using directly injected natural gas flue gas. We will also demonstrate an innovative cost-effective drying technology to improve the cost efficiency of harvesting and drying of algae and will evaluate the feasibility of using the cultivated algae to produce animal feed supplements.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentor:
Maira R Ceron Hernandez
ceronhernand1@llnl.gov
9254097004
Internship Coordinator:
Lisa Palmer
palmer4@llnl.gov
9254222408
Yes
NREL-Nimlos1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Golden, CO
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project will investigate the synthesis of graphite and other carbon material from biomass that can be used in lithium and sodium ion batteries for electric vehicles and grid storage. Biomass pyrolysis oil will be the feedstock and thermal and catalytic conversion will be used to convert this renewable biocrude into the solid critical materials. The molecular structure of the graphite is critical for obtaining high energy densities in batteries and this project will use transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to measure the crystallite formation. The intern will learn about cutting edge microscopy techniques and will have the opportunity to work with a large team exploring the synthesis process and the performance of the material in batteries.
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
The focus of the project is to evaluate the potential for energy storage in hybrid power cycles to enable more effective load following. This will build upon the analysis conducted previously that included both renewables and SOFC-GT hybrids. Energy storage concepts will be simulated and virtually integrated into hybrid cycles. They will be tested for their ability to provide flexibility and resiliency in power systems which have a high proportion of variable renewable power sources, such as wind and solar. The student will learn how to build thermal storage models that will be integrated into a power system. The model will be configured to run in real-time (5ms convergence) to be connected to hardware. These models will be implemented into both system studies and cyber-physical simulations to determine benefits in power generation efficiency and thermal storage hybrid operability.
Hosting Site:
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
Mentor:
David Tucker
david.tucker@netl.doe.gov
(304) 276-1262
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
The growing need for electric vehicles drives a significant market for higher energy density materials for lithium-ion batteries. The current state of the art anode material is graphite, but many potential electrode materials have been proposed to replace it to increase the anode charge storage capacity. Among these proposed materials are alternative carbon materials and lithium metal anodes. Many alternative carbon materials have been shown to offer higher charge storage capacities, but the amount of increased capacity varies from material to material and they often suffer from poor cyclability or poor Coulombic efficiency. Furthermore, the mechanisms of increased capacity are not always well understood. Lithium metal anodes theoretically offer 10x higher charge storage capacity than state of the art graphite anodes. While the charge storage mechanism is well understood for lithium metal anodes, lithium metal anodes are plagued by poor morphology evolution during cycling, poor Coulombic efficiency, copious and uncontrolled parasitic reactions with the electrolyte, and safety problems related to short circuits.
We have been studying alternative carbon materials, lithium metal anodes, and carbon coatings to improve lithium metal anodes. We regularly perform experiments to synthesize carbon materials, characterize them, and cycle them in batteries. We also regularly study lithium metal anode cycling and aging with varied electrolytes and coatings (including carbon materials) and characterize the electrochemical performance and materials. Several links to recent papers are shown below to provide examples of the type of work we do.
Ideally, a summer intern would help collect and analyze electrochemical data to support these lithium metal anode and carbon anode studies. An intern would also perform characterization tests and analyze characterization data. Specific skills that would be most helpful would be familiarity with electrochemistry, computer coding (Matlab, Python), and familiarity with characterization techniques/analysis such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. We expect this work will lead to coauthorship on papers for the student intern and would prefer a graduate student with some experience and understanding of this field if possible. We will consider undergraduates as well.
Supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Sandia National Laboratories, a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525.
Hosting Site:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)
Internship location: Albuquerque, NM or virtual
Mentor:
Katharine Harrison
katharr@sandia.gov
5058444764
Yes
LLNL-Schwartz1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Development of polymer electrolyte materials has traditionally required formulations to be hand-mixed by researchers, limiting progress and adding potential batch-to-batch variability. We seek to solve the challenge of developing safe, stable, and cost effective batteries by accelerating screening of polymer electrolyte materials through integration of additive manufacturing, characterization, simulation, and data science. Incorporation of real-time in-situ impedance characterization and surrogate feedback models directly into the printing process will enable an automated approach that can quickly home-in on desirable formulations in multivariable screenings, decreasing manpower costs and time by orders of magnitude. Various monomers, salts, and nanoparticle fillers will be screened to modify the amorphous character in semicrystalline polyethylene glycol-based polymer electrolytes, increasing ion conductivity and ion mobility. Secondary characterization of bulk crystallinity, additive input parameters, and film microstructure will be used to fundamentally identify the critical parameters that facilitate improved ionic conductivities in these 2-4+ variable systems. Not only will this culminate in the production of high ionic conductivity polymer electrolytes (>= 10-3 S/cm2), but these formulations can be readily translatable for use in other manufacturing methods downstream.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentor:
Johanna Schwartz
schwartz28@llnl.gov
925-800-9965
Internship Coordinator:
Daniel Wang
wang122@llnl.gov
925-423-4560
Yes
LANL-Park1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Los Alamos, NM
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Alkaline membrane water electrolyzer is a promising technology that can produce pressurized hydrogen without using corrosive caustic solvent or expensive components. However, anion exchange membranes (AEMs) that can deliver high mechanical stability are not yet readily available. The current state-of-the-art AEMs are mostly free-standing films, relying on mechanical properties of the polymers from high degree of chain entanglement obtained by high molecular weight polymer chains, thus presenting challenge of growing high molecular weight polymers, which often lead to insoluble polymers difficult to process. Fortunately, reinforced membranes (aka composite membranes) have ability to overcome these challenges to add mechanical strength to the material, which can also advance the membrane production process. This project aims to establish the fabrication process of reinforced AEMs using a continuous caster to produce membranes with uniform thickness using a porous substrate and polymer solution. The student will be working on optimization of the casting process of AEMs and characterization on mechanical and electrochemical properties of the produced membranes. It would provide a great opportunity to learn about small-scale manufacturing process, chemical formulation, and help to understand ion exchange membranes and their properties. The optimized AEMs with enhanced mechanical properties can address DOE’s mission of energy security by enabling long-lasting sustainable energy storage devices.
Hosting Site:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Internship location: Los Alamos, NM
Mentor:
Sarah Eun Joo Park
epark@lanl.gov
505-667-0358
Yes
LANL-Maurya2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Los Alamos, NM
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Ketone based polycyclic aromatic molecules for redox flow batteries Quinones are redox active species that have shown enormous potential for aqueous redox flow batteries due to the ability to tune their molecular properties and to act as both negative and positive electrolytes. However, there is no known system which could utilize them as both negative and positive electrolyte with required stability, performance, and wider potential window. In this internship project, you will study a new class of polycyclic aromatic molecules (already made in my laboratory) using electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry, rotating ring/disk electrode voltammetry, and bulk electrolysis. It is possible to find the molecules which could enable aqueous flow battery operations >2 V.
Hosting Site:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Internship location: Los Alamos, NM
Mentor:
Sandip Maurya
smaurya@lanl.gov
505-396-1677
Internship Coordinator:
Matthew L. Pacheco
mlpacheco@lanl.gov
505-396-0648
Yes
LANL-Maurya1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Los Alamos, NM
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
There is no ideal membrane exists for redox flow battery applications. The near-commercialization Vanadium redox flow battery uses a costly perfluorinated sulfonic acid (Nafion) membrane, originally designed for the Chlor-alkali industry. Therefore, these membranes have adequate oxidative stability but suffer from the excessive crossover. Due to crossover issues, commercial VRFB systems will need frequent electrolyte rebalancing, which translates into higher costs.
Polybenzimidaozle (PBI) polymers are versatile and have sufficient chemical stability in flow battery electrolytes. Therefore, we will synthesize PBI membranes for VRFB applications in this project. Furthermore, in this project, an intern student will get the opportunity to fabricate PBI membranes by various techniques and their applications in VRFB or aqueous organic redox flow batteries.
Moreover, the Intern student will be exposed to world-class fuel cell facilities and wise scientists at LANL. It will further help the student to grow professionally.
Hosting Site:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL)
Internship location: Los Alamos, NM
Mentor:
Sandip Maurya
smaurya@lanl.gov
505-396-1677
Internship Coordinator:
Matthew L. Pacheco
mlpacheco@lanl.gov
505-396-0648
Yes
LLNL-Ross1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Development of capability to binder jet additively manufactured silicon carbide (SiC) is important to enabling applications for energy storage. Sintering of additively manufactured SiC parts is an exciting area of research to provide robust parts that can withstand challenging energy storage application environments. The student will develop a sintering cycle for binder jet additively manufactured silicon carbide (SiC) prints. The student will identify SiC sintering aids (e.g., Al2O3, Y2O3, Si and C), alternative sintering methods (e.g., silicon infiltration), and relevant sintering parameters through experimentation with dry pressed SiC materials. The student will apply their developed sintering procedure to the binder jet additive manufacturing process, carrying out powder batching, powder rheology, and powder printing studies to make parts for sintering. The student may also perform fractography and mechanical testing analyses to evaluate the efficacies of their sintering cycles.
The student will be part of an interdisciplinary team. They will learn about the relationship between powder properties and binder jet additive manufacturing printing parameters. The student will also be familiarized with SiC and the various methods employed for sintering it. The student will learn to operate equipment such as a graphite vacuum furnace, a tube furnace, a binder jet printer, a powder mixer, and a hydraulic press. The student will utilize characterization equipment such as a powder rheometer, a thermogravimetric analyzer, a differential scanning calorimeter, and a scanning electron microscope. The student may attend Engineering, Materials and Chemistry Institute (MaCI), and other student events and tours.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentors:
Michael Ross
ross59@llnl.gov
9254243948
Jeff Haslam
haslam2@llnl.gov
(925) 424-4980
Internship Coordinator:
Mark Mitchell
mitchell36@llnl.gov
9254228600
Yes
LLNL-Chandrasekaran3
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Negative carbon emissions are a major component of the strategy to mitigate climate change. Carbon materials capture CO2 through electrostatic interactions with the free electrons on the CO2 molecule. Graphene based carbon materials have attracted interest for CO2 capture due to their high surface area, and tunable porosity. Gas phase derived graphene (GSG) produces a very ‘clean’ form of graphene, imparting excellent conductive properties. Coupling a GSG based ink with additive manufacturing (AM) can help generate desirable structures to help facilitate the diffusion of CO2 and open more capture locations for CO2 helping to boost the CO2 uptake of a carbon monolith. During this internship the student will work to develop a GSG based ink to generate monoliths with desirable structure to help facilitate CO2 capture. The student will conduct gas uptake studies and characterize the physical and chemical properties of the developed material. The student will compare their 3D templated GSG based carbon samples to monolithic samples to compare CO2 capture ability. This internship will provide the student with opportunity to work directly with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists in a professional research environment.
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Currently, electric and hybrid automobiles, portable electronics, and backup power sources all make extensive use of energy storage technologies like batteries and supercapacitors. However, its applicability in harsh environments is restricted by a rather narrow operational temperature range (-20°C to -40°C). The performance of energy storage devices deteriorates at low temperatures due to slow ion diffusion in these systems coming from low conductivity of electrolyte and from electrodes at temperatures below -40°C Designing a hierarchical porous electrode that can facilitate ion diffusion in the energy storage device is one option to address this problem from the electrode's point of view. A hierarchical porous material with an adjustable macrostructure can be created by using additive manufacturing (AM) in combination with a high surface area material. Graphene oxide (GO) is a carbon material with a high surface area and tunable porosity. However, it suffers from low electrical conductivity. The conductivity of GO can be improved by adding other electrically conductive additives. Gas phase derived graphene (GSG) is one such additive produced with minimal structural defects and hence offers good conductivity. Over the course of this internship the student will explore the development of a GO-GSG ink for the additive manufacturing electrodes for low temperature energy storage devices especially supercapacitors. The student will compare their GO-GSG based electrodes with electrodes only containing GO and ones containing a mixture of GO and graphite nano platelets prepared through standard exfoliation methods. They will have the opportunity to develop, synthesis skills, working knowledge of Direct ink Writing (DIW) AM technique, and electrochemical and physical characterization of the resulting electrode. The intern will have the opportunity to work with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Scientists in a professional research environment.
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Energy related processes, such as energy storage, conversion, catalysis, and desalination typically utilize high surface area electrodes that possess macro- and micropores. One such class of electrode materials are carbon-based aerogels - porous solids with an interconnected network of carbon nanoparticles that exhibit large surface area, high electrical conductivity, and good structural stability. However, the random nature of the pore network in these aerogel materials limits transport of species (e.g. ions, fluids, etc.) through the highly tortuous pore structure. Therefore, the ability to fabricate aerogels with controlled pore sizes and geometries aimed at facilitating species transport should lead to some tangible improvements in the performance and efficiency of carbon aerogel-based electrodes. The goal of this project is to design these aerogels with precise control over geometry and pore size using additive manufacturing techniques like direct ink writing (DIW) and stereolithography (SLA) to form an ordered and periodic architecture with 100’s of micron resolution. During this internship, the student will learn both materials synthesis methods and new 3D printing techniques to fabricate these aerogels. Extensive and systematic characterization of printed electrodes in terms of mechanical, electrical and electro-chemical properties will also be investigated. The electro-chemical performance of these 3D porous aerogels will be compared against a non-3D printed aerogel. The student will have the opportunity to engage in scientific discussions with senior scientists and post-doctoral candidates in the national laboratory.
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Acquire commercial Ni-Zn batteries and VRLA from at least two vendors each and put together a standard size (KW and KWh) standalone module of each battery type and compare the performance metrics. These includes upfront cost, projected estimated lifetime based in short term test data, cost of maintenance and lifetime cost estimates for each type of battery system in a typical data center application.
Hosting Site:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)
Internship location: Albuquerque, NM
Mentors:
Ramesh Koripella
crkorip@sandia.gov
5058457644
Yulia Preger
ypreger@sandia.gov
505-845-8793
Yes
SNL-Koripella1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)
Albuquerque, NM
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Analyze the data from the energy storage demonstrations to understand and quantify the performance of the energy storage system, overall performance of the energy storage system in combination with the renewable power generation. Performance with ambient conditions, degradation rates specific to the type of storage and generation, economic value analysis etc.
We analyze the data collected from the ongoing demonstration projects for this work.
Hosting Site:
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL)
Internship location: Albuquerque, NM
Mentors:
Ramesh Koripella
crkorip@sandia.gov
5058457644
Tu Anh Nguyen
tunguy@sandia.gov
505-844-1722
Yes
NREL-Paul1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Golden, CO
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This summer project will focus on developing structure-property relationship of non-PFSA based polymers. Non-PFSA, hydrocarbon based ionomers are gaining interest as alternatives for PFSA based (Nafion) for fuel cell and electrolyzer membrane applications due to the environmental concerns associated with the “for-ever” chemicals. In this project, the student will have the opportunity to learn and apply advanced characterization tests to understand polymer-water-ion interactions such as quantifying different states of water in an ionomer membrane by specialized DSC test, measuring diffusion co-efficient of water in membranes by PGSE NMR and learn the state-of-the art membrane and fuel cell testing available at NREL. The student will test ionomers synthesized at NREL which will bolster and advance NREL’s material synthesis program. In addition, the student can also learn and help in the synthesis of these ionomers.
Hosting Site:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Internship location: Golden, CO
Mentor:
Mou Paul
Mou.Paul@NREL.GOV
3032754664
Internship Coordinator:
Geraly Amador
geraly.amador@nrel.gov
3033847506
Yes
LBNL-Liu2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Berkeley, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
The adoption of lithium-ion batteries is growing exponentially with the growth of the EV industry. The growth of the lithium battery recycling industry has kept pace with growth of EV industry. For example, the recycling market was valued at $400M in 2019, and it is projected to reach $1.4B by 2027 (a 20% annual growth from 2020). Proper recycling of the used batteries not only can protect the environment and secure raw materials resources, but also can provide lower cost and better starting materials for new battery manufacturing. Lithium-ion rechargeable battery components can be classified based on cost into high-value elements, containing materials such as Co and Ni, which are almost exclusively used in the cathode, and more common elements such as carbon, which are found in the anode. Based on usage in the battery, the materials can also be classified as inactive materials such as polymer binders and Cu and Al current collectors, and active materials such as cathode, anode and electrolyte materials. Ideally, the electrodes or the whole battery can be dissociated in aqueous solution followed by froth flotation separation technique in a recycling process to recover each component. We developed an electrode binder that can reversibly crosslink and dissociate in aqueous solution to achieve this ideal process. The interns will work on optimize this binder compositions and electrode processing conditions to achieve the best outcome for battery recycling.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL)
Internship location: Berkeley, CA
Mentors:
Gao Liu
gliu@lbl.gov
510-610-7825
Faiz Ahmed
FAhmed@lbl.gov
Internship Coordinator:
Brandi Thompson
BThompson@lbl.gov
Yes
ORNL-Shamar1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Oak Ridge, TN
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project is develop a NMP-free process to fabricate cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. The participants in this project will learn how to fabricate coin cells and perform cell testing. The work is performed at the DOE Battery Manufacturing Facility at ORNL.
Hosting Site:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Internship location: Oak Ridge, TN
Mentors:
Jaswinder Shamar
sharmajk@ornl.gov
Georgios Polyzos
polyzosg@ornl.gov
865-576-2348
Internship Coordinator:
Ja'Wanda Grant
grantjs@ornl.gov
865-341-1644
Yes
ORNL-Li1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Oak Ridge, TN
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project is to develop a lithium-ion battery that is capable for extreme fast charging with high energy density enabled by tailored electrode architectures and thinner and lighter current collectors. Participants in this project will have the opportunity to get trained on battery manufacturing from raw materials to pouch cell assembly. The work will be performed at the DOE Battery Manufacturing Facility at ORNL.
Hosting Site:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Internship location: Oak Ridge, TN
Mentor:
Jianlin Li
lij4@ornl.gov
865-574-4978
Internship Coordinator:
Ja’Wanda Grant
grantjs@ornl.gov
865-341-1644
Yes
ORNL-Yang1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Oak Ridge, TN or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Advances in solid electrolytes (SEs) with superionic conductivity and stabilized electrode-electrolyte interfaces are key enablers for all-solid-state batteries (SSBs) to meet the energy density and cost targets for next-generation batteries for electric vehicles. This project aims to use various electrochemical and diagnostics techniques to address key technical barriers associated with ion transport between SEs and high-capacity cathodes, with specific emphasis on lithium thiophosphate (sulfide-based) SEs. These studies on buried reaction layers will provide a mechanistic understanding of processes that hinder SSB performance. Compared to their oxide counterparts, sulfide-based electrolytes offer several key advantages including: (i) exceptionally high ionic conductivities up to 10-2 S/cm at room temperature (comparable to nonaqueous liquid electrolytes) as recently reported for Li10GeP2S12 and Li9.54Si1.74P1.44S11.7Cl0.3, (ii) availability of low temperature and inexpensive synthesis routes to produce glass, glass-ceramic, and crystalline structures, and (iii) soft mechanical properties facilitating material processing and SSB fabrication.
The applicants will have a chance to learn solid-state electrolyte synthesis, thin film solid-state electrolyte fabrication,solid-state battery testing and material characterizations.
Hosting Site:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Internship location: Oak Ridge, TN or virtual
Mentor:
Guang Yang
yangg@ornl.gov
850-567-5339
Yes
ORNL-C-Chen1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Oak Ridge, TN
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project aims at developing polymer-ceramic composite electrolytes for solid-state batteries, to achieve chemical stability at the electrodes, high energy density (500 Wh/kg), high rate (1 mA/cm2) and long cycle life (80% capacity retention for 300 cycles). In solid state electrolytes, oxide ceramics have the advantages of high ionic conductivity, high Li ion transference number and high mechanical modulus. Polymer electrolytes are soft and flexible and capable of maintaining good contact at interfaces. A composite of the two may combine the advantage of fast ion transport as well as good interfacial properties. However, the adoption of composite electrolytes in a solid-state battery has a main technical barrier: a large interfacial resistance between the polymer and the ceramic electrolyte must be overcome. This project will focus on the interface between a model polymer electrolyte and a model ceramic electrolyte. The intern will learn the synthesis and preparation of the composite electrolyte film, the assembly of solid-state batteries, battery cycling, and the characterization of interfaces.
Hosting Site:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Internship location: Oak Ridge, TN
Mentor:
Chelsea Chen
chenx@ornl.gov
865-574-6360
Yes
ORNL-X-Chen1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Oak Ridge, TN
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project aims at developing stable and low impedance polymer/electrode interfaces for solid-state batteries, to achieve chemical stability at the electrodes, high energy density (500 Wh/kg), high rate (1 mA/cm2) and long cycle life (80% capacity retention for 300 cycles). In solid-state batteries, polymer electrolytes show promises as they are soft and flexible and capable of maintaining good contact at interfaces. However, stable and low impedance interfaces between the polymer and the electrodes (including the anode and the cathode) must be achieved, as this is crucial for high rate and long cyclability of a solid-state battery. This project will focus on the interface between a model polymer electrolyte and lithium metal anode. The intern will learn the synthesis and preparation of the polymer electrolyte film, the assembly of solid-state batteries, battery cycling, and the characterization of interfaces.
Hosting Site:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Internship location: Oak Ridge, TN
Mentor:
Xi Chen
chenx@ornl.gov
865-574-6360
Yes
ORNL-Veith
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Oak Ridge, TN
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
You know when your battery dies for some unknown reason. This work is to try and understand the chemistry and materials science of this death. The work will focus on silicon anodes and understanding changes to the interface chemistry and what goes wrong when they spontaneously die. The applicant will learn to make batteries, cycle batteries, and perform post mortem analysis on the batteries. Applicants will practice skills related to analytical chemistry, handling air sensitive chemicals, and develop patience associated with good electrochemistry. Should be a great learning opportunity resulting in a peer reviewed publication and gateway into an exciting field.
Hosting Site:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Internship location: Oak Ridge, TN
Mentor:
Gabriel Veith
veithgm@ornl.gov
8655760027
Yes
ANL-Levin1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Lemont, IL or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Electricity systems in the U.S. and around the world are in a state of rapid evolution due to cost declines of emerging technologies such as wind, solar and energy storage. In addition, the U.S. has established an aggressive target of decarbonizing its electricity system by 2035. Such a transition away from traditional, centralized thermal generation towards variable renewable energy generation will lead to fundamental changes in how electricity systems are planned and operated.
One crucial consideration is the role that different energy storage technologies will play in supporting this transition by helping to balance variable and uncertain wind and solar generation and moving energy through time to match supply with demand. Integrating energy storage technology into power system operations will also create new challenges such as the need for market operators to monitor and manage state-of-charge and consider opportunity costs in their dispatch logic.
This project will involve developing and applying optimization models and tools to analyze the role of energy storage in U.S. power systems with a focus on wholesale market interactions and understanding future power system trends under market evolution and continued decarbonization. The intern should ideally have some familiarity with power system economics and a basic understanding of mathematical optimization.
Hosting Site:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Internship location: Lemont, IL or virtual
Mentor:
Todd Levin
tlevin@anl.gov
6302526878
Yes
NREL-Booten2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Golden, CO
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Thermal energy storage systems and materials are being developed rapidly to help stabilize the electric grid of the future. One potential benefit could be to provide space conditioning in buildings during natural disasters where power to buildings could be off for many days. In situations like these, space conditioning can be a matter of survival (severe heat stroke, dehydration, frostbite, hypothermia, etc.) not just comfort. This project will develop and demonstrate a portable / storable shelter that is designed to provide thermal comfort for a person for several days without the use of any external power source. The shelter can be installed in an interior room of a building for best performance or outside if needed.
The intern will assist with design, construction and instrumentation of two shelters. One will use typical construction materials such as rigid foam insulation while the other will be constructed with additional phase change materials (PCM). The shelters will be instrumented to record temperature inside and outside, humidity and heat flux to quantify the ability of the PCM to extend the time during which people can maintain safe ambient temperatures during extreme weather events and power outages.
The intern will be expected to provide updates and interface with other researchers as well as contribute to a final report and/or publication on the results.
Hosting Site:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Internship location: Golden, CO
Mentors:
Chuck Booten
chuck.booten@nrel.gov
3032753167
Ravi Kishore
ravi.kishore@nrel.gov
303-384-7538
Yes
NREL-Booten1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Golden, CO or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project will be modeling of a helical heat exchanger for a ground source heat pump. One of the main disadvantages of ground source heat pumps is the high installation costs. Approximately 1/3 of these costs are attributable to the cost of the ground loop heat exchanger. We are proposing a novel design that has the potential to reduce the cost of this heat exchanger while improving the utilization of the thermal energy stored in the ground. However, the performance must be accurately characterized and important parameters must be identified as well as quantifying their impact on heat exchanger performance.
Proficiency in heat transfer and thermal modeling is important. Physics-based modeling will be conducted using a commercial finite element analysis program such as COMSOL, but the analysis and integration with other higher level models in different formats require proficiency in at least one programming language, either Python or Matlab. The intern will be expected to provide updates and interface with other researchers as well as contribute to a final report and/or publication on the results.
Hosting Site:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Internship location: Golden, CO or virtual
Mentors:
Chuck Booten
chuck.booten@nrel.gov
3032753167
Ravi Kishore
ravi.kishore@nrel.gov
303-384-7538
Yes
ANL-Chuang1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Lemont, IL
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
The project aims to develop non-conventional experimental setup that utilize high energy synchrotron X-ray scattering and imaging techniques to study material behavior, primarily engineering alloys, under in-operando conditions. The student will learn to conduct material research using state-of-the-art x-ray characterization tools and interact with staff scientists at Argonne National Laboratory. Depending on the student's interest, they can select tasks that focus on data analysis, sample environment development, and/or material characterization.
Hosting Site:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Internship location: Lemont, IL
Mentor:
Andrew Chuang
cchuang@anl.gov
630-252-5891
Yes
NETL-Paudel1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Zirconium (Zr) and its alloys (Zircaloy-4) are widely used in nuclear reactors due to their low neutron adsorption cross-section and excellent corrosion resistance. In tritium-producing burnable absorber rods (TPBARs), the metal getter located between the cladding and the γ-LiAlO2 pellets is composed of Nickel (Ni)-plated Zircaloy-4, which is used to capture tritium (3H) species (mainly 3H2 and 3H2O) generated from γ-LiAlO2 pellets during irradiation. The 3H-related products transfer to the surface of Ni upon adsorption and dissociation to form new 3H species and diffuse into the Zircaloy-4 getters, where they chemical reacts to form metal hydrides (Zr3Hx). Therefore, exploring 3H species (3H2, 3H2O) dissociation on the surface of Ni and diffusion across the interface of Ni-plated Zircaloy-4 getters can provide a better understanding of 3H species formation and transport from pellets into the getters. In the past, NETL conducted a series of studies on γ-LiAlO2, Li2ZrO3 pellets and Zircaloy to understand the 3H and its transport through the pellets. We investigated bulk properties, defect chemistry, 3H solubility and diffusion pathways in γ-LiAlO2, Li2ZrO3 pellets and Zircaloy with different concentrations of possible defects (e.g., VLi, VO, VAl), stabilities and formations of voids, carbon impurities and helium formation. Aside from studying the surface properties of γ-LiAlO2 (e.g., bare surface stability and 3H adsorption sites on the surface), we also explored the diffusion of 3H and O3H species on defective surfaces, 3H species desorption from (100) surface, 3H trapping and recombination in lithium vacancy on (100) surface, carbon adsorption and substitution on (100) surface, and 3H2O formation on and desorption from the γ-LiAlO2 (101) and LiAl5O8 (111) surfaces. In conclusion, we found that the 3H2 molecule should be the main product initially released from the pellets. With increasing the number of Li vacancies and 3H atoms under irradiation, 3H can react with O to form 3H2O. The 3H2 and 3H2O molecules generated from the γ-LiAlO2 pellets are transported to the Ni-plated Zircaloy-4 getters.
Here we propose first principles density functional (DFT) study to explore the 3H2 and 3H2O molecules’ formation and dissociation in the bulk and the surfaces of Ni-plated Zircaloy-4 getters to clarify the type of 3H species that can dissolute into the metal getters. Since the Zircaloy-4 getter is plated by Ni metal, the Ni metal surface and Ni-Zircaloy-4 interface will be our main targets in this study. We will explore the dissociation mechanism of 3H2 and 3H2O molecules on the most stable (111) surface of Ni and clarify which 3H species are generated from the 3H2 and 3H2O dissociation on the surface. We will examine the possibility of 3H species diffusing through the Ni metal to show which form of 3H species can pass through the Ni to the interface of Ni-plated Zircaloy-4. From this study, we expect that the trainee will be able to learn hands-on skill on the material modelling using DFT approach. In addition, trainee will gain knowledge about the chemistry of the essential reactor component materials. The proposed objectives will be achieved by using spin-polarized DFT methods as installed in our state-of the art high performance supercomputing facility.
Hosting Site:
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
Mentors:
Hari Paudel
hari.paudel@netl.doe.gov
(407) 535-1570
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Gas bubbles are ubiquitous in electrochemical energy storage systems such as water electrolyzers and CO2 electrolyzers. Gas bubbles can impede the transport of reactants, co-products, and ions, decreasing the efficiency and longevity of device performance. This project aims to use high speed imaging in combination with potentiostatic techniques to characterize the physics of bubble growth, coalescence, and departure. These observations will serve as a platform for informing design rules, operating diagnostics, and computational models for water electrolyzers.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentor:
Jack Davis
davis289@llnl.gov
9254228698
Internship Coordinator:
Daniel Wang
wang122@llnl.gov
(925) 423-4560
Yes
LLNL-Davis1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Water electrolyzers are an important technology for generating green hydrogen. Scaling water electrolyzers to operate at higher current density requires fast and efficient removal of bubbles from the reaction zone. This project aims to answer key questions on the role of electrode microarchitecture on guiding the transport of gas bubbles in electrochemical systems. The student will learn how to generate controlled architectures using 3D printing and then functionalizing parts using electrochemical deposition techniques. A library of electrodes will be manufactured and then tested in electrochemical cells.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentor:
Jack Davis
davis289@llnl.gov
9254228698
Internship Coordinator:
Daniel Wang
wang122@llnl.gov
(925) 423-4560
Yes
ORNL-Sacci1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Oak Ridge, TN or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Li3InCl6 is a known Li-ion solid electrolyte that may be implemented in all-solid-state batteries. While it is unstable against Li metal, it can be quickly synthesized from aqueous and alcohol solutions. The project aims to use this property and test formulations for thin film synthesis of Li3InCl6. The learning objects focus on relating drying temperature and pressure to film uniformity and density. In this, the intern will learn how solid electrolytes are made and processed. They will also learn fundamental electrochemistry used to test the material property and predict utility in battery devices. Lastly, they will learn how to present scientific research and information to peers for review.
Hosting Site:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Internship location: Oak Ridge, TN or virtual
Mentor:
Robert Sacci
saccirl@ornl.gov
4238001582
Yes
NETL-Duan2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
CO2 capture and conversion is critical to battling global warming. Traditional amine-based CO2 capture has drawbacks such as high energy consumption due to regeneration cost, equipment corrosion, and amine leakage to the environment. Amino acid (AA) are gaining attention as alternative agents with high capacity, high oxygen and thermal stability, low volatility, and low toxicity. Capturing and converting one CO2 needs two MEA molecules but just one AA molecule. Aqueous amino acid salt (AAS) solvents obtained by dissolving amino acids and bases in water have shown their high efficiency and capacity to capture CO2. For example, sodium glycinate salt was reported to have high CO2 loading and resistance to oxidative degradation.
The CO2 capture capability of AAS can be further enhanced by catalysts. Catalysts developed from deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are attracting interests due to their low cost, easy synthesis, low toxicity, and biocompatible nature. Relatively simple DESs based on the combination of choline chloride and metal salts have shown to be highly effective and recyclable catalysts for organic transformation applications, especially cycloaddition of CO2 with epoxides.
The mechanisms of sodium glycinate in CO2 absorption have been studied experimentally. However, very little is known about the mechanisms of chemisorption reactions when catalysts are present. In this study, we will study the effect of the catalytic solution of choline chloride and aluminum formate on the reaction of sodium glycinate salt with CO2. This study aims to theoretically determine the reaction pathways of sodium glycinate salt with CO2 in the presence of choline chloride and aluminum formate using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Through this research, we will elucidate the potential benefits of the catalytic solution for CO2 capture application.
From this study, we expect that the trainee will be able to learn hands-on skill on the molecular modelling using DFT approach. In addition, trainee will gain knowledge about the solutions of climate change, the chemistry of the essential capture reactions, and the fundamental of quantum chemistry/physics.
Hosting Site:
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
Mentors:
Dr. Yuhua Duan
yuhua.duan@netl.doe.gov
(412) 386-5771
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Thermal energy storage can shift and shave electrical loads in buildings, which could help enable a large increase in the renewable energy generation capacity on the grid. For these systems to be successful, they must add and remove heat from the storage device efficiently. This internship will include investigating low temperature phase change materials (PCMs) for integrated thermal storage in air conditioning systems. Some promising low temperature PCMs exhibit supercooling and phase separation, which decreases the energy storage performance of the PCM. For promising PCM options, remedies to material shortcomings (such as supercooling and/or phase separation) will be investigated experimentally by triggering crystallization in the PCMs. Ultrasonic nucleation to induce crystallization have shown promising results and will be investigated during the internship. This will involve designing and building a simple experimental setup to determine optimal ultrasound parameters for most effective PCM nucleation. Accompanying analysis will include quantifying the reduction in supercooling for low temperature PCMs and calculating efficiency benefits of ultrasonic nucleation relative to the supercooled PCM.
Hosting Site:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Internship location: Golden, CO
Mentors:
Ana Aday
Ana.Aday@nrel.gov
Wale Odukomaiya
Adewale.Odukomaiya@nrel.gov
Yes
NREL-Cook1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Golden, CO or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
NREL launched the Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus (SolarAPP+) Platform in 2021. In its first full year of operation, the system issued over 3,000 permits and eliminated over 50,000 days in permitting review time, while saving local governments thousands of hours in staff time. NREL is now working to release a new solar and battery storage feature within the permitting platform. NREL requests new interns to help us build, refine, and launch the battery storage feature by September 30th, 2023. Interns would help to shape the permitting requirements, vet them with subject matter experts, oversee testing of the application, and help adopting communities and contractors to use the tool effectively. This project will help interested interns to: 1. Understand how building codes can be automated with software. 2. Improve communication skills and build relationships with key industry, code, and local government stakeholders. 3. Expand knowledge of cutting edge battery storage system installation practices and areas for improvement.
Hosting Site:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Internship location: Golden, CO or virtual
Mentor:
Jeff Cook
jeff.cook@nrel.gov
7206101150
Yes
LLNL-Zhu1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project aims to develop a new capability for designing and fabricating energy storage devices that function in extreme conditions detrimental to conventional devices (e.g. temperature, mechanical stress, etc.). The specific conditions of interest are extreme temperature, mechanical stress, and aging/lifetime concerns which are encountered in space, energy infrastructure, and weapons applications. And we are looking for aqueous batteries as attractive energy storage alternatives beyond “lithium-ion” for their non-flammability, environmental benignity, and low production cost. The innovation on the metal anode is always limited by their inherent instability in water electrolytes. Conventional foils or powder-binder mixed paste anodes still suffer from undesirable dendrites and side reactions (i.e., corrosion, passivation, and hydrogen evolution). 3D porous structure sets a new benchmark for rechargeable batteries. However, traditional materials processing methods are unable to manufact complex architectures. Our prject will leverage LLNL’s strengths of additive manufacturing to fabricate structural metal anodes and optimize their redox chemistry.
The learning objective is to enable students to expand their horizon and apply their theory knowledge into the real applications. They can provide knowledge of topics, including laser-matter interaction science, alloy design and alloying effects, fundamental metallurgy such as solidification and phase transformations, and thermomechanical response in metal AM components.
The intern student will work with experienced scientists in a multidisciplinary team environment. First, they will get the fundamental theory about the colloidal processing of metal powders. Then, they will learn to develop the colloidal ink materials for additive manufacturing process by tuning the inks composition and rheological properties. They will also learn to design multicomponent ink materials, such as metal alloy, or metal-carbon composite. Next, they will also get trained and obtain the hands-on skill for using extrusion-based 3d printing machines. Besides, they will also acquire the knowledge on post processing, such as annealing, and surface modification.
Provide knowledge of topics, including laser-matter interaction science, alloy design and alloying effects, fundamental metallurgy such as solidification and phase transformations, and thermomechanical response in metal AM components. Evaluate microstructural response during thermomechanical testing, such as tensile, compressive, and dynamic loading, mechanical loading at elevated temperatures, and during heat treatments and other types of post-processing. Perform characterization of metal AM components, including optical microscopy and electron microscopy, including as SEM, EBSD, and EDS. Design and perform complex experiments; collect and analyze resulting multimodal datasets. Collaborate with scientists in a multidisciplinary, cross-functional team environment to accomplish research goals. Pursue independent but complementary research interests and interact with a broad spectrum of scientists internally and externally to the Laboratory. Document research, publish papers in high-impact peer-reviewed scientific journals, and present results within the DOE community and at conferences. Maintain and establish laboratory protocols, including adherence to safety and security protocols. Perform other duties as assigned.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA
Mentors:
Cheng Zhu
zhu6@llnl.gov
9254235503
Chris Orme
orme1@llnl.gov
9254239509
Internship Coordinator:
Marcus A. Worsley
worsley1@llnl.gov
9254244831
Yes
PNNL-Kim1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Richland, WA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project is to evaluate performance and feasibility of low-cost metallic bipolar plates fabricated by R2R manufacturing process under condition of a lab-scale flow cell with aqueous organic flow redox couples. The project is one of major tasks in "R2R Manufacturing of Metallic Electrodes and Bipolar Plates for Flow Batteries" funded by the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office.
Students will learn operation of flow cells and interpretation of test data. Students will have opportunities to apply academic electrochemical knowledges to actual flow cells, helping deep understanding of electrochemical engineering processes. Students will learn the following through the summer internship program.
- Flow cell materials, cell assembly, and operation principles - Lab scale small cell as well as a large-size stack - Electrolyte fabrication procedure - Flow cell tests and data analysis
In addition, students will learn scientific communication skills including presentation, reports and regular meeting. They will also experience research and life environments in the national lab.
Hosting Site:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Internship location: Richland, WA or virtual
Mentors:
Soowhan Kim
soowhan.kim@pnnl.gov
509-371-8810
Litao Yan
litao.yan@pnnl.gov
509-372-4701
Yes
NREL-Kishore1
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Golden, CO or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Although there is a myriad of technologies available for thermal-to-electrical energy conversion, most are technically and/or economically unviable for low-temperature-differential (<100°C) applications. Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC), therefore, presents a major challenge for applying these technologies because of the low operating temperature difference (<40°C). The primary aim of this project is to evaluate the technical feasibility of an innovative approach, called Thermomagnetic Energy Generation, to convert thermal energy into electrical energy for small temperature differential applications. Our approach is based on the effect of heat on the magnetic properties of ferromagnetic materials that undergo a sharp phase change near the transition temperature. The candidate will have opportunity to get involved in multifaceted disciplines and in-depth tasks in mechanical, thermal, and ocean engineering. The candidate should demonstrate expertise in the areas of thermal science, energy conversion, finite element modeling, and experimentation. Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: • Background in thermal science (i.e., thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer) theory, modeling, and experimental validation. • Knowledge of caloric effects, materials, and components/systems. • Experience in thermomagnetic devices and energy modeling using COMSOL or any other commercial codes will be plus.
Hosting Site:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Internship location: Golden, CO or virtual
Mentor:
Ravi Anant Kishore
ravi.kishore@nrel.gov
19792507002
Internship Coordinator:
Lorena Urbano
Lorena.Urbano@nrel.gov
Yes
NREL-Kishore2
12/21/2022
1671598800000
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Golden, CO
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) currently accounts for nearly 40% of the total energy consumed in buildings. Energy consumption in buildings can be minimized by using dynamic envelopes that modulate their thermal resistance to promote the thermal transport to or from the buildings when exterior condition is favorable (cooler in summer and hotter in winter) but block the heat flow when it is not solicited. The candidate will join NREL team members on cutting-edge research to investigate the performance of thermal switches and switchable insulation and their impact on heat and moisture transfer through dynamic building envelopes. The successful candidate should have a strong background in thermodynamics, heat transfer and be able to independently work on modeling and experiments. The candidate will contribute to ongoing research in thermal storage and dynamic envelopes for buildings. The candidate is expected to demonstrate good communication skills and the ability to document the research in the form of journal articles, and presentations. Specific Duties and Responsibilities • Perform laboratory experiments on materials and thermal components • Examine and validate the experimental results using analytical and numerical models • Develop, design, and analyze new thermal components for dynamic building envelope
Hosting Site:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
Internship location: Golden, CO
Mentors:
Ravi Anant Kishore
ravi.kishore@nrel.gov
19792507002
Chuck Booten
Chuck.Booten@nrel.gov
Internship Coordinator:
Lorena Urbano
Lorena.Urbano@nrel.gov
Yes
LLNL-Wan3
12/21/2022
1671598800000
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Livermore, CA or virtual
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project aims to use the machine learning methods to predict the atomic structures of new, complex materials for energy storage applications. The machine-learning model will be trained and validated using the data collected from first-principles simulations. Different crystal structure prediction algorithms will be used and compared to determine the most computational efficient and accurate methods for high-throughput simulation and sampling of the complex configurational space. Once the structures are predicted, diffraction patterns and spectroscopy signatures will be simulated to compared with experimental measurements that will be performed in the lab.
Hosting Site:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
Internship location: Livermore, CA or virtual
Mentors:
Liwen Wan
wan6@llnl.gov
9254223490
Dr. Brandon C. Wood
brandonwood@llnl.gov
9254228391
Internship Coordinator:
Marcus Worsley
worsley1@llnl.gov
9254244831
Yes
INL-Fushimi1
01/9/2023
1673240400000
Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho Falls, Idaho
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
This project will push the boundaries of structure/kinetics characterization for complex materials used in energy storage and conversion (e.g., battery electrodes and catalysts). Using an existing LabView-based framework, the student will combine control of a high-power pulsed laser source with both vibrational and mass spectrometry detection systems. The student will learn safe conduct of research with class 4 laser systems and develop a deep understanding of spectroscopic methods while working under the mentorship of staff scientists. Depending on the student’s interest and motivation, this work can have either/both a ‘hands-on’ laboratory experience or a focus on data analysis of high volume spectrokinetic data using artificial intelligence and machine learning methods.
U.S. Citizenship is a requirement for this internship
Project Description:
Energy storage density is a critical parameter for grid-scale energy storage systems. Previous works have identified the gap between theoretical and realistic energy storage densities for multiple emerging redox flow battery chemistries. This project will quantify known sources of inefficiencies for a series of flow battery chemistries to guide future research. Any technical gaps and the relative importance of identified energy losses in flow battery systems will be shared with the broader community.
Hosting Site:
National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)
Mentor:
Isaac Gamwo
isaac.gamwo@netl.doe.gov
(412) 386-6537
The name and contact information of the hosting site internship coordinator is provided for further assistance with questions regarding the hosting site; local housing availability, cost, or roommates; local transportation; security clearance requirements; internship start and end dates; and other administrative issues specific to that research facility. If you contact the internship coordinator, identify yourself as an applicant to the NSF Mathematical Sciences Graduate Internship (MSGI) Program.
Interns will not enter into an employee/employer relationship with the Hosting Site, ORAU/ORISE, EERE or DOE. No commitment with regard to later employment is implied or should be inferred.
