ETA 2021 Strategic Plan - Flipbook - Page 63
scales. At large scales — both in terms of power
and physical size — controlling large and longdistance water transfers could provide grid
relief. For example, if electricity that would
otherwise be curtailed were used to recharge
groundwater and the water pumped out of
the aquifer at a later time, we could maximize
renewable generation utilization and lower the
energy requirements for groundwater pumping.
At smaller scales, inline microturbines have
shown promise for providing up to 100 kilowatt
electric generation capability, but have yet to be
fully utilized.
This complex science and technology challenge
demands a coordinated and integrated science
and technology approach that leverages basic
science, applied research, and outreach. This
will require ETA’s Energy Sciences Area (ESA)
and Earth and Environmental Sciences Area
(EESA) researchers to collaborate to solve water–
energy problems in new ways. Also, these are
areas for close ETA collaboration with scientists
in the recently DOE funded National Alliance
for Water Innovation (NAWI) consortium Hub,
which is led by Berkeley Lab. This will strengthen
research efforts that will lead to significantly
better desalination and water–energy-efficient
technologies and contribute to their fast
deployment. The Water–Energy Nexus Initiative
will further enhance Berkeley Lab’s traditional
leadership in basic research, together with
core expertise in technology development
and energy analysis in R&D. This crosscutting,
multidisciplinary approach to water–energy
nexus challenges will be used to guide national
and California state investments in water and
energy systems.
Detailed Approach
The Water–Energy Nexus Initiative focuses on
the following R&D targets:
• Greatly increasing the supply of fresh water
from nontraditional water sources via
economically viable advanced treatment
processes
• Boosting water and energy sustainability
through the development of new waterand energy-efficient technologies and
the improvement of existing water- and
energy-efficient technologies
• Extraction of lithium and other valuable
materials from natural and industrial
sources
• Developing cutting-edge data analytics and
models to identify the strategic investments
needed in water and energy resources,
infrastructure, and technology, and to
prioritize the locations and timing of those
investments
Project and programs include:
• Seeding and jump-starting novel and
potentially disruptive desalination
technology concepts and ideas
• Leading and participating in new and
existing federal and state R&D partnerships
• Building and growing strategic
collaborations with the private industrial
sector
This work will be organized in the five focus
areas outlined above.
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