Development of Technologies and Analytical Capabilities for Vision 21 Energy Plants

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 10, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43366-43368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20472]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Development of Technologies and Analytical Capabilities for 
Vision 21 Energy Plants

AGENCY: Federal Energy Technology Center (FETC), U.S. Department of 
Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice inviting financial assistance applications.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy announces that it intends to conduct 
a competitive Program Solicitation and award financial assistance 
(Cooperative Agreements) for the program entitled ``Development of 
Technologies and Analytical Capabilities for Vision 21 Energy Plants.'' 
Through this solicitation, FETC seeks to support applications in the 
following areas of interest: development of (A) the enabling and 
supporting technologies upon which the components and subsystems 
(``modules'') of Vision 21 plants depend, (B) systems integration 
capability needed to combine two or more modules in Vision 21 plants, 
and (C) advanced plant design and visualization software leading to 
demonstration of ``virtual'' plants. Awards will be made to a limited 
number of applicants based on an evaluation of the promise of the 
proposed technology, the quality of prior supporting scientific and 
engineering studies and of the technical approach to reduce the 
proposed technology to practice, appropriateness of the project plan, 
the technical and management capabilities of the applicant 
organization(s), and availability of DOE funding in the technical areas 
proposed.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raymond D. Johnson, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Federal Energy Technology Center, Acquisition and Assistance 
Division, P.O. Box 10940, MS 921-143, Pittsburgh PA 15236-0940, 
Telephone: (412) 386-6109, FAX: (412) 386-6039, E-mail: 
johnson@fetc.doe.gov.

DATES: This solicitation (available in both WordPerfect 6.1 and 
Portable Document Format (PDF)) will be released on DOE's FETC Internet 
site (http:/www.fetc.doe.gov/business/solicit) on or about September 
30, 1999.

[[Page 43367]]

Additional information on the Vision 21 Program is available on DOE 
FETC's World Wide Web Server Internet System (http:/www.fetc.doe.gov/
publications/others/vision21/v21.pdf).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title of Solicitation: ``Development of Technologies and Analytical 
Capabilities for Vision 21 Energy Plants.''
    Objectives: Through Program Solicitation No. DE-PS26-99FT40578, the 
Department of Energy seeks applications for developing the technology 
basis for Vision 21 energy plants, including developing the enabling 
and supporting technologies upon which the components and subsystems 
(``modules'') of Vision 21 plants depend, systems integration 
capability, and advanced computer design and simulation tools. Examples 
of technology modules are a gasifier, combustor, an engine or turbine 
system, fuel cell, or a subsystem for separating air into oxygen-and 
nitrogen-rich streams. Systems integration knowledge is required to 
design and construct complete plants. Although the DOE's intent is to 
focus on technology module development rather than on specific plant 
configurations, arrangements of modules may need to be considered in 
order to acquire knowledge of systems integration techniques. Computer 
models for individual technology modules and for complete Vision 21 
plants will be required to reduce development costs by minimizing the 
number of scales at which new technologies will need to be tested, to 
aid in design and scaleup, and to increase confidence that new designs 
will meet performance expectations. It is anticipated that spinoff 
technologies, available as early as 2005, will also result from R&D 
supported by this solicitation. Spinoff technologies include low-cost 
oxygen and hydrogen separation technology, gas purification and 
cleaning technology, better catalysts for producing fuels and chemicals 
from low-valued raw materials, more efficient and lower cost 
environmental control technology, improved low-cost manufacturing 
techniques for high-technology components, advanced combustion and 
materials technology for enhancing engine and turbine systems, and 
improved materials for service under aggressive high-temperature 
conditions.
    Eligibility: Eligibility for participation in this Program 
Solicitation is considered to be full and open. All interested parties 
may apply. The solicitation will contain a complete description of the 
technical and organizational evaluation factors and the relative 
importance of each factor.
    Areas of Interest: The Department is interested in obtaining 
applications to develop (A) the enabling and supporting technologies 
upon which the components and subsystems (``modules'') of Vision 21 
plants depend, (B) systems integration capability needed to combine two 
or more modules in Vision 21 plants, and (C) advanced plant design and 
visualization software leading to demonstration of ``virtual'' plants.
    DOE has, with the help of industry, academic, and government 
stakeholders, identified ``enabling'' and ``supporting'' technologies 
that are expected to be important in developing high-performance 
technology modules for Vision 21 plants. Enabling technologies are 
those upon which the modules or subsystems that form the building 
blocks of a Vision 21 plant depend. Enabling technologies include:
    •  Gas separation, e.g., membranes that can be used to 
separate oxygen from air and hydrogen from syngas
    •  High-temperature heat exchangers, e.g., alloy exchangers 
capable of heating high-temperature steam or air for use in advanced, 
high-efficiency cycles
    •  Fuel-flexible, thermally efficient gasification to allow 
the use of low-cost feedstocks, such as municipal waste, petcoke, 
biomass
    •  Gas stream purification systems capable of operating at 
high temperatures for removing sulfur compounds and other constituents 
that may corrode or erode downstream components, e.g. turbines, or 
poison downstream catalysts.
    •  High-performance combustion systems, including ultra-low-
NOX combustion and combustion systems that burn fuels in 
O2/CO2 mixtures and produce exhaust streams 
containing only CO2 and water; both suspension-fired and 
fluidized bed systems are of interest.
    •  Fuel-flexible combustion turbines and engine systems, 
especially turbines and engines capable of operating on coal-derived 
gases or hydrogen; fuel cell/turbine-engine hybrids capable of 70-80% 
efficiency; advanced combustion turbines, including ceramic turbines 
and engines; advanced steam turbines.
    •  Fuel cells, e.g., high-efficiency, low-cost fuel cells; 
cascaded fuel cell systems capable of operating at multiple 
temperatures and pressures; fuel cells bottomed by fuel cells; fuel 
cell/turbine hybrids; new, low-cost, fuel cell concepts capable of 
approaching $100/kilowatt stack costs and, when incorporated into a 
system, 70-80% system efficiency.
    •  Advanced fuels and chemicals development: systems and 
catalysts for fuels and chemicals production; hydrogen production and 
storage.
    Supporting technologies are cross-cutting technologies also judged 
to be important for the design of Vision 21 plants. Supporting 
technologies include:
    •  Advanced materials for high-temperature applications in 
aggressive environments, e.g., boiler tubes for high-temperature steam 
bottoming cycles, and very high-temperature (>2000 deg.F) heat 
exchangers for use in indirectly fired cycles and other applications, 
as well as functional materials needed for turbine/engine hot-gas-path 
components, and gas cleanup or separation.
    •  Advanced manufacturing and modularization techniques to 
reduce costs and improve quality. (Modular design is desired where it 
can reduce costs by maximizing shop fabrication and minimizing field 
construction, while maintaining or increasing flexibility in plant 
design.)
    Systems Integration prescribes how to combine high-performance 
technology modules into safe, reliable, economic Vision 21 plants and, 
as such, is a critical part of the Vision 21 program. Systems 
integration can be divided into 3 key subelements: systems engineering, 
dynamic response and control, and industrial ecology. Systems 
integration topics of interest to DOE include:
    •  Systems engineering and compatibility issues related to 
linking Vision 21 modules and components, e.g., gasifiers with 
combustion turbines, fuel cells, and gas cleanup devices; development 
of design modifications and interconnections for major subsystems and 
components.
    •  Dynamic response and control of Vision 21 modules and 
integrated plants; studies of the transient response of subsystems and 
total plants to changes in load and other operating parameters, startup 
and shutdown, and upset conditions including component failures; 
modeling of the dynamic response of Vision 21 systems; design of 
process control software and hardware.
    •  Application of industrial ecology principles to Vision 21 
systems; development and evaluation of designs to recycle or utilize 
all process effluents that would otherwise be handled as waste streams.
    Computational modeling and virtual demonstration software that 
provides a cost-effective complement to experimental development is 
also of interest; advanced models to assist in the design process by 
providing

[[Page 43368]]

physically based simulations of Vision 21 components, modules, and 
plants are sought; an integrated suite of codes (software) called the 
``virtual demonstration'' or ``virtual plant'' is needed to illustrate 
equipment configuration and orientation and simulate plant operation.

Awards

    DOE anticipates issuing financial assistance (cooperative 
agreements) for each project selected. DOE reserves the right to 
support or not support, with or without discussions, any or all 
applications received in whole or in part, and to determine how many 
awards may be made through the solicitation subject to the funds 
available. Approximately $5 million -$10 million of DOE funding is 
planned for this solicitation in each of the three years FY00, FY01, 
and FY02. Cost sharing by the applicant is required, and details of the 
cost sharing requirement are contained in the solicitation.

Solicitation Release Date

    A draft of this Program Solicitation is available for comment on 
FETC's World Wide Web Server Internet System at http:/www.fetc.doe.gov/
business/solicit until August 20, 1999. The final Program Solicitation 
is expected to be ready for release on or about September 30, 1999. 
Applications must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the 
instructions and forms contained in the Program Solicitation.
Raymond D. Johnson,
Contracting Officer, Acquisition and Assistance Division.
[FR Doc. 99-20472 Filed 8-9-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P