Three industry-led teams including Penn State and four other research universities have received contracts to provide a range of research and engineering services to the National Energy Technology Laboratory. The collective value of the three contracts is expected to exceed $465 million over a five-year period.

NETL, part of the U.S. Department of Energy's national laboratory system, conducts research in coal, natural gas and oil technologies, analyzes energy systems and international energy issues for the DOE Office of Fossil Energy, and performs contract and project management for a number of other DOE Offices.

The consortium of universities, which also includes Carnegie Mellon, the University of Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia University, joined with a major industrial firm to pursue each of the three competitive awards. URS Corp. is the prime contractor on a program to provide fossil energy research and engineering services. Booz Allen Hamilton will manage work on energy sector planning and analysis, and KeyLogic Systems is the prime contractor for project execution and integration.

The Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment will provide the coordinating structure for the University's participation in the consortium, according to Eva J. Pell, senior vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School.

"PSIEE encompasses more than 500 faculty, staff, and students who have a wealth of expertise on energy and environmental issues and experience working across academic disciplines," said Pell. "In addition, Penn State brings a long and distinguished record of leadership in the realm of fossil fuel research to the consortium."

Pell noted that a dozen or more Penn State Faculty affiliated with PSIEE, together with graduate students, will collaborate on carbon capture and sequestration, unconventional fossil fuel sources, highly efficient energy conversion technologies, environmental and economic impacts and similar areas that figure prominently in the nation's quest for cleaner sources of energy and energy security.

The URS-led team will provide personnel, facilities, equipment, materials, supplies and services to support NETL on the development and implementation of basic and applied fossil energy research. The team will also work with NETL's research staff to provide research and infrastructure support; health and safety and quality control support; and logistical and technical coordination support.

The Booz Allen Hamilton team will conduct energy sector analysis and planning for NETL including engineering analysis, research and development benefit analyses, life-cycle analysis and energy resource development and impact assessment services.

"We are delighted to bring the combined capabilities of Booz Allen and its core subcontractors and university partners together to support energy analysis," said Booz Allen program manager Gary Leatherman.

The KeyLogic team will support NETL's work in managing and reviewing the more than 1,800 projects currently awarded to external vendors and NETL in-house researchers. This team will also conduct validation assessments and project performance reviews, disseminate results to the technical community and provide training in process improvement.

"We're honored to help deliver technological solutions that simultaneously address our nation's three overarching energy issues: affordability, supply security and environmental quality," said KeyLogic Program Manager Carey Butler.