Overview of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Advanced Manufacturing Integrated Energy Demonstration Project: Case Study of Additive Manufacturing as a Tool to Enable Rapid Innovation in Integrated Energy Systems

Abstract

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy (AMIE) demonstration project leverages rapid innovation through additive manufacturing to connect a natural-gas-powered hybrid electric vehicle to a high-performance building designed to produce, consume, and store renewable energy. The AMIE demonstration project consists of a building and vehicle that were additively manufactured (3D-printed) using the laboratory’s big area additive manufacturing (BAAM) capabilities and an integrated energy system with smart controls that connects the two via wireless power transfer. The printed utility vehicle features a hybrid electric powertrain with onboard power generation from a natural gas fueled auxiliary power unit (APU). The APU extends vehicle range through a series hybrid powertrain configuration that recharges the vehicle’s lithium-ion energy storage system and acts as a mobile power generation system for the printed building. The development of the powertrain used for the printed range-extended electric vehicle was completed using a powertrain-in-the-loop development process and the vehicle prototype implementation was accelerated using BAAM. A flexible 3.2 kW solar photovoltaic system paired with electric vehicle batteries will provide renewable power generation and storage. Energy flows back and forth between the car and house using fast, efficient bidirectional wireless power transfer. The AMIE project marked the first demonstration of bidirectional level 2 charging through wireless power transfer. The accelerated creation and printing of the car and house will further demonstrate the program’s function as an applied science tool to get products to market more quickly than what currently is possible with traditional manufacturing. This paper presents a case study that summarizes the efforts and technical details for using the printed research platforms. This paper explores the focuses on printing of the vehicle, powertrain integration, and possibilities for vehicles providing power to buildings in different scenarios. The ability for BAAM to accelerate the prototype development for the integrated energy system process is explored. Details of how this was successfully accomplished in 9 months with more than 20 industry partners are discussed.