Abstract: Understanding manufacturing cost implications of technologies is critical to aid adoption of next-generation energy solutions. It is important to understand not only of the manufacturing costs and value-add along the supply chain, but also gain understanding of manufacturing location decisions. By identifying a technology’s competitive strengths and weaknesses, analyses give researchers and program decision makers the data and insights needed to create strategies and plans that better promote U.S. economic growth and pursue R&D activities that have the greatest long-term potential to yield significant energy savings for U.S. consumers.   

In this talk, we present examples of analysis from a variety of energy technologies to demonstrate how manufacturing cost analysis can be used to answer specific policy or research questions. In addition, we present case studies showing the importance of understanding trade flow, manufacturing locations, and capacity and utilization to inform economic growth and potential for technology adoption.

Bios: Jill Engel-Cox is Director of the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) at the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Over her 30-year career, Dr. Engel-Cox has been an engineer, researcher, program manager, and strategic planner for a diverse suite of renewable energy, clean technology, and environmental programs in the United States, Asia, and Middle East. Her first job was climbing smokestacks in Los Angeles, followed by leading industrial pollution prevention programs for small and medium sized businesses and R&D laboratories in the United States and internationally. In the past decade, she has led international strategic planning and technology assessments for renewable energy and environmental sustainability research programs, working extensively in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. She also teaches an course in energy issues for the University of Colorado Denver Global Energy Management program and industrial processes and environmental communications courses at Johns Hopkins University Engineering for Professionals Program.

Samantha Bench Reese is a senior engineer at the Strategic Energy Analysis Center at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). As an analyst, Samantha helps put early stage research problems in context of technoeconomic tradeoffs, and analytically shows technology potential through supply-chain analysis, trade-flow mapping, market research, and building bottoms-up cost models. Prior to joining NREL, she helped transition products from R&D to volume manufacturing, spending considerable time in across the world and more specifically in Asia. Samantha's background is in mechanical and electrical engineering. She received her M.S. in Engineering and Applied Science from Yale University, and her B.S. in Engineering and Applied Science from California Institute of Technology (Caltech).