NREL’s Lab Notes Podcast Expands Our Connection With You

By Martin Keller, Director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

We’re always looking for new ways to let people know about our work at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It’s not that we want to brag. We just want everyone to be aware of how much is going on and how it impacts their lives.

I was excited in July 2023 when NREL launched Transforming Energy: The NREL Podcast . These short, biweekly news episodes are hosted by NREL’s Taylor Mankle and Kerrin Jeromin and cover the awesome research at the laboratory. So far, they’ve covered everything from advances in electric vehicles to the latest on the electric grid and finished the year with a wrap-up of how NREL contributed to the fight against climate change in 2023.

Now we’re taking another step. On Jan. 10, we kicked off a new series within the podcast, called “Lab Notes,” which will feature 30–50-minute episodes that dive deep into the research and people that make up the laboratory. This first one features me sharing stories about my background along with my vision for NREL.

Ernie Tucker, who interviewed me, has written my story before—talking about my journey from a small German town to the national laboratory system in the United States. That profile is available in the book Clean Energy Innovators: NREL People Working to Change the World. It can be downloaded for free .

But the great thing about a podcast is that it allows a more conversational form. And by hearing me talk in my own words, we think you can get a better sense of who I am. Podcasts seem to be gaining in popularity. I know I enjoy them and can listen while driving. It is another way that we want to engage you—the people who support us—in the journey we are all on together.

Down the road, I expect the podcast will engage with other leaders and key researchers at NREL, giving all a chance to explain their ideas in a way that can raise awareness and understanding of the types of problems we are tackling. At the same time, listeners will get a sense of who these people are on the front lines of the battle against climate change.

I know many of those stories, at least the highlights. But I look forward to hearing upcoming episodes of Lab Notes too, because I’m certain to learn new and surprising things about my colleagues.

So, I hope you can take 50 minutes to listen to this podcast—as well as the shorter news episodes. It will be one more way you can plug into the progress unfolding at NREL, driven by real people committed to our mission. Enjoy.