Focus Areas
Innovative lab, hosting clean energy scale-up projects
As the world seeks to curb climate change acceleration, there has never been a more critical time to invest in clean energy technology. At RTI, we are addressing this problem with a team of highly trained engineers, scientists, and project managers, all dedicated to innovation in energy.
Much of this important work takes place in our Energy Technology Development Facility – the only privately-owned energy pilot laboratory in North Carolina and one of the few in the United States. The ETDF provides the physical space and support infrastructure to demonstrate energy process technologies at the transition from bench to pilot scale. We host scale-up projects funded by government clients and commercial partners, including startups, demonstrating potential industrial applications of technologies such as carbon capture, catalytic biomass pyrolysis, and methane conversion.
In 2025, we will expand our unique laboratory facilities so we can contribute even more to the worldwide drive toward energy sustainability and resilience.
We are proud of our accomplishments in the dynamic field of energy research, and look forward to working with additional clients to make a positive impact on the environment we all share.
RTI's Energy Technology Development Facility Overview
- 13,000 sq ft with 8 bays for process skids (indoor or covered outdoor)
- Integrated stair and mezzanine system
- External control rooms and offline lab
- Utilities
- Tank gas supply: compressed air, nitrogen, oxygen, CO2, hydrogen, natural gas
- Flue-gas supply (coal and natural gas burner)
- Low-pressure process steam
- Chilled water
- Vent header/thermal oxidizer/gas flare
Innovative Core Process Units for Clean Energy
- Catalytic Biomass Pyrolysis (1 ton per day biomass processing)
- Gas to liquids (Fischer-Tropsch) reactor
- Carbon Capture with Non-Aqueous Solvents (0.1 ton per day CO2 capture)
Energy Technology Development Facility
Inside the Energy Technology Development Facility
Dedicating More Space to Clean Energy Research
Based on the success of the primary facility built in 2012, RTI is developing a 15,000 sq ft expansion building to be opened in fall of 2025. Located next to the original lab, the expansion building will include 12,000 sq ft of additional process bay space and 3,000 sq ft of indoor, climate-controlled workspace, offline lab and control rooms. The new facility will be tied to existing utilities and gas supply and will be adjacent to a planned solar field for demonstration of energy processes powered by renewable energy.
Concept for new Energy Technology Development Facility
Solving the Clean Energy Puzzle
David Dayton is a chemist creating renewable, sustainable petroleum replacement. Learn how his passion for chemistry grew from childhood memories at his parents' dry cleaning business to converting renewable organic materials, like woodchips from local pine trees, into liquid fuels more sustainable than traditional petroleum-based fuel.
Meet the Experts
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David Dausch
David Dausch
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David C. Dayton
David C. Dayton
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Marty Lail
Marty Lail
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Sameer Parvathikar
Sameer Parvathikar
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Vijay Gupta
Vijay Gupta
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Paul Mobley
Paul Mobley
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Jak Tanthana
Jak Tanthana
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Mustapha Soukri
Mustapha Soukri
Related Projects
Reducing CO2 Emissions with Innovative Non-Aqueous Solvent
New carbon capture technology proves effective for removing CO2 from natural gas combustion exhaust streams – a significant step in reducing carbon emissions
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