Energy Technologies Area
Intranet

Research Themes +
Energy Technologies Area (ETA) researchers are continually building on the strong scientific foundation we have developed over the past 50 years. We address the world’s most pressing scientific challenges across the buildings, transportation, and industrial sectors. ETA is at the forefront of improving the country's aging electrical grid and innovating distributed energy and storage solutions; developing grid-integrated building systems; and providing the most comprehensive market and data analysis worldwide.
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About Us +
The Energy Technologies Area (ETA) is unique in translating fundamental scientific discoveries into scalable technology adoption. Our approach combines an understanding of the marketplace and the role of state and federal regulation and policies. ETA's research drives real-world, practical results that affect and improve the everyday lives of Americans and those across the globe. Saving energy and increasing reliability are key to the foundation of our research, which is driven by techno-economic analysis and in-lab experimentation and discovery.

Natalie Popovich

Dr. Natalie Popovich is a Research Scientist in the Energy Analysis Division at Berkeley Lab and a Research Affiliate at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy. Her research focuses on innovative technology pathways for rail and maritime propulsion and operations. Her main research area is rail-to-grid integration (RGI), including potential synergies between rail technology, grid resilience, and access to low-cost electricity. She also works on system-level modal rebalancing and efficient use of transportation infrastructure, including increased reliance on maritime and rail modes. From 2022 to 2025 she served as a Senior Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy of Transportation on rail technology innovation and policy. She completed her Ph.D. and M.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics and her M.S. in Transportation Technology and Policy at UC Davis. She was awarded a Schmidt Macarthur Fellowship in 2017 to examine how concepts of circularity can reduce urban water use.

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