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Researchers from ORNL’s Vehicle and Autonomy Research Group created a control strategy for a hybrid electric bus that demonstrated up to 30% energy savings. Credit: University of California, Riverside

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers developed and demonstrated algorithm-based controls for a hybrid electric bus that yielded up to 30% energy savings compared with existing controls.

Salting the gears

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory proved that a certain class of ionic liquids, when mixed with commercially available oils, can make gears run more efficiently with less noise and better durability.

conventional sedan

It’s common knowledge that driving aggressively can dent gas mileage, but it’s difficult to determine exactly how much gas drivers waste. A new study by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has quantified the impact speeding and slamming on the brakes has on fuel economy and consumption. They found that aggressive behavior behind the wheel can lower gas mileage in light-duty vehicles by about 10 to 40 percent in stop-and-go traffic and roughly 15 to 30 percent at highway speeds. This can equate to losing about $0.25 to $1 per gallon.

wireless power transfer

A 20-kilowatt wireless charging system demonstrated at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has achieved 90 percent efficiency at three times the rate of the plug-in systems commonly used for electric vehicles today. This ability can help acc...

Fullerenes appear as small silver spheres spread consistently throughout a network of small molecules, or polymers, in this schematic illustration of the morphology of a BHJ film with solvent additives. Credit: ORNL.
Advances in ultrathin films have made solar panels and semiconductor devices more efficient and less costly, and researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory say they’ve found a way to manufacture the films more easily, too. Typically the films—used b...
Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Additive Manufacturing Integrated Energy  (AMIE) demonstration connects a 3D-printed building and vehicle to showcase a new approach to energy use, storage and consumption. Photo by Carlos Jones

A research demonstration unveiled today at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory combines clean energy technologies into a 3D-printed building and vehicle to showcase a new approach to energy use, storage and consumption. The Additive Manufactur...

Doug Abernathy, left, ARCS instrument scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Marc Janoschek, Los Alamos National Laboratory, prepare their sample for experiments at the Spallation Neutron Source.
Groundbreaking work at two Department of Energy national laboratories has confirmed plutonium’s magnetism, which scientists have long theorized but have never been able to experimentally observe. The advances that enabled the discovery hold great pro...
Default image of ORNL entry sign

Six researchers with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory received awards at this week's Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE) World Congress. Scott Sluder received SAE's Lloyd L. Withrow Distinguished Speaker Award, which ...

Default image of ORNL entry sign
Complex oxides have long tantalized the materials science community for their promise in next-generation energy and information technologies. Complex oxide crystals combine oxygen atoms with assorted metals to produce unusual and very desirable properties.
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The Spallation Neutron Source at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory broke records for sustained beam power level as well as for integrated energy and target lifetime in the month of June.