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Media Contacts
![The sun sets behind the ORNL Visitor Center in this aerial photo from April 2023. Credit: Kase Clapp/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/sunset_visitor-center_0.png?h=10d202d3&itok=jLImPT0R)
In fiscal year 2023 — Oct. 1–Sept. 30, 2023 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory was awarded more than $8 million in technology maturation funding through the Department of Energy’s Technology Commercialization Fund, or TCF.
![As a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tugba Turnaoglu is investigating new thermal energy storage materials and ways to incorporate them into cost-effective and energy-efficient heat pump designs. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/2023-P11283.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=vr7C7cTK)
The common sounds in the background of daily life – like a refrigerator’s hum, an air conditioner’s whoosh and a heat pump’s buzz – often go unnoticed. These noises, however, are the heartbeat of a healthy building and integral for comfort and convenience.
![Jonathan Harter, a technical professional in ORNL’s Engineering Science and Technology Directorate, uses a robot and other automated methods to disassemble electric vehicle batteries for recycling or reuse in the electric grid. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/2021-P06328_0.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=elZeutaQ)
After being stabilized in an ambulance as he struggled to breathe, Jonathan Harter hit a low point. It was 2020, he was very sick with COVID-19, and his job as a lab technician at ORNL was ending along with his research funding.
![ORNL researchers found that a battery anode film, made by Navitas Systems using a dry process, was strong and flexible. These characteristics make a lithium-ion battery safer and more durable. Credit: Navitas Systems](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-07/Dry-Process%20Anode.horizontal.Navitas_0.jpg?h=86ae50b6&itok=zgdHv3Ls)
Early experiments at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have revealed significant benefits to a dry battery manufacturing process. This eliminates the use of solvents and is more affordable, while showing promise for delivering a battery that is durable, less weighed down by inactive elements, and able to maintain a high capacity after use.
![Mali Balasubramanian made a rewarding mid-career shift to focus on studying new battery materials and systems using X-ray spectroscopy and other methods. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/Balasubramanian.portrait_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=pK7rBnui)
Having passed the midpoint of his career, physicist Mali Balasubramanian was part of a tight-knit team at a premier research facility for X-ray spectroscopy. But then another position opened, at ORNL— one that would take him in a new direction.
![Leadership from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Energy Technology Laboratory signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly explore carbon management strategies in the Appalachian region. Credit: NETL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-03/mou-signing2_1.png?h=fa1c963e&itok=K2-vQvVo)
ORNL is teaming with the National Energy Technology Laboratory to jointly explore a range of technology innovations for carbon management and strategies for economic development and sustainable energy transitions in the Appalachian region.