Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Fusion and Fission (17)
- (-) Isotopes (3)
- Advanced Manufacturing (2)
- Biology and Environment (18)
- Biology and Soft Matter (1)
- Clean Energy (40)
- Computational Engineering (2)
- Computer Science (7)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (2)
- Fusion Energy (11)
- Materials (22)
- Materials for Computing (4)
- Mathematics (1)
- National Security (14)
- Neutron Science (9)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (14)
- Quantum information Science (7)
- Sensors and Controls (1)
- Supercomputing (27)
News Type
News Topics
- (-) Chemical Sciences (3)
- (-) Fusion (14)
- (-) Grid (1)
- (-) Space Exploration (3)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (3)
- Advanced Reactors (3)
- Artificial Intelligence (1)
- Bioenergy (1)
- Biomedical (4)
- Buildings (1)
- Composites (1)
- Computer Science (1)
- Critical Materials (1)
- Decarbonization (1)
- Energy Storage (3)
- Environment (2)
- Exascale Computing (1)
- Frontier (1)
- High-Performance Computing (2)
- Irradiation (1)
- Isotopes (18)
- ITER (4)
- Materials (3)
- Materials Science (1)
- National Security (1)
- Net Zero (1)
- Nuclear Energy (19)
- Partnerships (1)
- Physics (1)
- Security (1)
- Simulation (2)
- Sustainable Energy (3)
- Transportation (1)
Media Contacts
![Howard Wilson and Gary Staebler](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-12/Wilson-Staebler_0.png?h=ca9e32dd&itok=fLUb03Ia)
Two fusion energy leaders have joined ORNL in the Fusion and Fission Energy and Science Directorate, or FFESD.
![INFUSE logo](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-12/infuse_logo-011_0_0.jpeg?h=855b71fd&itok=vmDC02PO)
ORNL is leading three research collaborations with fusion industry partners through the Innovation Network for FUSion Energy, or INFUSE, program that will focus on resolving technical challenges and developing innovative solutions to make practical fusion energy a reality.
![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.
![: This schematic of tokamak core-pedestal-boundary regions show what will be simulated by an ORNL project applying machine learning to plasma physics modeling. Credit: Giacomin et al., J. Comput. Phys., 463, (2022) 111294, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2022.11294](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/Fusion%20tokamak%20simulator.png?h=e1e3aba4&itok=kiVnri5A)
ORNL will lead three new DOE-funded projects designed to bring fusion energy to the grid on a rapid timescale.
![Plutonium oxide is loaded onto a truck for shipping. Adam Parkison/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/PXL_20230620_120836896_0.jpg?h=2848f5af&itok=Nh31DLuy)
In June, ORNL hit a milestone not seen in more than three decades: producing a production-quality amount of plutonium-238
![Leigh R. Martin, a senior scientist and leader of the Fuel Cycle Chemical Technology group at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, or ACS, for 2023.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-08/2023-P02991_0.jpg?h=4a7d1ed4&itok=bFEbccYj)
Leigh R. Martin, a senior scientist and leader of the Fuel Cycle Chemical Technology group at ORNL, has been named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society for 2023.
![Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered a tug-of-war strategy to enhance chemical separations needed to recover critical materials. Credit: Alex Ivanov/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-04/lanthanide.png?h=41c68e13&itok=KvT1ZLJo)
ORNL scientists combined two ligands, or metal-binding molecules, to target light and heavy lanthanides simultaneously for exceptionally efficient separation.
![Phil Snyder](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-04/snyder.png?h=17c3cd98&itok=1HuorVwS)
When virtually unlimited energy from fusion becomes a reality on Earth, Phil Snyder and his team will have had a hand in making it happen.
![ORNL fusion technology scientist Tim Bigelow, right, stands near the control console in ORNL’s fusion control room with Matt Houde of Quaise Energy. Their partnership aims to tackle technical challenges with the Millimeter Wave Drilling System that Quaise has developed. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/fusion-thumb.jpg?h=06ac0d8c&itok=QDFJEG_G)
Researchers in the geothermal energy industry are joining forces with fusion experts at ORNL to repurpose gyrotron technology, a tool used in fusion. Gyrotrons produce high-powered microwaves to heat up fusion plasmas.
![ORNL’s Bruce Pint, left, and Marie Romedenne review experiment results. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/Fusion_Picture2_0.png?h=1758acef&itok=gnrd0IJV)
Practical fusion energy is not just a dream at ORNL. Experts in fusion and material science are working together to develop solutions that will make a fusion pilot plant — and ultimately carbon-free, abundant fusion electricity — possible.