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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.
![Researchers have shown how an all-solid lithium-based electrolyte material can be used to develop fast charging, long-range batteries for electric vehicles that are also safer than conventional designs. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/Lui_solid_state_0.png?h=27870e4a&itok=hd5IA-bH)
Currently, the biggest hurdle for electric vehicles, or EVs, is the development of advanced battery technology to extend driving range, safety and reliability.
![: 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.
![The DEMAND single crystal diffractometer at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, or HFIR, is the latest neutron instrument at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to be equipped with machine learning-assisted software, called ReTIA. Credit: Jeremy Rumsey/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/DEMAND%20thumbnail%20image_0.jpg?h=c673cd1c&itok=5YAVwaP6)
Neutron experiments can take days to complete, requiring researchers to work long shifts to monitor progress and make necessary adjustments. But thanks to advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, experiments can now be done remotely and in half the time.
![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.
![Ilias Belharouak, Grace Burke and Phil Snyder represent ORNL’s strengths in battery technology, materials science and fusion energy research.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-12/22-G04341_Corporate-Fellows-photos.jpg?h=e91a75a9&itok=skT1h7xu)
Three researchers at ORNL have been named ORNL Corporate Fellows in recognition of significant career accomplishments and continued leadership in their scientific fields.
![This diagram demonstrates how a concentrating solar thermal plant could use molten salts to store solar energy that could later be used to generate electricity. Credit: Jaimee Janiga/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/2022-G02085_Mcfarlane_ReducingSaltsCorrosiveEffect_STFIG_7nj_ForReview_Equipment%20v2_txt_0.jpg?h=995a696e&itok=bT3iWSgL)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists recently demonstrated a low-temperature, safe route to purifying molten chloride salts that minimizes their ability to corrode metals. This method could make the salts useful for storing energy generated from the sun’s heat.
![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.