Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Materials (39)
- (-) National Security (3)
- (-) Neutron Science (6)
- Advanced Manufacturing (13)
- Biology and Environment (12)
- Building Technologies (1)
- Clean Energy (75)
- Computational Engineering (1)
- Computer Science (6)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (2)
- Energy Sciences (1)
- Functional Materials for Energy (2)
- Fusion and Fission (11)
- Fusion Energy (6)
- Isotopes (1)
- Materials for Computing (6)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (5)
- Quantum information Science (4)
- Sensors and Controls (1)
- Supercomputing (13)
News Type
News Topics
- (-) 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (12)
- (-) Chemical Sciences (12)
- (-) Energy Storage (19)
- (-) Fusion (6)
- (-) Grid (3)
- (-) Machine Learning (2)
- (-) Molten Salt (2)
- (-) Quantum Science (4)
- Advanced Reactors (5)
- Artificial Intelligence (4)
- Big Data (2)
- Bioenergy (7)
- Biology (4)
- Biomedical (4)
- Buildings (2)
- Clean Water (1)
- Climate Change (3)
- Composites (5)
- Computer Science (8)
- Coronavirus (2)
- Critical Materials (6)
- Cybersecurity (5)
- Decarbonization (2)
- Environment (7)
- Frontier (2)
- High-Performance Computing (2)
- Irradiation (1)
- Isotopes (4)
- ITER (1)
- Materials (38)
- Materials Science (35)
- Microscopy (14)
- Nanotechnology (19)
- National Security (4)
- Neutron Science (33)
- Nuclear Energy (8)
- Partnerships (3)
- Physics (7)
- Polymers (8)
- Quantum Computing (2)
- Security (3)
- Simulation (1)
- Space Exploration (3)
- Summit (1)
- Sustainable Energy (7)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (1)
- Transportation (11)
Media Contacts
![Caption: Jaswinder Sharma makes battery coin cells with a lightweight current collector made of thin layers of aligned carbon fibers in a polymer with carbon nanotubes. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2024-01/sharma1_1.jpg?h=f7dae89e&itok=JiSsMewF)
Electric vehicles can drive longer distances if their lithium-ion batteries deliver more energy in a lighter package. A prime weight-loss candidate is the current collector, a component that often adds 10% to the weight of a battery cell without contributing energy.
![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.
![ORNL researchers have developed a new pressing method, shown as blue circle on right, that produces a more uniform solid electrolyte than the traditionally processed material with more voids, shown as gray circle on left. The material can be integrated into a battery system, center, for improved stability and rate performance. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/Electrolyte.StoryTip_0.png?h=b6717701&itok=PIYcf5iS)
ORNL scientists found that a small tweak created big performance improvements in a type of solid-state battery, a technology considered vital to broader electric vehicle adoption.
![Rigoberto Advincula](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2020-P08153.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=J1Xib1hr)
Rigoberto Advincula, a renowned scientist at ORNL and professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Tennessee, has won the Netzsch North American Thermal Analysis Society Fellows Award 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.
![Benjamin Manard](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-03/2021-P08330%5B11%5D_0.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=x99Uqpen)
Benjamin Manard has been named to the editorial board of Applied Spectroscopy Practica, serving as an associate editor.
![Even small movements of hydrogen, shown in yellow, were found to cause large energy shifts in the attached iron atoms, shown in silver, which could be of interest in creating novel chemical reactions. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-02/Feb_nscd_storytip_1.png?h=b69e0e0e&itok=kwLq6_Wl)
Researchers from Yale University and ORNL collaborated on neutron scattering experiments to study hydrogen atom locations and their effects on iron in a compound similar to those commonly used in industrial catalysts.
![Researchers observe T-shaped cluster drives lanthanide separation system during liquid-liquid extraction. Credit: Alex Ivanov/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-02/image_1.png?h=b69e0e0e&itok=1tyDrWMw)
Researchers at ORNL zoomed in on molecules designed to recover critical materials via liquid-liquid extraction — a method used by industry to separate chemically similar elements.
![State and Local Economic Development Award](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-01/FLCAward3_thumbnail.png?h=d1cb525d&itok=FKj_T8JY)
A partnership of ORNL, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee and TVA that aims to attract nuclear energy-related firms to Oak Ridge has been recognized with a state and local economic development award from the Federal Laboratory Consortium.
![Researchers captured atomic-level insights on the rare-earth mineral monazite to inform future design of flotation collector molecules, illustrated above, that can aid in the recovery of critical materials. Credit: Chad Malone/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-01/float.jpg?h=60f9f39d&itok=i2CRqyBK)
Critical Materials Institute researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Arizona State University studied the mineral monazite, an important source of rare-earth elements, to enhance methods of recovering critical materials for energy, defense and manufacturing applications.