Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Clean Energy (31)
- (-) Computer Science (1)
- Biology and Environment (11)
- Computational Engineering (1)
- Fusion and Fission (11)
- Fusion Energy (2)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Isotopes (2)
- Materials (43)
- Materials Characterization (1)
- Materials for Computing (5)
- Materials Under Extremes (1)
- National Security (7)
- Neutron Science (18)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (4)
- Sensors and Controls (1)
- Supercomputing (16)
News Topics
- (-) Biomedical (3)
- (-) Decarbonization (10)
- (-) Fusion (1)
- (-) Grid (9)
- (-) Materials Science (12)
- (-) Security (3)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (28)
- Advanced Reactors (3)
- Artificial Intelligence (5)
- Big Data (1)
- Bioenergy (14)
- Biology (5)
- Biotechnology (2)
- Buildings (8)
- Chemical Sciences (10)
- Clean Water (1)
- Climate Change (6)
- Composites (5)
- Computer Science (11)
- Coronavirus (4)
- Critical Materials (4)
- Cybersecurity (4)
- Energy Storage (27)
- Environment (13)
- Exascale Computing (2)
- Fossil Energy (1)
- Frontier (1)
- High-Performance Computing (2)
- Isotopes (1)
- Machine Learning (4)
- Materials (17)
- Mercury (1)
- Microscopy (4)
- Molten Salt (1)
- Nanotechnology (5)
- National Security (4)
- Net Zero (1)
- Neutron Science (7)
- Nuclear Energy (4)
- Partnerships (8)
- Physics (1)
- Polymers (5)
- Quantum Science (3)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Simulation (1)
- Summit (2)
- Sustainable Energy (24)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (3)
- Transportation (17)
Media Contacts
![A team led by Raymond Borges Hink has developed a method using blockchain to protect communications between electronic devices in the electric grid, preventing cyberattacks and cascading blackouts. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-11/Blockchain%20Raymond%20portrait.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=g5Hnz0h2)
Although blockchain is best known for securing digital currency payments, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using it to track a different kind of exchange: It’s the first time blockchain has ever been used to validate communication among devices on the electric grid.
![Researchers from ORNL and Argonne National Laboratory will work with Wabtec, a leading manufacturer of freight locomotives, to develop the hardware and control strategies for a single cylinder, dual-fuel engine to demonstrate the viability of using alternative fuels for locomotives. The team’s goal is to reduce carbon emissions from the roughly 25,000 locomotives already in use in North America. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-11/wabtec1_0.png?h=5185f460&itok=TJdoI7Ek)
As the United States shifts away from fossil-fuel-burning cars and trucks, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories are exploring options for another form of transportation: trains. The research focuses on zero-carbon hydrogen and other low-carbon fuels as viable alternatives to diesel for the rail industry.
![From left, Michael Starke, Steven Campbell and Madhu Chinthavali of ORNL discuss the configuration of the power electronics hub demonstrated with hardware in the low-voltage lab at GRID-C. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/Power%20electronics%20hub_0_0.jpg?h=eb3f9682&itok=hkr9h1KF)
Researchers at ORNL recently demonstrated a new technology to better control how power flows to and from commercial buildings equipped with solar, wind or other renewable energy generation.
![Solar panels funded by the Honnold Foundation are installed in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico. Credit: Fabio Andrade](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/grid-thumb2.jpg?h=252f27fa&itok=p9gjQHsR)
When Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico in 2017, winds snapped trees and destroyed homes, while heavy rains transformed streets into rivers. But after the storm passed, the human toll continued to grow as residents struggled without electricity for months. Five years later, power outages remain long and frequent.
![ORNL’s Valentino Cooper will direct a new DOE Energy Frontier Research Center focused on polymer electrolytes for solid-state batteries. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/polymer_0_thumbnail.png?h=6d5d7bb8&itok=nNggv-oK)
ORNL has been selected to lead an Energy Frontier Research Center, or EFRC, focused on polymer electrolytes for next-generation energy storage devices such as fuel cells and solid-state electric vehicle batteries.
![ORNL researchers are perfecting ways to use drones to check remote parts of the electric grid for dangerous electrical arcing that could start wildfires. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-08/drone%20pic%202_0.jpg?h=4362216e&itok=3gcxVXPE)
As climate change leads to larger and more frequent wildfires, researchers at ORNL are using sensors, drones and machine learning to both prevent fires and reduce their damage to the electric grid.
![MDF Exterior](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-06/2021-p07609.jpg?h=be3e4b3a&itok=YfKK7Wy2)
ORNL scientists will present new technologies available for licensing during the annual Technology Innovation Showcase. The event is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, June 16, at the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at ORNL’s Hardin Valley campus.
![High voltage power lines carry electricity generated by the Tennessee Valley Authority to ORNL. Credit: Dobie Gillispie/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-02/Powerlines_resized.jpg?h=c74750f6&itok=33NqDqGh)
ORNL and the Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA, are joining forces to advance decarbonization technologies from discovery through deployment through a new memorandum of understanding, or MOU.
![Merlin Theodore, advanced fibers manufacturing group leader and Tuskegee University alumna, will guide Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s collaboration with the university, through which students and researchers work together to advance the development of bioderived materials. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-11/2021-P04421_0.jpg?h=1179591c&itok=O2sIYP11)
ORNL and Tuskegee University have formed a partnership to develop new biodegradable materials for use in buildings, transportation and biomedical applications.
![ORNL researchers are examining ways to increase the amount of carbon sequestered in soils by crops such as switchgrass. Credit: Jason Richards/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-09/2015-P02828_1.jpg?h=8554020e&itok=ZcgvTyQI)
Nearly a billion acres of land in the United States is dedicated to agriculture, producing more than a trillion dollars of food products to feed the country and the world. Those same agricultural processes, however, also produced an estimated 700 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.