Katy Bradford: Cassette approach offers compelling construction solution
A team led by scientists at ORNL identified and demonstrated a method to process a plant-based material called nanocellulose that reduced energy needs by a whopping 21%, using simulations on the lab’s supercomputers and follow-on analysis.
ORNL is working with industry partners to develop a technique that combines 3D printing and conventional machining to produce large metal parts for clean energy applications. The project, known as Rapid Research on Universal Near Net Shape Fabrication Strategies for Expedited Runner Systems, or Rapid RUNNERS, recently received $15 million in funding from DOE.
Flexcon Global has exclusively licensed two patented inventions to manufacture a self-healing barrier film from ORNL for research and development purposes. The film can be incorporated into vacuum insulation panels to increase the efficiency of buildings during retrofits. Under a cooperative research and development agreement that began in 2021, Flexcon and ORNL have been exploring the capabilities of the technology and fine-tuning its properties.
Seven entrepreneurs comprise the next cohort of Innovation Crossroads, a DOE Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program node based at ORNL. The program provides energy-related startup founders from across the nation with access to ORNL’s unique scientific resources and capabilities, as well as connect them with experts, mentors and networks to accelerate their efforts to take their world-changing ideas to the marketplace.
Vanderbilt University and ORNL announced a partnership to develop training, testing and evaluation methods that will accelerate the Department of Defense’s adoption of AI-based systems in operational environments.
ORNL researchers have produced the most comprehensive power outage dataset ever compiled for the United States. This dataset, showing electricity outages from 2014-22 in the 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, details outages at 15-minute intervals for up to 92% of customers for the eight-year period.
Four ORNL teams and one researcher were recognized for excellence in technology transfer and technology transfer innovation.
Four researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been named ORNL Corporate Fellows in recognition of significant career accomplishments and continued leadership in their scientific fields.
Four scientists affiliated with ORNL were named Battelle Distinguished Inventors during the lab’s annual Innovation Awards on Dec. 1 in recognition of being granted 14 or more United States patents.
Researchers at ORNL have been leading a project to understand how a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, could threaten power plants.