Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Materials (85)
- (-) Neutron Science (28)
- Advanced Manufacturing (5)
- Biology and Environment (20)
- Building Technologies (1)
- Clean Energy (77)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (1)
- Computational Biology (1)
- Computational Engineering (3)
- Computer Science (13)
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (1)
- Fusion and Fission (14)
- Fusion Energy (10)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Isotopes (3)
- Materials Characterization (1)
- Materials for Computing (15)
- Materials Under Extremes (1)
- Mathematics (1)
- National Security (14)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (12)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Quantum information Science (4)
- Supercomputing (58)
- Transportation Systems (2)
News Type
News Topics
- (-) Advanced Reactors (2)
- (-) Biomedical (11)
- (-) Computer Science (12)
- (-) Fusion (5)
- (-) Materials Science (59)
- (-) Molten Salt (3)
- (-) Nanotechnology (31)
- (-) Transportation (13)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (21)
- Artificial Intelligence (5)
- Big Data (1)
- Bioenergy (11)
- Biology (8)
- Biotechnology (1)
- Buildings (3)
- Chemical Sciences (25)
- Clean Water (1)
- Climate Change (5)
- Composites (7)
- Coronavirus (8)
- Critical Materials (13)
- Cybersecurity (4)
- Decarbonization (6)
- Energy Storage (29)
- Environment (11)
- Exascale Computing (1)
- Frontier (3)
- Grid (2)
- High-Performance Computing (3)
- Isotopes (7)
- ITER (1)
- Machine Learning (2)
- Materials (54)
- Microscopy (18)
- National Security (3)
- Net Zero (1)
- Neutron Science (65)
- Nuclear Energy (7)
- Partnerships (8)
- Physics (18)
- Polymers (12)
- Quantum Computing (2)
- Quantum Science (13)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Security (2)
- Space Exploration (3)
- Summit (4)
- Sustainable Energy (11)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (1)
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.
![Conceptual art depicts machine learning finding an ideal material for capacitive energy storage. Its carbon framework (black) has functional groups with oxygen (pink) and nitrogen (turquoise). Credit: Tao Wang/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/Press%20release%20image_0.jpg?h=706c9a24&itok=zX1lC5ud)
Guided by machine learning, chemists at ORNL designed a record-setting carbonaceous supercapacitor material that stores four times more energy than the best commercial material.
![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.
![When exposed to radiation, electrons produced within molten zinc chloride, or ZnCl2, can be observed in three distinct singly occupied molecular orbital states, plus a more diffuse, delocalized state. Credit: Hung H. Nguyen/University of Iowa](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/bernard-wide_0.png?h=dba5e3ef&itok=DgnYZ_Vy)
In a finding that helps elucidate how molten salts in advanced nuclear reactors might behave, scientists have shown how electrons interacting with the ions of the molten salt can form three states with different properties. Understanding these states can help predict the impact of radiation on the performance of salt-fueled reactors.
![Connecting wires to the interface of the topological insulator and superconductor enables probing of novel electronic properties. Researchers aim for qubits based on theorized Majorana particles. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/2023-P04516.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=BoCZtfwR)
Quantum computers process information using quantum bits, or qubits, based on fragile, short-lived quantum mechanical states. To make qubits robust and tailor them for applications, researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory sought to create a new material system.
![Oak Ridge National Laboratory entrance sign](/themes/custom/ornl/images/default-thumbnail.jpg)
The Department of Energy’s Office of Science has selected three ORNL research teams to receive funding through DOE’s new Biopreparedness Research Virtual Environment initiative.
![TIP graphic](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/TIPbg_1200.png?h=da33fe38&itok=y7ggwHLV)
Scientist-inventors from ORNL will present seven new technologies during the Technology Innovation Showcase on Friday, July 14, from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Joint Institute for Computational Sciences on ORNL’s campus.
![A new method to control quantum states in a material is shown. The electric field induces polarization switching of the ferroelectric substrate, resulting in different magnetic and topological states. Credit: Mina Yoon, Fernando Reboredo, Jacquelyn DeMink/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/pnglbernardstorytip.png?h=d1cb525d&itok=NOT32zpa)
An advance in a topological insulator material — whose interior behaves like an electrical insulator but whose surface behaves like a conductor — could revolutionize the fields of next-generation electronics and quantum computing, according to scientists at ORNL.
![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.
![UKAEA will provide novel fusion materials to be irradiated in ORNL’s HFIR facility over the next four years. From left, Kathy McCarthy, Jeremy Busby, Mickey Wade, Prof Sir Ian Chapman (UKAEA CEO), Cynthia Jenks and Yutai Kato will represent this new partnership. Not pictured: Dr. Amanda Quadling, UKAEA’s Director of Materials Research Facility. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-03/ukaea_0.png?h=781886b5&itok=8TMsXYxx)
ORNL has entered a strategic research partnership with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, or UKAEA, to investigate how different types of materials behave under the influence of high-energy neutron sources. The $4 million project is part of UKAEA's roadmap program, which aims to produce electricity from fusion.