Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Clean Energy (186)
- (-) Computer Science (11)
- (-) Materials for Computing (10)
- (-) National Security (29)
- Advanced Manufacturing (4)
- Biological Systems (2)
- Biology and Environment (132)
- Biology and Soft Matter (1)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (5)
- Computational Biology (1)
- Computational Engineering (3)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (1)
- Energy Sciences (1)
- Fuel Cycle Science and Technology (1)
- Functional Materials for Energy (2)
- Fusion and Fission (31)
- Fusion Energy (11)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Isotopes (5)
- Materials (87)
- Mathematics (1)
- Neutron Science (36)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (38)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Quantum information Science (9)
- Supercomputing (109)
- Transportation Systems (2)
News Topics
- (-) Bioenergy (28)
- (-) Energy Storage (73)
- (-) Environment (59)
- (-) Machine Learning (22)
- (-) Mercury (3)
- (-) Nuclear Energy (11)
- (-) Quantum Science (9)
- (-) Summit (8)
- (-) Transportation (69)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (82)
- Advanced Reactors (7)
- Artificial Intelligence (24)
- Big Data (15)
- Biology (14)
- Biomedical (8)
- Biotechnology (5)
- Buildings (36)
- Chemical Sciences (18)
- Clean Water (8)
- Climate Change (25)
- Composites (17)
- Computer Science (58)
- Coronavirus (17)
- Critical Materials (9)
- Cybersecurity (26)
- Decarbonization (34)
- Exascale Computing (3)
- Fossil Energy (2)
- Frontier (2)
- Fusion (2)
- Grid (45)
- High-Performance Computing (12)
- Hydropower (2)
- Isotopes (2)
- Materials (44)
- Materials Science (42)
- Mathematics (2)
- Microelectronics (1)
- Microscopy (12)
- Molten Salt (1)
- Nanotechnology (15)
- National Security (37)
- Net Zero (3)
- Neutron Science (20)
- Partnerships (15)
- Physics (2)
- Polymers (14)
- Quantum Computing (1)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Security (16)
- Simulation (4)
- Space Exploration (4)
- Statistics (1)
- Sustainable Energy (70)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (3)
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.
![ORNL intern Jack Orebaugh holds the drone used in his research to help locate human remains. Credit: Lena Shoemaker/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2024-01/jack.jpg?h=0261ddcd&itok=yZ9N5dAh)
Jack Orebaugh, a forensic anthropology major at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has a big heart for families with missing loved ones. When someone disappears in an area of dense vegetation, search and recovery efforts can be difficult, especially when a missing person’s last location is unknown. Recognizing the agony of not knowing what happened to a family or friend, Orebaugh decided to use his internship at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to find better ways to search for lost and deceased people using cameras and drones.
![Alexey Serov researches ways to improve hydrogen fuel cells and materials and the electrolysis process. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-12/2023-P14038.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=JCWAG0sI)
It would be a challenge for any scientist to match Alexey Serov’s rate of inventions related to green hydrogen fuel. But this researcher at ORNL has 84 patents with at least 35 more under review, so his electrifying pace is unlikely to slow down any time soon.
![A collaboration between Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Caterpillar Inc. will investigate using methanol as an alternative fuel source for marine vessels. Members of the research team kicked off the project with the installation of a 6-cylinder engine at the Department of Energy’s National Transportation Research Center at ORNL.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-12/2023-P19061%5B26%5D.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=F0MRmlmI)
ORNL and Caterpillar Inc. have entered into a cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, to investigate using methanol as an alternative fuel source for four-stroke internal combustion marine engines.
![Eric Nafziger, a technical staff member at the National Transportation Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Hardin Valley Campus, supports the installation of the largest alternative fuels research engines for marine and rail in the U.S. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-12/2023-P16593.jpeg?h=a73d1746&itok=jpdVXbUY)
Within the Department of Energy’s National Transportation Research Center at ORNL’s Hardin Valley Campus, scientists investigate engines designed to help the U.S. pivot to a clean mobility future.
![ORNL researchers are establishing a digital thread of data, algorithms and workflows to produce a continuously updated model of earth systems.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/MicrosoftTeams-image%20%2823%29_0.png?h=c6980913&itok=cK99Pg3y)
Digital twins are exactly what they sound like: virtual models of physical reality that continuously update to reflect changes in the real world.
![2023 Battelle Distinguished Inventors](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/23-G07641-Battelle-Distinguished-Inventor-graphic-pcg_0.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=uhmqAKgT)
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.
![ORNL researchers Lu Yu and Yaocai Bai examine vials that contain a chemical solution that causes the cobalt and lithium to separate from a spent battery, followed by a second stage when cobalt precipitates in the bottom. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/2023-P12386_0.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=CVJOHRVM)
Used lithium-ion batteries from cell phones, laptops and a growing number of electric vehicles are piling up, but options for recycling them remain limited mostly to burning or chemically dissolving shredded batteries.
![Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers took a connected and automated vehicle out of the virtual proving ground and onto a public road to determine energy savings when it is operated under predictive control strategies. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/CAV_image02_0.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=0cK78ri0)
ORNL researchers determined that a connected and automated vehicle, or CAV, traveling on a multilane highway with integrated traffic light timing control can maximize energy efficiency and achieve up to 27% savings.
![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.