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Media Contacts
![A small droplet of water is suspended in midair via an electrostatic levitator that lifts charged particles using an electric field that counteracts gravity. Credit: Iowa State University/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/droplet.png?h=ddb1ad0c&itok=3nblnUcm)
How do you get water to float in midair? With a WAND2, of course. But it’s hardly magic. In fact, it’s a scientific device used by scientists to study matter.
![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 seismic researcher Chengping Chai placed seismic sensors on the ground at various distances from an ORNL nuclear reactor to learn whether they could detect its operating state. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/2023-P03398.jpg?h=3e43625b&itok=TXK8tthh)
Like most scientists, Chengping Chai is not content with the surface of things: He wants to probe beyond to learn what’s really going on. But in his case, he is literally building a map of the world beneath, using seismic and acoustic data that reveal when and where the earth moves.
![ORNL and Enginuity researchers proved that a micro combined heat and power prototype, or mCHP, with an opposed piston engine can achieve more than 93% overall energy efficiency. The environmentally friendly mCHP can replace a back-up generator or traditional hot water heater. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Department of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-06/storytipjb.png?h=ddb1ad0c&itok=0ZTdSit5)
ORNL researchers, in collaboration with Enginuity Power Systems, demonstrated that a micro combined heat and power prototype, or mCHP, with a piston engine can achieve an overall energy efficiency greater than 93%.
![New manufacturing process produces better, cheaper cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-12/battery.cathode.illust_1.jpg?h=7b747668&itok=LCfeMjz9)
Researchers at ORNL have developed a new method for producing a key component of lithium-ion batteries. The result is a more affordable battery from a faster, less wasteful process that uses less toxic material.
![ORNL postdoctoral researcher Runming Tao, pictured with a coin cell battery, led an effort to discover new anode materials for fast-charging lithium-ion batteries. Credit: ORNL/Genevieve Martin, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-09/2022-P09174.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=C8xoI7J4)
Researchers at ORNL and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, discovered a key material needed for fast-charging lithium-ion batteries. The commercially relevant approach opens a potential pathway to improve charging speeds for electric vehicles.
![The ORNL researchers’ findings may enable better detection of uranium tetrafluoride hydrate, a little-studied byproduct of the nuclear fuel cycle, and better understanding of how environmental conditions influence the chemical behavior of fuel cycle materials. Credit: Kevin Pastoor/Colorado School of Mines](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2022-05/UF4%20hydrate.png?h=d318f057&itok=spT-Dg48)
ORNL researchers used the nation’s fastest supercomputer to map the molecular vibrations of an important but little-studied uranium compound produced during the nuclear fuel cycle for results that could lead to a cleaner, safer world.
![Mars Rover 2020](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-03/Mars_0.jpg?h=c44fcfa1&itok=gSstQOJO)
More than 50 current employees and recent retirees from ORNL received Department of Energy Secretary’s Honor Awards from Secretary Jennifer Granholm in January as part of project teams spanning the national laboratory system. The annual awards recognized 21 teams and three individuals for service and contributions to DOE’s mission and to the benefit of the nation.
![An algorithm developed and field-tested by ORNL researchers uses machine learning to maintain homeowners’ preferred temperatures year-round while minimizing energy costs. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-07/2019-P07408_2.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=jBvKdqIv)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers designed and field-tested an algorithm that could help homeowners maintain comfortable temperatures year-round while minimizing utility costs.
![ORNL’s Sergei Kalinin and Rama Vasudevan (foreground) use scanning probe microscopy to study bulk ferroelectricity and surface electrochemistry -- and generate a lot of data. Credit: Jason Richards/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-05/KalininVasudevan_2017-P03014_0.jpg?h=1116cd87&itok=KEEOB4hi)
At the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, scientists use artificial intelligence, or AI, to accelerate the discovery and development of materials for energy and information technologies.