Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Clean Energy (139)
- (-) Energy Frontier Research Centers (1)
- (-) Functional Materials for Energy (2)
- (-) National Security (24)
- Advanced Manufacturing (2)
- Biology and Environment (76)
- Biology and Soft Matter (1)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (3)
- Computational Biology (1)
- Computational Engineering (2)
- Computer Science (7)
- Electricity and Smart Grid (3)
- Energy Sciences (1)
- Fuel Cycle Science and Technology (1)
- Fusion and Fission (32)
- Fusion Energy (12)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Isotopes (5)
- Materials (119)
- Materials for Computing (13)
- Mathematics (1)
- Neutron Science (38)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (40)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (2)
- Quantum information Science (2)
- Sensors and Controls (1)
- Supercomputing (73)
News Topics
- (-) Advanced Reactors (7)
- (-) Big Data (11)
- (-) Climate Change (25)
- (-) Coronavirus (14)
- (-) Energy Storage (73)
- (-) Grid (44)
- (-) Mercury (3)
- (-) Nanotechnology (10)
- (-) Nuclear Energy (11)
- (-) Physics (2)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (80)
- Artificial Intelligence (19)
- Bioenergy (28)
- Biology (14)
- Biomedical (7)
- Biotechnology (5)
- Buildings (36)
- Chemical Sciences (14)
- Clean Water (8)
- Composites (17)
- Computer Science (41)
- Critical Materials (9)
- Cybersecurity (25)
- Decarbonization (34)
- Environment (59)
- Exascale Computing (2)
- Fossil Energy (2)
- Frontier (2)
- Fusion (2)
- High-Performance Computing (10)
- Hydropower (2)
- Isotopes (1)
- Machine Learning (18)
- Materials (37)
- Materials Science (29)
- Mathematics (2)
- Microelectronics (1)
- Microscopy (8)
- Molten Salt (1)
- National Security (36)
- Net Zero (3)
- Neutron Science (15)
- Partnerships (15)
- Polymers (11)
- Quantum Science (3)
- Renewable Energy (1)
- Security (15)
- Simulation (4)
- Space Exploration (3)
- Statistics (1)
- Summit (6)
- Sustainable Energy (69)
- Transformational Challenge Reactor (3)
- Transportation (67)
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.
![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.
![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.
![ORNL’s Climate Change Science Institute and Georgia Tech co-hosted a Southeast Decarbonization Workshop in November 2023. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/GaWorkshop_Decarb_Nov2023.jpg?h=71976bb4&itok=2CsciglE)
ORNL's Climate Change Science Institute and the Georgia Institute of Technology hosted a Southeast Decarbonization Workshop in November that drew scientists and representatives from government, industry, non-profits and other organizations to
![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.
![An electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, can be triggered by a nuclear explosion in the atmosphere or by an electromagnetic generator in a vehicle or aircraft. Here’s the chain of reactions it could cause to harm electrical equipment on the ground. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-11/EMP_illust04_0.png?h=21cd0a81&itok=M9UNd-n0)
Researchers at ORNL have been leading a project to understand how a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, could threaten power plants.
![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.
![Steven Campbell’s technical expertise supports integration of power electronics innovations from ORNL labs to the electrical grid. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/2023-P00223_0.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=59Rnwcd-)
Steven Campbell can often be found deep among tall cases of power electronics, hunkered in his oversized blue lab coat, with 1500 volts of electricity flowing above his head. When interrupted in his laboratory at ORNL, Campbell will usually smile and duck his head.
![ORNL researcher Sreenivasa Jaldanki was recently elevated to IEEE senior member. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-10/Jaldanki_0.jpg?h=036a71b7&itok=m0irC_6f)
Sreenivasa Jaldanki, a researcher in the Grid Systems Modeling and Controls group at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was recently elevated to senior membership in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE.
![ORNL’s David Sholl is director of the new DOE Energy Earthshot Non-Equilibrium Energy Transfer for Efficient Reactions center to help decarbonize the industrial chemical industry. Credit: Genevieve Martin, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-09/2021-P04915.David_.Sholl_.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=qT7ZMJX2)
ORNL has been selected to lead an Energy Earthshot Research Center, or EERC, focused on developing chemical processes that use sustainable methods instead of burning fossil fuels to radically reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions to stem climate change and limit the crisis of a rapidly warming planet.