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The 2017 Molten Salt Reactor Workshop will continue to build on the success of the 2016 event, with numerous presentations on the current research and development on new MSR designs. Credit: Carlos Jones/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy

In response to the nuclear industry’s growing interest in molten salt reactors, Oak Ridge National Laboratory will bring together leading experts from around the world to discuss recent developments at its third annual MSR Workshop, October 3–4. This year’s theme will be key tech...

Used cooking oil can be converted into biofuel with carbon derived from recycled tires—a new method developed by an Oak Ridge National Laboratory-led research team.
Using a novel, reusable carbon material derived from old rubber tires, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory-led research team has developed a simple method to convert used cooking oil into biofuel.
A novel technique can help protect the innermost wall in a fusion reactor from the energy created when hydrogen isotopes are heated to temperatures hotter than the sun. Photo by General Atomics
Fusion scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as part of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility team at General Atomics, are studying an approach to insulate the reactor’s innermost wall that surrounds the burning plasma from the energy created when hydrogen isotopes are heated...
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory created a new catalyst production process that doubles the output of renewable BTX, a group of high-value chemicals used to produce soda bottles and tires.

A simplified catalyst production process developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory could double the output of high-value chemicals used in making materials found in soda bottles and tires. Scientists found that single gallium cations are the key to increasing production of ben...

Researchers predicted where lithium ions (green spheres) would pack and move in an open framework of epitaxially strained vanadium dioxide, depicted here by a stick model (oxygen-connecting bonds are red and vanadium-connecting bonds, turquoise).
An Oak Ridge National Laboratory–led team discovered that vanadium dioxide in a crystalline thin film makes an outstanding electrode for lithium-ion batteries. Theory and computation predicted a high capacity for lithium storage, which experiments confirmed with tests in coin c...
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A new manufacturing method created by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Rice University combines 3D printing with traditional casting to produce damage-tolerant components composed of multiple materials. Composite components made by pouring an aluminum alloy over a printed steel lattice showed an order of magnitude greater damage tolerance than aluminum alone.

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A new tool developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory can help homeowners and builders calculate energy loss when air leaks through a building’s envelope, the physical barrier separating the interior and exterior. Starting with specific building metrics, the calculator analyzes multiz...

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Using neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a research team captured a time-sensitive phenomenon to prove that the entropy, or randomness, of atoms in a metallic glass when exposed to intense heat is linked to how atoms self-configure versus their vibration. The large neutron flux of ORNL’s Wide Angular Range Chopper Spectrometer continuously recorded changes in the sample’s vibrations as the temperature slowly increased—a technique not possible a decade ago.
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Oak Ridge National Laboratory has partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop methods and algorithms to mine the VA’s health data more efficiently. The resulting novel, secure platform promises to improve the health and wellbeing of millions of veterans through better understanding of underlying causes of diseases and conditions, hereditary factors and health history.
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A new integrated computational model reduces uncertainty in climate predictions by bridging Earth systems with energy and economic models and large-scale human impact data. Co-developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the novel integrated Earth system model, or iESM, leverages the power of supercomputers, including ORNL’s Titan, to couple biospheric feedbacks from oceans, atmosphere and land with human activity, such as fossil fuel emissions, agriculture and land use.