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ORNL welcomed its first group of research fellows to join Innovation Crossroads, an entrepreneurial research and development program based at the lab.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory today welcomed the first cohort of innovators to join Innovation Crossroads, the Southeast region's first entrepreneurial research and development program based at a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory. Innovation Crossroads, ...

Predicting how forests and grasslands might respond to environmental change could become more precise thanks to a new method co-developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Florida State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Predicting how ecosystems might respond to environmental change could become more precise thanks to a new method known as a process sensitivity index developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Florida State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Scientists use simulatio...
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Five small companies have been selected to partner with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to move technologies in commercial refrigeration systems, water power generation, bioenergy and battery manufacturing

Quick coatings

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using the precision of an electron beam to instantly adhere cathode coatings for lithium-ion batteries—a leap in efficiency that saves energy, reduces production and capital costs, and eliminates the use of toxic solvents.

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists created an approach to get a better look at plant cell wall characteristics at high resolution as they create more efficient, less costly methods to deconstruct biomass.
This graphene nanoribbon was made bottom-up from a molecular precursor. Nanoribbon width and edge effects influence electronic behavior. Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
A new way to grow narrow ribbons of graphene, a lightweight and strong structure of single-atom-thick carbon atoms linked into hexagons, may address a shortcoming that has prevented the material from achieving its full potential in electronic applications. Graphene n...
ORNL’s Xiahan Sang unambiguously resolved the atomic structure of MXene, a 2D material promising for energy storage, catalysis and electronic conductivity. Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy; photographer Carlos Jones

Researchers have long sought electrically conductive materials for economical energy-storage devices. Two-dimensional (2D) ceramics called MXenes are contenders. Unlike most 2D ceramics, MXenes have inherently good conductivity because they are molecular sheets made from the carbides ...

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HTS International Corporation and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have signed an agreement to explore potential collaborations in advanced manufacturing research.

Depicted at left, small nanoparticles stick to segments of polymer chain that are about the same size as the nanoparticles themselves; these interactions produce a polymer nanocomposite that is easier to process because nanoparticles move fast, quickly ma
Polymer nanocomposites mix particles billionths of a meter (nanometers, nm) in diameter with polymers, which are long molecular chains. Often used to make injection-molded products, they are common in automobiles, fire retardants, packaging materials, drug-delivery systems, medical devices, coatings, adhesives, sensors, membranes and consumer goods.
A study led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory subjected tungsten to low energies, akin to normal operations of a fusion reactor (left), and high energies emulating plasma disruptions (right).
A fusion reactor is essentially a magnetic bottle containing the same processes that occur in the sun. Deuterium and tritium fuels fuse to form a vapor of helium ions, neutrons and heat. As this hot, ionized gas—called plasma—burns, that heat is transferred to water t...