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Media Contacts
![ORNL’s Josh Michener, a microbiologist and metabolic engineer, led the discovery of a useful new enzyme that breaks down stubborn bonds in lignin, a polymer found in plants that typically becomes waste during bioconversion. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/2019-P05683_0.jpg?h=4c5cadcc&itok=FSVdbEYP)
In a step toward increasing the cost-effectiveness of renewable biofuels and bioproducts, scientists at ORNL discovered a microbial enzyme that degrades tough-to-break bonds in lignin, a waste product of biorefineries.
![Innovation Crossroads Cohort 5 includes left to right: Caleb Alexander, DayLyte Batteries; Sam Evans, Unbound Water Technologies; Tommy Gibbons, Hempitecture; Shuchi “SK” Khurana, Addiguru; Forrest Shriver, Sentinel Devices; and Philip Stuckey, FC Renew.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/Cohort5_comp.jpg?h=bfc3df63&itok=GvY2BEKg)
Six science and technology innovators from across the United States will join the fifth cohort of Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Innovation Crossroads program in June.
![Aviation contributes about 2.5% of global carbon dioxide emissions. To greatly reduce its emissions, the U.S. commercial aviation sector needs new methods of making sustainable aviation fuel. Credit: Ross Parmly/Unsplash](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/ross-parmly-rf6ywHVkrlY-unsplash_0.jpg?h=fee4874d&itok=BEdQYEQ2)
ORNL’s Zhenglong Li led a team tasked with improving the current technique for converting ethanol to C3+ olefins and demonstrated a unique composite catalyst that upends current practice and drives down costs. The research was published in ACS Catalysis.
![A research team led by ORNL’s Xiaohan Yang used a gene from agave to engineer higher yield, improved stress tolerance and greater carbon sequestration in tobacco plants. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/2019-P09831.jpg?h=39b94f55&itok=8O8d7xMb)
Scientists at ORNL have discovered a single gene that simultaneously boosts plant growth and tolerance for stresses such as drought and salt, all while tackling the root cause of climate change by enabling plants to pull more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
![ORNL researchers developed an innovative insulation system that uses sensors and controls to exchange heat or coolness between a building and its thermal energy storage system, which maximizes energy savings. Credit: Andrew Sproles and Michelle Lehman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/wall_drop_0.jpg?h=31aa1c7b&itok=-ORCW5_u)
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a novel envelope system that diverts heat or coolness away from a building and stores it for future use.
![ORNL’s green solvent enables environmentally friendly recycling of valuable Li-ion battery materials. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-06/metal_03.jpg?h=5510f2c5&itok=X9YPqOe5)
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a solvent that results in a more environmentally friendly process to recover valuable materials from used lithium-ion batteries, supports a stable domestic supply chain for new batteries
![L-R: ORNL’s Omer Onar and Veda Galigekere with the dynamic wireless charging test bed at ORNL’s Grid Research Integration and Deployment Center. Credit: Carlos Jones, ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-05/2021-P03094.jpg?h=67a66a08&itok=P9ygUoBW)
Consumer buy-in is key to the future of a decarbonized transportation sector in which electric vehicles largely replace today’s conventionally fueled cars and trucks.
![Scientists genetically engineered bacteria for itaconic acid production, creating dynamic controls that separate microbial growth and production phases for increased efficiency and acid yield. Credit: NREL](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-05/Putida_forAdam_2clr_2.jpg?h=71f44bf2&itok=8u0ZVufx)
A research team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory bioengineered a microbe to efficiently turn waste into itaconic acid, an industrial chemical used in plastics and paints.
![ORNL, in collaboration with Cincinnati, Inc., used the Big Area Additive Manufacturing machine to 3D print a mold made of recycled thermoplastic composite and syntactic foam, demonstrating the potential for multimaterials in large-scale applications. Credit: ORNL/U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-05/MM%20Mold_7_0.jpg?h=151f6e80&itok=DGoZAbvk)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers, in collaboration with Cincinnati Inc., demonstrated the potential for using multimaterials and recycled composites in large-scale applications by 3D printing a mold that replicated a single facet of a
![ORNL ecosystem scientist Colleen Iversen talked to fourth-grade students at Coulter Grove Intermediate School in Maryville on Friday, April 23, as part of National Environmental Education Week.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-04/Sciencetalk3_1.jpg?h=29234840&itok=wWaAJG05)
Esther Parish is one of eight scientists from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory talking to students in nine schools across East Tennessee as part of National Environmental Education Week, or EE Week.