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Dmytro Bykov, left, and Hector Corzo participate in a value proposition development exercise as part Energy I-Corps

Two ORNL teams recently completed Cohort 18 of Energy I-Corps, an immersive two-month training program where the scientists define their technology’s value propositions, conduct stakeholder discovery interviews and develop viable market pathways.

Researcher Brittany Rodriguez works with an ORNL-developed Additive Manufacturing/Compression Molding system that 3D prints large-scale, high-volume parts made from lightweight composites. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Brittany Rodriguez never imagined she would pursue a science career at a Department of Energy national laboratory. However, after some encouraging words from her mother, input from key mentors at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, or UTRGV, and a lot of hard work, Rodriguez landed at DOE’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, or MDF, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Rectangular box being lifted by a red pully system up the left side of the building

Researchers at ORNL and the University of Maine have designed and 3D-printed a single-piece, recyclable natural-material floor panel tested to be strong enough to replace construction materials like steel. 

Green, two-story house is being assembled with the help of a yellow crane.

Building innovations from ORNL will be on display in Washington, D.C. on the National Mall June 7 to June 9, 2024, during the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Innovation Housing Showcase. For the first time, ORNL’s real-time building evaluator was demonstrated outside of a laboratory setting and deployed for building construction. 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Sachin Nimbalkar, left, and Thomas Wenning guide energy-saving training activities for industry during Energy Bootcamps, hosted by DOE’s Better Plants program. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Helping hundreds of manufacturing industries and water-power facilities across the U.S. increase energy efficiency requires a balance of teaching and training, blended with scientific guidance and technical expertise. It’s a formula for success that ORNL researchers have been providing to DOE’s Better Plants Program for more than a decade.

As a chemical engineer focusing on low-carbon energy sources like hydrogen, Cheekatamarla’s research at ORNL supports the deployment of clean energy technologies in buildings and industries. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Cheekatamarla is a researcher in the Multifunctional Equipment Integration group with previous experience in product deployment. He is researching alternative energy sources such as hydrogen for cookstoves and his research supports the decarbonization of building technologies. 

ORNL’s Erin Webb is co-leading a new Circular Bioeconomy Systems Convergent Research Initiative focused on advancing production and use of renewable carbon from Tennessee to meet societal needs. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

ORNL’s Erin Webb is co-leading a new Circular Bioeconomy Systems Convergent Research Initiative focused on advancing production and use of renewable carbon from Tennessee to meet societal needs. 

Shift Thermal co-founders Mitchell Ishamel, left, and Levon Atoyan stand in front of one of the company’s ice thermal energy storage modules, which will be submitted to independent measurement and validation testing in May. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Shift Thermal, a member of Innovation Crossroads’ first cohort of fellows, is commercializing advanced ice thermal energy storage for HVAC, shifting the cooling process to be more sustainable, cost-effective and resilient. Shift Thermal wants to enable a lower-cost, more-efficient thermal energy storage method to provide long-duration resilient cooling when the electric grid is down. 

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Three ORNL intellectual property projects with industry partners have advanced in DOE's Office of Technology Transitions Making Advanced Technology Commercialization Harmonized, or Lab MATCH, prize, which encourages entrepreneurs to find actionable pathways that bring lab-developed intellectual property to market. 

Mandy Mahoney, third from left, director of the DOE Office Of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Building Technologies Office, welcomed 21 students representing seven universities across the nation to the sixth annual JUMP into STEM finals competition at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Credit: Kurt Weiss/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Students with a focus on building science will spend 10 weeks this summer interning at ORNL, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Pacific Northwest Laboratory as winners of the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Building Technologies Office sixth annual JUMP into STEM finals competition.