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Media Contacts
![Ilias Belharouak portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-03/2019-p04178.jpg?h=49ab6177&itok=eRwfvOkx)
Ilias Belharouak is leading ORNL’s research efforts in investigating new materials for solid-state batteries, which can double the charging capacity of lithium-ion batteries, commonly used today for electronic devices such as cell phones.
![VERA’s tools allow a virtual “window” inside the reactor core, down to a molecular level.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-03/core.png?h=dc920c3f&itok=BggaFrQA)
A software package, 10 years in the making, that can predict the behavior of nuclear reactors’ cores with stunning accuracy has been licensed commercially for the first time.
![Starch granules](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-02/starchgranules.png?h=0c9ab501&itok=eLsE3JOx)
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method to peer deep into the nanostructure of biomaterials without damaging the sample. This novel technique can confirm structural features in starch, a carbohydrate important in biofuel production.
![ORNL researchers developed sodium-ion batteries by pairing a high-energy oxide or phosphate cathode with a hard carbon anode and achieved 100 usage cycles at a one-hour charge and discharge rate. Credit: Mengya Li/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-02/Sodium-ion_batteries_thumb.jpg?h=d91dfa5a&itok=gPCNMJ6R)
Researchers at ORNL demonstrated that sodium-ion batteries can serve as a low-cost, high performance substitute for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries commonly used in robotics, power tools, and grid-scale energy storage.
![This simulation of a fusion plasma calculation result shows the interaction of two counter-streaming beams of super-heated gas. Credit: David L. Green/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-02/Fusion_plasma_simulation.jpg?h=d0852d1e&itok=CDWgjLPL)
The prospect of simulating a fusion plasma is a step closer to reality thanks to a new computational tool developed by scientists in fusion physics, computer science and mathematics at ORNL.
![microscope lens and lithium battery prototype](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/Lithium%20Battery%20Research%2020183101_6400_0.jpg?h=58c8a5e7&itok=v-7_CmEt)
The formation of lithium dendrites is still a mystery, but materials engineers study the conditions that enable dendrites and how to stop them.
![Scanning probe microscopes use an atom-sharp tip—only a few nanometers thick—to image materials on a nanometer length scale. The probe tip, invisible to the eye, is attached to a cantilever (pictured) that moves across material surfaces like the tone arm on a record player. Credit: Genevieve Martin/Oak Ridge National Laboratory; U.S. Dept. of Energy.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/2019-P15115.jpg?h=c6980913&itok=o69jyoNw)
Liam Collins was drawn to study physics to understand “hidden things” and honed his expertise in microscopy so that he could bring them to light.
![Geothermal energy storage system](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/Geothermal_graphic_0.jpg?h=f9060f2b&itok=W6LxcJwG)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers created a geothermal energy storage system that could reduce peak electricity demand up to 37% in homes while helping balance grid operations.
![VERA, the Virtual Environment for Reactor Applications](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/VERA-NQA1.png?h=de483914&itok=sbmBpjMk)
Nuclear scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have established a Nuclear Quality Assurance-1 program for a software product designed to simulate today’s commercial nuclear reactors – removing a significant barrier for industry adoption of the technology.
![Smart Neighborhood homes](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/04.09.TD-SMartHome_0.jpg?h=5b5a5437&itok=22S5Tle1)
To better determine the potential energy cost savings among connected homes, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a computer simulation to more accurately compare energy use on similar weather days.