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Media Contacts
![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.
![Edge computing is both dependent on and greatly influencing a host of promising technologies including (clockwise from top left): quantum computing; high-performance computing; neuromorphic computing; and carbon nanotubes.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-02/Jones%20image%202-12-20.png?h=2e876d46&itok=fT3y4uz9)
We have a data problem. Humanity is now generating more data than it can handle; more sensors, smartphones, and devices of all types are coming online every day and contributing to the ever-growing global dataset.
![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.
![ORNL's Battery Manufacturing Facility](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-02/BMF-2012-2.jpg?h=34d4d6b0&itok=6ilHI2vl)
Energy storage startup SPARKZ Inc. has exclusively licensed five battery technologies from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory designed to eliminate cobalt metal in lithium-ion batteries. The advancement is aimed at accelerating the production of electric vehicles and energy storage solutions for the power grid.
![Researchers in ORNL’s Quantum Information Science group summarized their significant contributions to quantum networking and quantum computing in a special issue of Optics & Photonics News. Image credit: Christopher Tison and Michael Fanto/Air Force Research Laboratory.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/DSC02403_0.jpg?h=da4d8213&itok=o3kOwP6p)
A team from the ORNL has conducted a series of experiments to gain a better understanding of quantum mechanics and pursue advances in quantum networking and quantum computing, which could lead to practical applications in cybersecurity and other areas.
![Dalton Lunga](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-01/Dalton_Lunga.jpg?h=4dcbbf6e&itok=0FQ-t5EF)
A typhoon strikes an island in the Pacific Ocean, downing power lines and cell towers. An earthquake hits a remote mountainous region, destroying structures and leaving no communication infrastructure behind.
![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.
![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.
![Argon pellet injection text](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-11/13966_Ar_20degree_enhanced_0.jpg?h=8450e950&itok=tmff0GX_)
As scientists study approaches to best sustain a fusion reactor, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory investigated injecting shattered argon pellets into a super-hot plasma, when needed, to protect the reactor’s interior wall from high-energy runaway electrons.