Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have begun operating a unique system designed to enable a variety of testing to characterize the performance of an advanced heat transfer fluid for renewable energy.

Known as the Facility to Alleviate Salt Technology Risks, or FASTR, the system’s inaugural run evaluated the viability of using a mixture of magnesium, potassium and sodium chloride-based molten salt technology for solar thermal power.

A study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers has demonstrated how satellites could enable more efficient, secure quantum networks.

“We used experiment, emulation and simulation to see what’s needed for high-dimensional quantum cryptography in space and found it’s quite doable,” said ORNL’s Joseph Chapman.

Researchers from Yale University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory collaborated on neutron scattering experiments to study hydrogen atom locations and their effects on iron in a compound similar to those commonly used in industrial catalysts.

A quest to understand how Sphagnum mosses facilitate the storage of vast amounts of carbon in peatlands led scientists to a surprising discovery: The plants have sex-based differences that appear to impact the carbon-storing process.

The insight can help researchers better understand how the mosses tolerate stressful environments, including those of a warming climate.

U2opia Technology, a consortium of technology and administrative executives with extensive experience in both industry and defense, has exclusively licensed two technologies from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory that offer a new method for advanced cybersecurity monitoring in real time.