Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have identified a key need for future hydropower innovations – full-scale testing – to better inform developers and operators before making major investments.

In a new report, ORNL outlines the benefits of establishing a network of national hydropower testing facilities to demonstrate new clean energy technologies and encourage early adoption.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers serendipitously discovered when they automated the beam of an electron microscope to precisely drill holes in the atomically thin lattice of graphene, the drilled holes closed up. They expected the heat to make atoms easier to remove, but they saw the opposite effect.

While studying how bio-inspired materials might inform the design of next-generation computers, scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory achieved a first-of-its-kind result that could have big implications for both edge computing and human health.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method for producing a key component of lithium-ion batteries. The result is a more affordable battery from a faster, less wasteful process that uses less toxic material.

Lithium-ion batteries — used in products from appliances to cell phones, as well as in most electric vehicles — are composed of a cathode and an anode with an electrolyte in between. Ions move from anode to cathode through the electrolyte in a reaction that converts chemical energy to electrical energy.

John “Jack” Cahill is out to illuminate previously unseen processes with new technology, advancing our understanding of how chemicals interact to influence complex systems whether it’s in the human body or in the world beneath our feet.