Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a solvent that results in a more environmentally friendly process to recover valuable materials from used lithium-ion batteries, supports a stable domestic supply chain for new batteries and keeps old ones out of landfills.

Additive manufacturing can make the design and production of specialized tools for geothermal energy cheaper and more efficient, according to a study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Geothermal is a renewable energy resource that requires specialized tools for drilling in harsh subsurface environments. The tools are typically produced in low quantities at high cost using conventional fabrication.

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a novel envelope system that diverts heat or coolness away from a building and stores it for future use.

Traditional building envelopes, such as roofs and walls, use insulation to reduce heat flow. ORNL’s thermally anisotropic building envelope, or TABE, adds thin conductive layers between the insulation. The conductive layers connect to a thermal loop that redirects the heat or coolness to an energy storage system.

May 27, 2021

As a computer engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Gina Accawi has long been the quiet and steady force behind some of the Department of Energy’s most widely used online tools and applications. She has written the code that industry throughout the United States relies on – from MEASUR, the platform allowing manufacturers to assess the efficiency of energy systems and equipment within a plant, to the Building Science Advisor, the website advising builders on how to construct energy efficient envelope systems.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science has selected five Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists for Early Career Research Program awards.

The program, now in its twelfth year, provides support to exceptional researchers during their early career years, when many scientists do their most formative work, in scientific fields critical to the Office of Science’s mission.