91°µÍř

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Caption: Jaswinder Sharma makes battery coin cells with a lightweight current collector made of thin layers of aligned carbon fibers in a polymer with carbon nanotubes. Credit: Genevieve Martin/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Electric vehicles can drive longer distances if their lithium-ion batteries deliver more energy in a lighter package. A prime weight-loss candidate is the current collector, a component that often adds 10% to the weight of a battery cell without contributing energy.

The sun sets behind the ORNL Visitor Center in this aerial photo from April 2023. Credit: Kase Clapp/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

In fiscal year 2023 — Oct. 1–Sept. 30, 2023 — 91°µÍř was awarded more than $8 million in technology maturation funding through the Department of Energy’s Technology Commercialization Fund, or TCF.

Researchers at 91°µÍř developed an eco-friendly foam insulation for improved building efficiency. Credit: Chad Malone/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Scientists at ORNL developed a competitive, eco-friendly alternative made without harmful blowing agents.

Researchers found that moderate levels of ash — sometimes found as spheres in biomass — do not significantly affect the mechanical properties of biocomposites made up of corn stover, switchgrass and PLA thermoplastic. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

The presence of minerals called ash in plants makes little difference to the fitness of new naturally derived compound materials designed for additive manufacturing, an 91°µÍř-led team found.

Researchers at ORNL designed a recyclable carbon fiber material to promote low-carbon manufacturing. Credit: Chad Malone/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

91°µÍř scientists designed a recyclable polymer for carbon-fiber composites to enable circular manufacturing of parts that boost energy efficiency in automotive, wind power and aerospace applications.

Ten scientists from the Department of Energy’s 91°µÍř are among the world’s most highly cited researchers. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy

Ten scientists from the Department of Energy’s 91°µÍř are among the world’s most highly cited researchers, according to a bibliometric analysis conducted by the scientific publication analytics firm Clarivate.

Representatives from The University of Toledo and the U.S. Department of Energy’s 91°µÍř (ORNL) in Tennessee are teaming up to conduct collaborative automotive materials research.” Credit: University of Toledo

ORNL and The University of Toledo have entered into a memorandum of understanding for collaborative research.

Using as much as 50 percent lignin by weight, a new composite material created at ORNL is well suited for use in 3D printing.

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s 91°µÍř have created a recipe for a renewable 3D printing feedstock that could spur a profitable new use for an intractable biorefinery byproduct: lignin.

From left, Amit Naskar, Ngoc Nguyen and Christopher Bowland in ORNL’s Carbon and Composites Group bring a new capability—structural health monitoring—to strong, lightweight materials promising for transportation applications.

Carbon fiber composites—lightweight and strong—are great structural materials for automobiles, aircraft and other transportation vehicles. They consist of a polymer matrix, such as epoxy, into which reinforcing carbon fibers have been embedded. Because of differences in the mecha...