Latest Department of Energy Stories

Common material such as polyethylene used in plastic bags could be turned into something far more valuable through a process being developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In a paper published in Advanced Materials, a team led by Amit Naskar of the Materials Science and Technology Division outlined a method that allows not only for production of carbon fiber but also the ability to tailor the final product to specific applications. "Our results represent...

Discovery could lead to new methods for environmental remediation and speeding up chemical reactions A glow coming from the glassy shell of microscopic marine algae called diatoms could someday help us detect chemicals and other substances in water samples. And the fact that this diatom can glow in response to an external substance could also help researchers develop a variety of new, diatom-inspired nanomaterials that could solve problems in sensing, catalysis and environmental...

Identifying chemicals from a distance could take a step forward with the introduction of a two-laser system being developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In a paper published in the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Ali Passian and colleagues present a technique that uses a quantum cascade laser to "pump," or strike, a target, and another laser to monitor the material's response as a result of temperature-induced changes. That information allows for the...

PITTSBURGH, March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Westinghouse today affirmed that it will apply to the Department of Energy (DOE) in response to the final Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for investment funds worth up to $452 million. The fund was authorized by Congress to facilitate the rapid development and deployment of small modular reactor (SMR) technologies. The DOE plans to consider SMR applications that incorporate passive safety features and that can be licensed...

Nanocomposite electrodes being charged with electricity reveal performance advantages that could lead to longer-lasting, cheaper vehicle batteries A study that examines a new type of silicon-carbon nanocomposite electrode reveals details of how they function and how repeated use could wear them down. The study also provides clues to why this material performs better than silicon alone. With an electrical capacity five times higher than conventional lithium battery electrodes,...

A new, transformational battery that will offer the highest energy density and longest life cycle ( 70% cost reduction) of any lithium battery made today is being released by California Lithium Battery, Inc. California (PRWEB) March 15, 2012 California Lithium Battery Inc. (CalBattery) announced at last week’s Department of Energy’s ARPA-e Energy Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C. that they have entered into a Work for Others (WFO) agreement with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)...

NORCROSS, Ga., March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Siemens announced it was recently awarded $1.6 million in development funding from the Department of Energy (DoE) to support research aimed at significantly reducing the current costs of electrical vehicle (EV) chargers and developing "smart" charging capabilities that support power grid efficiency and consumer demand. The grant, awarded to Siemens Corporation, Corporate Research and Technology (SCR&T) will be supported by nearly...

Solar cells, light emitting diodes, displays and other electronic devices could get a bump in performance because of a discovery at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory that establishes new boundaries for controlling band gaps. While complex transition metal oxides have for years held great promise for a variety of information and energy applications, the challenge has been to devise a method to reduce band gaps of those insulators without compromising the material's...

Individual atoms can make or break electronic properties in one of the world's smallest known conductors—quantum nanowires. Microscopic analysis at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is delivering a rare glimpse into how the atomic structure of the conducting nanowires affects their electronic behavior. The ORNL team's microscopy confirmed that deliberately introduced defects, which are only the size of a single atom, could turn a conducting nanowire into an...