To further the potential benefits of the nation’s hydropower resources, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed and maintain a comprehensive water energy digital platform called HydroSource that informs key stakeholders of development and operational costs, environmental concerns and licensing requirements.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers demonstrated that microchannel heat exchangers in heating, ventilation and air conditioning units can keep refrigerants evenly and continually distributed by inserting a device called a piezoelectric-driven magnetic actuator, or PEDMA. 

A team of scientists led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a theory that thylakoids, membrane networks key to plant photosynthesis, also function as a defense mechanism to harsh growing conditions, which could aid the development of hardier plants.

Thylakoids contain grana, structures resembling stacked coins that expand and contract when water flows in and out, like the bellows of an accordion. The action mirrors the movement of guard cells, structures on plant leaves that act like accordion buttons, allowing carbon dioxide in and water vapor out. 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Momentum Technologies have piloted an industrial-scale process for recycling valuable materials in the millions of tons of e-waste generated annually in the United States.

Rare earth elements, or REEs, are strategic resources in high demand but in limited supply for advanced clean energy and defense technologies. Domestic pathways for securing supply chains are needed.

Cameras see the world differently than humans. Resolution, equipment, lighting, distance and atmospheric conditions can impact how a person interprets objects on a photo. For Sophie Voisin, a software engineer at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, images can reveal what human eyes can’t see, giving a different perspective to understanding how the world changes day to day.