U.S. Department of Energy Research News

Public Release: 31-Jul-2013
Ready-to-sign license speeds up Sandia tech transfer
Sandia National Laboratories is building a portfolio of intellectual property that can be licensed by businesses in as little as an hour.

Public Release: 9-Jul-2013
SWiFT commissioned to study wind farm optimization
The U.S. Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratories and Texas Tech University commissioned the DOE/Sandia Scaled Wind Farm Technology facility today at the Reese Technology Center in Lubbock, Texas. The SWiFT is the first public facility of its kind to use multiple wind turbines to measure how wind turbines interact with one another in a wind farm.

Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Public Release: 27-Jun-2013
Power for seaports may be the next job for hydrogen fuel cells
Providing auxiliary hydrogen power to docked or anchored ships may soon be added to the list of ways in which hydrogen fuel cells can provide efficient, emissions-free energy. Hydrogen fuel cells are already powering mobile lighting systems, forklifts, emergency backup systems and light-duty trucks, among other applications. Now, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have found that hydrogen fuel cells may be both technically feasible and commercially attractive as a power source for ships at berth.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 11-Jun-2013

Nano Letters
'Popcorn' particle pathways promise better lithium-ion batteries
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have confirmed the particle-by-particle mechanism by which lithium ions move in and out of electrodes made of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4, or LFP), findings that could lead to better performance in lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, medical equipment and aircraft. The research is reported in te journal Nano Letters, 2013, 13 (3), pp 866-872.

Public Release: 30-May-2013
Sandia, SRI International sign pact to advance hydrogen and natural gas research for transportation
Sandia National Laboratories and SRI International, an independent research and innovation center, will join forces to explore, test and evaluate a broad range of hydrogen and natural gas fuel systems and components for transportation applications under a new agreement. The five-year memorandum of understanding is the first agreement in Sandia's new Center for Infrastructure Research and Innovation, an alternative fuel research and innovation facility.

Public Release: 28-May-2013
Key hydrogen report now available on OpenEnergyInfo wiki site
As part of the Open Government initiative launched by the Obama Administration, Sandia National Laboratories' Technical Reference on Hydrogen Compatibility of Materials has made its debut on the Energy Dataset of OpenEnergyInfo, or OpenEI. This will make the publication more widely available and easier to access.

DOE Fuel Cells Technologies Office

Public Release: 21-May-2013
Army Ground Combat Systems adopts Sandia tool for choosing future warfighting vehicles
Sandia National Laboratories, working closely with the Army and other contractors, has developed key components of a software tool to help the Program Executive Office Ground Combat Systems analyze countless what-if scenarios that can be manipulated as technology advances and the global environment, the federal budget or other factors change. Sandia calls this advanced combination of modeling, simulation and optimization decision support software the Capability Portfolio Analysis Tool.

US Army

Public Release: 23-Apr-2013
Fertilizer that fizzles in a homemade bomb could save lives around the world
A Sandia engineer who trained US soldiers to avoid improvised explosive devices has developed a fertilizer that helps plants grow but can't detonate a bomb.

Public Release: 16-Apr-2013
Softening steel problem expands computer model applications
Sandia National Laboratories worked with the National Nuclear Security Administration's Kansas City Plant on the rapid design of an annealing process to soften stainless steel tubing.

Public Release: 11-Apr-2013

Science
Researchers measure reaction rates of second key atmospheric component
Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories' Combustion Research Facility, the University of Manchester, Bristol University, University of Southampton and Hong Kong Polytechnic have successfully measured reaction rates of a second Criegee intermediate, CH3CHOO, and proven that the reactivity of the atmospheric chemical depends strongly on which way the molecule is twisted.

US Department of Energy

Public Release: 9-Apr-2013
Better monitoring and diagnostics tackle algae biofuel pond crash problem
Sandia National Laboratories is developing a suite of complementary technologies to help the emerging algae industry detect and quickly recover from algal pond crashes, an obstacle to large-scale algae cultivation for future biofuels. The research, which focuses on monitoring and diagnosing algal pond health, draws upon Sandia's longstanding expertise in microfluidics technology, its strong bioscience research program and significant internal investments.