NEWS RELEASES

DOE Funded News

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 19-Oct-2026 18:16 ET (19-Oct-2026 22:16 GMT/UTC)

18-Sep-2026

STAR Lab tests whether battery advances can scale

Promising battery materials often work in tiny lab cells but falter when made larger. ORNL’s STAR Lab studies what goes wrong during scale-up, using advanced manufacturing, imaging, modeling and testing to build safer, higher-performing batteries.

18-Sep-2026

New thermal insulator outperforms any material found in nature

North Carolina State University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have engineered a new material that is an extreme thermal insulator, is exceptionally stiff, and can be printed as a thin film at large scales. The material has one of the lowest thermal conductivity profiles of any dense, or non-porous, material – approaching the theoretical limit of how good a material can be as a thermal insulator.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: Office of Naval Research

16-Sep-2026

Study: Why colder temps can be better for removing ice

University of Texas at Dallas
Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Texas at Dallas researchers have found that, under extreme cold, making ice even colder can weaken its grip on surfaces. The discovery, published online May 29 in the journal Newton, reveals that a material’s thermal properties play a critical role in determining whether ice remains attached to a surface. The finding could guide the design of future deicing systems for aircraft, wind turbines and other applications in extreme cold.

Journal: Newton
Funder: Army Research Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

14-Sep-2026

New low-waste method breaks down tough-to-recycle plastics

University of Texas at Austin
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new recycling technique could help tackle a major challenge: breaking down some of the toughest plastics, called pDCPDs, without generating large amounts of waste or heavy energy use. The green chemistry method uses an eco-friendly solvent and a ruthenium-based catalyst.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: Welch Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation

3-Sep-2026

A ‘raincoat’ protects lead-free solar cells from the elements

University of Wisconsin-Madison
Peer-Reviewed Publication

One drawback of next-generation solar cells made with efficiency-boosting perovskite is the presence of hazardous lead. The most promising, lead-free replacements — non-toxic tin perovskite — has its own major weakness: it can't hold up against the elements. Now, researchers have designed a new tin-based perovskite with built-in protection against air and moisture. It’s a coating that gives the solar cells protection like a raincoat.

Journal: Nature Materials

2-Sep-2026

PACMAN AI framework for controlling fusion systems safely makes key decisions in milliseconds

Princeton University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new software framework lets multiple artificial intelligence (AI) models plug directly into a fusion experiment’s control system, reading plasma measurements and issuing commands in about 20 milliseconds, far faster than any human operator. Researchers tested the framework in five experiments at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, a Department of Energy user facility in San Diego. The framework predicted and prevented plasma instabilities and cut the time to deploy a new AI model from months to days.

Journal: Nuclear Fusion

1-Sep-2026

Department of Energy awards University of Houston-led team $2.88M to use AI to strengthen America’s critical mineral supply chain

University of Houston
Grant and Award Announcement

University of Houston researchers are leading a multidisciplinary coalition leveraging artificial intelligence to design and manufacture next-generation permanent magnets, an effort aimed at securing the nation’s domestic supply chain for advanced energy and industrial technologies.

1-Sep-2026

AI automates the creation of custom materials

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers developed an artificial intelligence system that can manipulate individual molecules to build custom materials with atomic precision. The approach could eventually allow scientists to specify desired electronic properties and use AI to help create materials tailored for advanced electronics, memory technologies and quantum computing.

Journal: ACS Nano