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Ahoy, offshore wind: Research buoys bring vital data to untapped energy resource

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Business Announcement

Starting in November, two 20,000-pound buoys decked out with the latest in meteorological and oceanographic equipment will be deployed for a year at two offshore wind demonstration projects: one near Coos Bay, Ore., and another near Virginia Beach, Va. The bright yellow buoys -- each worth $1.3 million -- are being commissioned by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and will enable more accurate predictions of the power-producing potential of winds that blow off US shores.

Funder: Department of Energy

Angling chromium to let oxygen through

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have been trying to increase the efficiency of solid oxide fuel cells by lowering the temperatures at which they run. More efficient fuel cells might gain wider use in vehicles or as quiet, pollution-free, neighborhood electricity generating stations. A serendipitous finding has resulted in a semiconducting material that could enable fuel cells to operate at temperatures two-thirds lower than current technology, scientists reported Aug. 18 in Nature Communications.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Birth of a mineral

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

One of the most important molecules on earth, calcium carbonate crystallizes into chalk, shells and minerals the world over. In a study led by the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, researchers used a powerful microscope that allows them to see the birth of crystals in real time, giving them a peek at how different calcium carbonate crystals form, they report in Sept. 5 issue of Science.

Journal: Science
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Water leads to chemical that gunks up biofuels production

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Trying to understand the chemistry that turns plant material into the same energy-rich gasoline and diesel we put in our vehicles, researchers have discovered that water in the conversion process helps form an impurity which, in turn, slows down key chemical reactions.

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society
Funder: Department of Energy
Meeting: American Chemical Society 248th National Meeting & Exposition

'Wetting' a battery's appetite for renewable energy storage

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new liquid metal alloy material enables sodium-beta batteries to operate at lower temperatures, which could help the batteries store more renewable energy and strengthen the power grid.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Three PNNL staff elected to membership in state academy

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

Don Baer, Alain Bonneville, and Jud Virden, three scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, have been selected to join the Washington State Academy of Sciences.

A noble gas cage

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new material called CC3 effectively traps xenon, krypton, and radon. These gases are used in industries such as lighting or medicine and, in the case of radon, one that can be hazardous when it accumulates in buildings. Research appearing on July 20th in Nature Materials shows how: by breathing enough to let the gases in but not out. The results might lead to cheaper, less energy intensive ways to extract these gases.

Journal: Nature Materials
Funder: Department of Energy, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

PNNL scientists win 3 R&D 100 awards for visual display, analytics and energy technologies

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

Technologies that rival electronic screens, enable new molecular analysis and reduce dependence on fossil fuels received recognition for their innovation today.

Silicon sponge improves lithium-ion battery performance

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A sponge-like silicon material could help lithium-ion batteries run longer on a single charge by giving the batteries' electrodes the space they need to expand without breaking.

Journal: Nature Communications
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

DOE renews Energy Frontier Research Center at PNNL

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

The Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis is poised to take on new scientific challenges exploring chemical reactions at the core of technologies such as solar energy and fuel cells.

Funder: Department of Energy

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