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Featured News

Chemist Elizabeth Denis demonstrates PNNL’s Vapor ID technology, which, when coupled with a mass spectrometer, can identify vapors of explosives and narcotics in the air, in real time, at levels previously undetectable by any other sampling technology.
JANUARY 6, 2025
Director's Column

Reflecting on 2024: PNNL’s Contributions to National Security, AI and Energy

PNNL’s year in review includes highlights ranging from advancing soil science to understanding Earth systems, expanding electricity transmission, detecting fentanyl, and applying artificial intelligence to aid scientific discovery.
( Read More )
Flow Battery Stack
DECEMBER 30, 2024
Article

New Model Accelerates Battery Development

EZBattery Model allows energy storage researchers to more quickly and easily identify the best performing battery designs without the need for extensive physical prototyping or computationally expensive simulations.
( Read More )
Energy storage system
DECEMBER 27, 2024
Feature

New Energy Storage System Strengthens Air Force Base’s Resilience

PNNL teamed up with multiple agencies to install a battery energy storage system at a South Dakota Air Force base.
( Read More )
A man holds a piece of metal wire.
DECEMBER 12, 2024
News Release

Metal Scrap Upcycled into High-Value Alloys with Solid Phase Manufacturing

Solid phase manufacturing can create new custom metal alloys through an innovative process called solid phase alloying, researchers from PNNL report.
( Read More )
Group of people outside of building
DECEMBER 6, 2024
Article

PNNL Hosts Global Gathering to Advance Sodium Battery Innovation

Global experts gathered at PNNL for the 9th International Conference on Sodium Batteries, sharing advancements in sodium battery research and development.
( Read More )
2024 Highly Cited
NOVEMBER 26, 2024
Article

PNNL Scientists Among Most Highly Cited Researchers

Nineteen PNNL-affiliated researchers have been named to Clarivate’s 2024 list of the world's most highly cited researchers.
( Read More )
The scanning transmission electron microscope that will allow researchers to observe battery materials at the atomic scale before and after cycling.
NOVEMBER 12, 2024
Feature

Inside the Grid Storage Launchpad

Energy storage is increasingly critical to building a resilient electric grid in the United States—a trend embodied by the Grid Storage Launchpad, a newly inaugurated, 93,000-square-foot facility at PNNL.
( Read More )
Advanced Battery Research
NOVEMBER 6, 2024
Article

PNNL-Led Grid-Focused Alliance Drives Sodium-Ion Battery Innovation

The Sodium-ion Alliance for Grid Energy Storage, led by PNNL, is focused on demonstrating high-performance, low-cost, safe sodium-ion batteries tested for real-world grid applications.
( Read More )
A friction stir tool passes along a metal surface, with network-like imagery overlaid.
OCTOBER 22, 2024
Article

Friction Stir Processing Gets a Boost from New Machine Learning Model

PNNL researchers have developed a new, physics-informed machine learning model that accurately predicts how heat accumulates and dissipates during friction stir processing.
( Read More )
Photograph of a Wei Wang reaching into a fume hood
SEPTEMBER 3, 2024
Feature

Long-Duration Energy Storage Can’t Wait

Long-duration energy storage gets the spotlight in a new Energy Storage Research Alliance featuring PNNL innovations, like a molecular digital twin and advanced instrumentation.
( Read More )
Profile photos, left to right: Wei Wang, Bobbie-Jo Webb-Robertson, and Justin Teeguarden
AUGUST 30, 2024
News Release

Washington State Academy of Sciences Elects Three from PNNL

Three PNNL researchers have been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences.
( Read More )
Leaders gather to cut the ribbon at the GSL Dedication.
AUGUST 26, 2024
Article

Leaders Gather to Celebrate and Dedicate the Grid Storage Launchpad

The Grid Storage Launchpad dedication event was attended by leaders in grid and transportation energy storage, battery innovation, and industry stakeholders working to transform America’s energy system.
( Read More )
Eric Hsieh of the DOE, headshot
JULY 31, 2024
Article

Expert Insights: Eric Hsieh Talks GSL, Energy Storage, and Beyond

Erich Hsieh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for OE’s Energy Storage Division, shared insights about the Grid Storage Launchpad and energy storage innovations .
( Read More )
A hydrogen truck and corn field are shown with a symbol for hydrogen.
JULY 24, 2024
News Release

Pacific Northwest Launches Clean Hydrogen Energy Hub

Clean hydrogen energy infrastructure is coming to the Pacific Northwest and PNNL experts are advising the work to come.
( Read More )
Keerti Kappagantula shows a roll of copper wire
JUNE 24, 2024
Director's Column

New Manufacturing Approaches Taking Shape at PNNL Could Be the Future of the Industry

PNNL’s patented Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE™) technique is an advanced manufacturing technology that enables better-performing materials and components while offering opportunities to reduce costs and energy consumption.
( Read More )
Jason Zhang holds his inventor award together with Vanessa Pena.
JUNE 18, 2024
News Release

National Innovator of the Year Honor Goes to PNNL Energy Storage Expert

Ji-Guang (Jason) Zhang has been named the first Department of Energy Lab Innovator of the Year.
( Read More )
Two airplanes flying in the sky during sunset
APRIL 17, 2024
Feature

Garbage Could Replace a Quarter of Petroleum-Based Jet Fuel Every Year

Americans produce enough waste every year to replace up to a quarter of the country’s jet fuel with sustainable alternatives, new research shows.
( Read More )
The ShAPE 2 machine with a person standing at the controls.
APRIL 2, 2024
Feature

Next-Generation ShAPE™ Metal Extrusion Arrives

The next-generation ShAPE machine has arrived at PNNL, where it will help prove the mettle of the ShAPE extrusion technique. ShAPE 2 is designed to allow researchers to produce larger, more complex extrusions.
( Read More )
Portrait of Vince Sprenkle
MARCH 27, 2024
Article

Vincent Sprenkle Named Director of Grid Storage Launchpad

Energy storage expert Vince Sprenkle leads Office of Electricity's first facility to advance next-generation energy storage technologies.
( Read More )
Lead author and battery researcher Gabriel Nambafu assembles a test flow battery apparatus
MARCH 25, 2024
News Release

New All-Liquid Iron Flow Battery for Grid Energy Storage

A new iron-based aqueous flow battery shows promise for grid energy storage applications.
( Read More )
A still from a video showing corrosion developing in a material.
MARCH 20, 2024
Feature

Understanding Corrosion to Enable Next-Generation Metals

Researchers at PNNL have developed a new technique to get a high-resolution look at how—and why—corrosion happens.
( Read More )
Artwork depicting researchers in a lab researching energy storage.
MARCH 19, 2024
Feature

Powering Up to Address Challenges in Energy Storage

In 2006, battery research was practically non-existent at PNNL. Today, the lab is lauded for its battery research. How did PNNL go from a new player to a leader in state-of-the-art storage for EVs and the grid?
( Read More )
Photo of a person holding a pile of aluminum scrap next to four cylinders of recycled aluminum scrap
FEBRUARY 1, 2024
News Release

The ShAPE of Buildings to Come: Scrap Aluminum Transforms Recycling Life Cycle

Post-consumer recycled aluminum to be transformed into high strength building materials and consumer goods with patented ShAPE™ manufacturing process.
( Read More )

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Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is managed and operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy
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