Amine functionalized graphene oxide yields laminates with an enhanced capacity to adsorb rare earth elements, improved water transport, and greater stability for effective membrane-based separation of critical minerals.

Establishing how electronic redistribution, protonation, and solvent rearrangement are coupled during a proton-coupled electron transfer process.

New software enables the study of nuclear quantum effects in large, condensed phase systems up to 10× faster than traditional methods.

Replacing commercial acid with acidic waste enables researchers to improve nickel extraction efficiency, lower projected costs, and improve process economics.

Localized gradients in magnetic fields have long-range effects on the concentration of rare earth ions in solution, facilitating field-driven extraction of critical minerals.

Studying a series of rare earth element compounds revealed differences in their magnetic behavior that will be leveraged for separations.

PNNL researchers Daniel Deng and Yehia Ibrahim join the 2025 class of National Academy of Inventors Fellows.

Scientists provide a guide for the rational application of continuum descriptions of fluid flows based on interfacial chemistry.

Soil mineral preferentially incorporates rare earth elements based on size, with implications for critical mineral extraction.

ThermalTracker-3D can help streamline permitting, reduce costs, and shorten development time of energy projects.

Delivering an integrated quantum-mechanical and experimental perspective on the effects of both intrinsic and externally applied electric fields at atomic-scale interfaces.

Expanding the nation’s largest wind power plant time series database; helping grid planners navigate a resilient energy future with better data.

Isotopically layered water films and slow heating enable diffusion tracking.

Engineers at PNNL devised a system that allows radar antennae to maintain stable orientation while mounted on platforms in open water that pitch and roll unpredictably. They were recently invited to participate in DOE's I-Corps program.

A team combined experiments and theory to predict the collective properties of electrolyte solutions.

The first measurement of the proton diffusion constant at cryogenic temperatures provides insights into the mechanism of proton movement in supercooled water.

PNNL's accomplishments in FY 2024 help address the remaining challenges the wind industry faces.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers developed a new theoretical method for studying highly correlated systems.

With the launch of a large research barge, PNNL and collaborators took another significant step to improve offshore wind forecasting that will lower risk and cost associated with offshore wind energy development.

PNNL and collaborators developed new models—recently approved by the U.S. Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC)—to help utilities understand how new grid-forming inverter technology will enhance grid stability.