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.

Five PNNL innovations earned 2026 R&D 100 Awards for advances in biotechnology, manufacturing, critical minerals, and nuclear security.

Developed a method for selectively anchoring diverse divalent metal cations in zeolites, important for precise control over catalytic materials.

Chiral nanotubes facilitate the direction-specific diffusion of carbon dioxide to be faster than nitrogen gas.

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

A recent article highlighted a PNNL report focused on post-quantum cryptography and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

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.

Nanoscale domains of magnetically susceptible critical materials encounter enhanced magnetic interactions under external magnetic fields, providing a promising new avenue for separations.

This summer, PNNL hosted the inaugural “As Conductive As Copper” (AC2.0) workshop, fostering a collaborative conversation on the future of the U.S. copper supply chain.

The size of graphene oxide sheets affects the ability of assembled membranes and adsorbents to separate rare earth elements.

Ampcera has an exclusive licensing agreement with PNNL to commercially develop and license a new battery material for applications such as vehicles and personal electronics.

A PNNL team has developed an energy- and chemical-efficient method of separating valuable critical minerals from dissolved solutions of rare earth element magnets.

Surface manganese mining from nodules in South Dakota is now possible with a new scalable selective precipitation process.

Cobalt substitution for magnesium in a model mafic mineral dramatically slows reaction with carbon dioxide to form a cobalt-doped carbonate.

PNNL's new energy storage facility now houses the Lab's vehicle battery research programs, which have more lab space and a slew of new capabilities.

Precipitation with sodium hydroxide in a flow-gel device enables the rapid extraction of magnesium from seawater in a new scalable process.

PNNL researchers have developed a new, physics-informed machine learning model that accurately predicts how heat accumulates and dissipates during friction stir processing.

The atomic-level distribution of nickel and cobalt in forsterite depends on the concentration of the different elements.

The surface oxygen functionality of graphene oxide may be tuned using ultraviolet light, affecting how differently charged ions move through the material.