Through two U.S. Department of Energy funding calls awarded in 2020, PNNL is partnering with industry and academia to advance battery materials and processes.
Scientists have created a single-crystal, nickel-rich cathode that is hardier and more efficient than before—important progress on the road to better lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
Twelve energy-related technologies developed at PNNL have been selected for additional technology maturation funding to help move them from the laboratory and field tests to the marketplace.
Researchers at PNNL have developed a software tool that helps universities, small business, and corporate developers to design better batteries with new materials that hold more energy.
PNNL and WSU researchers have improved the performance and life cycle of sodium-ion battery technology to narrow the gap with some lithium-ion batteries.
Researchers at PNNL have come up with a novel way to use silicon as an energy storage ingredient, replacing the graphite in electrodes. Silicon can hold 10 times the electrical charge per gram, but it comes with problems of its own.
Scientists have uncovered a root cause of the growth of needle-like structures—known as dendrites and whiskers—that plague lithium batteries, sometimes causing a short circuit, failure, or even a fire.
PNNL researchers have created a chemical cocktail that could help electric cars power their way through extreme temperatures where current lithium-ion batteries don’t operate as efficiently as needed.
Superman may be known as the "Man of Steel," but scientific superheroes at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are developing a novel approach for manufacturing metals with superior strength.
PNNL researchers demonstrate how the excitation of oxygen atoms that contributes to better performance of a lithium-ion battery also triggers a process that leads to damage, explaining a phenomenon that has been a mystery to scientists.
A PNNL study that evaluated the use of friction stir technology on stainless steel has shown that the steel resists erosion more than three times that of its unprocessed counterpart.
PNNL is advancing scientific frontiers and addressing challenges in energy, the environment and national security. So, in no particular order, here are PNNL's top 10 research accomplishments of 2018
