Award Data

Hydrogen compression represents a key technical challenge for the widespread use of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV). To dispense hydrogen to a FCEV tank, hydrogen must be compressed to a minimum of 875 bar. Conventional compressors account for over half of the refueling station’s cost, have poor reliability, and insufficient flow rates. To enable the widespread use of FCEVs, an additional maj ...

The goal of the research is to provide pixelated diamond x-ray detectors with the required readout electronics for transmission imaging of hard and soft x-ray beams to facilitate the use of dynamic focusing at advanced light source facilities. This program investigates the use of polycrystalline diamond detectors and the associated readout electronics for x-ray imaging. The present technology, dev ...

Generation of carbon-based liquid fuels from reduction of CO2 using solar energy requires the development of improved membranes that provide good ionic conductivity and mechanical properties while minimizing the crossover of gases and reduction products. Using closely coordinated multiscale modeling, synthesis and characterization studies we propose to investigate and develop novel nanostructured ...

Sustainable fuels and chemicals production is necessary for the future of the global economy. Opus 12 has developed an electrochemical process to convert CO2 into solar chemicals and fuels. Key to our process is a new polymer-electrolyte membrane design that enables CO2 electroreduction in existing a polymer-electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer hardware. PEM electrolyzers are ideal for coupling ...

Tristructural isotropic (TRISO) fuel is a key component of advanced small modular nuclear fission reactors due to its inherent safety at high temperatures and irradiation levels and decreased proliferation risk relative to current reactor fuels. A more efficient cooling method for TRISO fuel compacts would increase heat transfer, allow for an increase in fuel density, and further improve accident ...

It is attractive therefore to turn Carbon dioxide (𝐶𝐶𝑂𝑂2) which is typically considered a pollutant, into a valuable industrial resource. Plasma has long been known as an attractive method of treating 𝐶𝐶𝑂𝑂2 in order to produce other industrial feedstocks such as CO. For this process to be industrially viable, plasma treatment of 𝐶𝐶𝑂𝑂2 must be improved to minimiz ...

The next generation of Cosmic Ray Background detectors require large area filters in the microwave part of the spectrum between 100 to 300 Gigahertz. These filters are essential to the extremely sensitive detection of the cosmic background radiation at the level of one part in a billion and will require precise fabrication of metallic structures on a polymer substrate. These filters will be placed ...

Idaho National Laboratory (INL), under funding from the Critical Materials Institute, has developed a US patented technology to reclaim valuable metals from waste electronic equipment. The Electrochemical Recycling Electronic Constituents of Value (E-RECOV) method uses an electrochemical cell to efficiently recover the bulk of metals from discarded electronics, leading to more complete recycling o ...

Over 1 billion people suffer from the effects of water scarcity. The vast majority of those affected live near a coastline in developing countries, on islands, and in remote communities. To satisfy the potable water needs of a growing world population, experts agree that seawater desalination on a large scale is required. Near-shore ocean waves provide an inexhaustible, consistent, and widely dist ...

High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) materials have excellent mechanical and electrical properties. They are very attractive for various industrial applications such as power cables and high field, high current superconducting magnets. Magnets made with these materials could play a key role in the commercialization of fusion energy machines. However, HTS materials have very slow normal zone prop ...