Award Data

The production of high-Q superconducting radio frequency (SRF) cavities involves a complex chain of fabrication and inspection operations. Currently, much of this demanding work is performed manually within the tightly controlled environment of a production cleanroom. However, as the design precision and cleanliness requirements of modern SRF cavities have increased, this “human factor” has em ...

The conventional nitric acid manufacturing method uses natural gas as a feedstock for hydrogen and an energy intensive thermal process that emits a large amount of carbon dioxide. A new low-temperature plasma system, which can be driven electrically by a renewable or nuclear energy source, could reduce the energy consumed by the synthesis of nitric acid while eliminating the emission of greenhouse ...

2-Methylfuran (2MF) is a versatile non-food biomass derived low-carbon number performance advantaged bio-product. It is used for manufacturing green solvent (2-methyltertrahydrofuran (2MeTHF)), UpSycal?oils that RiKarbon is manufacturing for end-use natural and sustainable cosmetics and lubricants, and chemical/pharmaceutical intermediates. Currently fossil-based incumbent solvents such as tetrahy ...

AMA Tech is developing a cutting-edge metallization paste for the front side of tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) crystalline silicon solar cells, which is expected to improve TOPCon solar cell efficiency significantly. This development has the potential to disrupt the photovoltaic industry, as even a small increase in cell efficiency could replace current passivated emitter and rear cell ( ...

1. Problem StatementCurrent industrial-scale rare earth element separation technologies are based on solvent extraction schemes which produce large amounts of undesirable chemical waste, including the loss of volatile organic solvents and reagents employed in the treatment of feed streams. These concerns have severely limited the development of U.S.-based rare earth element separation facilities. ...

Annular extruded plastics are in everything from fuel lines, hoses, pipes, and wires to catheters, medical tubing, and stents and makes up about ? of the $200B extruded plastics market. Extrusion manufacturing is a major processor of the $600B raw plastics industry, which produces 380 million metric tons of material each year. The production of these materials accounts for 4% of oil consumption an ...

C56-12c-272445Carbon fiber composites (CFCs) exhibit superior properties and combined with part consolidation, reduce system weight significantly compared to metal approaches. But CFCs have high embodied energy (~230MJ/kg) and the virgin carbon fiber (vCF) feedstock is expensive (>$20/kg). Recycling of CFCs has the potential to recapture the material value at a much lower cost, reduce the embodied ...

Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) polymers are the primary membrane material used in the manufacturing of water electrolyzers and fuel cells for the hydrogen economy. The discarding of these materials, especially when they are combined with precious metals, presents an unwanted introduction of these materials into the environment. Thus, the opportunity being addressed by this SBIR proposal is the deve ...

Modern lithium ion batteries are known for their poor safety performance, with many reports of battery failure and fire having been reported. One of the major causes of battery fire is from the use of flammable solvents, such as organic carbonates, as the electrolyte. These hazards have long limited the usage of batteries in dangerous conditions, such as on the battlefield. To combat this issue, t ...

1. Problem Statement Many technological fields would benefit greatly from an instrumental platform capable manipulating particles with µm- to nm-scale dimensions in a non-destructive, non-contaminating manner. A prime example is the field of nuclear forensics, where the elemental/isotopic analysis of individual µm-scale particles of actinide-containing materials is critical to ongoing nuclear no ...