Feature Stories

Researchers address material challenges to make commercial fusion power a reality

Researchers from the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Ames National Laboratory and Iowa State University are leading efforts to overcome materials challenges that could make commercial fusion power a reality.

Diagram of the first wall of a fusion reactor.

DOE’s Critical Materials Innovation Hub inspires and prepares the future critical materials workforce

Critical Materials Innovation (CMI) Hub is educating and training the critical materials workforce of the future

New lithium-ion battery recycling method is earth-friendly and more economical

Recently, a team of scientists from the U. S. Department of Energy Ames National Laboratory developed a new recycling process that eliminates the need for chemicals and high heat. This process, the Battery Recycling and Water Splitting (BRAWS) technology, uses only water and carbon dioxide to complete the process.

Photo of recovered items using BRAWS technology.

Ames National Laboratory to test new electrical transmission line that could improve grid resiliency

Material scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames National Laboratory are moving into the field-testing stage of a new type of high voltage overhead power conductor (cable).

New process tackles pollution on two fronts: plastic waste and fuel emissions

What if we could help the global plastic waste problem and the transportation industry with the same technology? A team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames National Laboratory are doing just that. The team, led by Aaron Sadow and Wenyu Huang, recently developed a chemical conversion process that makes diesel out of plastic waste.

Scientists are shaking up lithium extraction with a different kind of chemistry

Scientists at the Critical Materials Innovation (CMI) Hub, led are using mechanochemistry to shake up the conventional understanding of chemical reactions, using mechanical forces that agitate, tumble, and smash solids to initiate chemical reactions. Their new process, MELLT, is a creative solution to increase and diversify the supply of lithium in the United States.

New AC tech for military vehicles could revolutionize cooling and heating for all

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is funding a project led by Ames National Laboratory scientists to develop a new type of air conditioning system based on elastocaloric cooling technology that requires no harmful refrigerants.

Award winning alloy can improve engine performance

A new award-winning alloy can improve the energy efficiency of powertrains, the motors that make things like cars, boats and other machinery “go.” Scientists developed powertrain parts made from a new type of aluminum-based alloy that performs well in harsh conditions and is lighter weight for gains in energy efficiency.

Squeeze a little science onto your toothbrush

Millions of people across the world do it before going to bed every night: brush their teeth with toothpaste. Most of them give little thought to the product, but there is a lot of minty-fresh science packed into that tube. So much so, in fact, that Ames National Laboratory has partnered with the Colgate-Palmolive Company to help them improve toothpaste's main active ingredient: fluoride.

CMI: Addressing the gap magnet problem

The Critical Materials Institute is addressing the gap magnet problem.