Latest News

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Amanda Schoch, an experienced national intelligence communications strategist, tapped to lead PNNL Communications

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PNNL researchers used natural language processing and deep learning techniques to reveal how and why different types of misinformation and disinformation spread across social platforms. Applied to COVID-19, the team found that misinformation intended to influence politics and incite fear spreads fastest.

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Researchers will be able to design their own computer accelerators for faster analysis of large datasets

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Machine learning techniques are accelerating the development of stronger alloys for power plants, which will yield efficiency, cost, and decarbonization benefits.

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PNNL intern Ki Ahn spent this past year as an undergraduate at PNNL gaining hands-on research experience in clean energy storage technologies for vehicles and aviation. Ahn is enrolling in Stanford University this fall to finish his bachelor’s degree. With plans to major in mechanical engineering or computer science, he wants to explore how future aircraft technologies can be designed to reduce harmful environmental effects.

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New energy-efficient dehumidifier technology holds promise to reduce energy consumption in residential A/C systems and increase the range of electric vehicles.

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PNNL's Dongsheng Li’s crystal formation research helped reveal why nanoparticles sometimes self-assemble into five-sided shapes. The discovery will potentially be useful in medical research, electronics, and other applications.

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PNNL’s Framework for Assessment of Complex Environmental Tradeoffs (FACET) is designed to navigate and rigorously evaluate competing environmental, economic, and social impacts to help make decisions more equitable. In an example scenario prepared using publicly available data, FACET was applied to predict tradeoffs facing the Colorado River and to balance competing demands of river flow and temperature, along with withdrawals for cities, crop irrigation, and power generation.

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OpenCGRA expedites the design-prototype cycle of computer architecture development.

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Access to transportation will be made easier in a semi-rural Oregon town through an electric vehicle carsharing program. PNNL is lending analytics expertise that will inform programs in other rural and semi-rural areas.

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PNNL’s infrared pulsed heating technique reveals supercooled water’s weird behavior; opens door to other fluid studies at new Energy Sciences Center.

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New research findings aid in the design of more efficient water purification technologies.

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Scientists have created a cybersecurity technology called Shadow Figment that is designed to lure hackers into an artificial world, then stop them from doing damage by feeding them illusory tidbits of success. The technology is aimed at protecting physical targets—infrastructure such as buildings, the electric grid, and water and sewage systems.

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The DOE Early Career Research Program supports exceptional researchers during the crucial early years of their careers and helps advance scientific discovery in fundamental sciences

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SoCalGas recently licensed a PNNL-developed generation system that uses sunlight to convert natural gas and water into hydrogen and capture the carbon dioxide (CO2) to prevent carbon emissions. Hydrogen has many applications, including powering vehicles and homes.

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A new report finds small modular reactors could provide competitively priced electricity in Washington state's future electricity market.

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The Digital Twins for Hydropower framework will help the industry to affordably modernize its aging hydropower fleet.

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A compound used widely in candles offers promise for a much more modern energy challenge—storing massive amounts of energy to be fed into the electric grid as the need arises.

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A simple sensor system developed at PNNL can prevent dangerous battery fires.

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PNNL researchers developed an innovative capability to rapidly separate, monitor, and tightly control specific uranium and plutonium ratios in real-time—an important achievement in efficiently controlling the resulting product and safeguarding nuclear material.

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A new class of bio-inspired two-dimensional (2D) hybrid nanomaterials mimic the ability of photosynthetic plants and bacteria.

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In a collaboration between Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Washington’s Urban Freight Lab, a prototype webapp has been developed that combines smart sensors and machine learning to predict parking space availability. The prototype is ready for initial testing to help commercial delivery drivers find open spaces without expending fuel and losing time and patience.

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Computational results clarify the role water plays in the reactivity of a widely used class of porous oxide catalysts.

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PNNL scientists, working with researchers at Washington State University and Tsinghua University, discovered a mechanism behind the decline in performance of an advanced copper-based catalyst. The team’s findings, featured on the cover of the journal ACS Catalysis, could aid the design of catalysts that work better and last longer during the NOx conversion process.

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Physical chemist Marcel Baer brings meticulous care to understanding how energy moves through molecules.

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Earth-friendly process may help make critical materials sourcing economically feasible in the U.S.

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PNNL has released the first stable version of ExaGO, an open-source grid modeling software that can help grid operators perform analyses at unprecedented scale to plan ahead for extreme events.

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Scientists at PNNL and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation identify acres of spawning habitat in the Upper Columbia River.

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Scientists are developing new techniques to make the most of limited data in the national security space, using explainable artificial intelligence to extract more meaning from the information in hand.

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A shoe scanner may allow people passing through security screening to keep their shoes on. PNNL built the scanner based on the same technology it used to develop airport scanners. It's licensed to Liberty Defense.

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With quantum chemistry, PNNL scientists are discovering how enzymes such as nitrogenase serve as natural catalysts that efficiently break apart molecular bonds to control energy and matter.

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Vigorous and rapid air exchanges might not always be a good thing when it comes to levels of coronavirus particles in a multiroom building, according to a new modeling study. Particle levels can spike in downstream rooms shortly after rapid ventilation.

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Computational chemist Samantha Johnson, who is searching for combinations to bolster energy future, is among the PNNL scientists preparing to move into the Energy Sciences Center. The new $90 million, 140,000-square-foot facility, is under construction on the PNNL campus and will accelerate innovation in energy research using chemistry, materials science, and quantum information sciences to support the nation’s climate and clean energy research agenda.

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New study projects electricity demand tied to cooling U.S. buildings will grow as peak temperatures rise, alongside the need for an expanded power sector.

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Three unused, 48,000-pound stainless steel canisters arrived at PNNL, bringing the chance to deepen research in spent nuclear fuel storage and transportation.

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More than two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by the oceans and seas. Over the next decade, these vast waters are expected to add $3 trillion to the global economy by generating electricity using marine renewable energy (MRE) devices. These “blue economy” technologies harness power across waves, tides, and currents that could reduce the carbon footprint from energy production and provide grid stability to remote coastal communities.

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PNNL researchers investigate innovative transportation system’s impact on the electric grid

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Cats and dogs. Huskies and wolves. While AI research sometimes seems dominated by talk about animals, the discussions are critical for understanding AI decisions. This “explainable AI” research is critical for many domains, including the detection of nuclear explosions or the movement of materials that endanger the nation’s security.

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A large-scale demonstration converting biocrude to renewable diesel fuel has passed a significant test, operating for more than 2,000 hours continuously without losing effectiveness.

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An HVAC system energy efficiency analysis method developed by PNNL is now included in the Washington State Energy Code.

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Science kits containing PNNL’s smartphone microscope provide immersive STEM activities for historically underserved and rural students

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For a quarter century, PNNL has played a pivotal role in assessing environmental justice related to energy siting. The Lab partners with agencies to identify and engage minority, low-income, or other historically disadvantaged populations in regulatory decision-making for large, complex federal projects.

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PNNL, teaming with academia and industry, develops a novel zero-emission methane pyrolysis process that produces both hydrogen and high-value carbon solids.

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PNNL's newest solvent captures carbon dioxide from power plants for as little as $47.10 per metric ton, marking a significant milestone in the journey to lower the cost of carbon capture.

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On the looming 10th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster at the Daiichi Power Station in Japan, PNNL looks back at the science and solidarity it has shared with Fukushima and its nuclear cleanup effort.

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Innovative technology combines continuous, remote, real-time testing and monitoring of byproduct gasses, paving the way for faster advanced reactor development and testing.

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As he prepares to enter PNNL's Energy Sciences Center later this year, Vijayakumar 'Vijay' Murugesan is among DOE researchers exploring solutions to design and build transformative materials for batteries of the future.

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PNNL streamlines environmental review process for advanced reactors, saving years and millions of dollars toward deployments of new nuclear power projects.

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New 140,000-square-foot facility will advance fundamental chemistry and materials science for higher-performing, cost-effective catalysts and batteries, and other energy efficiency technologies.

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Understanding the choices and recommendations of artificial intelligence systems is crucial, especially when the stakes are high, as they are with national security issues like nuclear nonproliferation. A PNNL team is using explainable AI to further the effectiveness of AI systems.