Energy / Environment / Water

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Mimicking mother nature: New membrane to make fresh water

September 27, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories and their collaborators have developed a new membrane, whose structure was inspired by a protein from algae, for electrodialysis that could be used to provide fresh water for farming and energy production. The team shared their membrane design in a paper published...
Two scientists look at hand-sized white membranes, water and lush trees in background.

High-speed alloy creation might revolutionize hydrogen’s future

September 20, 2021 • LIVERMORE, Calif. — A Sandia National Laboratories team of materials scientists and computer scientists, with some international collaborators, have spent more than a year creating 12 new alloys — and modeling hundreds more — that demonstrate how machine learning can help accelerate the future of hydrogen energy by making it...

Sandia uncovers hidden factors that affect solar farms during severe weather

August 31, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers combined large sets of real-world solar data and advanced machine learning to study the impacts of severe weather on U.S. solar farms, and sort out what factors affect energy generation. Their results were published earlier this month in the scientific journal Applied Energy....

Extending nuclear power accident code for advanced reactor designs

August 24, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Nuclear power is a significant source of steady carbon-neutral electricity, making the design and construction of new and next-generation nuclear reactors critical for achieving the U.S.’s green energy goals. A number of new nuclear reactor designs, such as small modular reactors and non-light water reactors, have been...
Two men, one younger and one older, look at a large, upside-down metal bowl with a huge rip in it.

Sandia designs better batteries for grid-scale energy storage

July 21, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have designed a new class of molten sodium batteries for grid-scale energy storage. The new battery design was shared in a paper published today in the scientific journal Cell Reports Physical Science. Molten sodium batteries have been used for many years to...
Foreground, two glass tubes connected at an angle with shiny metal in one tube and purple liquid in the other. Background woman with hands in a glove box.

The hidden culprit killing lithium-metal batteries from the inside

July 14, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — For decades, scientists have tried to make reliable lithium-metal batteries. These high-performance storage cells hold 50% more energy than their prolific, lithium-ion cousins, but higher failure rates and safety problems like fires and explosions have crippled commercialization efforts. Researchers have hypothesized why the devices fail, but direct...
Battery Team

Sandia-led center to advance understanding of new solar panel technology

July 8, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Department of Energy recently awarded $14 million to form a Sandia National Laboratories-led center to improve the understanding of perovskite-based photovoltaic technologies and determine the best tests to evaluate the new solar panels’ lifetimes. The efficiency of perovskite-based solar cells has reached 25%, approaching the levels...
Categories: Renewable energy
Two men in protective helmats look at a solar module under a bright light.

Using a mineral ‘sponge’ to catch uranium

June 9, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A team of researchers from Sandia, Lawrence Berkeley and Pacific Northwest national laboratories tested a “sponge-like” mineral that can “soak up” uranium at a former uranium mill near Rifle, Colorado. The researchers found that the mineral, calcium apatite, soaks up and binds uranium from the groundwater, reducing...
Graphic of underground stream with uranium being absorbed by apatite with detection wells upstream and downstream.

Sandia app assesses value of energy storage for businesses, utilities

May 19, 2021, Media Advisory • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Utility companies and corporate project developers now have help assessing how much money adding an energy storage system will save them thanks to new Sandia National Laboratories software.[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="250"] A new Sandia Natio…

Here comes the sun: Tethered-balloon tests ensure safety of new solar-power technology

April 22, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — What do tiny dust particles, 22-foot-wide red balloons and “concentrated” sunlight have in common? Researchers from Sandia National Laboratories recently used 22-foot-wide tethered balloons to collect samples of airborne dust particles to ensure the safety of an emerging solar-power technology. The study determined that the dust created...
Two small balloons against a blue sky to the left of a large tower with a

A song of ice and fiber

April 8, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories researchers are beginning to analyze the first seafloor dataset from under Arctic sea ice using a novel method. They were able to capture ice quakes and transportation activities on the North Slope of Alaska while also monit…

Retaining knowledge of nuclear waste management

April 7, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Have you ever started a new job and spent a lot of time figuring out everything from how to get paper for the printer to whether an important customer prefers quick phone calls to emails? Imagine if that important customer was the federal government and the project...
Tito Bonano stands with Efrain O’Neill inside a huge concrete cylinder with a yellow ladder.

Finding fire and ice: Modeling the probability of methane hydrate deposits on the seafloor

March 17, 2021 • RALEIGH, N.C. — Methane hydrate, an ice-like material made of compressed natural gas, burns when lit and can be found in some regions of the seafloor and in Arctic permafrost. Thought to be the world’s largest source of natural gas, methane hydrate is a potential fuel source, and if it...
Sandia National Laboratories researchers used advanced computer models to predict the like­lihood of finding methane hydrate, an ice-like material made of compressed natural gas that burns when lit.

Catching energy-exploration caused earthquakes before they happen

March 10, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Geoscientists at Sandia National Laboratories used 3D-printed rocks and an advanced, large-scale computer model of past earthquakes to understand and prevent earthquakes triggered by energy exploration. Injecting water underground after unconventional oil and gas extraction, commonly known as fracking, geothermal energy stimulation and carbon dioxide sequestration all...
Hand holding white cube with a play button.

International research team begins uncovering Arctic mystery

February 8, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Something lurks beneath the Arctic Ocean. While it’s not a monster, it has largely remained a mystery.According to 25 international researchers who collaborated on a first-of-its-kind study, frozen land beneath rising sea levels currently traps 60 bil…

New tool at Sandia brings some West Texas wind to the Duke City — virtually

February 2, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have a new tool that allows them to study wind power and see whether it can be efficiently used to provide power to people living in remote and rural places or even off the grid, through distributed energy. A new, custom-built wind...
Scientist in protective gear looks at a cyan and red couston-built wind turbine emulator

Carbon fiber optimized for wind turbine blades could bring cost, performance benefits

January 14, 2021 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new carbon fiber material could bring cost and performance benefits to the wind industry if developed commercially, according to a study led by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories. Wind blades containing carbon fiber weigh 25% less than ones made from traditional fiberglass materials. That means carbon...
Categories: Renewable energy

Sandia to put nuclear waste storage canisters to the test

December 9, 2020 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is outfitting three 22.5-ton, 16.5-feet-long stainless-steel storage canisters with heaters and instrumentation to simulate nuclear waste so researchers can study their durability. The three canisters, which arrived in mid-November and have never contained any nuclear materials, will be used to study how much salt...
Canister video

Record neutron numbers at Sandia Labs’ Z machine fusion experiments

October 27, 2020 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— A relatively new method to control nuclear fusion that combines a massive jolt of electricity with strong magnetic fields and a powerful laser beam has achieved its own record output of neutrons — a key standard by which fusion efforts are judged — at Sandia National Laboratories’ Z...

Hispanic organization honors nuclear waste management leader, cyber assurance architect

October 15, 2020 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two experts at Sandia National Laboratories have been honored for their achievements and leadership as top engineers and scientists from the Hispanic community. Evaristo “Tito” Bonano, nuclear energy fuel cycle senior manager, and cyber assurance architect Angela “Ang” Rivas were recognized at the 32nd annual Hispanic Engineer...
Tito Bonano

Machine-learning technique from Sandia Labs could improve fusion energy outputs

October 12, 2020 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Machine-learning techniques, best known for teaching self-driving cars to stop at red lights, may soon help researchers around the world improve their control over the most complicated reaction known to science: nuclear fusion. Fusion reactions are typically hydrogen atoms heated to form a gaseous cloud called a...

Turning up the heat on molten salt valves

October 5, 2020 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is partnering with Flowserve Corp. and Kairos Power LLC on a $2.5 million, three-year Department of Energy Advanced Valve Project grant to lower the cost and boost the efficiency of concentrating solar power in the U.S. Control valves are a critical link in managing...
Armijo at Molten Salt Test Loop

Energy tech development for US, NM aim of Sandia and PNM partnership

September 21, 2020 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories and New Mexico’s largest electricity provider, PNM, have teamed up to bring energy resiliency, security and stability to the state and country. “The partnership with PNM will address energy challenges not just in New Mexico but across the United States,” Sandia Labs Director James...

High-performance computer facility at Sandia honored for sustainable building practices

September 16, 2020 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is being recognized by the Department of Energy and the Green Building Council for its efforts to support green and sustainable building and construction regarding a new data center addition to its high-performance computing facility. Recently, the facility was given the LEED Gold certification...
Water rushes through tubes and computer racks, providing a warm-water cooling system and keeping the high-performance computers from overheating at Sandia National Laboratories' newest data center.

Basic laws of physics spruce up machine learning

August 6, 2020 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A proposed project to help scientists use the laws of physics to view multiscale physical events with a clarity never before achieved has won an Early Career Research Program award from the Department of Energy for Sandia National Laboratories researcher Nathaniel Trask. Such work may require observations...
Nat Trask
Results 51–75 of 392