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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....
Categories: Climate Change, Computing, Renewable energy
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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...
Categories: Computing, Energy / Environment / Water
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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...
Categories: Renewable energy, Science / Technology / Engineering
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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...
Categories: Chemistry, Energy / Environment / Water, Materials Science, Nanotechnology, Science / Technology / Engineering
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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
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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...
Categories: Energy / Environment / Water, Materials Science, Science / Technology / Engineering
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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…
Categories: Computing, Renewable energy
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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...
Categories: Climate Change, Energy / Environment / Water, Renewable energy
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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 monitoring for other climate signals and marine life....
Categories: Climate Change, Energy / Environment / Water
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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...
Categories: Energy / Environment / Water
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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...
Categories: Climate Change, Energy / Environment / Water
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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...
Categories: Energy / Environment / Water, Science / Technology / Engineering
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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 billion tons of methane and 560 billion tons of organic...
Categories: Climate Change, Energy / Environment / Water
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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...
Categories: Energy / Environment / Water, Renewable energy
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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
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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...
Categories: Chemistry, Energy / Environment / Water, Science / Technology / Engineering
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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...
Categories: Energy / Environment / Water, Military / Defense, Nuclear Weapons, Physics, Science / Technology / Engineering, Space / Astronomy
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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...
Categories: Awards, Energy / Environment / Water, Science / Technology / Engineering
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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...
Categories: Climate Change, Computing, Energy / Environment / Water, Military / Defense, Physics, Science / Technology / Engineering
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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...
Categories: Energy / Environment / Water, Renewable energy, Science / Technology / Engineering, Technology transfer / Economic Impact
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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...
Categories: Energy / Environment / Water, Technology transfer / Economic Impact
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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...
Categories: Awards, Energy / Environment / Water, Science / Technology / Engineering
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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...
Categories: Awards, Computing, Energy / Environment / Water, Materials Science, Physics, Science / Technology / Engineering
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Nat Trask

Sandia initiatives to protect US energy grid and nuclear weapons systems
March 23, 2020 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — To deter attempts to disable U.S. electrical utilities and to defend U.S. nuclear weapon systems from evolving technological threats, Sandia National Laboratories has begun two multiyear initiatives to strengthen U.S. responses. One is focused on defending large U.S. electrical utility systems from potential attacks by hostile nations,...
Categories: Climate Change, Cybersecurity, Energy / Environment / Water, Homeland security, Military / Defense, Nuclear Weapons, Physics, Science / Technology / Engineering
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Power Grid

Sandia, Puerto Rican university collaborate to develop energy projects for global tropics
March 6, 2020 • ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new 10-year agreement between Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, has the potential to bring more reliable electricity to remote communities and the latest in electrical grid technology to rural areas in the world’s tropics. A Sandia manager who was born and...
Categories: Energy / Environment / Water, Technology transfer / Economic Impact
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Results 51–75 of 338