The receipt of a nuclear fuel canister is boosting the research of an Oak Ridge National Laboratory team investigating methods to help the nation effectively dispose of nuclear waste for the long term.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a robotic disassembly system for spent electric vehicle battery packs to safely and efficiently recycle and reuse critical materials while reducing toxic waste.

With the anticipated growth in EVs over the next two decades comes the issue of how to recycle the large lithium-ion battery packs that power them. ORNL engineers put together a demonstration to show that robots can accelerate disassembly and make the process safer for workers while greatly increasing throughput.

A new tool that simulates the energy profile of every building in America will give homeowners, utilities and companies a quick way to determine energy use and cost-effective retrofits that can reduce energy and carbon emissions.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a modeling program that provides energy details for every one of the 129 million buildings across the United States using publicly available data.

Four first-of-a-kind 3D-printed fuel assembly brackets, produced at the Department of Energy’s Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have been installed and are now under routine operating conditions at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 2 in Athens, Alabama.

The components were developed in collaboration with TVA, Framatome and the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy–funded Transformational Challenge Reactor, or TCR, program based at ORNL.

Joseph Pickel of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been elected a 2021 fellow of the American Chemical Society, or ACS.

Pickel supports the Fusion and Fission Energy and Sciences Directorate as environment, safety and health coordinator.

He was recognized for his contributions to improved laboratory safety and operational processes and modernization of laboratory facilities. He also is recognized for contributions through service in leadership roles and the development of safety programming for the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety.