ORNL to receive $1M to develop innovative battery design

Battery research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee is one of 19 projects recently awarded funds from the U.S. Department of Energy. Each of the projects is designed to address ways to improve energy storage, with applications in electric vehicle technologies, electrical grid stability and efficiency and U.S. armed forces security, according to a DOE release.

ORNL is set to receive $1 million of the total $43 million provided through the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The goal is to regulate destructive hotspots that develop during use, according to the statement. Each research initiative is being supported through two new ARPA-E programs – Advanced Management and Protection of Energy Storage Devices and Small Business Innovation Research.

"This latest round of ARPA-E projects seek to address the remaining challenges in energy storage technologies, which could revolutionize the way Americans store and use energy in electric vehicles, the grid and beyond, while also potentially improving the access to energy for the U.S. military at forward operating bases in remote areas," said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. "These cutting-edge projects could transform our energy infrastructure, dramatically reduce our reliance on imported oil and increase American energy security."

Thermal management technologies have become a high-profile point of focus as they have the potential to dramatically increase battery life and efficiency while reducing long-term costs. By increasing thermal conductivity, heat management and battery performance improves.

In addition to making batteries more efficient, these innovations reduce the need for less environmentally friendly energy sources. Applying innovative thermal management technologies across a number of industries can have widespread and positive effects on the global ecosystem – both short and long-term.