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FORGING THE FUTURE
In This Issue
News
See how we were featured in the news and read our press releases.
Staff Accomplishments
Tom Brouns
Named Fellow of Waste Management Symposia
Pam Cole
Awarded as the 2016 Energy Efficiency Code Champion
Jeff Dagle
Selected for National Academy of Engineering committee
Xiahong Shari Li & Wendy Bennett
Named as Battelle Distinguished Inventors
Zimin Nie
Identified as PNNL's Inventor of the Year
May 2016 
When it comes to sustainability, we don't just 'talk the talk.' By using our campus as a living laboratory to test innovative concepts, upgrade our assets, and promote conservation behavior, we 'walk the walk.' Here are 10 things we're doing to help create a more sustainable PNNL... read more.  
Electricity Infrastructure
Low Temperature Battery Design Shows Promise for Grid Energy Storage
Researchers at PNNL have revealed a new intermediate temperature sodium-metal halide battery design that is more stable and less expensive to manufacture. The new design uses a very thin solid-state electrolyte plate made of... read more.
Pursuing Grid Flexibility, Avoiding Grid Lock
A new software tool, called GridUnity™, helps utilities cut application review times for distributed energy resources from months to only one and a half hours. Developed by researchers from PNNL and Qado Energy, the new tool will reduce costs and increase grid reliability through the integration of... read more.
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
International Collaboration Studies Effects of Marine Renewable Energy Devices
The newly-released State of Science Report summarizes interactions of marine renewable energy devices with the marine environment, the animals that live there, and the habitats that support them. The report research was a collaboration led by the United States with 13 different nations... read more. 
Not Your Grandma's Storm Windows
Low-e storm windows tested under real conditions by PNNL are being considered for an Environmental Protection Agency ENERGY STAR label. PNNL's building modeling, home experiments, and market assessment research helped provide a baseline for the Framework Document released by the agency... read more.
Lithium Hoarding Behind Failure of Promising New Battery
Researchers at PNNL discovered how salt can be packed into battery electrolyte to allow lithium-sulfur batteries to hold a charge after more than 200 uses. This work offers needed design principles for creating long-lasting, high-capacity... read more.
Small Business Vouchers Further Clean Energy Technology
Three small, green energy businesses will be partnering with researchers at PNNL to advance their technologies. Through DOE's Small Business Vouchers program, Percheron Power, LLC, NorthWrite, and Visolis, Inc. were all awarded... read more.
Developing a Community for Connected Buildings
Smart devices are everywhere - from the phone in your hand, to the heat pump in your house, to the thermostat in your office. A recent report issued by PNNL on behalf of DOE aims to take advantage of this increased connectivity... read more.
Environmental Health and Remediation
New Insights from Old Glass
How might old - really old - glass mirror immobilized radioactive waste at the Hanford Site? Researchers are seeking answers from walls containing ancient glass in Europe. These walls, known as hillforts, are defense structures that date as far back as the Bronze Age. Early studies suggest that the hillfort stones share similar properties with glass that the DOE plans to use for vitrification, making them ideal for simulated... read more.
Take the Heat, Cool the Glass
Results from a recent PNNL study show strong evidence that the heating and cooling system at the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant will safely cool the radioactive waste glass produced at DOE's vitrification... read more.
Nuclear
The world's oceans hold more than four billion tons of uranium - enough to meet global energy needs for the next 10,000 years. For half a century, researchers have tried to mine uranium from seawater with limited success - until now. A braid of polyethylene fibers developed by researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and tested by PNNL shows the capacity to hold 5.2 grams of uranium per kilogram of adsorbent in 49 days... read more.
PNNL | Energy and Environment Directorate
energyenvironment@pnnl.gov |  energyenvironment.pnnl.gov
902 Battelle Blvd.
Richland, WA 99354