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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 793 records · Page 44
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Nano Filters for Selective Metal Capture (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, Sunchem investigated novel nanoporous materials and their metal extraction performance in both batch and dynamic continuous flow operations. The proposed project developed novel nanoporous materials for selective metal extraction from complex industrial mixtures. The technical objectives were to synthesize and characterize the nanoporous materials, structure the nanoporous materials with binders along with structuring techniques and evaluate its performance in both a batch and dynamic continuous flow operation. The nanoporous material was structured through a disc granulation method to obtain particles in the size range of 250 to 500 micron diameter. This structured material was packed into a continuous flow column which achieved up to 48 wt% of gold capture. This work aimed to address the key technical risk of the materials’ capability to be employed in an industrial operation with competitive performance compared to other adsorbents.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Impact of surface growth method and surface treatment in niobium-based superconducting devices

We explore the comparison between two growth methods for niobium film - sputtering and electron-cyclotron resonance growth - for niobium-based superconducting resonators. We discuss some of the key properties of the films, including surface characterization and residual resistance measurements metrics. We present our design of various devices used in this study including superconducting resonators and qubits, both in planar configurations and integrated in 3D cavities, as well as experimental characterization of coherence metrics.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Electrifying Critical Mineral Refinement in the US (CRADA Final Report)

The technical founder of Aepnus Technology Inc. was competitively selected for support by Cyclotron Road, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP) through an approved merit review process. Through this program, Aepnus Technology has collaborated with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to develop and validate a novel electrolysis platform targeting the recycling of sodium sulfate waste, a pervasive byproduct in the battery supply chain. The platform aims to address inefficiencies in conventional electrolysis by leveraging Aepnus' proprietary gas diffusion electrode (GDE) technology, which replaces precious metal catalysts, such as iridium, to achieve high efficiency, reduced operational costs, and enhanced durability.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Enzyme Engineering for Expanded Product Scope (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, Aralez Inc. investigated methods for producing chemicals sustainably, with a particular focus on engineering enzymes to make novel chemical products or accept new substrates that aren’t found in nature. We used directed evolution and other protein engineering techniques to create enzymes that perform abiological chemistry or make chemical products through a non-natural synthetic route. This work was an important step towards increasing the scope of compounds that can be manufactured in a sustainable fashion, which in turn will alleviate the high energy consumption, costly emissions, and waste that are hallmarks of current methods in chemical manufacturing.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Turning Food Waste into Biobased Products (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, the ZestBio project team investigated the production of chemical products from industrial agricultural byproducts and sustainable carbon sources. The goal of the research was to explore methods of manufacturing of new chemical products from renewable carbon that could address growing consumer and regulatory demands for environmentally-friendly and biobased chemicals. Previously, ZestBio and the technical founders developed enzymatic and chemical conversion technologies that transform abundant sugars found in these byproducts into value-adding, high performance chemicals.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Fusion Development and Technology (Final Technical Report for FC02-93ER54186)

The project is divided into three major tasks: 1) Magnet R&D i) Magnets Task 1 - Development of HTS Twisted Stacked-Tape Cable (TSTC) conductors for high field, high current magnets ii) Magnets Task 2– Development of Cryogenic Magnet Cooling Technology iii) Magnets Task 3 - National and International Collaboration 2) Electron Cyclotron Heating (ECH) of plasmas 3) FNSF Liquid Metals Study.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Development of Solid Isotope Harvesting Methods in Preparation for FRIB (Final Report)

In a collaborative effort between Hunter College (HC), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and Michigan State University (MSU), we aimed to investigate the recovery of 88 Zr produced as the secondary beam at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) from solid collectors via solid isotope harvesting. We developed separation schemes to isolate Zr from sub-gram-scale collectors composed of various materials including carbon, aluminum, copper, tungsten, and gold. The solid harvesting endstation was constructed and then used as part of a dedicated beamtime at the NSCL using 88 Zr beam. After irradiation, the 88 Zr was radiochemically separated from each of the collector materials and the recovery efficiencies from each was assessed. The results of this work provide a path forward for harvesting hydrolysable metals at FRIB as a complementary approach to aqueous isotope harvesting.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Renewable On-Site Nitrogen Fertilizer Production (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, the Nitricity Inc. research team sought to investigate the electrification of nitrogen fixation and the corresponding development of fixed nitrogen products. Nitricity’s cofounders had developed a plasma process and related technologies to cost-effectively use air, water, and electricity to convert nitrogen gas into nitrogen fertilizer (and other nitrogen products). This project explored ways to make this process more efficient and robust. Synthetic nitrogen fixation is critical for growing crops and feeding most of the world’s populace. However, the incumbent method to fix nitrogen, the Haber–Bosch process, requires unsustainable fossil fuels and ultra-centralized facilities with a supply-chain network that fails to reach many developing countries. Nitricity envisions that their process when scaled, may provide sustainable fixed nitrogen in many forms to fit the needs of the end user.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multi-Scale Design And Advanced Manufacturing Of Seismic Metamaterials (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, METAseismic sought to investigate a multi-scale approach, both in terms of manufacturing and design, for seismic metamaterials with applications in the energy sector. Specifically, this project explored the feasibility of using nanofabrication to enable the incorporation of 3D nanostructured components into a mechanical metamaterial. These components were explored to increase the seismic resilience of our infrastructure to earthquakes, with the final aim of providing customized levels of protection for its components. This was envisioned as the base of a multi-scale design approach that consisted of using a multiplicity of metamaterial architectures ranging from the nano- to the meso-scale to address the stringent seismic design objectives of electric-power equipment.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Leveraging High-resolution Molecular Composition of Soil Organic Matter to Enhance Carbon Cycling Modeling

Soils store more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined, yet Earth system models still struggle to predict how this vast reservoir will respond to environmental change. A central limitation is that most soil biogeochemical models represent organic matter using bulk conceptual pools or chemically homogeneous fractions, preventing direct use of rapidly expanding molecular-scale datasets. Here we develop and test a new soil decomposition framework that explicitly integrates high-resolution information on organic matter composition. First, we construct a molecularly informed litter decomposition module in which plant inputs are partitioned into five functional compound classes—carbohydrates, proteins, lignin-like aromatics, lipids, and carbonyls—using a molecular mixing model calibrated to solid-state 13 C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectra. Class-specific kinetics, lignin-dependent physical protection, and substrate-driven microbial carbon use efficiency allow the module to capture metabolic tradeoffs associated with enzyme production and nutrient limitation. We then embed this litter module within a microbially explicit whole-soil model that tracks the transformation of these compound classes through particulate organic matter, dissolved organic matter, mineral-associated organic matter, and microbial biomass. High-resolution Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) data are used to link internal pools to measurable soil organic matter fractions and to constrain key process parameters. Applications at soil-core and ecosystem scales demonstrate that the new model reproduces observed soil respiration dynamics while providing mechanistic attribution of CO 2 fluxes to specific chemical classes and pools. Compared to existing frameworks such as the Community Land Model soil biogeochemistry module and the Millennial model, our approach maintains competitive predictive skill while substantially improving interpretability and opportunities for data–model integration. This work illustrates a viable pathway for leveraging molecular-scale observations to reduce structural uncertainty in soil carbon–climate feedback projections.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Plastic from CO2 and Inedible Biomass (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, ReSource Chemical Corp. sought to investigate the conversion of inedible biomass and CO₂ to FDCA. FDCA is a performance monomer widely viewed as a green replacement for the petroleum-derived monomer PTA, which is produced at approximately 60 Mt per year with over 100 Mt of annual GHG emissions. The major polyester made from PTA, called PET, is a >$\$$100B industry with applications in bottling, food packaging, and fibers. The FDCA analogue of PET, called PEF, had superior gas barrier, mechanical, and thermal properties that enable increased shelf life of perishable goods while using less plastic.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Aligned carbon nanotubes for 1,000x improvement in computing (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, the Aligned Carbon team worked to improve and bring to market their technology to manufacture carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for integrated circuits. There are multiple applications which can benefit from the use of CNT based transistors in integrated circuits, including high performance computing, RF data transmission, and biosensing. Each of these applications faces a problem of poor starting CNT material to come to market. Aligned Carbon offers material with the highest ceiling of performance based around a fully aligned, uniform, on-wafer growth of CNTs and our proprietary purification process to remove metallic CNTs leaving only the semi-conducting ones behind. Further, Aligned Carbon has been guided by scalable manufacturing processes that will fit seamlessly into the integrated circuit foundry model of chip fabrication.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Paintable Reflective Coatings (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road LEEP, the Cypris Materials project team conducted research on the viability of a new reflective coating technology based on a novel advanced materials platform. Building off of nearly a decade of academic research spanning multiple institutions, research efforts were designed to tackle the familiar problem of maturing a project into a minimum viable product. Fundamental technologies spawned from academic research are fraught with both scientific and technical risk, as the barriers to a successful peer reviewed publication are much lower than a commercial product with a paying customer base. It is common, especially when maturing chemical or material innovations, to encounter a number of critical assumptions or features that support the performance of the technology in an unsustainable fashion. At the outset of the project, the platform technology of Cypris Materials was no different. Specific research thrusts regarding scale-up, process optimization, technoeconomic modeling, market specific weathering performance, and market specific optical performance were tackled during the CRADA project.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Big Data Meets Geothermal Exploration (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals, Inc. investigated the application of micro-earthquake and ambient noise seismology methods to imaging and characterizing the structural characteristics and hydrothermal flux of subsurface faults. Significant advances in what could be resolved were enabled by two major developments in seismology: 1) the availability of large-n arrays of low-cost seismometers, and 2) the availability of increased computational power and semi-automated data reduction algorithms. In tandem, these advances may improve the signal-to-noise ratio and spatial precision of the data collected and enable higher-resolution characterization of subsurface fracture systems and their spatio-temporal evolution. These tools supported efforts to reduce dry-hole risk and to improve wellfield productivity for geothermal resource development. In particular, two applications of these advances were evaluated: 1) fracture-seismic imaging, which was used to detect ambient emissions from fluid-filled fractures, and 2) reservoir tomography, which used information about travel paths, source locations, and source parameters of micro-earthquakes to identify areas of enhanced permeability. Integration of these methods provided guidance for siting wells and served as prior constraints for reservoir models, informing forecasts of power potential and production and injection strategies aimed at minimizing temperature decline and improving overall resource productivity.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Next-Generation Electric Motors and Electromagnetic Devices (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, the Foli Research team investigated electric motors and other electromagnetic devices additively manufactured by depositing fine conducting wire onto a substrate. By leveraging modern motion control and efficient upstream manufacturing processes, the team explored using geometric control and turnkey production comparable to printed circuit board manufacturing, aiming at ten-fold improvements in signal density, while eliminating the material use, cost, and complexity overheads of subtractive processes at large scales. Owing to the achievable density and additive scaling, disparate components became monolithic, and disparate processes were combined with the aim of reducing development costs, uncertainties, and timelines. When applied to electric motors, this technology may enable agile manufacturing of next-generation designs, with dramatic increases in achievable power density and material utilization. Electric motors represent the single largest user of electricity in the U.S. and a critical component of decarbonized infrastructure. Despite this significance, the manufacturing of motors and other electromagnetic devices remains capital-intensive, labor-intensive, and performance-limiting. Advanced manufacturing processes were required to produce high-performance, low-cost, application-specific electric motors and electromagnetic devices to support an electrified future.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Characterization of Peripheral Neurophotonic Systems for High-Performance Human-Computer Interfaces (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, Morphosis Inc. sought to investigate a non-invasive neuromuscular sensing approach for use as an intuitive and secure human–computer interface. These highly miniaturized, wearable neural interfaces were completely non-invasive and maintained stable, high-bandwidth, long-term access to a user’s actions, intent, and identity, while offering an exceptionally high signal-to-noise ratio compared to contemporary neural recording technologies. The widespread adoption of neural interfaces had the potential to reshape how people interact with technology, with profound societal impacts. Millions worldwide suffered from movement and/or speech disabilities, and these tools had the potential to democratize access to technology to enhance autonomy and quality of life. More broadly, interfaces capable of accurately conveying intentions and safeguarding identities could serve as a cornerstone for privacy, trust, and personal authenticity in digital environments. The use of thought-driven control of digitally enabled devices and governance of digital identities had the potential to revolutionize relationships with technology, transforming how people learn, communicate, and interact with the world.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Developing safe, effective, and orally available treatments for heavy metal poisoning (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, HOPO Therapeutics investigated the technical capabilities of heavy metal chelating agents for the sequestration, (re)distribution, delivery, and removal of metal ions, and their applications in the health, environment, and energy sectors. The project team researched chelating agents for use in the removal of heavy metals, and evaluated their potential benefits for a range of therapeutic, environmental, and energy applications.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗