September 2025
NREL Expertise Contributes to Customizable Ready-To-Deploy Tool Package To Improve Fleet Efficiency
NREL, freight industry, academia, and technology partners develop promising solution to cost-effectively increase trucking efficiency.
Q&A With Alli Werner: Engineer Enlists Tiniest Engineers (Microbes) To Recycle Plastics, Mine for Metals, and More
In the latest Manufacturing Masterminds Q&A, biological engineer Alli Werner shares why she thinks high school students should not have to choose between sports and science, what a summer internship at an Alaskan glacier taught her about field work, and how her latest breakthroughs could help make it easier, cheaper, and less toxic to recover precious metals.
NREL Researchers Build World’s Fastest, Low-Cost, Ultraefficient Silicon Carbide Power Module
How will the world meet rising energy demands? NREL researchers have an answer in the form of the Ultra-Low Inductance Smart power module, nicknamed ULIS.
Cooler Buildings, Stronger Grid: A New Approach to Air Conditioning With Built-In Energy Storage
The Energy Storing Efficient Air Conditioner is a game-changing technology developed by NREL in collaboration with Blue Frontier Inc. that can lower a building’s electricity bills and help reduce demand on the grid.
Built for Brilliance: Zintl-Phase Quantum Dots Illuminate New Opportunities for Optoelectronics
NREL-synthesized BaCd₂P₂ quantum dots demonstrate promising performance with Earth-abundant materials.
A Walk Through the Evolution of Distribution Grid Tools at NREL and Beyond
Aadil Latif discusses the different eras of distribution modeling tools and exciting developments ahead.
NREL Publishes Strategies To Reduce Energy Costs in Commercial Buildings, Including Hospitals
Plug and process load reduction strategies are key to intelligent whole building systems operation.
August 2025
AI Could Snuff Out Wildfires One Power Line at a Time
NREL's computing capabilities could help prevent wildfires caused by fallen power lines.
International Institute Turns Spotlight on NREL's Marc Day
The Combustion Institute, which dates to 1954, designates fellows based on peer recognition for outstanding contributions to the field of combustion, whether in research or in applications.
Paving the Road for Cement and Concrete Technologies
NREL brings together specialists from across the country to discuss cement and concrete for its third annual critical technologies meeting.
Applications Open for Collegiate Competitions Aimed at Inspiring Future Water Power Workforce
Application period opens for annual marine energy and hydropower competitions, which challenge college students to find real-world solutions and explore career pathways.
Breaking Rules but Not Waves: Plasmons in Correlated Materials
Researchers discovered that charge waves called plasmons can survive—and even thrive—in a “bad” metal, challenging long-held beliefs about conductivity and coherence in quantum materials.
AI Could Help Bridge Valley of Death for New Materials
More than 50 experts gathered at NREL to consider how incorporating AI into materials synthesis, characterization, and modeling could unlock new insights and speed new technologies to market.
Heavy Metal Meets High Tides With New 3D Printer
New tool lets researchers and partners cut prototyping costs, wait times, and design barriers for ocean energy technologies and more.
Researchers Observe Evidence of Hyperbolic Exciton Polaritons
Promising new pathways for manipulating excitons and light can benefit optoelectronics.
Researchers Surf Magnon Wave To Control Particles in Next-Gen Electronics
A new study demonstrates how magnons, a type of wave found in magnetic systems, can manipulate interactions between excitons—uncharged “quasiparticles” that carry energy.
July 2025
Early-Career Spotlight: From Astrophysics to Applied Artificial Intelligence, Hilary Egan Charts a Creative Path Through Science
This month's Materials, Chemical, and Computational Science Early-Career Spotlight features Hilary Egan, who has been a data scientist at NREL since 2020.
NREL Transportation Researchers Recognized for Leadership, Innovativeness, and Collaboration at Vehicle Technologies Office Annual Merit Reviews
Transportation researchers from NREL received awards at the 2025 Annual Merit Review meeting for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office.
NREL Technical Support Empowers Local Governments and Tribes To Boost Energy Efficiency and Cut Costs
From Sugar Land, Texas, to Chenega, Alaska, NREL is advancing affordable, community-driven energy solutions across the nation through the DOE Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program.
West Gate’s 4th Cohort Innovators Pursue Advanced Energy Applications Throughout Energy Landscape
Innovators bring exciting ideas to the fourth cohort of West Gate—NREL’s Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program.
Last Updated May 28, 2025