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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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288 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Self-Leveling Inks for Printing Ultra-uniform Perovskite Solar Modules by Flexography

The report describes the development of scalable manufacturing methods for high-performance, stable perovskite solar modules using flexographic printing. The project developed self-leveling perovskite inks that exploit Marangoni flows to reduce coating defects and improve large-area film uniformity. Bayesian optimization was integrated with high-throughput photoluminescence mapping and photovoltaic measurements to efficiently optimize ink formulations and printing conditions. The resulting printed perovskite solar cells achieved champion power conversion efficiencies above 21.6%, with median efficiencies exceeding 20% across large device batches. At the module scale, printed devices achieved active-area efficiencies up to approximately 17.3% on 25 cm² substrates. The project also demonstrated improved performance and stability using additively patterned interconnections compared with laser-scribed controls. Overall, the work establishes a data-driven, roll-compatible pathway toward high-throughput, low-capital-cost manufacturing of uniform and stable perovskite photovoltaics.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Mechanistic origin of solvent-dependent thermal stability in sodiated Sn anodes for sodium-ion batteries

Understanding the thermal stability of high-energy density alloy anodes is critical for the safe deployment of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Here, accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC), post-mortem characterizations, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations are combined to understand the thermal reactivity of fully sodiated Sn, Sn-hard carbon (HC) blends, and HC anodes in carbonate- and ether-based electrolytes. ARC measurements show that propylene carbonate (PC) causes earlier self-heating rate (SHR) onset and higher reactivity than tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME), indicating inferior thermal stability. Sodiated Sn exhibits better thermal stability than sodiated HC, while Sn-HC blends show intermediate behavior that improves with increasing Sn content. Post-ARC analyses reveal desodiation of Na15Sn4 to metallic Sn with particle coalescence, whereas Sn-HC blends and HC retain finer morphologies. PC promotes Sn oxidation to SnO, while TEGDME suppresses oxide formation; NaPF6-containing electrolytes additionally form NaF. DFT calculations show that PC adsorption lowers Na extraction energy and enhances interfacial electronic interactions, facilitating Na release and reductive decomposition. These results establish a direct correlation between solvent-dependent reaction pathways and thermal stability in SIB alloy anodes.

Accelerating rate calorimetry↗
DOE OSTI2026

Compositional Homogeneity in Rapidly Solidified 316L stainless steel produced by laser powder-bed fusion processing

The segregation of alloying elements in rapidly solidified 316L stainless steel produced using additive manufacturing technologies is widely reported throughout literature. The microstructure of thin walls manufactured from 316L stainless steel using laser powder bed fusion are examined for the presence of alloy segregation, i.e. the rejection of solutes to grain boundaries. Metallographic methods including mechanical polishing and chemical etching are used to prepare samples for microanalysis m

Jankowski, Alan F. [Sandia National Laboratories (↗
DOE OSTI2025

CRADA 2022-03 Final Report: Advanced Bearing Materials for Harsh Service Conditions

Develop advanced bearing materials for hydrogen gas turbines and wind turbines. Two candidate materials have been selected based on Ames lab’s recent work on high entropy alloys and shape memory alloys. These materials are designed to exhibit a balance of hardness, strength, toughness, and corrosion resistance. The hydrogen diffusion coefficient in the NiTi based shape memory alloy is two order of magnitude lower than that of the conventional case hardened bearing steel. We plan to atomize these materials into powders, additive manufacture cylindrical bearings, then test these bearing for rolling-contact fatigue, corrosion properties, and hydrogen embrittlement. We are a vertically integrated team comprises of national labs, bearing manufacturers, raw material powders makers, and aircraft gas turbine manufacturer.

Argibay, Nicolas [Ames Laboratory (AMES), Ames, IA↗
DOE OSTI2025

Strategies for Fabricating Molybdenum Structures Using Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Advances in manufacturing techniques are viewed as enabling technologies for development of high performance nuclear fuel forms that couple high uranium density with improvements to key properties such as thermal conductivity unattainable through conventional fabrication routes. Additive manufacturing (AM) enables the fabrication of complex fuel geometries that are difficult or impossible to achieve using conventional manufacturing methods. Melting-based AM processes, such as laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), provide high geometric resolution (>200 µm depending on the feature) across a variety of metal alloys, including those suitable for high-temperature fuel cladding applications, such as Nb, W, and Mo. Molybdenum is particularly attractive due to its high thermal conductivity, low thermal expansion, and excellent mechanical stability at elevated temperatures. However, its high melting temperature and brittle nature at low temperatures pose significant challenges during LPBF processing. Rapid solidification inherent to LPBF induces high residual stresses, often leading to post-solidification cracking, which limits the manufacturability of Mo components via this method.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Draft ASME Code Case to qualify L-PBF 316H material for Section III, Division 5 applications

This report documents the AMMT program’s development and submission of a draft ASME Code Case to qualify Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L PBF) Type 316H stainless steel for Section III, Divi-sion 5 Class A and SM high temperature nuclear applications. It summarizes the technical basis, the comprehensive high temperature mechanical test database assembled between 2023–2026, and the proposed code language and qualification framework submitted to ASME. The work was co-ordinated across multiple national laboratories and leverages prior ASME efforts to integrate additive manufacturing into the Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code. The body of the report describes the experimental database and analysis supporting the Code Case: tensile, creep, fatigue, creep fatigue, and thermal aging tests collected from multiple additive manufacturing sites, machine types, and powder lots, with material processed by a solution anneal heat treatment. The dataset — including both full size and subsized specimens and tests oriented parallel and perpendicular to build direction — shows limited tensile anisotropy, tensile properties comparable to wrought 316H, creep strength within the scatter of wrought material, but markedly reduced creep ductility above about 650 °C associated with rapid σ phase formation in L PBF microstructures. The draft Code Case itself prescribes a staged qualification model (manufacturing process qualification, component qualification, and per build witness testing), treats L PBF components as equivalent to Type 316 weld metal for design and inspection, and requires mechanical, chemical, and metallographic controls tied to ASTM/ISO 52946. Key acceptance criteria include tensile tests within a 90% prediction interval of the AMMT dataset, a creep fatigue screening test adapted from ASME Section III, Division 5, Subsection HB, HBB 2800 but with the cycle acceptance reduced to 100 for L PBF material, and double volumetric inspection of production components. The report concludes that the present data support treating L PBF 316H as analogous to conventional fusion weld metal for Division 5 design and inspection, while highlighting important caveats: the σ phase driven loss of creep ductility above ~650 °C, preliminary indications of enhanced creep fatigue sensitivity in some lots, and remaining gaps in long term aging and additional cyclic testing. Recommended next actions include completing outstanding cyclic and long duration creep/aging tests on the solution annealed condition, supporting inclusion of the 316H chemistry and heat treatment in ASTM/ISO 52946, and continuing engagement with ASME and NRC during balloting and review to enable industry adoption.

Messner, Mark C. (ORCID:0000000200404385)↗
DOE OSTI2026

An Automated Probabilistic Asteroid Prediscovery Pipeline

We present an automated and probabilistic method to make prediscovery detections of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) in archival survey images, with the goal of reducing orbital uncertainty immediately after discovery. We refit the Minor Planet Center's astrometry and propagate the full six-parameter covariance to survey epochs to define search regions. We build low-threshold source catalogs for viable images and evaluate every detected source in a search region as a candidate prediscovery. We eliminate false positives by refitting a new orbit to each candidate and probabilistically linking detections across images using a likelihood ratio. Applied to the Zwicky Transient Facility's (ZTF) imaging, we identify approximately 3000 recently discovered NEAs with prediscovery potential, including a doubling of the observational arc for about 500. We use archival ZTF imaging to make prediscovery detections of the potentially hazardous asteroid 2021 DG1, extending its arc by 2.5 yr and reducing future apparition sky plane uncertainty from many degrees to arcseconds. We also recover 2025 FU24 nearly 7 yr before its first known observation, when its sky plane uncertainty covers hundreds of square degrees across thousands of ZTF images. The method is survey agnostic and scalable, enabling rapid orbit refinement for new discoveries from Rubin, NEO Surveyor, and NEOMIR.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Domestically Manufactured Fuel Cells for Heavy Duty Applications

This project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy under Award DE-EE0009248, advances the domestic development of fuel-cell stack technologies for heavy-duty transportation applications. The work directly supports the Million-Mile Fuel Cell Truck (M2FCT) initiative by improving performance, durability, and manufacturability—key requirements for next-generation hydrogen fuel-cell systems.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2026

Are There Opportunities To Re-Think How We Manufacture Synthetic Graphite?

This manuscript contributes a Viewpoint article to ACS Sustainable Resource Management and discusses the graphite supply chain, growing mismatch between graphite demand and global manufacturing capacity, current graphite manufacturing technologies, and different feedstocks.

alternative carbon feedstocks↗
DOE OSTI2026

Enhanced Preparation for Intelligent Cybermanufacturing Systems (EPICS)

Opportunities exist for realizing transformative advances in productivity and reductions in energy footprint through ubiquitous sensing in manufacturing environments. Enhanced Preparation for Intelligent Cybermanufacturing Systems (EPICS) is a 21-month (4 academic semesters, plus one summer) experience for graduate students that focuses on scaling the knowledge, understanding and leadership skills in the cyber manufacturing area. Masters students (8/year, 32 total) complete 2-year projects on industrially-driven project topics, rotating to internships in summer semester to work on scoping and implementation at project partners. Students complete academic training in embedded systems, process modeling, data science, and cloud-based systems design. Their projects are targeted toward sensor retrofit, process monitoring, root cause analysis, and sensor fusion.

Advanced Manufacturing↗
DOE OSTI2024

Electrochemical cells and methods of manufacturing the same

Electrochemical cells and methods of making electrochemical cells are described herein. In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a multi-layer sheet for encasing an electrode material for an electrochemical cell. The multi-layer sheet including an outer layer, an intermediate layer that includes a conductive substrate, and an inner layer disposed on a portion of the conductive substrate. The intermediate layer is disposed between the outer layer and the inner layer. The inner layer defines an opening through which a conductive region of the intermediate layer is exposed such that the electrode material can be electrically connected to the conductive region. Thus, the intermediate layer can serve as a current collector for the electrochemical cell.

Bazzarella, Ricardo↗
DOE OSTI2026

Comparative Assessment of Battery Carbon Footprint Calculation Frameworks to Support U.S. Battery Manufacturing

A “battery passport” is a digital record that provides comprehensive information about an individual battery across its life cycle. This concept has been introduced by Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 [1], which applies to batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), industrial batteries with a capacities greater than 2 kWh, and batteries for light means of transport (LMT) greater than 2kWh sold in the European Union (EU) market – impacting manufacturers and exporters across multiple jurisdictions globally. Among its reporting mandates, a key feature of battery passports is the requirement for a carbon footprint (CF) calculation methodology supported by enhanced data granularity to enable traceable and verifiable CF results. While no other jurisdictions have yet adopted formal battery passport requirements like the EU’s, some are developing CF calculation methods to comply with the EU Battery Regulation or are creating CF-related regulations that could evolve in a similar direction, reflecting the growing importance of battery CF guidelines for manufacturers seeking to remain competitive in global markets.

Zhang, Jingyi [Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Initial Feasibility Assessment and Broader Strategy Development for Fiber Integration via Advanced Manufacturing

Structural health monitoring is critical for ensuring the operational safety and cost-competitiveness of the developing advanced reactor designs. The extreme operational envelopes of these advanced architectures, having operating temperatures ranging 400°C–1,000°C and heightened displacement damage doses, render conventional commercially available piezoelectric transducers and resistive strain gauges unviable. Optical fiber sensors present an attractive solution for advanced radiation-hardened instrumentation due to their high thermal stability and distributed sensing capabilities. However, their deployment in embedded applications can be hindered by the severe thermomechanical strain driven by the coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch between fused silica glass and structural metal alloys like stainless steel (e.g., SS316L).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Improving Marine Energy Production Through Commercialization of a Low Cost, Drag-Reducing Slippery Coating (CRADA 679 Abstract)

Marine energy capture systems offer great promise for providing clean energy, but they operate in a challenging and dynamic environment and must be optimized to the highest extent possible. Computational studies predict that drag reduction on marine energy and blue economy systems will result in meaningful improvements in energy efficiency. Based on extensive coating experience, PNNL is proposing to bring to market a new drag-reducing coating called Superhydrophobic Lubricant-Infused Drag-Efficient Coating – SLIDE-Coat. PNNL has a deep knowledge base regarding this class of slippery coatings, and we have a group of enthusiastic industry partners who have committed to partnering, conducting field testing, and providing well over 50% cost share. In addition to validating the technology, the team will create a commercialization roadmap to ensure the commercial success of the technology after the government-sponsored two-year program is complete. The main technical goal is to design, manufacture, and experimentally validate a new coating that can reduce hydrodynamic skin friction drag by 20%. The main commercialization goal is to develop a roadmap that identifies activities needed to complete SLIDE-Coat’s development after the conclusion of this project. Year 1 will focus on adaptation and modification of the existing SLIC coating system to optimize drag reduction and assessment and quantification of drag reduction on relevant materials in a laboratory setting. Year 2 will focus on optimizing and demonstrating drag reduction with preferred coatings. The manufacturability, ease of application, adhesion to relevant surfaces, and consistency will be assessed. Quantification of drag reduction on prototype materials in a relevant marine field setting will be executed.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗