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October 2021
Nano-Sized Materials Point to Big Breakthroughs
A poppy seed from your morning bagel is about 1,000 times larger than a bacterial cell. That small cell is about 1,000 times larger than the chemical structures NREL researchers are creating and studying to transform how we use energy.
Electric Hydrogen Partnership Hopes To Repeat Success With Renewable Hydrogen Technology
An upcoming partnership with company Electric Hydrogen will draw on deep experience in developing breakthrough renewable technologies; this time, they are targeting robust and cost-effective electrolyzers for clean hydrogen.
April 2021
NREL Chemist Wins Award for Electron Bifurcation Research Article
Cara Lubner, a chemist at NREL, coauthored a research article on electron bifurcation that was awarded the Class I: Physical and Mathematical Sciences 2020 Cozzarelli Prize on April 25.
News Release: Scientists at NREL Report New Synapse-Like Phototransistor
Researchers at NREL developed a breakthrough in energy-efficient phototransistors. Such devices could eventually help computers process visual information more like the human brain and be used as sensors in things like self-driving vehicles.
Earth Anticipates a Circular Economy for Energy Materials
One of the three key pillars of NREL's vision for the next decade is developing a circular economy for energy materials. This critical objective focuses on reducing waste and preserving resources through the design and manufacture of materials and products with reuse, recycling, and upcycling in mind from the start.
December 2020
Top 20 NREL Stories of 2020
NREL researchers and staff reached countless goals and achieved numerous successes in science, partnerships, and technology commercialization in 2020, from breaking world records to launching new initiatives. Here are just a few of the highlights.
NREL's Bryan Pivovar Awarded for Excellence in Fuel Cell Research
The Electrochemical Society (ECS) headquarters has awarded the 2021 Energy Technology Division Research Award to Bryan Pivovar, a researcher in the Chemistry and Nanoscience Center at NREL.
October 2020
News Release: R&D 100 Awards Honor Six NREL Innovations
R&D World magazine today presented NREL with four of its annual R&D 100 Awards for research innovations. In addition to the R&D 100 winners, two additional NREL technologies were given Special Recognition Awards.
Apex Flex: An All-Perovskite Tandem Technology Suitable for Solar-Powered Vehicles
NREL's new perovskite material, marketed as Apex Flex, broke through two design barriers to arrive at a solar cell that is flexible and stable enough for car-top application at a cost 200 times less than flexible PV technologies of similar specific power.
September 2020
Scientists Offer Companies a Novel Chemistry for Greener Polyurethane
Through a novel chemistry using nontoxic resources like linseed oil, waste grease, or even algae, chemist Phil Pienkos and colleague Tao Dong, an expert in chemical engineering, have developed a groundbreaking method for producing renewable polyurethane without toxic precursors.
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Last Updated May 5, 2025