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Energy
Looking into the void to cancel out material instabilities
Picture two materials sandwiched together. The boundary between them may appear flat, but, in reality, it is full of tiny bumps and dents. Suddenly, the materials are hit with a shockwave. If that wave hits a bump in the material interface, it slows down. If it hits a dent, it accelerates forward. This imbalance creates fast, narrow jets of material — called the Richtmyer…
All 50 episodes of the Big Ideas Lab now available on LLNL podcast page
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Big Ideas Lab podcast marks a new milestone with the release of its 50th episode. The latest episode, delving into high-performance computing for energy innovation, can be found alongside the entire series on the new LLNL podcast page. Since its debut in September 2024, the Big Ideas Lab has aimed to rethink how science…
LLNL partners with Inertia to develop fusion energy technology
Scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are partnering with San Francisco Bay Area fusion energy startup Inertia Enterprises Inc. to advance fusion laser technology, as well as inertial fusion target manufacturing and designs. This collaboration is an expansive and integrated private sector-led partnership, unique in the history of LLNL and the DOE…
NNSA and LLNL advance laser upgrade for nuclear stockpile mission ahead of schedule
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have approved a path forward for a project that will increase the laser energy available to the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). This advancement was expedited by key regulatory changes made in March 2025 by U.S. Secretary of Energy…
Grad student Wyatt Larrinaga explores how proteins bind to radioactive elements for fellowship at LLNL
As a fifth-year graduate student at the Pennsylvania State University, Wyatt Larrinaga investigates how proteins can be used to separate lanthanides. These elements, plus two others, make up the rare earth elements that are critical for technology, defense and a robust domestic energy supply. But somewhere along the way, Larrinaga grew interested in branching out. Or,…
Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology honored for innovation
The East Bay Economic Development Alliance (EDA) honored Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)’s Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology (LIFT) with a 2026 East Bay Innovation Award. Livermore Mayor John Marchand nominated LIFT for the award in the Catalyst Category. LLNL scientists Bassem El Dasher and Wayne Miller accepted the award on behalf of the entire LIFT…
Big Ideas Lab explores how HPC for Energy Innovation advances U.S. industry
Some of the toughest challenges in American manufacturing are being solved without ever stepping onto a factory floor. Inside supercomputers, scientists are modeling systems too complex, costly or time-consuming to test in the real world. In the latest episode of the Big Ideas Lab podcast, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) spotlights the High-Performance…
Next-generation materials for additive manufacturing
Next-generation technology requires next-generation materials that can be tailored to exact mission requirements. Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, has already revolutionized industries like aerospace engineering by enabling previously unthinkable component designs. However, this technique has been largely limited to pre-existing metallic alloys. This is due to the…
LLNL and Fraunhofer ILT partner on next-generation fusion lasers
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) are joining forces to transition laser-ignited inertial fusion from experiments to industrial applications in a collaboration called ICONIC-FL (International Cooperation on Next-gen Inertial Confinement Fusion Lasers). Through a Cooperative Research and Development…
LLNL and Energy I-Corps take science from big ideas to big market impact
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) pursues big ideas to solve the most important security challenges facing the U.S. and the world. In that pursuit, scientific breakthroughs with market potential are discovered, protected and licensed to (or collaborated on) with industry partners through a process called technology transfer. LLNL’s Innovation and Partnerships…
Energy-efficient process delivers rare-earth element for magnets
Neodymium is a rare-earth element essential for producing the strongest permanent magnets, which are widespread in defense technologies, hard drives, medical imaging devices, electric vehicle motors, wind turbines and more. Despite its designation in the U.S. as a critical material, neodymium is primarily mined and refined overseas. China controls much of the supply chain,…
Big Ideas Lab podcast traces the flow of energy in the U.S.
Inside a sixth-grade classroom, a teacher dims the lights and directs the student's attention to a projector. On the screen appears a brightly colored chart featuring thick, twisting bars extending from left to right. Some are as wide as rivers; others as narrow as threads. The diagrams look almost like a subway map for America’s energy. At the left, the lines “depart”…
Turning wastewater into valuable fertilizer
Almost half of the planet’s population depends on synthetic fertilizers to grow the food they eat. But that fertilizer comes at a cost — about two percent of the world’s energy budget. Improving efficiency and cutting costs of producing fertilizer would have big, global impacts. To that end, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are developing a…
LLNL joins inaugural California Fusion Energy Convening
Leaders from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and its Livermore Institute of Fusion Technology (LIFT) shaped the agenda of the first-ever gathering of California fusion energy leaders from across the public sector, industry and academia. “California is, without question, the center of fusion innovation,” LLNL Director Kim Budil said during opening remarks on…
Energy Department funds LLNL for fusion energy research
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $134 million in funding for two programs designed to secure U.S. leadership in emerging fusion technologies and innovation: the Fusion Innovation Research Engine (FIRE) collaboratives and Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program. This adds to the initial funding for FIRE Collaboratives announced in January…
Controlling water cuts energy costs for ethylene production
Maintaining American energy independence requires minimizing reliance on foreign countries to produce commodity chemicals and fuels. Using carbon dioxide electrolyzers to produce valuable chemical precursors such as ethylene provides one way to diversify domestic feedstocks. But, so far, these devices have been limited by their low efficiency, which makes them energy…
Turning captured carbon into natural gas could provide cost-competitive energy storage
Solar and wind energy are highly variable, dependent on the day, weather and location of the facilities. At times, they can generate more electricity than is needed, but they can also fall short when demand is at its peak. Unfortunately, any extra energy created by these sources is often wasted, as there are few methods that adequately store it long-term. To improve energy…
Johanna Schwartz and collaborators selected for Scialog award
The Scialog: Automating Chemical Laboratories initiative has awarded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist Johanna Schwartz $60,000 to pursue automated design of next-generation membranes for fuel cells. The award comes as one of seven collaborative projects funded by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), the Arnold and Mabel Beckman…
Las Positas College, LLNL offer Laser Optics Workshop
Laser and Electronic Optics Technicians (LEOTs) are critical to the operation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) and other laser systems. In addition to being the world’s most energetic laser and the only place where fusion ignition has been achieved in a laboratory, NIF is also the world’s largest optical instrument. But LEOTs,…
LLNL, Amazon partner on groundbreaking AI integration at the National Ignition Facility
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a data factory — when NIF’s high-energy-density physics experiments go off in the blink of an eye, valuable scientific data is the product. LLNL already leverages AI tools to manage this data, using them to improve predictive modeling capabilities and transform optics inspection and target…
