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LLNL, UC San Diego host workshop for innovative fusion concepts
More than 80 attendees recently gathered at the University of California (UC) Livermore Collaboration Center for the Innovative Concepts for Inertial Fusion Energy (IC-IFE) 2026 International Physics Workshop. Hosted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and UC San Diego, the three-day conference was supported by the Japan-U.S. Collaboration Program in Fusion…
Roll the tape: LLNL captures inception of hydrogen-uranium reaction for the first time
When hydrogen gas interacts with uranium metal, the combination creates a chemically reactive powder and a runaway reaction that is difficult to stop. The result can impact the safety and lifespan of technology critical for fusion energy, hydrogen storage and nuclear fuels. In a recent study published in npj Materials Degradation, researchers from Lawrence Livermore…
Meet the machines that matter: the Optics Inspector
LLNL tackles the nation’s toughest security challenges through bold, multidisciplinary science powered by advanced facilities and instruments. In this new series, meet the machines that work behind the scenes at the Laboratory to drive discovery, push boundaries and enable excellence. From inspecting optics and trapping ions to cooling supercomputers and detecting…
Three Lawrence fellows selected for 2026 cohort
This year’s three Lawrence fellows will pursue research that spans fusion science, emerging concepts for sensing and response and earth system science. Their work reflects both the breadth of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) mission space and the program’s commitment to enabling early-career scientists to take bold, multidisciplinary approaches to…
Big Ideas Lab explores how the Genesis Mission aims to accelerate scientific discovery
Scientific discovery has always moved through a familiar cycle: question, hypothesis, experiment and a result. In the latest episode of the Big Ideas Lab podcast, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) explores how the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Genesis Mission aims to accelerate that process by uniting AI, high-performance computing (HPC), experiments and the…
LLNL showcases AI-enabled science, national security and energy innovation at AI+ Expo
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) leaders, scientists and engineers joined national voices at the Special Competitive Studies Project’s (SCSP) AI+ Expo May 7-9 in Washington, D.C., highlighting how AI is reshaping science, security and energy innovation. The public Expo brought together government, industry, academic and Department of Energy (DOE) national…
Screening enzymes to break down plant waste and produce valuable biofuels
Locked away inside the walls of plant cells lies a valuable source of energy: sugar. But to access that sugar — which could provide a domestic source of bioenergy that strengthens U.S. energy security — researchers must first break down cellulose, the structural component of plant cell walls. A team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has designed two high…
LLNL experts help advance inertial fusion energy at U.S. IFE conference
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) joined their counterparts from national laboratories, universities, industry and government in a conference last month to discuss the progress, challenges and priorities for moving toward an inertial fusion energy (IFE) future in the United States. The U.S. IFE conference brought together the growing IFE…
3D-printed interlocking electrodes demonstrate optimization potential for energy storage
Good electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices such as rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors can store a lot of energy and release it quickly, but these design goals are often at odds with each other. Using design optimization and 3D printing, a team led by engineers and scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have overcome this tradeoff and…
Two LLNL teams attend DOE’s Energy I-Corps Cohort 22
Continuing a decade of entrepreneurial training and commercializing mission innovation, two teams of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers attended the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy I-Corps (EIC) Cohort 22 in Colorado this spring. The EIC is a key initiative of the DOE’s Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC). Candice Bila from the…
DOE opens new HPC4EI call to connect US manufacturers with national-lab supercomputing
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has opened a new call for proposals under the High-Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) program, a national initiative managed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) that connects U.S. manufacturers with the computing power and scientific expertise of DOE’s national laboratories. The program invites companies to…
Revitalized laser technology captures commercialization grant
Small, modular nuclear fission reactors and fusion facilities could each be the future of resilient and secure energy in the U.S. and around the world. But these technologies rely on isotopes of lithium to cool fission reactors and create fusion fuel. Currently, there is no sustained, domestic production mechanism for lithium isotopes in the U.S. that meets projected…
LLNL named 2026 Manufacturer of the Year by AMBayArea
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has been named the 2026 Manufacturer of the Year in the large manufacturer category by the Association of Manufacturers Bay Area (AMBayArea), recognizing the Lab’s leadership in advanced manufacturing, engineering and national security innovation. The award was announced April 21 during the AMBayArea Summit at the Chabot Space …
New protein-screening platform accelerates rare-earth separation for U.S. supply chain
To ensure a robust domestic supply chain in the U.S., Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are using bacterial proteins to separate the rare-earth elements that are ubiquitous in magnets, batteries and electronics. These proteins, called lanmodulin, evolved in bacteria that use rare-earth elements to power their metabolism. But to scale up and advance…
LLNL to harness quantum computing for next-generation magnets
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has been selected to lead a project that will receive $4.1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) as part of the Quantum Computing for Computational Chemistry (QC3) program. QC3 seeks to develop and apply quantum algorithms to accelerate simulations of chemistry…
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,…
