Back

Energy

LLNL's Innovation and Partnerships Office Director Matthew Garrett moderates the "Investing in America's Edge" panel at NNSA's 2026 Innovation Day on Aug. 18, 2026. (Photo Courtesy of FedTech)

LLNL supports NNSA partnerships at Innovation Day 2026

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)’s annual Innovation Day began in 2024 to foster a collaborative environment for industry organizations to explore potential partnerships with NNSA national laboratories, plants and sites. This summer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) helped to host NNSA’s Innovation Day at the University of California Santa…

LLNL researchers invented a high-throughput platform that screens proteins for their ability to separate rare earth elements. (Photo: Blaise Douros/LLNL)

Recover rare-earth elements on the Big Ideas Lab podcast

Rare-earth elements are the spices of modern technology. You don't use much. A pinch here, a pinch there. But leave them out, and the whole thing falls apart. “To realize how much of your daily life you actually benefit from having rare-earth elements, they’re in the phosphors in your screens, they're in magnets. They're in your cell phone. They're essential all over the…

A team at LLNL used 3D printing to create a solid-state bioreactor that converts methane into a valuable chemical. (Photos: Garry McLeod)

3D-printed, solid-state bioreactor converts methane waste to useful chemicals

When landfills and wastewater treatment plants create methane as a byproduct, much of it is simply burned and its value is lost. But the gas is an energy-rich resource, and it could be recycled as a fuel, chemical feedstock or bioproduct. Capturing and converting waste methane offers an opportunity to recover energy and create useful products from an otherwise wasted gas…

The Center for Industrial Modeling and Simulation recently hosted a webinar to encourage national lab attendees and industry partners to learn about the program and opportunities to participate.

CIMS harnesses national labs to accelerate adoption of computing in energy-intensive industries

Industrial companies often face complex technical challenges that are too time-consuming or costly to solve through physical testing alone. Computer modeling and simulation can spur the development of new technologies with lower energy intensity, improved performance and increased productivity. The Center for Industrial Modeling and Simulation (CIMS), led by Lawrence…

A flowchart showing sources and destinations of energy

Natural gas and renewables reach new highs in 2024 U.S. energy flow chart

Natural gas and renewable energy consumption reached record levels in the U.S. in 2024, while overall energy use increased modestly, according to the latest U.S. energy flow chart released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Americans consumed 94.6 quadrillion British thermal units, or quads, of energy in 2024, approximately 1% more than in 2023. Natural gas…

The Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is the focal point of industry engagement at the Laboratory and facilitates partnerships that support national security and grow the U.S. economy. IPO releases LLNL’s Technology Transfer report annually. Image by Dan Hercheck/LLNL.

Annual LLNL tech transfer report highlights mission innovation impact

As a Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory within the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) enterprise, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)’s mission-focused research yields cutting-edge scientific breakthroughs with applications for both national security and U.S. economic competitiveness. The Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Technology Transfer Annual…

Oscar Herrera, Ted Laurence, Tammy Ma, Sam Schrauth

Livermore researchers recognized as senior members of optics and photonics societies

Four Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have been recognized as senior members of leading professional societies in optics and photonics, honoring their technical accomplishments, professional experience and service to the field. Ted Laurence, Tammy Ma and Sam Schrauth have been named senior members of Optica, while Oscar Herrera has been elected a senior…

Interphases — the multicomponent interlayer structures that emerge between electrodes and electrolytes in batteries — critically determine the performance and durability of electrochemical cells. (Graphic: Sabrina Wan)

Machine learning uncovers how battery interphases can boost lithium-ion transport

Sandwiched between the electrolyte and electrodes in a lithium-ion battery is a remarkably thin layer of material that strongly dictates battery performance and durability: the interphase. Although typically only a few to tens of nanometers thick, interphases are among the least understood components of an operating battery cell. Their complex and constantly evolving…

LLNL researchers are scaling up technology that transforms waste carbon into valuable chemicals. (Photo: Garry McLeod/LLNL)

Big Ideas Lab podcast takes on the science of scale-up

Rechargeable lithium batteries trace back to 1972, but they wouldn’t reach consumer products until 1991. Solar photovoltaic cells existed in the 1950s, long before solar panels appeared on rooftops. And the MRI was demonstrated in the 1970s, years before the machines became hospital staples. In each case, the core scientific principles had been proven. The difficult part…

TRi-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) particle fuel is fully encapsulated by layers of carbon- and ceramic-based materials that prevent the release of radioactive fission products. Each particle (roughly the size of a poppy seed) acts as its own containment system and is more resistant to neutron irradiation, corrosion, oxidation, and high temperatures than traditional reactor fuels.

LLNL partners with industry to advance next-generation reactor fuel

Small, modular nuclear fission reactors are emerging as a resilient energy option, offering a scalable, cost-effective path to reliable power for remote or infrastructure-limited locations. However, these advanced reactor facilities typically run hotter and longer than conventional light water reactors, so they will require a new type of nuclear fuel tough enough to…

A simulation from the study shows density (top) and temperature (bottom) just before the time when fusion reactions peak in an asymmetric implosion. The hottest point coincides with the densest point of fuel, illustrating the direct ignition of a dense jet of fuel driven by asymmetry. The image was recently selected for the cover of Physics of Plasmas.

Livermore research shows how fusion reactions can survive flaws — up to a point

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have found that implosions designed for inertial fusion energy (IFE) can tolerate significant imperfections before performance abruptly declines, a finding that could inform the design of fuel targets for future fusion power plants. The findings were detailed in a paper titled “Robustness of inertial fusion…

Researchers at LLNL and partners at Oxylus Energy are developing an electrochemical reactor that transforms waste carbon into valuable chemicals. (Photo: Garry McLeod/LLNL)

LLNL, Oxylus Energy capture commercialization grant with reactor that converts carbon waste to methanol

Many industrial processes produce large volumes of carbon as a waste product. New reactor technology from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has the potential to turn that waste into a valuable feedstock for useful chemicals and fuels. The result could bolster domestic manufacturing, diversify supply chains and ensure lasting energy security in the U.S. These …

Genesis Mission graphic

LLNL selected to lead 10 projects under DOE’s Genesis Mission

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and engineers have been selected to lead 10 Phase I projects under the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Genesis Mission, applying AI to challenges spanning high-performance computing (HPC), fusion energy, Earth systems science, materials discovery, biology, quantum technologies and fundamental physics. LLNL…

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Pacific Fusion leaders and researchers gather around the SIRIUS pulsed-power prototype during a May 15 celebration marking the system’s 3,000-shot milestone at LLNL. (Photo by Garry McLeod)

LLNL, Pacific Fusion partnership advances next-generation pulsed-power technology

A pulsed-power prototype designed and built at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has surpassed 3,000 shots, a milestone researchers say demonstrates the maturity of a new accelerator architecture and marks an important step in evaluating how the technology could be scaled for future national and economic security applications, including fusion energy. The campaign was…

Battery diagram

With machine learning, LLNL researchers embrace the atomic-scale complexity of batteries

For grid-scale energy storage and national energy resilience, the U.S. needs better batteries. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are tackling that challenge in many ways, but one approach is making a significant impact: physics-informed machine learning. In two recent publications, LLNL researchers examined how integrating molecular dynamics…

LLNL researchers studied viruses in grassland soil before and after rapid rewetting. Most remained inactive, with only 22 percent of viruses replicating. (Graphic: Dan Herchek/LLNL)

Isotope probing shows soil is packed with dormant viruses lying in wait

A single gram of soil contains between 10 million and 1 billion viruses. Most of those viruses do not infect plants, animals or people — but they do target bacteria and other microbes. Because of their influence on microbial communities, viruses can affect nutrient cycling and soil health. Understanding how they behave is therefore crucial for supporting agriculture, food…

In an inertial confinement experiment on the National Ignition Facility, the lasers converge at tiny entrance holes at the top and bottom of the hohlraum. The intersection of the lasers enables crossed-beam energy transfer, an important factor in maintaining symmetry of implosions.

Research sheds new light on laser polarization effects in NIF experiments

Experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) require breathtaking precision. Each of the 192 lasers is focused to a width of a few millimeters to enter a 3-millimeter hole at the top or bottom of a 2-centimeter gold canister known as a hohlraum. As they enter, the beams intersect in plasma and transfer power, a process known as…

Director Kim Budil and UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz signed the agreement last week (Photos: UC Merced).

Agreement opens new opportunities for LLNL, UC Merced

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and UC Merced have long been partners in cutting-edge science and technology. University students and researchers take part in numerous lab activities such as the Data Science Challenge, which brings students to Livermore to for an intensive two-week summer experience where they collaborate on complex scientific and…

Neuromorphic ionic devices have the potential to mimic the energy efficient computing found in the human brain. (Image: J. Cataldo/LLNL)

Bridging the gap between neuromorphic ionic computing and more efficient AI

The human brain is the ultimate supercomputer. It uses a highly-branched and interconnected network of neurons and synapses to achieve massive computational power with extreme efficiency. In the age of AI, the brain, a paradigm of efficient neuromorphic computing, is providing inspiration for scientists. Ionic computing — which uses ions to compute instead of the electrons…

An international cohort gathered at the University of California Livermore Collaboration Center for a workshop focused on ideas at the boundary of fusion science. (Photos: Blaise Douros/LLNL)

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…