PSEL wraps up nonreflective solar panel testing
Sandia’s Photovoltaic Systems Evaluation Laboratory is in the final phase of a collaborative research project with Nishati, a veteran-run manufacturer of light-weight, portable photovoltaic panels. The collaboration will shift to the PV proving grounds project at the end of the fiscal year.
Experiments at sun temperature offer solar model solutions
Physicists at Sandia’s Z machine have found that a widely used astronomical model underestimates the energy blockage caused by free-floating iron atoms. Now, Sandia’s experimental opacity measurements can help bloodlessly resolve a major discrepancy in how the 40-year-old Standard Solar Model uses the composition of the sun to predict the behavior of stars.
Sandia helps Puerto Rico grid resilience
The Sandia-developed Microgrid Design Toolkit provides what-if analysis of microgrid design choices to provide quantitative insights to decision makers for hybrid energy solutions. Using the MDT tool, utilities and other community stakeholders can identify vulnerabilities in infrastructure particularly susceptible to natural disasters and related consequences.
Sandia Labs manufacturing spinoff steps into national market
Sandia’s Entrepreneurial Separation to Transfer Technology program helped Joe Beck and Eric Branson, both former employees, launch their small business. The Albuquerque-based Advanced Manufactured Power Solutions, or AMPS, is a custom manufacturing company builds battery packs, cables and other small components of larger machines.
Three Sandia teams win NA-50 Awards of Excellence
Jim McConnell, associate administrator for NNSA’s Office of Safety, Infrastructure and Operations, presented three Sandia project teams with NA-50 Awards of Excellence during a July ceremony at Sandia’s Albuquerque campus.
DOE expo highlights small-business services
The Department of Energy hosted its Summer ’19 New Mexico Small Business Expo in Albuquerque Aug. 6-7, featuring Sandia and other DOE contractors.
Sandia abuses batteries for better energy storage
Lithium-ion batteries are most commonly found in electric cars, computers, medical equipment and aircraft. And they are getting more powerful all the time. The constant push for more storage and power drives the need for extensive battery testing, and Sandia's new drop tower has created yet another way to learn more about how these batteries respond to stress.
Hydrogen materials service advanced by new multilab consortium
Researchers at Sandia and Pacific Northwest national laboratories are leading a collaborative effort to investigate how hydrogen affects materials such as plastics, rubber, steel and aluminum. The Hydrogen Materials Compatibility Consortium, or H-Mat, will focus on how hydrogen affects polymers and metals used in diverse sectors, including fuel cell transportation and hydrogen infrastructure.
Erik Webb testifies before Congress on fossil energy research
Sandia geoscience research and application senior manager Erik Webb provided testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in Washington, D.C., on June 19. Erik’s testimony focused on the importance of fossil energy research.
Praising Sandia’s culture of innovation
Sandia hosted its annual Innovation Celebrations in Livermore and Albuquerque May 16 to recognize the Labs' innovators. The celebration honored individuals who received patents, copyrights or licensed royalties, or created other intellectual property in 2018.