New ORNL Inventions
Interphase Design to Enhance Thermal Transport in Soft Matter
202505920 // Materials // Manufacturing
Efficient thermal management in polymers is essential for developing lightweight, high-strength materials with multifunctional capabilities. Traditional polymer composites reinforced with carbon-based fillers often underperform due to limited heat transfer at the interface between the filler and polymer matrix. This invention addresses that challenge by enhancing interfacial interactions to significantly improve thermal conductivity and mechanical strength in polymer composites. By promoting covalent bonding and optimizing filler alignment, the material architecture enables more effective heat flow. Additionally, the introduction of tailored molecular linkers creates a transitional interphase that minimizes thermal resistance and stiffness mismatch, allowing phonons to move more efficiently across the interface. These advancements yield composites with over 50% improvement in thermal conductivity and more than 85% increase in tensile strength. Beyond thermal and mechanical enhancements, this approach also unlocks thermoelectric functionality by enabling electron transport under a thermal gradient. The result is a versatile, high-performance composite platform capable of simultaneously meeting mechanical, thermal, and electrical demands—ideal for advanced industrial, aerospace, and electronics applications.
Mechanism-Based Biological Inference via Multiplex Networks, AI Agents and Cross-Species Translation
202505919 // Healthcare and Biology
This invention provides a platform that uses AI agents and biological networks to uncover and interpret disease-relevant biological mechanisms. It helps researchers and clinicians identify which genes are involved in a disease, which drugs may help, and which model organisms can be used to test them. Unlike conventional systems, it works across multiple data types and species and explains its predictions in natural language summaries. It can be used in drug development, rare disease discovery, toxicity prediction, and personalized medicine.
Quality-Aware Autonomous Experimentation with Active Oversight for Enhanced Optimization
202505908 // Analytical Instrumentation
Dual-GP addresses limitations in traditional GPBO-driven autonomous experimentation by incorporating an additional surrogate observer and allowing human oversight. This technique improves optimization efficiency via data quality assessment and adaptability to unanticipated experimental challenges.
TFSI-based Salts and Polymer Electrolytes from Alcohol Derivatives
202505907 // Energy and Utilities // Materials
This invention utilizes a custom-synthesized vinyl trifluoromethanesulfonimide (VTFSI) salt and an alcohol containing small molecule or polymer for the synthesis of novel single-ion conducting polymer electrolytes for the use in Li-ion and beyond Li-ion batteries, fuel cells, and flow batteries. The developed synthesis method can utilize a variety of alcohol-based compounds to enable a range of salts and polymer electrolytes to be fabricated.
Machine Learning Informed Segment Routing Path Selection
202505896 // IT and Communications // Transportation
Traditional table-based routing protocols in traffic engineering limit the ability to define specific packet paths, leading to suboptimal routing and network congestion, while effective flow allocation management requires complex calculations for optimal path selection. This invention addresses these challenges with a twofold approach that enhances traffic engineering through path-aware routing.
By employing segment routing alongside a polynomial residue number system (RNS), it improves routing flexibility and failure recovery. Additionally, it integrates AI techniques, including supervised learning for traffic flow analysis and deep reinforcement learning for network optimization, allowing the system to predict traffic patterns and adapt dynamically to changes. This approach facilitates real-time bandwidth predictions and the selection of optimal network paths, significantly enhancing overall network performance and reducing congestion.
Polarization Agnostic Continuous Variable Quantum Key Distribution
202505873 // Security and Defense // IT and Communications
Technologies directed to polarization agnostic continuous variable quantum key distribution are described.
A Novel Membrane Solvent Extraction System for the Separation of High Purity Lithium
202505872 // Chemicals // Materials
This technology developed a novel energy efficient, cost-effective, environmentally friendly process for separation of lithium from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries.
Passive Power Balancing System for the Polyphase Wireless Power Transfer Systems of the Electric Vehicle Charging
202405854 // Transportation // Energy and Utilities
Misalignment issues of the PWPT system have been addressed. The intercell power transformer has been introduced in order to improve load sharing of the system during a mismatch of the primary single-phase coil and the secondary multi-phase coils. It has been shown that implementation of the IPT causes balancing of the phase currents, both on ac and dc side of the rectifiers. Moreover, it has been shown that the simulated efficiency of the PWPT system with IPT is approximately 22% higher than the conventional PWPT without IPT.
High-Efficiency Marine-Source Integrated Heat Pump
202405833 // Energy and Utilities // Manufacturing
US coastal and island communities have vulnerable energy infrastructure and high energy costs, which are exacerbated by climate change. A unique opportunity exists to use thermal energy from year-round mild temperature variations to satisfy the broad energy needs of these communities. ORNL researchers designed a marine-source integrated heat pump (MS-IHP) that, as a single appliance, combines space conditioning, dehumidification (including fresh water harvesting from humid air), and water heating for home and commercial building applications in remote coastal and island communities. The unique, innovative features of the MS-IHP offer improved efficiency and substantially reduced costs for space conditioning, dehumidification, and water heating by seamlessly integrating a heat pump, heat pump water heater, and dehumidifier by using a single compressor; optimal year-round space cooling and heating, dehumidification, water harvesting, and water heating; and improved thermal comfort and reliable operation without frosting and defrosting because of the ocean’s warm temperatures and high heat capacity. The demonstrated energy efficiency measured in COP was superior to conventional air-source heat pumps. The MS-IHP technology can help decarbonize energy systems in remote coastal and island communities.
A New Design Consideration of Bi-Directional Resonant Converter
202405828 // Energy and Utilities // Security and Defense
The growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has necessitated significant advancements in EV charging technologies to ensure efficient and reliable operation. Among various power conversion systems, bi-directional resonant converters have emerged as a pivotal component for enabling vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications, which allow EVs to serve as energy storage units for the electrical grid. Despite their potential, the design of these converters often involves complex optimization processes and extensive reliance on voltage and current gain functions, which can be time-consuming and computationally intensive. To address these challenges, this invention introduces a novel design methodology for bi-directional series-series resonant converters. By employing simplified equations, this approach significantly reduces the complexity of the design process while maintaining critical operational criteria such as zero phase angle switching (soft switching) under maximum power output conditions. This advancement not only streamlines the design workflow but also enhances the converter’s performance and reliability in both charging and discharging modes.
A Novel Multi-Phase Resonant Converter for Fuel Cell Applications
202405827 // Energy and Utilities // Security and Defense
The growing demand for a range of energy sources has propelled the development of advanced power conversion systems, particularly in applications involving fuel cells. Fuel cells are increasingly recognized for their potential in distributed generation and sustainable transportation due to their high efficiency, low emissions, and ability to produce scalable power. Integration of fuel cell stacks for high-power applications is a challenge. Previous investigations have indicated that series connection of fuel cell stacks without a controller may negatively impact their operational lifespan. To address these challenges, this invention presents the design and analysis of a novel power converter tailored for fuel cell applications. The proposed converter connects fuel cell stacks in series/parallel with controller and is optimized for multi-phase systems, leveraging a resonant compensation network to enhance performance.
Smartphone Building Air Leakage Detector Using BOS Imaging
202405815 // Detectors and Sensors // Energy and Utilities
This invention adapts background oriented schlieren (BOS) imaging to directly visualize building leakage in a fast and easy manner. Recent advancements have implemented this technology within a smartphone, utilizing the existing camera and a custom application to provide real-time visualization of leaks. This innovative approach offers a practical and accessible solution for detecting leakage in buildings.
Multi-Mode Splicing method for Fiber Roving Joining. Entanglement and Wrapping Tow Joining
202405813 // Manufacturing // Materials
Through utilizing a two function splice, we can increase the splice strength for opposing tows.
Ultra-high Bandwidth Frequency-domain Polarization Variation Analyzer
202405800 // Analytical Instrumentation // IT and Communications
Polarization drift in quantum networks is a major issue. Fiber transforms a transmitted signal’s polarization differently depending on its environment. This technology enables efficient automated long-term characterization of those transformations spanning many orders of magnitude in the frequency domain.
Direct Production of 5-HMF and Furfural from Sugars
202405747 // Chemicals // Materials
Sugars (glucose and xylose) can be converted into dioxolanes which phase separate from water. These dioxolanes can be heterolytically cleaved, which acts as a controlled dehydration reaction and results in ring closing of the subsequent structure to furans such as 5-hydroxymethyl furfural and furfural. This has applications to removing and converting sugars directly from hydrolysates, which are mixtures of sugars formed directly from biomass.
Collaborative Autonomous Manufacturing Bots for Energy Efficiency
202405626 // Manufacturing
Creating a framework (method) for bots (agents) to autonomously, in real time, dynamically divide and execute a complex manufacturing (or any suitable) task in a collaborative, parallel-sequential way without required human interaction.
A Family of Integrated On-Board Charger for Single and Dual Motor Based Electric Vehicle Power Train
202305548 // Transportation
The invention aims to reduce the cost, weight and volume of existing on-board electric vehicle chargers by integrating power electronic converters of the chargers with the traction inverter.
An Integrated On-board Charger for Dual Motor Based Electric Vehicle Power Train
202305418 // Transportation // Energy and Utilities
Technologies directed to an integrated on-board charger for dual motor based electric vehicle power train are described.
Water-based Supersorbent Materials Synthesis and Its In-Situ Coating for Dehumidification
202305406 // Chemicals // Energy and Utilities
Moisture management accounts for over 40% of the energy used by buildings. As such development of energy efficient and resilient dehumidification technologies are critical to decarbonize the building energy sector. Currently, desiccant materials such as silica gel and zeolite are widely used for moisture management. However, these desiccants need high temperature (>150C) to regenerate, which is energy intensive. In this invention, we developed an water based process to synthesis polymeric desiccants and its composites, which have high moisture absorption capacity and low regeneration temperature (25-35C). Additionally, these desiccants can be used as a coating material to be coated porous media (e.g., metal foam) for building moisture management.
To learn more about these technologies, email partnerships@ornl.gov or call
865-574-1051.
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