Advanced Manufacturing Research News

Explore our archive of advanced manufacturing news stories.

Oct. 3, 2024

Manufacturing Is Not Always What You See in the Movies

Matt Ringer, who is the laboratory program manager for advanced manufacturing at NREL, started his minute-long-video series to help increase knowledge about what manufacturing—and manufacturing jobs—is all about.

Sept. 5, 2024

Innovative Materials and Scalable Manufacturing Pathways: New NREL Research Center To Look Toward the Future of Renewable Energy

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science Basic Energy Sciences program recently selected NREL to lead A Center for Power Electronics Materials and Manufacturing Exploration (APEX), a new Energy Frontier Research Center.

Aug. 29, 2024

Q&A With Ana Aday: Why a Plucky Engineer Chose Cement Over Rodeo (But Credits Horses for Her Ability To Face a Crowd)

In the latest Manufacturing Masterminds Q&A, Aday shares why Bill Nye inspired her to become a scientist, how 3D manufacturing and artificial intelligence could help the cement and concrete industries decarbonize, and why handling a crowd of 1,000 people is the same as handling a 1,000-pound animal.

Aug. 29, 2024

'Framing the Future' Photo Contest To Highlight America’s Industrial Transformation

The industrial sector is integral to our daily lives, yet we do not often see the people and technologies that power it in action.

Aug. 22, 2024

News Release: NREL Advances Method for Recyclable Wind Turbine Blades

Researchers at NREL see a realistic path forward to the manufacture of bio-derivable wind blades that can be chemically recycled and the components reused, ending the practice of old blades winding up in landfills at the end of their useful life.

Aug. 5, 2024

Manufacturing Masterminds Q&A With Jibo Sanyal: The Nature Lover Who Sees Our Planet From a Bird's-Eye View

In the latest Manufacturing Masterminds Q&A, Jibo shares why a prosthesis changed how he sees himself and how clean energy could help manufacturing facilities do far more than just reduce their emissions.

July 26, 2024

The Grid Can Handle More Renewable Energy, But It Needs Some Help

A new kind of grid technology, called medium-voltage silicon carbide converters, could help the U.S. grid smoothly transition to renewable energy.

June 12, 2024

Q&A With Ana Aday: A Holistic Approach To Advancing Cement and Concrete Sustainability

Ana Aday, a materials science researcher in NREL’s Building Technologies and Science Center, is taking on a whole new challenge: decarbonizing the cement and concrete industry.

May 15, 2024

NREL Battery Supply Chain Database Maps Out the State of North America's Manufacturing Base

As the United States continues to transition to clean energy, strengthening the domestic supply chain by increasing the availability of critical materials and domestic manufacturing is paramount to enabling greater domestic manufacturing.

May 10, 2024

Water Research Hub Earns 5 More Years of Funding

Launched in 2019, the National Alliance for Water Innovation is a research hub that brings together a world-class team of partners from industry and academia as well as the hub's public membership organization.

May 3, 2024

Additive Manufacturing Could Turn the Tides for Marine Energy Technologies—Here Is How

Researchers have been exploring how additive manufacturing could complement marine energy technologies. Hint: the two are a promising pair.

May 2, 2024

News Release: NREL Invites Robots To Help Make Wind Turbine Blades

Researchers at NREL have successfully leveraged robotic assistance in the manufacture of wind turbine blades, allowing for the potential to improve the consistency of the product.

April 25, 2024

News Release: NREL Proof of Concept Shows Path to Easier Recycling of Solar Modules

The use of femtosecond lasers to form glass-to-glass welds for solar modules would make the panels easier to recycle, according to a proof-of-concept study conducted by researchers at NREL.

April 22, 2024

With Great Power Comes Great Possibility

Three teams are building better conductor systems—or even superconductors—to supercharge transmission lines, wind turbines, MRI machines, electric motors, airplanes, and more.

April 18, 2024

The (In)Visible Plastic Pollution Problem

Together, BOTTLE's upstream approach and WaterPACT's downstream approach to addressing the plastic pollution problem will enable a better future for humanity and our environment.

April 9, 2024

Q&A With Travis Lowder: Not All Climate Crusaders Need a Technical Degree

In the latest Manufacturing Masterminds Q&A, Travis Lowder shares why he did not need a technical background to fight climate change (and neither do you!) and why humility might be the most crucial trait for his job.

March 25, 2024

NREL To Lead New Lab Consortium To Enable High-Volume Manufacturing of Electrolyzers and Fuel Cells

The Roll-to-Roll Consortium aims to accelerate domestic manufacturing and reduce the cost of durable, high-performance systems.

March 7, 2024

From Instant Grits to Polymers: Scientist Kat Knauer Is Laser Focused on Plastics Pollution

As a polymer scientist and the chief technology officer of the NREL-led BOTTLE consortium, Knauer is responsible for helping solve one of the world's greatest challenges--plastic pollution.

Feb. 29, 2024

Renewable Energy Is Green, but We Can Make It Greener

The U.S. energy transition is gaining speed, accelerated by government renewable energy goals and billions of dollars through the Inflation Reduction Act. As we race toward a greener future, understanding the potential adverse effects of renewable energy technologies before they are deployed has never been more critical.

Feb. 26, 2024

NREL Requests Proposals From US Manufacturers of Small and Medium Wind Turbine Technology

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has issued a request for proposals under the Competitiveness Improvement Project to support commercialization and market expansion of small and medium wind turbine technology.

Feb. 21, 2024

Q&A With Kerry Rippy: Why You Should Be Optimistic About Industrial Carbon Emissions

In NREL's latest Manufacturing Masterminds Q&A, Kerry Rippy explains why she chose chemistry over literature, why carbon capture cannot be our only decarbonization solution, and how the mining industry could reduce emissions with the rocks it already digs up.

Feb. 13, 2024

Unleashing the Power: BatMan Project Revolutionizes Battery Manufacturing

A recent battery manufacturing project—affectionately coined BatMan—has developed a novel laser patterning process to alter the microstructure of battery electrode materials.

Jan. 25, 2024

Copper Is King, But It Is Time for a Metal Meritocracy

Meet the four teams competing to create materials that can out-conduct pure copper in the $4.8 million Conductivity-enhanced materials for Affordable, Breakthrough Leapfrog Electric and thermal applications (CABLE) Conductor Manufacturing Prize.

Jan. 12, 2024

MAKE IT Prize Helps Fuel US Clean Energy Boom

The United States is poised for a clean energy boom, with the new investments flowing from 2021's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act expected to unlock around $3 trillion in clean energy and energy efficiency investments.

Jan. 11, 2024

NREL Awards $1.8 Million in Second Round of Contracts To Support Development of Cheaper, More Efficient Cadmium Telluride Solar Cells

NREL has awarded $1.8 million to fund seven projects to support the Cadmium Telluride Accelerator Consortium.

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