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THE R&D 100 CLASS OF 2025: FROM EDGE
INTELLIGENCE TO CIRCULAR MATERIALS
Edge intelligence has arrived, and it just got small enough for fish. Among this year’s R&D 100 Awards winners is SHAD-TAGS+, an acoustic transmitter small enough to track aquatic species previously considered “untaggable.” Developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), it uses AI in both design and analysis, and lets researchers track species and life stages that were once out of reach. PNNL says it informs energyproject design.
Among this year’s R&D 100 winners, the edge motif extends beyond SHAD-TAGS+. For instance, the University of Tennessee’s Universal GridEdge Analyzer captures waveforms to 36 kHz and reports synchrophasors to 2.4 kHz, catching the fast harmonics from inverter-based resources.
CLOSING THE LOOP: TEXTILES AND THERMOSETS THAT RECYCLE
In the materials sphere, SINGTEX Group’s Circu-Texfilm pairs AI spectral sorting with chemical recycling to extract usable polymers from blended textiles, reporting 96% sorting accuracy and a speed of about one garment per second. Those examples reflect a larger shift: this year’s class prioritizes circularity over novelty. Taiwan Textile Research Institute’s Looping Nylon Technique keeps fibers in circulation via a solvent-free, physical pathway. Oak Ridge’s recyclable polyester thermosets show vitrimer composites that can be repaired, re-formed or remolded without sacrificing performance. And BIPHASICS, also from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is an integrated system that simplifies point-source CO₂ capture with biphasic amine systems designed to cut regeneration energy.
You can see the same pragmatism in water and critical materials. DuPont’s Fortilife XC160 membrane is engineered for ultra-high-pressure operation (up to 120 bar) and high recovery, concentrating salty waste streams. Ames National Laboratory’s MnBi magnet targets industrial motors with a rare-earth-free recipe whose coercivity rises with temperature. And Gadolyn’s D-DIRECT platform co-reduces rare-earth and transition-metal oxides directly into alloys, sidestepping some of the most carbon- and HFintensive steps in legacy supply chains.
Even SHAD-TAGS+ fits that feedback loop theme. Better fish behavior data feeds back into hydropower operations and fish-passage design, linking infrastructure and stewardship rather than treating them as rivals. It’s a neat summary of the 2025 class: field-ready systems that stitch cyber to physical, lab insight to plant reality and waste to feedstock.
MECHANICAL, CHEMICAL AND THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE
Energy storage winners had a similar pragmatic focus. For instance, Torus’s Spin Flywheel Energy Storage System pushes mechanical buffering with millisecond-level response where reliability and cycle life matter most, while ORNL’s E-GRIMS points to a cleaner pathway for batterygrade graphite (processing at about 800°C vs. >3,000°C for conventional methods). On the chemistry side, an ultrastable, low-cost dual-gradient cathode targets EV demands, and National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)’s Energy-Storing Efficient Air Conditioner (ESEAC) and JHU/ APL’s CHESS thin-film thermoelectric work underline the theme: practical gains in manufacturability, durability and field readiness.
In terms of medical winners, Abbott’s Liberta RC deep brain stimulation system is reportedly the smallest rechargeable DBS on the market, with remote programming designed to integrate into patients’ daily routines rather than tether them to clinical settings. Quanterix’s Simoa BD-Tau Advantage PLUS Assay enables blood-based neurodegenerative biomarker measurement for research applications, and PHCbi’s LiCellMo delivers live-cell metabolic analysis that fits inside clinical and translational workflows.
Several winners emphasized intelligence that doesn’t rely on prior cataloging. Sandia’s Fentanyl Analog Independent Detector (FAID) identifies fentanyl by targeting 10 to 20 backbone structures rather than matching against a library of known compounds. The portable system delivers results in ten minutes and weighs under ten pounds.
The 2025 class reveals a common denominator: technologies that connect data to decisions. UGA’s sensing informs grid operations, ESEAC’s storage responds to utility tariffs, SHAD-TAGS+ tracking shapes fish-passage design. These systems smooth the path from lab to field, from prototype to operational standard, earning their place on the production line, in clinical workflows, at substations and in fish ladders along the Columbia–Snake.
BRIAN BUNTZ Editor, R&D World
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2025 R&D TECHNICIAN OF THE YEAR:
Dow’s Richard Tapper pushes flame-retardant limits to curb real-world fire risks
Richard Tapper, an Associate Research Specialist at Dow and the 2025 R&D Technician of the Year, sums up his test philosophy in visceral terms: “I work on fire-retardant materials, and when I approach a test, I am considering that this cable is on fire in my house. So, I am going to view the test performance objectively.”
In that role, Tapper develops and tests fire-retardant wire and cable formulations, often halogen-free, against real-world failure modes. “It’s straightforward to follow the standards,” he says, “but to see past that to the application is a huge motivating factor for me.”
Tapper’s work extends beyond household wiring to grid-scale reliability and safety. For example, at Dow he has recently been involved in the development of polymer composites for photovoltaic (PV) cables used in solar farms.
Cable constructions made for PV and other power delivery applications, he notes, “have to pass very stringent burn tests that required Dow to expand capabilities for fire testing for use in developing new products.”
The goal is for the polymer material to yield a cable free of defects which passes all the pertinent electrical, mechanical and flame retardancy requirements. Achieving that combination can be very difficult.
TACKLING TOUGHER BURN TESTS
“Flame retardant cables are rated from horizontal burn to vertical burn and the specific vertical test configurations can vary. The differences between the various tests are in terms of cable geometries, specimen orientation, the fuel source and burner power rating (500–1000 W). The test criteria that govern performance include flameout time,
potential to ignite cotton placed underneath (if any) and flame propagation distance. Essentially this translates into how much of the cable burns and/or how fast the flame extinguishes.
The bars to pass the different burn tests are high, and the variables are many. “Tweaking the formulation to achieve the desired balance of thermomechanical properties and fire performance is pretty complicated,” he said. “These are highly formulated products, so if we make any sort of considerable change to improve a specific property it can throw off that balance.”
MENTORS, SAFETY AND LIFELONG LEARNING
The complexities in developing and testing flame retardant formulated polymer systems did not deter Tapper. He built his skills from the ground up at Dow, joining the Wire and Cable group in 2015 after initially exploring a different path. “When I first joined Dow, I knew very little about the chemical industry. Everything was new to me,” he said. He credits mentors for accelerating his professional growth, including Bharat Chaudhary, Principal Research Scientist: “I have been lucky enough to work with people like Bharat, who really challenges me to expand my skills and apply them to create value for Dow, the industry, and society at
large. He has been a huge teacher for me my whole career, and I owe a lot of what I have learned to him.”
That guidance shaped Tapper’s view on risk in everyday technology. His safety lens is rooted in the ubiquity of electrification. “Electricity is vital for almost every aspect of our existence. There are risks that not everyone considers,” Tapper said. “Electrically insulating and flame retardant materials play a huge part in minimizing that risk.”
He balances full-time lab work with graduate study. “January 2023 was my first semester,” he said of his M.S. program in polymer science and engineering at Lehigh University, “It’s helpful to learn about polymer science… from professors that have more of an academic view to supplement the know-how that I have been applying at Dow. It helps to reinforce my learnings.” This fresh perspective, he said, sharpens his problem-solving skills to address practical hurdles under real-world conditions.
TRANSFORMING LIMITS INTO INNOVATION OPPORTUNITIES
Hurdles, Tapper argues, can often fuel innovation. “A limitation should not derail your ambition,” Tapper said, “If you want to address a market but are constrained for one reason or another, you can view the problem from different angles to find solutions…Supposed limitations can create opportunities.” He also points to evolving regulations as a catalyst for innovation: “There are critical regulatory pressures…and if a test standard changes, that too can create opportunities.”
Tapper applies this mindset to developing new and improved polymer systems for flame retardant wire and cable applications including PV cables for solar infrastructure.
EMBRACING COLLECTIVE LEARNING IN A HIGH-STAKES FIELD
Beyond product and use specifications, Tapper stresses the human side of R&D. He is candid about team culture and how one can learn from shared experiences.
Consistency and curiosity are ideals. “Being consistent, being willing to learn, recognizing things I do not know, learning new techniques, and reading between the lines,” he said, are central to how he approaches work in a large organization.
For now, Tapper’s core focus remains fire safety and its practical application for users. “It gives me a lot of pride to be able to say, ‘I contributed to making the polymer material that made this cable for safe and reliable delivery of power.’”
Richard Tapper
2025 R&D LEADER OF THE YEAR:
2025 R&D Leader of the Year advocates for an open forum for scientific collaboration
“Science shouldn’t necessarily be impacted by a lot of outside factors, geopolitical, economic factors, but the reality is that it will be,” said Thomas Lograsso, director of the Critical Materials Innovation Hub at Ames National Laboratory and the 2025 R&D Leader of the Year. Lograsso has been with Ames Laboratory since 2007, also serving as director of materials science and engineering, deputy director and interim director during that time. Lograsso received his Ph.D. in metallurgical engineering from Michigan Technological University.
AMERICAN SCIENCE – AN OPEN FORUM
Lograsso said that U.S. policy around science should support collaboration. “We have to be open,” he said, “We need to give people the freedom to be able to critically assess the data and the observations one makes as a scientist and to openly debate those and to be able to really, as a community, come to some consensus, and to be able to then take that understanding and project it into areas that can advance our science, our technology, our way of life.”
He added that the country needs to continue to invest “significantly” in areas that are national priorities for the U.S. to retain its position as a leader in science and technology.
A CAREER IN MATERIALS DISCOVERY RESEARCH
Lograsso’s main research focus has been in materials discovery, he said. “I did a lot of materials discovery, growing new materials in single crystal form so that we could understand the intrinsic properties. And actually, I even developed a rare-earth-free magnetic alloy during my research days.”
Lograsso led the multi-PI program on synthesis and processing called Novel Material Synthesis, which aimed to produce materials of interest in a single crystal form for study, Lograsso said. Generally, the materials they studied had some sort of magnetic behavior, he added.
The project team set out to find a ductile alternative to Terfenol-D, a rare-earth bearing alloy containing terbium
and dysprosium. “And like most rare earth transition metals, it’s brittle, it’s hard to work with. And so we set out to find a ductile equivalent. And turns out iron and gallium form an alloy that has a reasonable magnetostrictive property and proved to be ductile,” Lograsso said.
The substitute they created is called Galfenol, and Lograsso is credited as a co-inventor of the material.
“I take a lot of pride in the materials we produced,” Lograsso said, “We’d share them with other researchers, and they would continue to yield great science. And so the samples lived on, the publications continued.”
SETTING OTHERS UP FOR SUCCESS
Lograsso said he got a lot of satisfaction from his role as deputy director. “I’m process oriented, and so making sure that institutions or departments can be run efficiently and stay focused, yet be able to implement strategic growth initiatives,” he explained.
In addition to improving efficiency and focus, Lograsso serves as a mentor in his role as director. “Being able to mentor our younger research staff and help them find those opportunities to grow professionally and bring world-class expertise to the Ames National Laboratory gives me a great deal of satisfaction,” he said.
Thomas Lograsso
As a mentor, Lograsso emphasizes listening to his staff and aligning the institution with their needs. “A lot of what I strive to do is to ensure other people are positioned well for success,” he said.
Seeing people through challenging situations, especially when funding is in limbo, is something Lograsso said he finds gratifying.
“I was very proud [to receive this award],” Lograsso said, “I take a lot of pride in my ability to lead people, so this is an affirmation that my leadership style has been recognized.”
LEADERSHIP ADVICE FROM THE LEADER OF THE YEAR
Lograsso offered advice for becoming an administrator in a research institution: “To become a leader, you’re really
putting either other individuals or the institution ahead and keeping the institution in the forefront and making decisions on what’s best for the institution has always served me very well.”
Lograsso also advised aspirational executives to “listen without judgment, incorporate and be open to other people’s ideas, to act with authority.”
“Everybody will have their own advice, but in the end, you’re the leader, so you have to be definitive in your thoughts and your actions to be able to really define the strategic trajectory for the institution,” he added.
Lograsso also advised future leaders to understand the structure and risk tolerance of their institution, as they will likely have to make decisions for which there is no procedure.
R&D 100 winner flags even unknown fentanyl analogs
Ateam from Sandia National Laboratories received an R&D 100 award for their Fentanyl Analog Independent Detection (FAID) system. With the portable chemical sensor, the team aims to aid frontline personnel, including first responders and law enforcement, in the detection of fentanyl analogs.
Fentanyl analogs are alterations of fentanyl that are often more deadly than the original narcotic. For instance, the CDC notes that the analog carfentanil is 100 times more potent than the original form of the drug. Most fentanyl detection methods can only detect analogs that are known and logged in a library. However, illegal drug makers are continually creating new analogs in attempts to escape detection, meaning there may be thousands of possible analogs.
“The best estimates are about 4,300,” said Johnathan Whiting, Principal Member of Technical Staff at Sandia, “and that may be a conservative estimate.”
Only a fraction of these, about 250 to 300, according to Whiting’s estimates, have been fully analyzed and synthetically characterized. Most detection methods can only test for these known compounds.
DETECTING UNKNOWN ANALOGS
FAID is different. It can detect fentanyl analogs that have never been seen before. “We looked at what makes that particular class of compounds unique and functional,” Whiting said, “We looked at the backbone of fentanyl and
broke it down into its component structures.”
Thanks to this method, FAID only has to look for ten to 20 “backbone” compounds to cover the entire fentanyl class.
FAID is also portable, being about the size of a carry-on suitcase. The team hopes to make it even smaller before it hits the market in a few years. It weighs under ten pounds and delivers results in ten minutes. FAID has a sensitivity estimated at less than one microgram, allowing it to detect even trace amounts of fentanyl.
SAVING LIVES
Matt Moorman, a Principal Member of the Technical Staff at Sandia, was inspired to create FAID as fentanyl started to take center stage of the opioid crisis seven years ago, Whiting said.
“I’m hoping that we can use this in places like when first responders are arriving on the scene, somebody’s identifying whether or not Narcan is the right countermeasure. It’ll give an appropriate amount of information to give us the right countermeasure so that people don’t have to die,” Whiting said.
R&D 100 winners predict disease risk on a continental scale
EpiEarth, a project from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), won an R&D 100 award this year. EpiEarth is an open-source software tool available on GitHub that predicts vector-borne diseases. The software combines long-term temperature, hydrology, ecology and vector population dynamics with disease risk to predict the spread of diseases such as West Nile virus. LANL “touts EpiEarth as the first tool that accurately forecasts vector-borne disease spread at continental scales.” This technology could provide the information needed for public health officials to make vital decisions.
PLANNING AHEAD
EpiEarth predicts the number of disease cases, disease risk and the impact of mitigations on potential epidemics. The software can predict on a day, season or decadal timescale, giving officials the necessary time to plan. The modular design enables the substitution of different models, diseases or vector species, making EpiEarth generalizable across vector-borne diseases that affect humans, crops and livestock.
The team was spurred to create this tool as infectious diseases began to spread across other countries.
“15 years ago, those in both earth sciences and epidemiology, we could see this was coming. We knew these things were moving north, and so we needed to predict that,” said Jeanne Fair, coprincipal investigator.
“Human health is a very important component for national security, and vector-borne diseases are just one segment of human health,” added Morgan Gorris, an investigator on the project.
LEVERAGING ML
The team on EpiEarth used machine learning (ML) clustering algorithms to design the technologies that allow the software to predict at a continental scale by analyzing possible habitats for vectors, such as mosquitoes and ticks.
“We used a machine learning/AI approach called MaxEnt modeling.
It’s a type of ecological niche modeling, and that gives us a measure of habitat suitability, so a map of where we would expect these vectors to live,” said Carrie Manore, coprincipal investigator.
The team also used information about the landscape complexity, such as elevation, to predict vector population, said Chonggang Xu, co-principal investigator.
The researchers used a weather-driven life stage model to predict the nonlinear relationships between and within mosquito populations to allow EpiEarth to accurately predict disease spread.
The team created a measure called eco population to allow for scalability. “You’re talking about going from a small puddle of mosquitoes breeding all the way up to decadal rapid and long-term environmental changes,” said Fair, “The eco-pop is a geographical way of spatially describing habitat for both of the scales that then can connect.”
IMPROVING HUMAN HEALTH
Released on GitHub last year, EpiEarth is already making a difference. The team at LANL is working with the San Diego Public Health Department to model mosquito population dynamics to inform decision-makers who are responding to pathogens such as West Nile virus, which has seen increasing numbers in the U.S. recently.
EpiEarth was ranked high for model accuracy in the 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention West Nile virus Forecasting Challenge. It has also been used to generate maps used to inform others about West Nile virus, Japanese encephalitis virus and Oropouche virus.
The software was acknowledged in the National Climate Assessment.
“I think that shows how impactful our work was in such a short time period,” said Gorris
The team hasn’t stopped working on EpiEarth. “We are thinking fungi pathogens and their impact as well as food security,” said Xu, “I think there’s potential for different types of diseases and the introduction of more conditions. I see a lot of potential here.”
R&D 100 finalist Sandia’s griDNA gives the grid a sixth sense at the edge
As distributed energy resources proliferate across the electric grid, the cyber-attack surface for cyber threats expands, and those digital intrusions can trigger consequences in the real world. Legacy monitoring tools still operate in silos, with one platform watching network traffic and another tracking voltage and frequency, leaving utilities blind to events that straddle both domains. Enter Sandia National Laboratories’ griDNA, which is a multi-level, edge-deployable AI for cyber-physical situational awareness on the electric grid and a 2025 R&D 100 Finalist in the IT/Electrical category.
BRIDGING CYBERSECURITY AND GRID PHYSICS
In essence, the project aims to bridge the gap between cybersecurity analysts and grid operators by fusing operational network data with physics-based power measurements. “At a high level, griDNA breaks down silos between cyber defenders and system operators on the power grid,” said project lead Shamina Hossain-McKenzie, principal member of technical staff in Sandia’s Cyber Resilience R&D department.
She contrasts griDNA with legacy tools: “Most tools look only at network telemetry (IT and operational technology systems) or only at physics data. We fuse both streams and use autoencoder neural networks to detect whether an event is cyber, physical or cyber-physical, and then inform next steps.”
The lineage traces back to Sandia’s PIDMS (Proactive Intrusion Detection and Mitigation System), which won an R&D 100 Award in 2022. “PIDMS collected cyber and physical data but analyzed them separately and then correlated the results. griDNA’s step forward is to
process cyber and physical data together, in one model, enabling faster detection of linked cyber-physical events,” Hossain-McKenzie said.
The threat landscape, she notes, is evolving rapidly. “The grid is becoming more cyber-physical: more smart devices, new comms interfaces, adaptive control (including AI),” Hossain-McKenzie said. “That improves efficiency but widens the vulnerability landscape. Now cyberattacks can propagate to the physical system, where consequences can be severe. Many solutions still look only at cyber data; we bring power-system physics directly into the analysis.”
That perspective now shapes a team built to straddle both worlds—ML researchers tuned to anomaly detection working side-by-side with controls and protection engineers who know what “normal” looks like on a live feeder. “We’re an interdisciplinary team at Sandia: computer scientists/AI researchers working with power-system engineers,” she says, noting collaborators Adrian Chavez, Logan Blakely, George Fragkos, Jess Robinson and Taylor Collins. External partners include Texas A&M University (“Prof. Katherine ‘Kate’ Davis”), the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) and Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), as Sandia National Laboratories notes.
Those partnerships enabled a CRADA deployment at PNM’s Prosperity solar farm after emulation and hardwarein-the-loop testing. “PNM partnered with us through a CRADA for field testing: how griDNA installs, collects data and performs against scenarios in a live system,” she says. Sandia’s Lab News confirms the Prosperity deployment and details the staged test campaign.
Sandia cybersecurity expert Adrian Chavez (left) and computer scientist Logan Blakely integrate a single-board computer running griDNA’s neural-network AI at PNM’s Prosperity solar farm test site. The edge-deployable system fuses network traffic and power measurements to detect cyber-physical anomalies.
(Photo by Bret Latter)
Edge deployment hardware for griDNA is compact.
2025 R&D 100 FINALISTS
ANALYTICAL/TEST
3 mm Multinuclear Inverse CryoProbe for NMR Spectroscopy, Bruker Switzerland AG
HELIOS: A Modular Platform for Lab-Scale X-ray Operando Studies of Laser Powder Bed Fusion, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
IONMASTER, RAITH GmbH; Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology
Midmark® Steam Sterilizers, Midmark Octet, Sandia National Laboratories
QuantumScale Single Cell RNA Kits, Scale Biosciences
RADXtract: Extracting root-cause failure mechanisms of semiconductor devices in extreme environments, Argonne National Laboratory; Kyma Technologies
RASTRUM Allegro, Inventia Life Science
The Juniper doubleMOT, Infleqtion
Vibration Intelligence Systems for Industrial Operations and Networks (VISION), Los Alamos National Laboratory
Waters GTxResolve Premier SEC 1000, Waters Corporation
IT/ELECTRICAL
Electronic Polymer Dosimeter for Radiotherapy (EPDR), Sandia National Laboratories; WearableDose Inc.
griDNA, Sandia National Laboratories; Public Service Company of New Mexico; Sierra Nevada Corporation; Texas A&M University
Heterogeneous AI-Driven RAN Platform for Network Resilience and Intelligent Energy-QoS Management, Institute for Information Industry; National Taiwan University of Science and Technology; Auray Technology Corporation; Reign Technology Corporation; National Taitung University
Object-based Computational Storage System (OCSS), Los Alamos National Laboratory; SK hynix
Smaller, Smarter, Faster, Stronger: How a Breakthrough Power Module Will Build a More Efficient and Affordable Electrical World, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Smart Optics for Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) Precision Positioning, Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited; Housing Authority and Housing Bureau, Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Spacecraft Speedometer, Los Alamos National Laboratory; United States Air Force Academy
TeleSense Technology, University of Pittsburgh; Corning Inc.; AiMiLi Inc.
MECHANICAL/MATERIALS
BETATECH BESS – High-performance Thermal Interface Materials for Efficient Heat Management in Battery Energy Storage Systems, DuPont
Boron Nitride–Enabled Handling Hydrogen at Scale Using Liquid-Based Hydrogen Carriers, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Chemical Oxidation: A Platform for Valorizing Hardto-Recycle and Mixed Plastics, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Tereform; University of Wisconsin–Madison; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Cost-Effective Advanced HPHT Diamond Growth Technology for Quantum and Electronic Applications, Euclid Beamlabs, LLC; BYC Technologies, LLC
Defect-Free LiNiO2 and Derivatives as HighPerformance Lithium-Ion Cathodes, Argonne National Laboratory
Driving Customer Efficiency with Complete Coating Solutions for Cabinet Face Frames, Axalta Coating Systems
EEMPA – a Next Generation Carbon Capture Solvent Technology, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Faraday Thermal Protection Systems, Touchstone Research Laboratory, Ltd.
GrapheneGuard Ultra-breathable Antimicrobial Graphene Nanofibre for Medical PPE, Hong Kong Productivity Council; 10A Limited
Innovative Polyethylene of Raised Temperature resistance (PE-RT Type I) for domestic, commercial and industrial pipe applications in surface heating and heat recovery systems, Dow Europe GmbH
LAROMance: Los Alamos Reduced Order Models for Advanced Nonlinear Constitutive Equations, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Idaho National Laboratory
LEAP-L, Sandia National Laboratories
Multi-functional building equipment satisfying all home comforts in cold climates, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Nortek Global HVAC (Rheem Manufacturing Company); Copeland
SABIC’s LNP ELCRES NP Copolymers: World’s First UL Certified Non-PFAS Flame-Retardant Polycarbonate Resins, SABIC
Si-Based Binder: Transforming the Market for Industrial Thermal Insulation & Personnel Protection, Dow Silicones Corporation; Dow Coating Materials, Dow Analytical Sciences, & Dow Construction Chemicals
Smart System of Electrical Discharge Machining (SSEDM), Metal Industries Research & Development Centre
STAR: A Sparked Tip-array Activated Reaction Module for Green Gas Generation, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
Sustainable Solution for Zero-Waste Copper-Clad Laminates, Swancor Holding Co., Ltd.; Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
Sustained Anti-fogging and Anti-microbial Agricultural Film for Greenhouses, Nano and Advanced Materials Institute, Ltd.; Henan Xinlianxin Chemicals Group Co. Ltd.
TRITON FCX Surfactants, The Dow Chemical Company
OTHER
CHEM-WAVES, Sandia National Laboratories
HP Z Captis, HP, Inc.; Adobe
PROCESS/PROTOTYPING
Cathode Upcycling to Increase the Energy Density of Directly Recycled Cathode Materials
Argonne National Laboratory
Development of Improved Processing of Cable Jacket Materials with Elimination of PFAS Containing Processing Aids
Dow Wire & Cable, Packaging & Specialty Plastics –The Dow Chemical Company
Digital Architecture to Manufacture Dual-Functional Structural Alloys with Tailored Strength and Corrosion Resistance
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ESIE — A smart surface platform enabling seamless integration of electronics into 3D freeform designs
Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI); AU Optronics Corporation; Pegatron Corporation; Yomura Technologies, Inc.
Electrochemical CO2 Graphitization (ECOG), Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Hybrid catalytic process intensification design for formic acid production, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Plant RNA Vision: A Biosensor for Live RNA Imaging in Plants, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ReNuFiber, Idaho National Laboratory
SOFTWARE/SERVICES
AI-Enabled Power Grid Planning: Enhancing Resilience, Reliability, and Security, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Intelligent Tornado Prediction Engine (ITORPE), MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PILightning: A Disruptive Control Algorithm for Production Scale Photonic Integrated Circuit Probe and Test, PI (Physik Instrumente), L.P
Probabilistic Investigation of Resource Allocation in Networks of Hierarchical Agents (PIRANHA), MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Siemens Healthineers Prostate MR AI Device, Siemens Healthineers AG
TranscriptoAI: Translating Omics with AI, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Congratulates all Winners of 2025 R&D 100 Awards, including Seven Lincoln Laboratory Research Teams
At MIT Lincoln Laboratory, we develop solutions that have a real impact on U.S. national security. Become part of our team to perform cutting-edge research and create innovative technology for homeland protection, missile defense, communications, cybersecurity, biotechnology, space security, and more.
Bumpless Integration of Chiplets to AI-Optimized Fabric
Quantum Diamond Magnetic Cryomicroscope
Lincoln Laboratory Radio Frequency Situational Awareness Model
TOSSIT: Tactical Optical Spherical Sensor for Interrogating Threats
MAScOT: Modular, Agile, Scalable Optical Terminal
Protected Anti-jam Tactical SATCOM (PATS) Key Management System Prototype
WiSPR: Wideband Selective Propagation Radar
https://www.nari.org.tw/english/
https://www.nari.org.tw/english/
National Atomic Research Institute
Nuclear safety and nuclear backend
Radiation applications for people
New energy and system integration
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Flue Gas CO2 Capture and Utilization Technologies
The National Atomic Research Institute (NARI) has developed an advanced CO 2 capture and utilization process tailored for industrial flue gas applications. The system enables the direct introduction of flue gas into an alkaline absorption process, efficiently capturing and converting CO 2 into carbonate and bicarbonate salts with a capture efficiency exceeding 90%. The recovered products possess commercial value and can also be utilized for in-plant acid gas treatment and wastewater neutralization. This technology not only reduces CO 2 recovery costs and eliminates the challenges of high-pressure storage, but also transforms emissions into renewable resources. By mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and promoting circular carbon utilization, the system contributes to industrial decarbonization and advances long-term environmental sustainability.
Applications of Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) for LNG Receiving Terminals
With more than 40 years of experience in risk management technologies, NARI has developed Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) models for Taiwan's nuclear power plants and delivered numerous application tools, all of which have been recognized by Taipower. Since 2005, NARI (formerly INER) has provided support to CPC Corporation, Taiwan, helping it define risk boundaries for LNG receiving terminals and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. Today, NARI remains the leading organization in Taiwan for LNG terminal QRA programs, recognized for its credibility and technical excellence.
Representative QRA projects include:
▪ 2005 QRA for CPC Yongan LNG Receiving Terminal
▪ 2019 QRA for CPC Guantang LNG Receiving Terminal
The Novel Software Platform for Quantitative Analysis of Cerebral Blood Flow Abnormalities
The Novel Software Platform for Quantitative Analysis of Cerebral Blood Flow Abnormalities, developed by the National Atomic Re search Institute, is built on a normative brain functional database based on Tc-99m ECD SPECT imaging. With relative cerebral blood flow processing, it automatically highlights subtle perfusion abnormalities, improving the interpretability of nuclear medicine brain imaging. T o address challenges of limited healthy control data and cross-institution variability, the platform applies our patented technology incorporatin g machine learning to create a normative template modeling the relationship between age and imaging values, compatible across devices. It achieved 85.7% accuracy in distinguishing AD from normal controls, and dementia classification accuracy further improved to 95.2% with a self- developed AI backbone model for nuclear medicine imaging. The platform will continue to expand to downstream tasks such as dementia severity grading, advancing intelligent medical imaging in clinical practice.
Pilot-scale CO2 capture and conversion system
Products of carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technology
QRA flowchart for LNG receiving terminals
Innovative Biogas Production Technique for Lignocellulosic Biomass
Biogas, the gaseous product from anaerobic digestion, is a promising renewable biofuel for mitigating carbon emissions. The Nat ional Atomic Research Institute (NARI) has unleashed lignocellulose biogas potential with innovative pretreatment technology, significantly elevating biogas yield (2-3 folds) and shortening biogas production time (3 months to 14 days). No additional energy input is required by integrating waste heat from generators, and derived lignin byproducts show potential for versatile applications. NARI has also developed anaerobic co- digestion technology for manure wastewater, effectively increasing biogas yield by adding small amounts of pretreated biomass (<1 wt%). T he technology has been transferred to domestic industries and validated in commercial-scale demonstration sites, achieving breakthrough pe rformance with enhanced biogas yield and methane content, which advances NARI’s technology into industrial promotion stages.
Alloy Catalyst Structures for Seawater
Hydrogen Production
The National Atomic Research Institute (NARI) has developed a hybrid arc plasma–magnetron sputtering process to fabricate patterned porous catalysts, enabling efficient hydrogen production at low temperatures. The resulting hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalytic film demonstrates strong corrosion resistance and stable operation at just 60 °C, achieving over 68.3% energy efficiency (LHV-based). In collaboration with a hydrogen energy company, NARI is advancing a dry electrocatalytic seawater hydrogen production system that eliminates the need for conventional gas–water separation and purification units, reducing equipment costs by up to one-third. With its cost-saving advantages, and robust performance in corrosive seawater environments, this technology represents a key enabler of localized, independent hydrogen production in Taiwan, strengthening
NARI’s Innovative and Sustainable Adsorption Drying and Dehumidification Technology
NARI’s Innovative Adsorption Drying & Dehumidification Technology transforms aluminum metallurgy waste into high-performance activated alumina, delivering over 20% higher energy efficiency in water adsorption-desorption processes and 30% cost savings compared to conventional dehumidification systems. Integrated with AIoT smart control, it ensures precise, low-temperature moisture removal for industries from agriculture to semiconductors. This eco-friendly solution supports a circular economy, reduces carbon emissions, and minimizes natural resource extraction, while offering durable, modular desiccant wheels made from waste for scalable applications.The technology has been proven effective in garlic, vanilla, and specialty food drying. Take vanillabean drying process as an example, it achieved a 44.4% reduction in drying time, 32.7% lower carbon emissions, 32.7% energy savings, and a 6.6% quality improvement. NARI’s technology enhances product quality, lowers operational costs, and drives sustainable industrial innovation worldwide.
Hybrid plasma-fabricated high-entropy alloy catalyst films enable efficient seawater-to-hydrogen conversion, as shown by the hydrogen production efficiency curve.
Basic composition of NARI’s dehumidification system
Superior drying results with NARI’s technology
Mobile pretreatment system for lignocellulosic biomass
Abbott Liberta RC deep brain stimulation (DBS) system
Abbott
The Abbott Liberta RC DBS system is reportedly the smallest deep brain stimulation system on the market and the only rechargeable IPG with remote programming capabilities in the US. DBS is used to treat movement disorders by sending small, targeted electrical pulses to the brain to relieve symptoms. The system is charged wirelessly and can be controlled from an Apple mobile device. People with movement disorders, such as Parkinson’s, are often left with few options outside of intense medication regimens just to maintain control of their bodies while managing significant side effects. The Abbott Liberta RC DBS system is designed to help solve this problem by providing an alternative treatment option that can be integrated into their daily lifestyle with ease.
BILS
Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
BILS is a bioengineered artificial ligament that integrates composite biomedical materials with a porous bionic structure, enhancing tissue adherence and regeneration for biomechanical durability and biological integration. This product can accelerate postoperative healing and reduce inflammation caused by wear and tear of conventional artificial ligaments. Sports injuries, such as fractures and damage to tendons or ligaments, can occur not only during athletic activities but also in everyday situations like collisions, falls, or traffic accidents. Once such an injury occurs, tissue healing typically requires at least six months of recovery. This prolonged recovery period leads to several negative consequences, including atrophy, lost elasticity, failure to regain strength, loss of mobility and reduced athletic performance. BILS is an artificial ligament composed of polymer-bioceramic composite fibers woven in a porous bionic structure that promotes soft and hard tissue integration. This design supports cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation, thereby accelerating postoperative healing and promoting long-term tissue integration. BILS is primarily applied in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and other orthopedic procedures for patients with torn or degenerated ligaments. In clinical ligament reconstruction surgery, a tunnel is drilled into the target bone, and the BILS artificial ligament is fixed inside the tunnel using an interference screw that secures it through compressive fixation. This type of procedure is commonly seen in ACL reconstruction, where tunnels are created in both the femur and tibia. The BILS artificial ligament is woven of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers containing bioceramic nanoparticles, and coated with collagen. Its porous 3D textile design offers bionic structure, facilitating soft tissue encapsulation and bony ingrowth. The composite material has improved mechanical strength and biocompatibility, reducing inflammation and graft failure associated with conventional inert materials.
Atlas
Nirrin Technologies
Atlas delivers rapid, on-demand, at-line analysis, revealing blind spots in your bioprocess. Just 15 µL can provide excipient, surfactant, protein, and monoclonal antibody data in one minute at 10X lower cost than current methods. Atlas provides real-time chemical analysis for biomanufacturing, replacing slow, labor-intensive methods such as HPLC. Key uses include optimizing formulations, validating buffers, monitoring upstream processes, and troubleshooting mixing or stability issues. Atlas uses a Nirrin-proprietary high-precision tunable laser spectrometer (HPTLS) in the near-infrared (NIR) region. The laser sweeps across key combination bands (~4000–4600 cm-¹), where overtone and combination vibrations of CH, OH, and NH functional groups absorb. Quantitation is performed using proprietary analytical methods built on validated reference libraries. This could replace legacy methods such as HPLC that are slow, labor-intensive, and prone to sample handling errors. Since launching in July 2024, Atlas has been adopted by major pharmaceutical companies for formulation optimization, buffer validation, and upstream process monitoring.
Bleeding Materials & Enclosures
Sandia National Laboratories
The Bleeding Materials and Enclosures product from Sandia uses inexpensive commercial-off-the-shelf materials to construct a custom enclosure system that, upon tamper, irreversibly and dramatically changes color, with tamper becoming visually obvious. This system provides confidence that high-value assets have not been tampered, intercepted or altered. It uses ubiquitous, inexpensive commercial materials, including water beads, water, epoxy, silicone, and an oxygen-sensitive chemical to construct custom enclosure systems that, upon tampering, irreversibly and dramatically change color from multicolored to black. The color change is based on exposure of the bleeding materials to air. An abstract for the technology describes the method incorporating the use of “bleeding” materials (analogous to visually obvious, colorful bruised skin that doesn’t heal) into the design of tamper-indicated enclosures (TIEs). It notes: “As designed, it will allow inspectors to use simple visual observation to detect attempts to penetrate the external surfaces of a TIE, without providing adversaries the ability to repair damage. A material of this type can enhance tamper indication of current TIEs used to support treaty verification regimes.” Advantages include the potential to avoid reliance on time-consuming subjective visual assessment by an inspector, equipment such as eddy current or camera devices, or approaches that may be limited due to the application environment.
ANALYTICAL & TEST
CHXI–MMT
Sandia National Laboratories
This innovative, colorized X-ray imaging system combines a nano-patterned X-ray anode with hyperspectral detection to achieve exceptional spatial resolution and material identification. It overcomes traditional limitations, enabling sharper imaging, precise diagnostics and cost-effective, high-precision measurements with standard X-ray sources. In addition to imaging, it can identify materials by analyzing spectral absorption from multiple emission lines. This dual capability of high-resolution imaging and material characterization marks an advancement in medicine, materials science and forensics. It enables highprecision measurements with traditional X-ray sources, reducing the need for costly accelerator facilities and making advanced imaging techniques more accessible to various industries and research institutions. The technology addresses traditional X-ray imaging’s limitations while enhancing reliability and accuracy, which has applications such as surgical planning and structural integrity assessments. Overall, its capabilities open new possibilities in biomedical imaging, TSA applications, non-destructive testing, and advanced manufacturing, driving innovation and breakthroughs in science and technology.
Ga Dolacga Injection
National Atomic Research Institute (NARI)
68Ga Dolacga Injection is the first glycopeptidebased PET radiotracer targeting ASGPR on hepatocytes, with a fast, robust 68Ga radiolabel and consistent manufacturing. Its lyophilized kit enables room-temperature storage, global distribution, and on-demand, on-site preparation, providing clinically actionable, high-contrast, quantitative PET images of liver function that outperform current assessment tools. 68Ga Dolacga is the subject of a study that will assess treatment response and liver function changes in patients of early-stage liver cancer receiving radiofrequency ablation.
Fentanyl Analog Independent Detector (FAID)
Sandia National Laboratories
This hand-portable detector identifies both known and unknown fentanyl analogs. It will enhance the ability of first responders, law enforcement and border security personnel to interdict materials that traditional detection technologies might miss and to protect themselves from inadvertent exposure to these toxic compounds. The Fentanyl Analog Independent Detector (FAID) technology is a tool designed to enhance the interdiction of fentanyl class compounds at our borders and airports, safeguarding the nation’s warfighters and law enforcement officers from exposure to these toxic chemicals. FAID is a hand-portable detector that streamlines the detection process by eliminating the need to create a signature library for each individual fentanyl analog. Instead, it detects the common backbone structure of fentanyl molecules, which is present across all analogs. This technique not only reduces the frequency of false alarms in the field but also allows FAID to identify new analog formulations for which detection signatures are not yet available. Expected users of FAID include the Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection, who will screen packages and materials entering the U.S. at transit points such as mail sorting facilities and ports of entry. First responders and law enforcement can utilize this instrument to protect themselves and others from exposure to these dangerous chemicals, as well as to assist in legal investigations and locate stores of illicit material. Sandia researchers have demonstrated that fentanyl analogs decompose into a small number of characteristic chemicals, akin to identifying the “fingerprint” of fentanyl class compounds. This approach has been tested against more than 30 fentanyl analogs, both in pure form and in the presence of 1,000 times greater concentrations of common cutting agents such as baby formula, acetaminophen and procaine. The system has a total cycle time of less than 10 minutes, weighs under 10 pounds with a full day’s supply of batteries, and has a sensitivity estimated at less than 1 microgram, enabling trace detection of fentanyl analogs on the outside of packages or near production facilities.
ANALYTICAL & TEST
Monolithic Telescopes
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Monolithic Telescopes combine multiple reflective and refractive optics into a single fused-silica optic. This compact optic eliminates misalignment risks, increases durability, and minimizes impacts of thermal distortions. Monolithic Telescopes streamline mission development by fitting existing designs and supporting new, modular housings. Monolithic optics meet the capabilities of traditional optical systems all in a single optic. Unlike conventional (Cassegrain) reflecting telescopes, which consist of multiple lenses and mirrors which are prone to misalignment, Monolithic Telescopes integrate all optical elements into one solid structure. This design enhances mechanical stability and ensures reliable performance within the extreme conditions of space, including intense solar radiation and dynamic acceleration.
LiCellMo, a live cell metabolic pathway analyzer
PHC Corporation
Quantum Diamond Magnetic Cryomicroscope
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
PHCbi’s LiCellMo is a live-cell metabolic pathway analyzer designed to change how researchers study cellular function. By directly measuring glucose and lactate levels in real time, LiCellMo enables continuous, non-disruptive monitoring of live cell metabolism, offering a view into how cells behave and respond under various conditions. By tracking these metabolic markers, scientists can gain a clearer understanding of how cells grow, respond to treatments, and adapt under stress. This continuous, non-invasive analysis could be valuable in cancer research, drug discovery and the development of cell and gene therapies. The electrochemical in-line sensors in LiCellMo use electrical changes arising from chemical reactions. The concentration of the analyte is converted into an electrical signal through enzymatic redox reactions and then quantified. The electrochemical in-line sensors used in the LiCellMo carry enzymes that bind specifically to glucose and lactate. LiCellMo could empower researchers to make more informed decisions and help accelerate the development of new therapies. It reduces the risk of misleading results that can arise from single time-point measurements, enhancing the reliability and depth of experimental outcomes. LiCellMo represents a step forward in healthcare and diagnostics by enabling scientists to observe cellular responses in a more natural, uninterrupted manner. This real-time insight can support the development of safer, more effective treatments, helps improve drug safety testing, and drives progress in personalized medicine.
The Quantum Diamond Magnetic Cryomicroscope is a wide-field, high-resolution instrument that images electric currents, trapped magnetic flux and magnetic materials across a range of temperatures. Its magnetic imaging capability is driving breakthroughs in next-generation high-performance computing and the study of exotic magnetic nanomaterials. Superconducting computing presents an alternative to conventional complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology by offering significantly higher clock speeds and superior power efficiency, even when accounting for the power required for cryogenic cooling. This computing architecture leverages superconducting materials such as niobium, niobium nitride, and niobium titanium nitride, which operate at temperatures as low as 4 kelvin (K). The instrument operates from 4 K to room temperature, has single-micron resolution over a 600 μm × 360 μm field of view and isolates the device under test (DUT) from stray magnetic fields, microwaves, and light with shielding and microwave engineering. The instrument can record an image in seconds to minutes, and can scan and tile images to interrogate a 3 mm × 4 mm chip area. This technological breakthrough informs new SCE designs, closing the feedback loop to effectively solve the flux-trapping problem and enable SCE VLSI. Furthermore, the technology can be applied more broadly to problems beyond flux trapping in SCE. Diagnostics possible with a quantum diamond magnetic cryomicroscope include active SCE devices, novel 2D magnetic materials, and even superconducting qubit circuits.
Self-Aligned Focusing Schlieren System
NASA Langley Research Center
SAFS is a significant improvement in focusing schlieren, a well-established yet plateaued airflow visualization measurement technique. SAFS enables visualization of airflow structures on complex three-dimensional bodies that are difficult to observe with conventional schlieren systems. It is simpler to set up, more compact, vibration-resistant and more sensitive than traditional devices. It reduces setup time from weeks to mere minutes, and it requires optical access only from one side of the measurement region, eliminating the need for through-tunnel setups. The SAFS system also eliminates window glare by manipulating light polarization and is immune to vibrations thanks to retro-reflective materials. With these innovations, the SAFS system opens up new possibilities for more efficient, accurate and accessible flow visualization. By leveraging the power of light polarization, the SAFS system eliminates the need for separate grids, instead using a single grid element that serves as both the source and cutoff grid simultaneously. This innovation makes the system inherently self-aligned, reducing setup time and complexity while allowing for adjustments to sensitivity, field-of-view, and focus.
ANALYTICAL & TEST
Simoa BD-Tau Advantage PLUS Assay
Quanterix Corporation
The Simoa BD-Tau Advantage PLUS Assay advances neurodegenerative research with its ultrasensitive and selective measurement of brainderived tau (BD-Tau) levels in serum, plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples. This assay could be a tool for furthering translational and clinical research in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative conditions. The Simoa BD-Tau Advantage PLUS is a digital immunoassay intended for the measurement of brain derived (BD) Tau in human plasma, serum, and CSF samples, facilitating research in neurodegenerative diseases. BD-Tau enhances our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases and is emerging as a blood-based biomarker that outperforms total Tau and Neurofilament light (NfL) in distinguishing AD from other neurodegenerative diseases. BD-Tau has been shown to be a more specific measurement of neurodegenerative disease than total Tau in blood in that it allows for the discrimination of CNS-originated Tau from those originating from peripheral tissues. The Simoa BD-Tau Advantage PLUS assay provides sensitive and selective measurement of BD-Tau proteins in biological samples. This assay offers new insights to advance research into AD and other neurological conditions and ensures reliable results for both large-scale and longitudinal studies.
spectraMRR
BrightSpec
The spectraMRR is described as the first commercial platform to harness molecular rotational resonance (MRR) spectroscopy for structural analysis and quantitation. Offering improved resolution without ionization or chromatography, the spectraMRR could redefine how chemists identify and quantify molecules. By commercializing Molecular Rotational Resonance (MRR) spectroscopy, the spectraMRR provides direct, high-resolution structural information without the ionization, fragmentation or chromatographic separation required by conventional techniques like NMR, mass spectrometry and GC. This allows scientists to identify and quantify compounds with greater speed, precision, and confidence—solving challenges in residual solvent analysis, chiral purity testing and complex mixture analysis across industries like pharmaceuticals, chemicals and consumer goods. Historically underutilized due to technical limitations, MRR is now accessible through the innovation and engineering behind the spectraMRR. Its ability to differentiate closely related molecules, including isomers and enantiomers, delivers insights that are critical to product development and quality control.
SteriSEQ Rapid Sterility Testing Kit
Thermo Fisher Scientific
The SteriSEQ Rapid Sterility Testing Kit delivers actionable sterility results in under 5 hours using qPCR technology, enhancing efficiency and quality assurance in biopharmaceutical production. It minimizes product loss through early contamination detection, complies with regulatory guidelines, and integrates seamlessly into manufacturing workflows, ensuring timely and reliable sterility testing. The SteriSEQ Rapid Sterility Testing Kit aims to accelerate treatment delivery while enhancing safety. The SteriSEQ kit provides reliable results in less than a day, helping manufacturers ensure product safety through early contamination detection. It optimizes sample use by testing for fungi and bacteria simultaneously with minimal volume, preserving the final product. Its simple qPCR workflow with optimized data analysis aligns with additional analytic testing, minimizing training requirements and simplifying support and maintenance. SteriSEQ offers a faster, more effective solution for cell therapy manufacturers, overcoming low production volume, short product shelf-life, and lengthy sterility testing methods, and could speed up the delivery of cell therapy innovations to patients.
ANALYTICAL & TEST
TESCAN AMBER X2
TESCAN Group
AMBER X2 is reportedly the first Plasma FIB-SEM that combines large-scale 3D characterization and precise TEM specimen preparation. Powered by the new Mistral PFIB and BrightBeam field-free SEM, AMBER X2 uniquely combines low-keV SEM field-free imaging, large-scale and precise Plasma FIB milling, with multi-modal FIB-SEM tomography integrated analytical techniques. TESCAN AMBER X2 is a disruptive plasma FIB-SEM platform that transforms how researchers perform 3D materials analysis and TEM specimen preparation. It replaces the need for separate plasma and Ga+ systems by introducing a new Mistral Plasma FIB column. The AMBER X2 can provide insight into structure and chemistry, empowering advances in semiconductors, batteries, and nanomaterials. TESCAN AMBER X2 provides researchers with the ability to perform fast, large-volume, nanoscale materials 2D/3D characterization while achieving precision for sub-30 nm thin TEM specimen fabrication with a benefit of a Xe Plasma Ion Source (minimal damage to the TEM specimen and no risk of Ga+ ion specimen contamination), all within a single, integrated FIB-SEM platform. It eliminates the traditional need for separate systems (plasma FIB for volume and Ga+ FIB for TEM prep) by combining high-throughput milling, low-energy and high-energy precision milling and polishing.
The Thermo Scientific KingFisher PlasmidPro Maxi Processor is reportedly the only fully automated maxi-scale plasmid purification solution. Its workflow eliminates labor-intensive steps and delivers high-quality, endotoxin-free plasmid DNA in half the traditional process time, accelerating research in cell and gene therapies, monoclonal antibody therapies, mRNA therapies and vaccines. PlasmidPro changes the maxi-scale plasmid purification process with a fully automated workflow that eliminates labor-intensive centrifugation and pipetting steps. By fully automating this time-consuming step, PlasmidPro significantly reduces bottlenecks associated with plasmid purification to advance the discovery and development of therapies and vaccines. Designed to streamline and accelerate the purification process, PlasmidPro can produce high-quality plasmid DNA ready to be used in applications like transfection in 75 minutes. The system uses a one-piece, pre-filled cartridge that simplifies setup and clean-up processes, reducing hands-on time and contamination risks. For example, researchers need more than 30 hours of hands-on work in the lab to complete 30 plasmid purifications manually. PlasmidPro can complete 30 purifications and only requires 2.4 hours of manual labor, saving researchers approximately 28 hours overall. PlasmidPro streamlines the purification process, saving researchers time and letting them focus on the next research stage to bring life-saving therapies to patients faster.
Thermo Scientific Stellar mass spectrometer
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Stellar MS advances biomarker verification, delivering fast and sensitive quantitation to confirm and verify all biomarkers of significance. Since launching Stellar MS, application space has increased beyond peptides, metabolites and lipids to also include forensic/clinical toxicology and bioanalysis applications, and continues to expand to support new applications into the future. By combining the quantitative performance of a triple quadrupole with the single cell sensitivity of linear ion trap analyzers, it achieves 10X the quantitative sensitivity for 5X more compounds at scale compared to existing technologies. The Stellar MS enhances omics research through its ability to analyze new proteins, therefore propelling scientific discoveries forward at scale. The instruments’ ability to discover and validate new insights could improve the capabilities that scientists have to develop new treatments and therapies across disease states, ultimately accelerating precision medicine. The Thermo Scientific Stellar mass spectrometer (MS) connects new biomarker discoveries to clinical research for a wide range of compounds such as steroids, bile acids, peptides, metabolites and lipids. It advances analytical capabilities extending quantitative sensitivity, increasing selectivity and specificity while delivering greater sample throughput. Collectively, Stellar MS empowers researchers to gain additional insights to make more informed decisions and validate biomarkers faster.
ANALYTICAL & TEST
Thor’s Hammer Including Quantitative Dried Blood Cards
Applied Isotope Technologies, Inc.
Thor’s Hammer is a universal quantitation technique that boosts signal sensitivity on any mass spectrometer by 100x on polyisotopic elements. It enables ultra-low detection of inorganic, organic, and organometallic toxins, as well as metabolite and protein biomarkers, enhancing clinical diagnostics and therapeutic precision and ultimately patient outcome.
Thor’s Hammer is a platform-agnostic technique that increases mass spectrometry signal intensity by more than two orders of magnitude. Compatible with any mass spectrometer, regardless of type or manufacturer, Thor’s Hammer is simple to implement and grounded in a patented, scientifically validated methodology. It achieves these results at low cost and without the need for additional equipment. Thor’s Hammer is compatible with all compound classes—including inorganic, organometallic, and organic molecules—enabling sensitive quantitation of toxins, metabolites, proteins, and other biomarkers. This detection capability opens new opportunities in early disease diagnostics, precision medicine through companion diagnostics, and improved clinical decision-making.
TriClip Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Repair (TEER) System
Abbott
Abbott’s TriClip transcatheter edgeto-edge repair system is a minimally invasive device designed for the heart’s difficult-to-treat tricuspid valve. It could offer a safe and effective solution for patients suffering from severe tricuspid regurgitation (a leaky tricuspid valve) without the need for open-heart surgery. Approximately 1.6 million people in the U.S. and more than 70 million globally currently live with moderate or severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR), for which there are few treatment options. TR patients have long faced limited, high-risk treatment options, such as surgery or medical therapy, leaving them with debilitating and potentially life-threatening consequences. Abbott developed the minimally invasive TriClip TEER system to fill this critical treatment gap. TriClip is reportedly the first non-surgical repair option for patients who don’t respond to traditional therapies and aren’t candidates for surgery. TriClip is specifically designed to treat the tricuspid valve’s complex anatomy and help restore tricuspid valve performance without subjecting patients with TR to high-risk open-heart surgery. It could offer a safer path to relief from TR and reduces symptoms of fatigue, swelling and shortness of breath.
TOSSIT: Tactical Optical Spherical Sensor for Interrogating Threats
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
The Tactical Optical Spherical Sensor for Interrogating Threats is a throwable chemical sensor that rapidly and remotely determines the presence of hazardous chemical vapors and aerosols. Its form is customizable (ball, box, dronemounted, starburst flare) and costs less than competing sensors currently in the marketplace. According to the submitters, TOSSIT appears to be the only low-cost, low-SWaP sensor that can detect and identify vapors as well as liquid and solid aerosol chemical agents, unlike other technologies that are limited to chemical vapor threats and do not have the ability to be kinetically positioned downrange and away from personnel. TOSSIT draws in chemical vapors for analysis via colorimetric chemical detection. Aerosol particles are similarly drawn in to impact onto a chemically responsive sensing layer that allows for solid particles to initiate a colorimetric chemical reaction. The TOSSIT system can perform these analyses in a baseball-sized form factor for less than $200 per unit. Its vapor detection capability has been tested extensively in the field and is currently being transferred for military uses. The aerosol capability is under development and has successfully been used to detect finely ground solid amine particles that
Figure 1 shows four military and/or civilian chemical sensing Spherical Sensor for Interrogating Threats (TOSSIT) can fill technology gap Sensitive site assessment missions (top left) safety of an enclosure. Giving them the ability to toss or roll enhance their safety by providing early warning of a chemical servicemember's inventory include M8 paper, the M256A2 a number a high cost that limits in (top servicemembers and first responders to determine the safety
TOSSIT sensors can also be mounted on mobile platforms, remotely assess the safety of convoy routes (bottom left). ottom right) to determine widespread scale chemical
officials want to quickly determine the extent of chemical be used as part of perimeter aerosol and vapor coverage for outdoor and indoor
electrochemical processes in real time, under true operando conditions, across a temperature range of -50 °C to 300 °C. It integrates precise temperature control, quantitative electrochemistry and real-time imaging with full software synchronization and application-driven design. Built on over a decade of leadership in liquid-cell TEM, Triton AX is already in use at five world-class research institutions in the U.S. and U.K., with its first scientific publication completed and a sixth installation underway in Finland. This adoption reflects trust from the scientific community and broad applicability across clean energy, corrosion, bioscience and nanomaterials research.
Tactical Optical Spherical Sensor for Interrogating Threats
ANALYTICAL & TEST
Underwater
X-ray Imaging System
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The diver-operated system enables underwater X-ray imaging for inspecting pipelines, cables, oil rigs, marine vessels, and unidentified objects during explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) operations. Divers can capture X-ray images of objects in situ using digital radiography, guaranteeing quick results and improving the effectiveness of inspections. It is especially suited for high-risk scenarios such as explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) operations, where speed and precision are critical. Utilizing digital radiography, the system provides immediate, high-resolution X-ray images directly to the diver or support team, eliminating the delays associated with surface-based analysis. This real-time imaging capability allows divers to make quick, informed decisions on-site – enhancing safety, minimizing mission time, and reducing the risk of exposure to potentially hazardous materials. Designed for ease of use, the system integrates into standard dive operations. Its interface and compact form factor ensure reliable performance in underwater environments, making it a potentially valuable tool for both military and commercial applications where visual inspection alone is insufficient.
Universal GridEdge Analyzer (UGA)
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Universal GridEdge Analyzer is a compact, plug-and-play grid-edge sensor that uses GPS-synchronized timing to sample waveforms at 36 kHz across diverse power grid scenarios. Delivering high-resolution, rapid processing for situational awareness, it streams real-time data—enabling live monitoring, event signatures and smarter decision-making for utilities, federal agencies and operators. The integration of inverter-based resources at the grid edge has increased severe events on distribution networks—such as inverter faults, harmonic distortions, and rapid load fluctuations—which traditional monitoring tools cannot fully capture. Universal GridEdge Analyzer, on the market since 2024, is a plug-and-play, grid-edge sensor platform delivering GPSsynchronized, high-resolution synchro-waveform data. It captures voltage and current waveforms at 36 kHz and computes synchrophasors at 2.4 kHz in previously unmonitored locations (behind-the-meter inverters, microgrids and data center). UGA supports real-time event signature detection, adaptive compression and integrated cybersecurity, streaming time-aligned data to centralized servers for immediate analysis. Utilities and researchers deploy UGA for distribution-level situational awareness, event localization, and post-event forensics. UGA enables visibility into distribution-grid dynamics. For example, it provides instant harmonic and oscillation alerts to fine-tune inverter performance and helps microgrid operators detect islanding oscillations before destabilization.
VL-800 Series 3D Scanner CMM KEYENCE
The VL-800 3D Scanner CMM combines the capabilities of 3D scanners and CMMs, allowing users to capture full 360° data and accurate measurements. Using 3D-AI, capturing data and stitching the scans together to create a complete and accurate 360° model is easier than ever. The VL-800 3D Scanner CMM advances the future of 3D measurement by combining the capabilities of 3D Scanners and CMMs while overcoming the limitations. The system has the ability to automatically output scanned data into a CAD file. Now with its ability to utilize AI, anyone, regardless of experience, can capture high-quality data and accurate measurements, making this a tool for 3D measurement in any industry. By using this tool to get a more thorough understanding of a part, product development time can be improved by shortening the prototyping and development process. With the VL-Series, accurate data can be captured and used to take repeatable/NIST-traceable 2D/3D and 12 types of GD&T measurements such as cylindricity, concentricity and perpendicularity. This device can take a 360° scan and automatically export directly to a CAD file (STL, DXF, OBJ, 3MF, and STP). The system can also automatically compare the captured scan to a CAD file or to another part scan, allowing users to visualize and measure the differences between molds, cavities, variations between suppliers and new vs old parts.
IT/ELECTRICAL
IT/ELECTRICAL
Electro-Optical Sensor (EOS) for High-Energy Environments and Applications
Sandia National Laboratories
The Electro-Optical Sensor (EOS) is composed of a crystal smaller than a dime and a laser smaller than a shoebox that is able to safely measure up to 20 million volts without making physical contact to the electrode. The system works by placing a lithium niobate crystal in the electric field, where the field alters how the crystal transmits polarized laser light, with the rotation of the light being directly proportional to the voltage being measured. This technology, developed at Sandia’s HERMES III facility, enables accurate calibration of gamma ray production and has potential applications ranging from power transmission monitoring to non-invasive fault detection in electrical systems. Unlike traditional metallic measurement devices that suffer from electromagnetic interference and require complex calibration, the EOS’s non-metallic design provides accurate measurements in high-energy environments without disrupting the field being measured. The system has achieved record-breaking results for the highest direct external electric field measurement in a pulsed power accelerator to date. The technology has successfully measured an unprecedented electric field strength of 118 MV/m in the HERMES III accelerator. That is two to three orders of magnitude greater than previously reported values. Sandia notes that the unit has already attracted strong interest from academic institutions, national laboratories and industry partners.
eMission Critical Sensor
University of Pittsburgh
The eMission Critical Sensor technology expedites the detection and enhances the processing of critical metals in liquids, including rare earth elements (REEs) and battery metals, via portable real-time monitoring at a cost >10x less than standard laboratory techniques. Compact, portable chemical and metal sensor devices held a 2023 global market value >$4 billion, with expected compound annual growth rate of >14% from 2024-2032, according to 2024 Global Market Insights report, demonstrating robust demand. Rapid growth in portable sensors and critical minerals markets presents opportunities for synergy, where compact sensors for real-time monitoring target critical metal ions (and interfering species) reduce time and financial costs associated with critical mineral prospecting and processing. eMission Critical Sensor addresses the opportunity by combining state-of-the-art in optics and materials science for rapid, sensitive feedback on concentrations of various economically critical metals, including rare earth elements, cobalt, and aluminum. eMission Critical Sensor detects target metals at sensitivity levels (down to parts per billion) at least one order of magnitude better than handheld X-ray fluorometers and laser-induced breakdown spectrometers, while overcoming cost and portability limitations of inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry, current state-of-the-art. The eMission Critical Sensor is a highly sensitive and selective probe for economically critical metals in liquid streams. The technology couples a compact, proven fiber optic excitation and detection platform with high performance luminescent materials that provide a selective optical response in the presence of target metals. As a result, critical metals including terbium, europium, dysprosium, samarium, cobalt, and aluminum can be detected at low parts per million concentrations or better in complex systems, such as fly ash leachates and extraction process streams. The sensor is designed to directly prospect for target critical metals in the field from sources such as acid mine drainage, and for process monitoring during metal production.
EpiEarth:
Epidemiological & EarthSystem Integrated Model for VectorBorne Disease Risk Prediction
Los Alamos National Laboratory
EpiEarth is an open-source software tool with a modular workflow incorporating long-term temperature, ecology and vector population dynamics with disease risk to predict vector-borne diseases like West Nile Virus. With seven key data- or model-driven modules, EpiEarth accurately forecasts vector-borne disease spread at continental scales. EpiEarth enables the prediction of vector-borne disease cases, risk, and the impact of mitigations on potential epidemics. Its ability to predict risk at the day, season and decadal timescale provides the detail necessary to give public health decisionmakers the tools to respond to an epidemic and the information to understand how a particular intervention strategy will work immediately and over time. Furthermore, EpiEarth’s modular design allows substitution of different models, diseases or vector species, making the tool generalizable across vector-borne diseases that affect human, livestock and crop health. EpiEarth is a software tool that allows local and regional populations alike to evaluate disease-vector spread, human disease risk, and food availability across our global community.
Rotary Transformer for Brushless and Permanent Magnet–Free Electric Motors
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Over 90% of Electric Vehicles use permanent-magnet synchronous motors, and China supplies 98% of the critical rare-earth magnets in these motors. Woundrotor synchronous motors eliminate magnets and use brushes and slip rings but introduce other problems. Our technology eliminates magnets, brushes and slip rings, thereby improving efficiency and sustainability. The technology developed by ORNL and BorgWarner provides a significant improvement for EVs and industrial motors. This technology eliminates the problems associated with the brush and slipring systems while also eliminating heavy and non-heavy rare earth materials from the electric motors. It also replaces brush and slip-ring systems with wireless and noncontact delivery of excitation current to the wound-field rotor. This approach reduces the dependency on other countries’ resources in the US transportation sector. It enables higher-speed operation, increases efficiency, eliminates maintenance requirements and reduces the motor size, weight and volume. Moreover, this technology is applicable to light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles, which use a considerable amount of magnets. Proposed technology eliminates the maintenance requirements, provides speed and operating point independent high efficiency, enables high-speed operation and improves power density of WRSM for EVs with increased performance and efficiency while eliminating the dependency on another country’s resources in our transportation and vehicles industry.
IT/ELECTRICAL
SHAD-TAGS+: Smallest High-performance Acoustic Devices Transforming Aquatic Global Solutions
Pacific
Northwest National Laboratory
SHAD-TAGS+ is an acoustic transmitter for tracking aquatic species that were previously considered “untaggable.” Leveraging AI in design and analysis, it is five times smaller and lighter than the smallest product available, reduces total costs by 76% and delivers high 3D tracking performance, transforming the understanding of aquatic species’ behavior worldwide. Conservation efforts for endangered and threatened aquatic species require a detailed understanding of their movement and behavior in water bodies and around humanmade structures such as hydropower facilities and dams. Therefore, precise, high-resolution data are essential for the development and implementation of costeffective mitigation strategies. Acoustic transmitters are typically employed to achieve high-resolution tracking using telemetry because of their superior detection range and tracking accuracy in three dimensions. However, the species that can be studied using acoustic telemetry are limited by the size and weight of the implanted tag, which can affect their natural behavior and movement and increase their susceptibility to predation. These size and weight limitations also restrict which life cycles can be studied, and some species are also sensitive to handling and tagging. SHAD-TAGS+ is an acoustic transmitter developed at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for studying the behavior of sensitive species. The design of SHAD-TAGS+ overcomes the challenges faced by other market-available transmitters to achieve low size and weight while achieving high 3D tracking accuracy and efficiency. With SHAD-TAGS+, researchers can now tag and track species and life stages that were unable to be studied before and reduce the costs associated with tagging and labor. Hydropower facilities will be able to develop mitigation measures to improve fish passage and conservation strategies without sacrificing power generation.
SynTRACS
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
In recent years, decarbonization and the electrification of vehicles has been accelerating worldwide, and there is a demand for higher efficiency and resource conservation in motor systems for railway vehicles. Traditional systems use induction motors or PM motors, but the former faces the challenge of low motor efficiency, while the latter uses permanent magnets to achieve high torque, which poses environmental issues due to the large consumption of rare earth materials. To address these challenges and achieve resource conservation, SynTRACS has a maximum output of 450 kW using SiC inverters for railway vehicles, and does not use rare earth materials. SynTRACS is described as a motor system comprising a synchronous reluctance motor and SiC inverter for railways. The SynRM has both a high motor efficiency and max output power of 450 kW for railways without permanent magnets including rare-earth materials. SynTRACS can reduce the losses generated by each motor by 50% compared with conventional high-efficiency induction motors. Additionally, SynTRACS does not require circuit breakers to generate induced voltage at no-load. The technology can be applied to applications beyond railway vehicles, and being a rare-earth-free motor, it reduces geopolitical risks and contributes to a sustainable society.
WiSPR: Wideband Selective Propagation Radar
MIT
Lincoln Laboratory
WiSPR is an active protection system with radar and communications functions. Radar functions are optimized to handle various threats to combat vehicles, including the most demanding targets. Current global conflicts are highlighting the susceptibility of armored vehicles to adversary anti-tank weapons. APS is one of the methods to counter these anti-tank weapons. One drawback here though is that adversary ELINT systems can detect and target armored vehicles emitting RF energy. To prevent such ELINT detection, Lincoln Laboratory designed, developed and tested an APS with a dual radar and communications functions at millimeter-wave frequencies. By combining custom technologies and COTS hardware, the Laboratory team produced a WiSPR prototype as quickly and efficiently as possible. Custom RFICs and integrated antenna packages enable the AESA system with tens of thousands of beams scanned per second to find incoming anti-tank threats and that can be easily scaled to protect small and large platforms. WiSPR participated in live-fire test events and collected data indicating the system can detect and track anti-tank weapons traveling at speeds well in excess of the speed of sound. WiSPR technology has since been transitioned to a vendor for production and will help protect U.S. Army units.
MECHANICAL/ MATERIALS
Advanced Engineered Cellular Magmatics
Savannah River National Laboratory
Advanced engineered cellular magmatics are a progression of traditional foam glass technology that can be tailored to suit a variety of applications including: wastewater filtration, supplemental cementitious materials and biological delivery systems. Leveraging decades of experience creating materials for the safe disposition of highlevel nuclear waste, SRNL and Silica-X researchers can now produce materials that embody circularity and sustainability with a focus on rapid tech-to-market transitions. Advanced engineered cellular magmatics (AECMs) are a material family able to be synthesized from a variety of input feedstock materials such as post-consumer waste glass, post-industrial glass (e.g., E-glass) and waste-to-energy (WtE) ash. The utilization space of AECMs spans several industrial sectors including: lightweight, reactive aggregate for low-carbon concrete (e.g., marine concrete, roller compacted concrete), biological substrates for microbes capable of remediating contaminated waters and soils including hydrocarbon remediation, wastewater filtration media and cementitious materials for hazardous waste disposal. AECMs have had an impact on multiple industries, including: municipal solid waste infrastructures, industrial glass manufacturers and waste-to-energy producers. These products are designed to offset
MECHANICAL/MATERIALS
Advanced Moderator Module
Argonne National Laboratory
The Advanced Moderator Module containment design reduces hydrogen loss in solid hydride systems by 105 orders of magnitude uncontained systems. It features a hermetic ultra-thin niobium liner with a hydrogen barrier coating, effective up to 700°C. An optional silicon carbide composite shell extends temperature capability beyond 900 °C. It uses hydride metals, such as YH2, to achieve optimal neutron moderation within a compact reactor design, which is combined with coating technology to limit H2 permeation at high temperature. This allows for higher fuel content and extended core lifetimes. Its enclosure design reduces thermal neutron absorption compared to traditional enclosure materials like stainless steel or Mo-based alloys. By lowering fissile enrichment requirements while maintaining high-temperature capabilities, the AMM technology can either extend reactor lifetimes or reduce overall size and weight. The AMM resulted from multi-discipline efforts that include materials science and advanced materials synthesis, reactor physics and nuclear engineering. All are combined to provide a product that can have an impact on the economics and deployment of nuclear reactors, especially microreactors.
Circu-Texfilm SINGTEX Group
Circu-Texfilm uses AI spectral sorting and chemical depolymerization to recycle PET/PU and PET/OP textiles into waterproof, breathable polyurethane films. It achieves 96% sorting accuracy, processes one garment per second and cuts 1,000 tons of textile waste. Furthermore, its breathability and water resistance support scalable circular textile solutions. Textile-to-textile recycling is vital for sustainability, yet only about 1% of textiles are recycled into new fabrics. Circu-Texfilm offers a costeffective, high-efficiency solution to recycle PET composites and blended textiles into waterproof, breathable polyurethane films. According to the U.S. EPA, over 17 million tons of textile waste were generated in 2018, with polyester comprising 25–30% of the market. Circu-Texfilm could increase global recycling by 4.25–5.1 million tons annually, accelerating decarbonization and circularity. Traditional chemical recycling is limited to single-material fabrics. Circu-Texfilm overcomes this by integrating AI spectral sorting with chemical depolymerization and developing a system to accurately identify PET/Spandex blends. This breakthrough enables recycling of complex textile waste. Circu-Texfilm also supports sustainable alternatives for high-performance apparel, outdoor gear and military use.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and Samsung Research developed a scalable solid-state thermoelectric cooling technology using nano-engineered materials. Easily manufactured with semiconductor tools, it offers a compact, energy-efficient solution to meet growing cooling demands and an alternative to traditional compressor-based refrigeration. CHESS is a nano-engineered thin-film thermoelectric material that has enabled solid-state refrigeration systems nearly twice as efficient as current bulk thermoelectric devices. Tested in collaboration with Samsung Research, CHESS-based thermoelectric materials demonstrated a 70–100% efficiency improvement across materials, modules and complete refrigeration systems, using just 0.003 cc of material per unit. Originally developed for national security and medical applications, CHESS thermoelectric materials now offer potential for a wide range of energy-efficient cooling solutions. Manufactured using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD)—a commercially scalable process also used in LED and solar cell production—CHESS thin-film technology is compatible with semiconductor chip fabrication methods. This enables compact, compressor-free cooling systems that are quiet, reliable and scalable. Much like lithium-ion batteries scaled from powering mobile phones to electric vehicles, CHESS is expected to scale from small refrigeration units to large HVAC systems. Beyond cooling, CHESS materials can also harvest energy from temperature gradients, unlocking potential applications in wearables, computing, and spacecraft.
MECHANICAL/MATERIALS
Copeland Oil-free Centrifugal Compressor with Aero-lift Bearing Technology
Southwest Research Institute
The Copeland Oil-free Centrifugal Compressor with Aero-lift Bearing Technology offers a system which eliminates expensive magnetic bearings and complicated bearing control technology. The system has robust cooling capacity, energy efficiency, flexible architecture and performance-enhancing algorithms. The Copeland Oil-free Centrifugal Compressor with Aero-lift Bearing Technology delivers improvements across key chiller performance metrics. This system has been proven to achieve up to a 10% increase in full-load efficiency versus other compression technologies in air-cooled applications. It also delivers up to a 40% efficiency increase in integrated part-load value — far exceeding the ASHRAE 90.1 efficiency minimum requirements for a two-compressor, 200-ton system, versus existing screw compressor technology. This efficiency is made possible by integrating critical components, including Aero-lift bearing technology and numerous granted patents and patent-pending innovations on the compressor and the control system. The Copeland Oil-free Centrifugal Compressor with Aero-lift Bearing Technology uses a compressor platform optimized to meet today’s chiller requirement needs while providing broad applicability for current and emerging applications. The Aero-lift bearing technology enables the compressor shaft to self-levitate and operate independently, eliminating traditional magnetic levitation or oil-bearing ancillary systems. The system is designed to provide performance improvements during power interruptions with its capability to shut down and restart rapidly to minimize disruptions.
D-DIRECT Rare Earth Alloying Platform
Gadolyn, Inc.
Gadolyn’s D-DIRECT (Decarbonized Direct Reduction for Clean Transformation) technology is a gas-liquid phase metallization platform that converts rare earth and transition metal oxide powders into high-purity metallic alloys. Its principal applications include producing magnet alloys for electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines, industrial and defense systems, together with Fe and Cu alloys for industrial and energy applications, enabling sustainable production while reducing the carbon footprint of alloying by more than 1 Gt CO₂e over 10 years. The platform can be used to produce specialized alloys like Al-Sc and Ti-6Al-4V for aerospace and defense. By delivering 99.9% purity alloys domestically, D-DIRECT reduces U.S. reliance on foreign manufacturers, and permits clean, efficient, modular, scalable process across a variety of diverse feedstocks, including bio-derived and solvent-extracted oxides, for supply chain flexibility and resilience. D-DIRECT, a DARPA-validated, feedstock-resilient, electrolyte-free, co-reduction platform, converts rare earth and transition metal oxides into pure alloys (like NdFeB) with 95% less energy, 90% lower production cost and zero harmful emissions, enabling sustainable magnet production for EVs, defense, and aerospace, while slashing emissions below 1 Gt CO₂e over 10 years. Gadolyn’s D-DIRECT technology has achieved 95% lower energy use and 73% lower CapEx than molten salt electrolysis. This plasma-assisted reduction process converts oxide powders into 99.9% purity NdFeB and SmCo magnets at $25-30/kg, compared to competitors’ $65–75/kg, validated by DARPA-backed experiments and trials. Its modular, scalable, electrolyte-free design supports diverse feedstocks and rapid retooling between different alloy production runs, enabling agile domestic production and reducing U.S. reliance on foreign supply chains. With applications in EVs, defense, and aerospace, D-DIRECT reduces emissions from 4.4 Gt CO₂e/yr to below 1 Gt, potentially abating over 3 Gt annually (e.g., NdFeB from 2.06 Mt to 0.10 Mt CO₂e/yr).
Design and Development of API X65 H for hydrogen transportation
Tata Steel Limited
Hydrogen’s role for clean energy transition is critically dependent on the ability to transport it safely and efficiently at high pressures through pipelines for long distances. However, hydrogen embrittlement, which is the tendency of hydrogen to degrade steel’s mechanical properties, poses a significant threat to the integrity and safety of conventional pipeline materials. This is especially acute at the high pressures (up to 100 bar) required for modern hydrogen transportation. The existing pipeline steels are generally not engineered to withstand these conditions, risking catastrophic failure due to hydrogen-induced cracking and loss in the fracture toughness. To address this challenge, Tata Steel has developed API X65 ERW pipes for safely transporting 100% hydrogen at up to 100 bar pressure. Tata Steel is said to be the first Indian steelmaker to demonstrate end-to-end in-house capabilities for producing pipes designed for high-pressure hydrogen transportation. Tata Steel has developed a API X65-grade steel specifically designed for the safe transportation of pure hydrogen gas at high pressures, supporting the National Green Hydrogen Mission of India. This innovation leverages advanced alloy design and optimized processing to create a microstructure capable of trapping atomic hydrogen, thereby enhancing resistance to hydrogen embrittlement. The steel was successfully processed into hot-rolled coils and used to manufacture 16-inch Electric Resistance Welded (ERW) pipes through fully in-house capabilities. Rigorous hydrogen qualification tests validated the performance of the pipes, with all samples exceeding the required standards and showing no crack growth under extreme conditions. While various hydrogen transport methods exist, steel pipelines are considered the most economically viable and energy-efficient solution for large-scale distribution.
DuPont Tychem 6000 SFR
DuPont
Tychem 6000 SFR provides broad chemical protection and secondary flame resistance in a durable, lightweight garment for use in multihazard environments. Designed to be worn over primary flame-resistant clothing, Tychem 6000 SFR garments help protect workers against a range of chemicals without contributing to burn injury if a flash-fire occurs. Tychem 6000 SFR garments are engineered to provide chemical and secondary flame-resistant protection, enhancing safety in challenging, multi-hazard environments across oil & gas, petrochemical processing, and other industries. When used in conjunction with primary flame-resistant clothing, Tychem 6000 SFR garments significantly bolster the overall burn injury protection against flash fire hazards compared to standalone primary flame-resistant garments. The combination of the product’s superior chemical and thermal protection and lightweight, yet durable design sets it apart from competitors, offering the optimal balance of protection, durability, and comfort for wearers. Tychem 6000 SFR garments contribute to occupational health and safety by providing a multi-hazard PPE solution, so safety managers no longer have to compromise.
MECHANICAL/MATERIALS
DuPont UV26GNF
DuPont
For decades, scientists have sought a feasible pathway to develop non-PFAS photoacid generators, aiming to create sustainable deep ultraviolet (DUV) photoresists but largely failed in their efforts. UV26GNF is described as the first positive tone photoresist used for 248-nanometre lithography that does not contain any fluorine. In short, UV26GNF is a positive tone photoresist that operates like any other 248nm lithography photoresist. The formulation of UV26GNF photoresist is the result of careful selection, with each component playing a vital role in enhancing its overall performance. Central to this effectiveness are the chemical reactions involving a light-sensitive, non-fluorinated PAG. This innovative photoresist is not only scalable and robust but also offers advantages over existing alternatives in various lithographic metrics. Moreover, the implications of the inventions and innovations backing UV26GNF have opened doors for additional non-fluorine technologies that impact 193nm dry and immersion lithography, as well as various anti-reflective coatings and Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUV). UV26GNF represents a solution for photolithography utilizing a Krypton Fluoride (KrF) laser (248nm).
Elevator Regenerative Power System
APh
ePower Co., Ltd.
APh ePower’s Elevator Regenerative Power System saves over 40% of electricity on average, provides emergency backup power during outages and creates carbon credit revenue. APh ePower ’s “Elevator Regenerative Power System” integrates a DC to DC converter circuit, aluminum battery technology, and an Energy Management System (EMS), overcoming the limitations of existing elevator energy-saving technologies. The system improves energy efficiency and ensures emergency backup power during power outages, enhancing overall elevator safety. Furthermore, under the “Methodology of Energy-Saving through Elevator Regenerative Power System Implementation,” the system can be used to apply for carbon credit projects, creating commercial value and high scalability. The core aluminum battery technology, which previously won the R&D 100 Awards in 2016, is now extended to the elevator domain, showcasing APh ePower’s cross-sector innovation capabilities. With over 15 million elevators worldwide, the potential impact is substantial—ushering in a new era of energy efficiency and carbon reduction in the industry.
Energy Storing Efficient Air Conditioner
National Energy Technology Laboratory
The Energy Storing Efficient Air Conditioner (ESEAC) reinvents air conditioning by integrating dehumidification, cooling and energy storage into one system. ESEAC’s 9-hour storage cuts peak electricity demand by more than 90% and utility costs by 45%, while enhancing comfort and increasing grid reliability. The need for affordable, reliable indoor cooling is on the rise. The Energy Storing Efficient Air Conditioner (ESEAC) reduces electricity consumption by at least 40%, uses storage to cut peak energy demand by 90%, lowers utility bills for building owners by at least 45% annually, supports grid resilience and decarbonization efforts and provides energy storage to utilities at one-tenth the cost of batteries, with less environmental impact. Unlike conventional air conditioners that simultaneously cool and dehumidify using energy-intensive methods, ESEAC separates these functions using a liquid desiccant system. This process requires significantly less energy while storing thermal energy in the form of a salt solution and distilled water. It ensures comfortable humidity levels and better indoor air quality, without over-cooling. Already deployed at U.S. Army bases, big box retailer, restaurants, and more, ESEAC is one of the most efficient, cost-effective and climate-friendly air-conditioning options available.
FilmTec Fortilife XC160 Membranes
DuPont
The Fortilife XC160 membrane is a spiral-wound reverse osmosis element for sustainable water reuse that combines compaction resistance with an efficient ultra-high pressure element design. It concentrates salty wastewater streams to 16% solids, overcoming enormous osmotic pressures that other membranes cannot, minimizing energy-intensive evaporative treatments for zero-liquid discharge applications. The Fortilife XC160 membrane fills a void in the world of wastewater reuse. Limitations of traditional reverse osmosis membranes force zero liquid discharge systems to continue to rely heavily on thermal evaporators to concentrate salt streams. With the ability to concentrate brines up to 16% salt, the Fortilife XC160 membrane elements save users both enormous capital expense and excessive energy costs. It combines a first-of-itskind compaction-resistant microporous support layer with a polyamide selective layer and an element design for a 1800 psi operation. With these, the Fortilife XC160 membrane will have a sustainability impact on a wide range of industries, including petrochemicals, pulp & paper, textiles, steel/metals and industrial power industries. The Fortilife XC160 membrane is designed to reject less salt, reducing the osmotic pressure differential. While the concentrate solution reaches an osmotic pressure of 2400 psi, the permeate maintains an osmotic pressure of 600 psi, allowing for water to flow with an applied pressure of only 1800 psi. While operation at 1800 psi is above typical RO limits, it is made possible in the Fortilife XC160 membrane by its unique ultra-high pressure element design. The permeate water is then recycled to the beginning of the treatment process while the final concentrated stream undergoes crystallization to produce solid salt for valorization. Without the ability to permeate more salt than normal RO with the Fortilife XC160 membrane, users must use much more energy to concentrate the salt through evaporation.
Flex HPWH
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The Embedded Phase Change Material Thermal Storage Heat Pump Water Heater enhances efficiency, grid interaction and reliability in water heating. The Flex HPWH is an advanced water heating solution that integrates embedded Phase Change Material (PCM) thermal energy storage to significantly enhance hot water delivery performance and enable grid-friendly load shifting. By combining innovative stratified tank design and buoyant PCM capsules, this system addresses both user comfort and utility peak load challenges. By integrating phase change material into HPWHs, it enables latent heat storage to improve First-Hour Rating, reduce compressor cycling and extend system life. The system supports load shifting and demand response by storing energy during off-peak hours and releasing it during peak demand, lowering operational costs and easing utility peak loads. Advanced materials—aluminum, copper, and carbon nano-rod fins—overcome PCM thermal conductivity limitations, enhancing heat transfer performance. It ensures reliable hot water supply in cold climates and reduces carbon emissions by improving energy efficiency and reducing fossil fuel dependence. With broad applicability across residential, commercial and industrial sectors, this technology could enable grid-interactive and net-zero energy-ready water heating.
Flexible Imaging Diffraction Diagnostic for Laser Experiments (FIDDLE)
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Flexible Imaging Diffraction Diagnostic for Laser Experiments (FIDDLE) captures nanosecond-resolution X-ray diffraction “movies” of material phase transitions during laserdriven compression. Using ultrafast hybrid CMOS sensors, it delivers detailed atomic-scale insights into materials response while increasing data efficiency and ensuring reliability in high-energy density experiments. The Flexible Imaging Diffraction Diagnostic for Laser Experiments (FIDDLE) is an X-ray diffraction (XRD) imaging system that can precisely capture material phase transitions occurring on nanosecond timescales. Utilizing ultrafast hybrid CMOS sensors, FIDDLE collects multiple, time-resolved XRD measurements during each shot to produce detailed “movies” of atomic-scale materials responses with an effective “frame rate” of ~2 nanoseconds. This capability increases data efficiency while reducing shot-to-shot variation inherent to multiple experimental runs. FIDDLE obtains XRD measurements in regimes that prove challenging (and damaging) for other imaging systems. It was designed for use at the National Ignition Facility, where laser-driven compression experiments produce extreme temperatures and pressures exceeding one million times that of Earth’s atmosphere. FIDDLE’s advanced shielding protects its sensors from debris, electromagnetic pulses and stray laser light, ensuring reliable performance in such high-energy environments. Using this technology’s capabilities, researchers can better study material properties such as strength, compressibility, and thermal conductivity with high precision in high-energy environments.
MECHANICAL/MATERIALS
GM XFC Cell
General Motors
General Motors invented an Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) cell technology, which features dual-layer capacitor-assisted cathode and rapid-alloying low-expansion anode. The XFC cells incorporate several components, including dual-layer capacitor-assisted thick LFP (CAL) cathode, unique rapid-alloying low-expansion anode architecture utilizing Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Silicon Carbon (SiC), multi-functional separator and customized electrolyte formulation. XFC cell demonstrates superior charging capability (refilling 70% driving range in 5.6-min) with excellent XFC lifespan durability (360,000 miles), which is adaptable for multiple GM electric vehicles. The GM world-first XFC cell has numerous applications, both within automotive markets and beyond. This technology is supported by a patent portfolio consisting of multiple applications filed worldwide and has been validated at both GM’s internal lab-scale cell fabrication line and licensee’s existing manufacturing lines, in both pouch and prismatic cell formats. It reduces cell resistance and maintains an ultra-stable resistance trend throughout its lifecycle, which is crucial for controlling temperature rise during XFC, thereby enabling a simplified cooling solution. The embedded capacitor within the cathode eliminates the need for a pre-charger, improves the pack’s overall UBE and maximizes AC heating power for warming the cells while preventing lithium plating in low temperatures. This cell technology is poised to be a cost-effective and ultra-fast charging solution for GM’s next-generation EV.
Globally First Intumescent Fireretardant Long-glass filled PP for Large Electric Vehicle Battery Pack Enclosures
SABIC
The automotive industry is going through a tectonic shift towards electric vehicles. In doing the same, the value chain is facing some major challenges, which can potentially impede the speed of EV adoption. They include safety concerns resulting from thermal runway events in an electrified powertrain, lightweighting needs with the relatively heavy and expensive battery pack made of multi-piece metal components and meeting other critical requirements to enhance efficiency and performance. While thermoplastic solutions can address many of these challenges, extensive development, prototyping and validation timelines at a battery pack level often slow down adoption of thermoplastic fire retardant materials and solutions using the same for EV battery packs. The current innovation relates to development of fire-retardant intumescent products that not only enhance performance, weight saving and part integration, but also address the major challenge — long validation timelines at pack level — thus offering a solution for faster adoption of EV and the global warming challenge. Fire retardant (FR) STAMAX Resins are glass fiber-reinforced, intumescent thermoplastic materials for manufacturing large electric vehicle (EV) battery packs that are lighter (10% compared to metal-intensive solutions) and safer, and up to 40% less costly solution than metal-intensive solution propelling sustainable transportation. These materials deliver the right property profiles to meet critical requirements for large EV battery pack applications. In addition to stiffness, strength and impact resistance over a wide temperature range, the materials offer dimensional stability, low coefficient of thermal expansion and good creep resistance. With PP as the matrix material, it offers excellent water and chemical resistance and electrical insulation properties. These glass fiber reinforced grades offer thermal barrier properties to help delay or contain thermal runaway propagation. It also demonstrates flame-retardant behavior and intumescent properties for fire safety.
High Energy Density Lithium-Ion Batteries with Extreme Fast Charging Capability Based on Metallized Polymer Current Collectors
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Metallized polyethylene terephthalate films were developed to replace the metal foils in lithium-ion batteries. These films can increase cell energy density, extend the driving range, and reduce battery cost. Relative to traditional metal foil counterparts, these collectors facilitate a substantial reduction in weight (73%), thickness (33%) and cost (85%). The increasing demand for aluminum (Al) and copper (Cu) in electrification and vehicle lightweighting is driving these metals toward near-critical status in the medium term. This study introduced metallized polymer films by depositing an Al or Cu thin layer onto two sides of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film (called mPET/Al and mPET/Cu) as lightweight, cost-effective alternatives to traditional metal current collectors in LIBs. The metallized mPET/Cu and mPET/Al foils were utilized as current collectors in LIBs to enhance cell energy density under XFC conditions. Pouch cells based on the metallized current collectors showed significant enhancements to energy density, with a 41% increase (337 Wh/kg) at 0.3C and a 32% increase (286 Wh/ kg) at 6C under XFC conditions. After 1,000 cycles at 6C, the pouch cell maintained a respectable energy density of 120 Wh/kg at 22°C, underscoring its long-term performance viability.
Dewen Kong, Haijing Liu, Xin Zhang, Jingyuan Liu, Si Chen, Meiyuan Wu, George Cintra
HyPoCap
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed HyPoCap, which exhibits 3× higher energy density than that of state-of-the-art commercial carbon products. These hyperporous carbons were prepared under mild temperatures by using sodium amide as the activation agent. The supercapacitor industry can readily implement this material to improve product performance. Carbon-based supercapacitors, which are vital for high power density and rapid charge–discharge in electric vehicles, power supplies, and electronics, rely on porous carbons for efficient electrical double-layer capacitance. Whereas commercial ACs offer surface areas up to 2,000 m²/g and oxygen contents up to 10 wt%, the ORNL team’s hyperporous carbon achieves over 4,000 m²/g and 15 wt % oxygen content, thereby tripling the energy density compared with that of existing products. Enabled by a synthesis process that combines hypercrosslinked polymers and low-temperature NaNH2 activation, HyPoCap delivers up to 610 F/g capacitance. This performance meets the demand for sustainable, high-performance solutions. The tunable properties and scalability of HyPoCap could also enhance cycle stability and power delivery for supercapacitor applications.
Infinite Helium
Lake Shore Cryotronics
Infinite Helium is a closed-cycle refrigerator system that enables a liquid helium continuous flow cryostat to operate cryogen-free. A fully automated system, with no manual valve adjustments to make, it offers effortless, intelligent cooling and a stable temperature over an extended length of time. Infinite Helium helps to alleviate the issue relating to the costs of helium. Availability of helium is an issue faced by many physics and material research labs today, especially if their research requires them to go to temperatures lower than what liquid nitrogen offers. It is particularly challenging for small labs who do not have a large budget or cannot benefit from the cost savings afforded by ordering large quantities of helium on a regular basis. Without a reliable source and having to always pay more for cryogens means these labs cannot do all the work they require, directly impacting scientific progress. Infinite Helium provides a solution, especially for those who are quite satisfied with their existing continuous flow cryostats and want a way to keep using them without the need for a LHe dewar. In addition, because it is fully automated, hands-on operation is reduced from hours to seconds so users can be up and running fast. Infinite Helium innovatively circulates helium in a closed loop, enabling a continuous flow cryostat to operate without the need for a LHe dewar (with a continuous flow cryostat cooled using a LHe dewar, the LHe evaporates into the atmosphere and needs to be replenished). As a result, almost any cryostat of this type can be economically cooled, potentially eliminating the need for any liquid cryogen for the user’s lab.
Looping Nylon Technique: recycled nylon membranes with no virgin material
Taiwan Textile Research Institute (TTRI)
Looping Nylon Technique includes Ultrasonic Cleaning Technology, without virgin material, which cleans recycled fishnets up to 98% clean for reuse, through Chain Extension and Polyether Modification, to develop nylon membranes. Between the cloth is glueless, mono-material which can be recycled and reused up to 20 times and complies with Medical Device Regulation. Looping Nylon Technique does not consume original resources, but is recycled from marine waste. It adopts chain extension and polyether modification, without the need for traditional chemical depolymerization, to develop nylon film materials, which are moisture permeable, antibacterial and wear-resistant, and can be bonded to nylon fabrics without the use of glue, maintaining mono-material. After recycling, there is no need for separation, and after crushing, it can be reused, and the recycled materials have obtained medical grade certification. Short-fiberization is first performed, using patent cleaning agents to remove grease, algae and salt through ultrasound to obtain high-purity recycled materials with a cleanliness level of up to 98% without using virgin material. The nylon membrane is developed by Chain Extension and Polyether Modification. The thinnest membrane can reach 10µm, and the dense structure can resist viruses and bacteria. After use, the medical bed and lifeboat can be crushed and returned to the membrane-making system.
MECHANICAL/MATERIALS
Low Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) Molecules to Resolve Thermal Expansion Problems in Polymers
Sandia National Laboratories
Low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) molecules are a molecular system. When incorporated into polymers, they match the rate of thermal expansion and contraction of metals. This thermal matching addresses heating and coolinginduced mismatch issues. Low CTE molecules can be added to different kinds of polymers, allowing for design flexibility. This technology could combat CTE mismatch between polymers and metals/ceramics. CTE mismatch is a well-known issue in the industry. Significant time and effort to design around CTE mismatch is necessary because the design requires the use of fillers or compliant layers. While there are polymers with very low CTE or filled systems that have low CTE, these polymers are usually high cost, or only offer low CTE under certain conditions, such as anisotropically. By lowering the CTE on commodity, low-cost polymers, these molecules could become more competitive to niche or specialty polymers. In certain cases, the need for use of fluorinated polymers and their toxic, persistent precursors could even be completely eliminated.
MAScOT: Modular, Agile, Scalable Optical Terminal
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
MAScOT is an optical terminal architecture designed to facilitate future technology upgrades and technology transfer to industry. MAScOT made its debut in space on the International Space Station in 2023 to demonstrate NASA’s first two-way laser communications relay system and is now preparing for NASA’s moon flyby in 2026. Laser communications enable higher-bandwidth data transmission from space compared with traditional RF systems. Several government and commercial efforts are underway to develop lasercom terminals, but development is complex, time consuming and costly. A challenge remains in easily and quickly developing lasercom terminals that can accommodate different users across space, from LEO and GEO to beyond. MAScOT provides a modular, agile, and scalable lasercom terminal architecture for any space-based user. Industry partners can quickly develop, integrate and test MAScOT subassemblies. The MAScOT architecture has been adopted by many industry players, including BlueHalo and TESAT. MAScOT is the latest lasercom terminal designed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory engineers following decades of pioneering lasercom work in collaboration with NASA. The first successful flight demonstration of MAScOT was in 2023 for ILLUMA-T, NASA’s first two-way lasercom relay, and MAScOT is currently installed on the Orion spacecraft for the 2026 Artemis II mission to the moon.
Efficiency (LMHE) Medium-
General Motors and its collaborators (ORNL, OSU, MTU, ECK, SwRI, Northfield, WBC, ICC, and CWC) have developed and validated a new, high-value, lowmass and high-efficiency medium-duty V8 truck engine with a combination of cost-effective combustion, materials and manufacturing technologies. The combustion features of twin-spark plugs, ultra-high pressure direct injection, active charge motion control, high pressure-cooled exhaust gas recirculation, split cooling with valve bridge drilling have generated 606 Nm (446 lb-ft) torque at 4,000 RPM and 280 kW (375 hp) at 5,000 RPM. Lightweight high-temperature cast aluminum ACMZ (AlCuMnZr) and high-Q (AlSiCuMg) alloys and AM AlCeNiMnZr alloy offer mechanical performance at elevated temperatures for cylinder head, engine block and pistons. High strength and high modulus cast steel and nodular iron alloys enable quality casting of high-performance lightweight hollow crankshafts and ADI camshafts. New casting and additive manufacturing (AM) processes provide opportunities to produce low-mass and high-quality head, block, piston, crank, camshaft and exhaust manifold with minimum lead time and cost. An integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) approach helped optimize product design and manufacturing processes.
Milliken Assure
Milliken & Company
Milliken Assure is non-PFAS, nonhalogenated, UL-certified flame-resistant moisture barrier for firefighter turnout gear. With Assure, U.S. fire departments now have access to a lightweight, breathable moisture barrier that provides the necessary heat, water and chemical resistance to perform their duties effectively. Milliken Assure is engineered to protect firefighters by blocking hazardous liquids like blood-borne pathogens, hydraulic fluids, battery acids and firefighting foam. Its “no penetration” result guarantees this high level of protection, ensuring firefighters remain safe from these dangerous substances. Firefighting gear is made with three layers of flame-resistant (FR) fabric: the outer shell, thermal liner and moisture barrier. The moisture barrier, sitting between the outer shell and the thermal liner, is especially critical. The Milliken Assure moisture barrier allows water vapor to escape, keeping the wearer dry and comfortable; this is measured by an industry standard test commonly referred to as THL (total heat loss). Additionally, Milliken Assure moisture barrier protects the wearer from the heat produced by fires; this performance aspect is commonly referred to as TPP — thermal protection performance. It balances the inherent trade-offs of THL and TPP while also preventing liquid from penetrating the composite.
MnBi Magnet
Ames National Laboratory
The manganese-bismuth (MnBi) magnet is the only known material that increases its coercivity (resistance to demagnetization) with temperature— nearly doubling its room-temperature value at 120°C. This property makes MnBi well-suited for high-temperature applications, such as certain types of industrial pumps, where coercivity is more critical than magnetization. Despite its promise, producing high-purity MnBi has long been a challenge, and consolidating it into fully dense, anisotropic bulk magnets has proven even more difficult. We addressed these challenges by uncovering the fundamental principles behind MnBi’s thermal stability and developing a scalable process for magnet fabrication. A key breakthrough involves a specialized inorganic coating applied to the MnBi single crystal powder, which maintains magnetic isolation between grains even when densely compacted. This prevents magnetic domain reversal propagation, enabling the magnet to retain coercivity. As a result, MnBi magnets produced through this method offer superior thermal stability compared to conventional magnets, and more importantly, they are free of the critical rare earth elements that have been subjected to supply risk. MnBi magnet can operate at temperatures up to 200°C. Its coercivity (i.e., resistance to demagnetization) increases with temperature, in contrast to most magnets that rapidly lose coercivity at higher temperature. This makes MnBi well-suited for high-temperature applications with strong demagnetizing fields. MnBi (manganese bismuth) magnet is a critical-material-free permanent magnet with an ability to resist demagnetization at high temperature. The main application for MnBi magnet is in electrical machines, such as traction motors in electrical vehicles and industrial motors for fans, pumps and compressors.
Multiflex-NR9
Nano and Advanced Materials Institute
NAMI has developed Multiflex-NR9, a PVDF (Polyvinylidene fluoride) binder functionalized with AMPS (2-acrylamido2-methylpropanesulfonic acid), specifically engineered to overcome nickelrich cathode challenges. By integrating pH-stabilizing sulfonic acid groups (–SO₃H) and metal-chelating sulfonates (–SO₃-), Multiflex-NR9 prevents slurry gelation, enhances electrode adhesion and improves long-term cycling stability—enabling high-energy, high-rate lithium-ion batteries. NAMI’s AMPS-modified PVDF binder improves nickel-rich cathode performance in lithium-ion batteries. By incorporating AMPS (2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid) through ozone/plasma-induced grafting techniques, this binder delivers unparalleled slurry stability, extending processing time from hours to 10 days by neutralizing residual lithium compounds and preventing particle aggregation. The sulfonic acid groups provide dual functionality—buffering slurry pH while chelating transition metal ions to prevent battery degradation. The modified PVDF exhibits enhanced adhesion strength, maintaining electrode integrity through rigorous cycling. This translates to improved electrochemical performance: 93% capacity retention after 500 cycles at 3C rates and 90% retention after 1000 cycles, significantly outperforming conventional binders. The technology enables reliable production of high-energy-density batteries with improved fast-charge capability and cycle life. NAMI’s technology could address manufacturing challenges in nickel-rich systems, offering battery producers a complete solution combining processing advantages and long-term performance. This binder could represent an enabler for next-generation electric vehicles and energy storage batteries, where energy density and durability are paramount. The technology remains compatible with existing production processes while delivering measurable improvements in yield and consistency.
Nano Extreme Temperature (NeXT) Steel: Balancing Thermal Properties, Oxidation Resistance and Extreme High Temperature Strength for Advanced Energy & Manufacturing Applications
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Nano eXtreme Temperature (NeXT) steel is a new medium-carbon martensitic steel that combines chemistry and thermal processing to achieve a 46% increase in 600°C fatigue strength at 20% less cost than H-series steels while maintaining oxidation resistance. First application is advanced pistons, enabling higher-efficiency heavy-duty freight vehicle engines. ORNL and Cummins, Inc. have developed and rigorously tested, at both laboratory and engine test scales, the new NeXT steel, a medium-carbon, 3 wt % chromium steel with a combination of mechanical and thermal performance advantages at 75°–100°C higher temperature than other steels in this class. The alloy’s martensitic structure is designed to form nanoscale, intra-lath strengthening carbides that provide stable mechanical properties to above 600°C. The alloying strategy provides oxidation resistance to 600°C while maintaining necessary thermal properties. NeXT offers fatigue performance up to 600°C. NeXT steel has been successfully engine-tested and is available as high-performance piston crowns for HD engines. The alloy can be tempered to intermediate strengths while maintaining key properties, creating opportunities for pistons for a wide range of HD vehicles from class 2b to 8. The combination of superior high-temperature mechanical performance, thermal properties, environmental resistance and manufacturability of NeXT steel could open a field of new opportunities for affordable, advanced product design across a range of industries, including freight, tooling, automotive, industrial, energy and defense.
MECHANICAL/MATERIALS
Next-Gen HighPerformance Polyiso Foam Insulation
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
An advanced polyisocyanurate (commonly known as polyiso or PIR) foam has an exceptional thermal resistivity (R-value) of 8.3 h·ft²·°F/ BTU·in., making it 26% to 34% more resistant to heat transfer than conventional PIR insulation. Designed for efficiency, it lowers functional costs ($/ft²·R-value) by 10% and reduces assembly costs by 20%. An abstract describing the research attributes the gain to several key factors. These include the incorporation of low thermal conductivity blowing agents, tailoring the anisotropy (the vertical orientation) of the foam’s cells, tuning the quantities of polymeric isocyanate, and incorporating a facer barrier. The study notes that these improvements use steps that can be easily integrated into current manufacturing processes for these foams.
Recyclable Polyester Thermosets and Reinforced Composites
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
This work demonstrates the fabrication of tough, hierarchically structured epoxy–anhydride vitrimer composites reinforced with cellulosic, glass or surfacetailored carbon fibers. These composites show remarkable strength, ductility, and malleability. The chemical bond exchange initiates at temperatures well below the rheologically determined vitrification temperature, suggesting that traditional thermosets can now be recycled. Polymers that incorporate dynamic covalent bonds exhibit thermoplastic-like flow above their vitrification temperature (Tv) while retaining thermoset-like properties below it, making them promising for sustainable manufacturing. This technology harnesses the dynamic nature of covalently adaptive networks to develop tough VCs reinforced with cellulosic filaments. By precisely tuning the epoxy–anhydride matrix composition and strategically leveraging dynamic covalent interactions at the fiber–matrix interface, it achieves exceptional mechanical performance, including high strength (~130 MPa), significant ductility (>10% strain-to-failure) and malleability upon thermal activation. The bulk reinforced composite exhibits excellent creep resistance, exceptional toughness caused by interfacial bonding, and thermoset-like performance below 120°C, yet can be remolded between 150°C-180°C. These fundamental insights, coupled with our scalable fabrication strategy compatible with industrial processes such as VARTM, position these VCs as promising candidates for next-generation sustainable materials, offering not only exceptional mechanical performance but also closed-loop recyclability.
NuHip
Nano and Advanced Materials Institute
NuHip is one of the world’s first hip protectors for shower use, which contains a bio-inspired two-phase network and shape-memory materials, delivering adaptive, universal fit and impact protection. NuHip has an invisible, intelligent design that combines superior impact protection with everyday comfort. By combining coral-inspired bicontinuous two-phase materials with a usercentered design, NuHip effectively reduces impact forces and enhances protection. NuHip effectively reduces impact forces by at least 250% more than conventional protectors. It is demonstrated to reduce a 10,000 Newtons impact to below 2,500 Newtons, well below the threshold of hip fracture. Its shape-memory technology and auxetic feature allow smart customization to diverse body shapes, ensuring a secure and personalized fit. Furthermore, its softness ensures all-day comfort and provides 24-hour protection even during showering. NuHip offers a personalized protection for all body types through its shape-memory 3D skeleton combined with auxetic foamed silicone. It softens at 50-60°C, allowing it to conform to the user’s body shape. Once cooled, it hardens and retains the customized fit, ensuring both comfort and stability. This shape-memory technology enables a “one-for-all” solution, accommodating a wide range of body shapes and sizes without the need for tailored customization, simplifying production and ensuring universal comfort and protection. Overall, NuHip is a solution to minimize the risk of hip fractures, preserve dignity of elderly and patients, and reduce societal costs.
Plastic Upcycled Synthetic Graphite (PLUS-Graphite) is a technology that converts polyethylene waste into graphite used for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. PLUS-Graphite establishes a domestic supply chain for graphite while preventing water bottles, shopping bags and other forms of plastic waste from making their way into landfills and waterways. Plastic Upcycled Synthetic Graphite (PLUS-Graphite) is a synthetic graphite made from waste polyethylene (PE). PLUS-Graphite converts polyethylene waste into highly crystalline graphite powder used to produce lithium-ion batteries for trains and vehicles, military drones, space exploration probes, emergency backup power systems, tools and many other devices. PLUSGraphite diverts single-use plastics and other PE waste from the world’s oceans and landfills into the manufacturing sector, where it can be utilized for beneficial, revenue-generating purposes. Graphite is a critical mineral necessary for the growth of the U.S. economy. Currently, the production of graphite is controlled by foreign countries. PLUS-Graphite can help generate a strong domestic supply of a critical mineral needed to support U.S. national and economic security. The NETL Carbon Materials Manufacturing Team created this technology in less than 24 months and on a total budget of $350,000. Funding was provided by NETL’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development (NETL-LDRD) program to catalyze the development of high-risk, high-reward technologies that advance the U.S. Department of Energy’s mission.
RejuvaKnee meniscal repair implant
Regenity Biosciences
RejuvaKnee is a minimally invasive collagenbased meniscal implant indicated for use in the reinforcement and repair of soft tissue injuries of the meniscus. It is a purified intact bovine meniscus implant that is biocompatible and bioresorbable. RejuvaKnee acts as a scaffold and allows for a more complete recovery by facilitating the regeneration of the native medial meniscal tissue instead of cutting or replacing it. By harnessing regenerative medicine, this offers a solution that can advance what is possible with healing knee injuries. This approach prioritizes patient well-being and has the potential to repair meniscal injuries, helping to slow or prevent future joint degeneration. By reducing meniscal deterioration, RejuvaKnee may also decrease the need for follow-up surgeries and delay or even eliminate the necessity for total knee replacements. RejuvaKnee is intended for use in surgical procedures for the reinforcement and repair of soft tissue injuries of the medial meniscus. It reinforces soft tissue and provides a resorbable scaffold that is replaced by the patient’s own soft tissue. Many complex meniscus tears are currently treated with a partial resection for symptomatic relief, but with the significant risk of increased contact pressures and more rapid progression of arthritis, RejuvaKnee provides a scaffold for the patient to regenerate their own meniscal tissue for these defects. Favorable incorporation of the scaffold can not only offer symptomatic relief but also has the potential to reduce osteoarthritis and quality of life over time for patients.
Repurposing Beverage and Fruit Waste as Biocellulose Fibre and Leather-like Film
The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel
This technology develops sustainable textile fibres and leather-like film using beverage and fruit waste. Repurposing the bacterial cellulose (BC) film from tea fermentation, a new material for high-quality textile and handicraft applications is developed, offering an eco-friendly alternative to cotton and viscose as textile materials and genuine/ PU leather. The process recycles waste from kombucha fermentation and fruit peels to produce bacterial cellulose (BC) fibres for textiles and leather-like film for fashion accessories such as watch strap and key chains. BC is a cellulose alternative of biological origin produced by a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY). It is discovered that during the fermentation of kombucha, a healthy tea-like drink, a leftover film of BC is produced. This technology involves the recycling of this BC film into fibres for textiles and leather-like film for making accessories. The process includes a new wet spinning method, covering a new dissolution solvent formula, a room-temperature dissolution process and the optimal conditions of parameters in wet spinning. This method overcomes the high crystallinity and polymerisation degree (>1500) of BC, thus enhancing fibre strength. Two additional environmental advantages are that 98% of the dissolution solvent is reusable and recyclable, as well as wasted fruit peels serve as the sugar source for tea fermentation. This project repurposes food and beverage waste into bacterial cellulose fibres, offering a sustainable alternative to cotton and viscose. Conventional cotton and viscose production face environmental challenges like pesticide use, deforestation and toxic by-products. BC fibres circumvent these issues with minimal environmental impact—requiring less water and growing in just 14 days without pesticides. This aligns with global trends towards recycled materials, meeting the EU’s goal to double such usage by 2030. The technologies have secured patents from US, Hong Kong and Japan.
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Spies Hecker’s Permasolid Speed-TEC is a collision repair paint system, reducing energy consumption by up to 49% and cutting cycle times by 50% compared to conventional systems. It is one of the fastest repair systems in the refinish market, delivering performance that meets the same rigorous standards of aesthetics, chemical durability and weathering resistance required by automakers for original production finishes. The technology features fast drying at low temperatures, 10–15 minutes at 40–45°C or 30–55 minutes at 20°C; reduced cycle times and energy consumption; and does not need a basecoat activation. The technology is backed by Daimler, BMW, and VW. The system offers excellent scratch, chemical, and weather resistance, superior adhesion, and outstanding corrosion protection. The system is suitable for air-dry or low-bake, on metal and plastics, in sanding or wet-on-wet modes—all using a single common hardener for both clearcoat and surfacer.
Thermal Energy Storage Systems Including Anisotropic Thermal Conductive Carbon Fibers for Enhancing Thermal Efficiency of Phase Change Materials
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Maintaining the temperature of buildings accounts for about 13% of the total electricity consumed each year in the United States. Integrated thermal management systems can incorporate distributed assets (such as solar panels and wind turbines) to manage energy demand when they need to use thermal storage systems to allow overproduced renewable power to be stored for later use. Previous research has identified that phase change material (PCM) with a high ratio of latent heat to sensible heat within a specific temperature range can provide efficient storage of thermal energy, making PCMs useful for applications like building temperature regulation. However, because of the low thermal conductivities of PCMs, a large temperature difference between the heat carrier fluid and the PCM is required to enable phase change at the desired speed, and a long time period is needed for the phase change to be completed. Long anisotropic thermal conductive carbon fiber (CF) inserts in PCMs accelerate the phase change with the large surface area (>1 m2/g) and act as numerous fast tunnels to improve the thermal transfer, thus increasing the thermal storage and release rates by 2.5 times in thermal energy systems with only 1 wt % CF in PCMs. Phase change materials are widely used for thermal energy management. Their low thermal conductivities result in very low thermal release rates. The experimental results are based on the new heat transfer mechanism of CFs in PCMs as numerous fast heat distributing tunnels and enlarged surface areas for phase transition. This innovation can make the thermal storage systems widely applied in US residential, industrial and commercial buildings for better energy efficiency at about 30% lower costs.
Ultra-Robust Silicon All-SolidState Battery
General Motors
Torus Spin Flywheel Energy Storage System
Torus Inc.
Torus Spin is a flywheel energy-storage system that converts electricity into kinetic energy by accelerating a high-speed rotor and then returns that power on demand in milliseconds. Because it stores energy mechanically rather than chemically, it avoids battery degradation, works across extreme temperatures, and is 95% recyclable. On the grid, Spin enables instant full output during demand spikes or outages. It also features a continuous inertial response that keeps the grid at 60 Hz and stabilizes line voltage as renewable output swings. By absorbing short high-power surges, Spin doubles the service life of its chemical-battery partner, Torus Pulse. The result is fast, durable and sustainable energy storage that helps utilities and commercial facilities trim peak-demand costs, integrate more renewables and harden critical infrastructure. Its 25-year, 50,000-cycle life and 95% recyclability reduces costs while doubling the lifespan of the paired Torus Pulse battery. Torus Spin turns electricity into kinetic energy, delivering millisecond-level power 10 × faster than Li-ion cells—without the degradation, thermal limits or critical-mineral supply risks of chemical storage. On the grid, Spin supplies spinning-reserve and black-start power and smooths frequency and voltage in real time; paired with the chemical battery Torus Pulse, it absorbs high-power bursts and doubles Pulse’s service life, cutting levelized storage cost for utilities, microgrids, EV fast-charging sites and C&I facilities. By combining rapid inertial response, durability, and sustainability in one module, Torus Spin delivers the reliability and economics that the energy-transition era demands.
GM has pioneered a disruptive ultra-robust silicon all-solid-state battery (ASSB) technology. Enabled by comprehensive solid-solid interface engineering and directed harnessing of silicon expansion dynamics, this innovation demonstrates exceptional thermal and electrochemical robustness. This highly manufacturable technology offers excellent abuse tolerance, ultralong life, fast charging/ discharging, and streamlined pack configuration, promising broad applicabilities for automotive, aerospace and large-scale energy storage. Thermally, the battery withstands 200°C thermal ramp tests without thermal runaway or voltage decay while significantly postponing the onset temperature of thermal runaway. Electrochemically, it achieves 10,000 stable cycles at 3C rates, delivering 4C fast-charging capability (0–80% SOC in ~12 minutes) and sustained 5C discharge performance. This validated robustness enables simplified pack/system configurations, enhances cell-to-pack integration efficiency by ~28%, and increases pack-level energy density across diverse cathode chemistries. Technology patent portfolio comprises 45+ patent applications filed worldwide, underpinned by GM’s proprietary expertise. This GM-invented ultra-robust silicon ASSB tech is validated to be highly manufacturable through GM-proprietary manufacturing processes and holds significant promise to advance the next-generation battery technology into production quickly. Given these above advantages, we conclude the technology exhibits substantial potential for automotive applications, aerospace systems, and large-scale energy storage.
Ultra-stable and Low-Cost Dual-Gradient Cathode for High-Performance All-Electric Vehicles
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory has developed a dual-gradient NMC cathode in which both composition and structure vary from the particle core to the surface. The material features a nickel-rich, nearly cobalt-free core that transitions to a cobalt-enriched shell, and an ordered layered core that becomes more disordered at the surface. This architecture enables stable cycling at 4.5 V and has been demonstrated up to 4.7 V with negligible capacity decay in laboratory cells. In tests, cells lost ≈2% capacity after 500 cycles. By concentrating cobalt near the surface, the interior Co content drops below approximately 2% (down from roughly 10–20% in earlier designs) with a stated goal near 1%, reducing cobalt dependency and cost while improving high-voltage stability. The work targets electric vehicles and grid energy storage, with analyses also indicating improved thermal stability versus conventional NMC.
Advanced Engineered Cellular Magmatics
Reusing materials, such as recycled glass, in innovative ways to develop products with applications in construction, waste remediation, and more.
MECHANICAL/MATERIALS
VacuMax Vacuum Insulating Glass (VIG)
Vitro Architectural Glass
Vitro Architectural Glass has enhanced its VacuMax Vacuum Insulating Glass (VIG), delivering improved thermal performance and aesthetics. The VacuMax Vacuum Insulating Glass (VIG) operates by using advanced vacuum technology to deliver superior thermal insulation. Each unit consists of two 4mm (0.16”) glass panes separated by a thin vacuum space, which effectively eliminates thermal transfer through conduction and convection. This vacuum layer is sealed with a proprietary non-leaded metal edge to maintain its insulating properties over time. To enhance energy efficiency, the latest version of VacuMax VIG integrates Solarban 70 solar-control, low-e glass, which significantly improves thermal performance by reflecting heat while allowing natural light to pass through. Known for its insulation properties, the updated VacuMax VIG now features Solarban 70 solar-control, low-e glass, boosting U-values by 79% and achieving wall-like R-values up to R20. These upgrades set a new standard in thermal efficiency while offering a cleaner aesthetic with concealed ports and “getters.” Each unit consists of two 4mm glass lites separated by a proprietary non-leaded metal edge seal and vacuum space, with a total thickness of just 8.3mm. This slim design seamlessly integrates into traditional glazing systems, window frames, or curtainwall applications. Sizes range from 12” x 12” to 60” x 118”, providing flexibility for diverse projects. Suited for retrofits, VacuMax VIG often replaces monolithic glass without major modifications, offering insulation three to five times better than conventional insulating glass and 20 times better than standard glass.
VulcanAlloy
University of Pittsburgh
Originally designed for Venus surface operation, VulcanAlloy represents a new class of newly developed extreme environment soft magnetic alloys. Capable of operating at both high frequencies (kHz+) and high temperatures (up to 500C), VulcanAlloy alloy systems exhibit >10x reduction in loss compared to low frequency, high temperature bulk crystalline alloys and >2x increase in operational temperature compared to existing high frequency magnetic materials. In addition to demanding space missions, broad near-term commercial opportunities exist for VulcanAlloy technology as soft magnets for inductors, transformers, sensors, and motors in aviation, aerospace, oil & gas, geothermal, and numerous additional terrestrial applications. High temperature and severe environment capability permits operation in previously inaccessible domains such as ultradeep subsurface environments or aviation environments where temperatures approach 500C. Robust high temperature performance also enables elimination of active cooling in broad applications resulting in reduced size, weight, and cost where magnetics and thermal management dominate power density. The overall market for relevant soft magnetic materials is estimated at >$50B. VulcanAlloy technology represents an “out of this world” innovation to impact real-world commercial markets!
PROCESS/ PROTOTYPING
PROCESS/PROTOTYPING
AI-WaJe
Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
AI-WaJe is an AI-powered, non-thermal water jet system that produces ultra-reactive rubber powder that achieves up to 82% polyisoprene activity in 6 minutes for a truck tire. With realtime AI optimization and shear activation, its low-carbon, precision process outperforms pyrolysis and shredding, enabling direct application in tread rubber and advanced composites. The product is designed to redefine tire recycling by replacing traditional mechanical shredding with AI-optimized high-pressure hydro-blasting. Powered by real-time AI algorithms and multi-sensor feedback, this non-thermal process produces ultra-reactive rubber powder, achieving polyisoprene activity up to 82% in just 6 minutes. Unlike pyrolysis or chemical devulcanization, AI-WaJe activates rubber surface chemistry without degrading polymer structure or requiring hightemperature systems. Key innovations include a closed-loop AI control system, spin-shear-based hydro activation for breaking vulcanized networks, and automated parameter optimization for consistent quality. The system emits only 300 g CO₂e per kg of tire processed, far below industry norms, and the output complies with GB/T 15904-2020, making it suitable for tread rubber, green construction, and advanced composites. AI-WaJe is more than a technical breakthrough; it is a scalable, sustainable, and commercially viable solution.
BIPHASICS: PointSource CO 2 Capture with Biphasic Solvents
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
An integrated system has been developed for post-combustion capture of CO2 from utility and industrial point sources using energy-efficient amine-based biphasicsolvent blends in absorption and desorption columns that are equipped with additively manufactured heat-exchange and catalytic packing elements, respectively, for enhanced CO2 absorption and energy-efficient solvent regeneration. The DETA-based biphasic formulation has proved to be an energy-efficient alternative to the traditional MEA solution used for point source capture when regenerated catalytically. In particular, recovery rates similar to that of the MEA solution can be obtained while regenerating substantially smaller solvent volume (up to 50% smaller) and requiring much less energy (up to 46% less per mol recovered). The integration of heat exchange into a packed bed design is expected to reduce the footprint of the process and its capital costs while simultaneously improving process efficiency. In point source CO2 capture experiments with the heat-exchange packing, capture efficiency was enhanced by as much as 10% in the limited cases tested. Moreover, both the heat-exchange and catalytic packing devices have a wide range of potential industrial applications (e.g., distillation columns and petroleum refining, among others).
Bumpless Integration of Chiplets to AI-Optimized Fabric
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Novel AI decision-treeoptimized bumpless fabric, combined with a digital layer heterogeneously integrated to hundreds of closely spaced bumpless chiplets with chip-level interconnect, enables a fully-functional, high-bandwidth, ultralow link latency, ultralow energyconsumption, low-cost, high-yield system advancing massively interconnected nodes of AI neural networks, mobile devices, servers, high-performance classical and quantum computing. The AI-optimized bumpless fabric combined with a digital layer heterogeneously integrated to 100s of bumpless chiplets with chip-level interconnect (1−10 um pitch) can deliver gains in AI system performance by increasing compute, memory, bandwidth, and connectivity requirements for training and inference. Its novel, bumpless, heterogeneous chiplet integration is a transformative approach, enabling fabrication of a platform with lower latency and higher power efficiency than conventional 2.5D−3D integrated circuits with microbumps. Our bumpless technology addresses two semiconductor industry challenges: expanding chip yield and reducing cost /time to develop systems. Capable of incorporating billions of transistors, bumpless technology facilitates high interconnection density, high bandwidth, and energy-efficiency for systems that perform like a single chip with chiplike interconnects. By locating memory close to the processor, bumpless technology helps reduce latency and energy costs for real-time data processing. Bumpless fabric improves AI system performance by integrating multicore chiplets that allow connectivity between GPUs, FPGAs and AI accelerators. Because its large memory with high bandwidth matches compute throughput, bumpless fabric integrated with bumpless chiplets can support considerable AI data processing.
Figure 1 The diagram depicts a comparison of microbump to bumpless technology. uses an under-bump metal (UBM) pad for integration. The bumpless technology reduce pitch to increase input/output (I/O) density, increase bandwidth, reduce latency, reduce and increase overall system performance. The bumpless technology with AI optimized known good chiplets to make systems that perform like an extremely large single chip. uses a bumpless construction scheme with less than 1 µm communication distance pad pitch As shown in the figure, for 3D technology, the microbump (e.g., high-bandwidth scheme has a 20 40 µm communication distance and 30 µm bond pad pitch A 2.5 Xilinx FPGA) scheme has microbump +1mm BEOL communication distance and 30 The figure shows the advantages of bumpless technology over microbump-based technologies The bumpless technology's face-to-face(F2F) approach shows a possibility (speed = 1/total wire delay) and 191× bandwidth density (bandwidth density: bump improvement and 5% of the power consumption over the 3D microbump F2F approach. bumpless technology's F2F approach shows a possibility of 1190× speed (speed = 19100× bandwidth density (bandwidth density: bump density*speed) improvement power consumption over 2.5D technology approach.
PROCESS/PROTOTYPING
C3 Wind Farm Optimization Technology
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
NREL’s Collective Consensus Control (C3) technology transforms individual wind turbines working toward their own goals into connected networks working toward wind farm goals. This powerful, patented approach to wind farm optimization automates turbine control, increasing both energy capture and revenue for power plants worldwide. NREL has a history of taking a plant-level, systems-engineering approach to maximize offshore wind systems’ energy output, lifespan and economic feasibility, while minimizing forces on individual wind turbines.
Electrochemical Graphitization in Molten Salts (E-GRIMS): A Game Changer for Sustainable Graphite Production
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
A cost-effective electrochemical process developed by ORNL and Solidion Technology Inc. can produce graphite from a variety of amorphous carbon sources. Demand and cost are growing for graphite, a critical material for energy storage devices. The process requires much less time and lower temperatures than the current commercial graphitization process. E-GRIMS enables the cost-effective production of high-quality graphite for a wide range of applications. Graphite is a critical material used in steelmaking electrodes, nuclear fuel cladding, and lithium-ion battery anodes. Global graphite consumption is estimated at 3 million tons per year, with prices ranging from $2,000 to $20,000 per ton, depending on quality. As natural graphite becomes increasingly scarce, the current industrial production method—based on a 200-yearold technology—remains slow, energy-intensive, and expensive. This underscores the need for a new graphitization approach capable of producing high-quality graphite from abundant amorphous carbon precursors. E-GRIMS addresses this need by producing graphite at lower temperatures, reduced costs, and shorter processing times than existing technologies. It offers tunability over key properties such as d-spacing and degree of graphitization, and, unlike conventional methods, it can graphitize virtually all carbon precursors. This flexibility allows the production of various graphite grades tailored for specific applications, including sustainable electric vehicle manufacturing and grid energy storage.
EvoRTS: Revolutionizing AI-Chip Packaging with Flux and Void Elimination
AblePrint Technology Co., Ltd.
EvoRTS integrates flux residue removal and void elimination simultaneously in one oven, using optimized temperature and pressure for dissolution, diffusion, and disturbance, streamlines operations and boosts efficiency. This void-free, residue-free process significantly enhances advanced AI-Chip packaging reliability, accelerates production cycles, cuts costs, and conserves water, energy, and gas resources. The system simultaneously removes solder flux residues and eliminates voids during the underfill curing process using precise thermal and pressure control. Unlike traditional methods that require multiple cleaning steps such as water washing, baking, or plasma treatment, EvoRTS integrates cleaning and curing into one streamlined operation. The system employs three synergistic mechanisms: dissolution to break down flux molecules, diffusion to spread them evenly, and disturbance to create dynamic fluid motion that flushes residues and collapses voids in real time. This approach improves process reliability and package integrity, while also enhancing yield and operational efficiency. By eliminating the need for separate cleaning tools, EvoRTS reduces production cycle time by 30 percent and cuts water, energy, and gas consumption by up to 40 percent. It is ideally suited for highperformance AI and HPC devices, offering a clean, void-free, and cost-effective packaging solution with superior long-term reliability.
PROCESS/PROTOTYPING
Future Foundries: A Foundational Research Platform for the Integration of Emerging Systems
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Future Foundries is a modular, convergent manufacturing platform that integrates disparate manufacturing technologies—additive manufacturing, CNC machining, and inspection—within a palletized, brand-agnostic framework. Its scalability enables seamless process transitions and easy integration of new and existing equipment, improving efficiency, reducing lead times, and enhancing agility for high-mix, low-volume production. This platform allows material to flow seamlessly from wire feed stock to finished part, complete with inspection via 3D scanning and heat treatment via induction heating. By merging additive and subtractive manufacturing with 3D scanning in an automated workflow, objects can be inspected and any detected anomalies repaired—all without human interaction. This process also streamlines repair operations by using subtractive to remove broken or damaged components, additive to add new material, and subtractive to finish the machine to desired tolerances, with 3D scanning for inspection after every step. Future Foundries achieves up to a 68% reduction in production time, especially for large metallic parts traditionally constrained by significant lead times and carbon footprints. The platform’s modular design and digital interface enable dynamic adaptation to changing manufacturing needs and easy integration with various OEM equipment, offering flexibility and lowering entry barriers for SMEs. Future Foundries streamlines production while democratizing advanced manufacturing technologies, making it a leader in sustainable industrial innovation.
Hafnia Gate Dielectrics for Energy Conversion
Sandia National Laboratories
With the rapid expansion of AI and data centers, as well as global electrification, the electrical grid faces immense pressure. High-power semiconductors are needed to minimize energy losses. Over $2 trillion of electricity is processed annually in the U.S., and power electronics are estimated to consume 30-40% of this energy. A one percent reduction in losses could save $500 million to $1 billion annually. Advancing power semiconductor technologies is critical for a more efficient and sustainable energy infrastructure. The introduction of hafnia gate dielectrics for WBG semiconductors represents a groundbreaking shift in value for cost-sensitive applications, particularly in the transportation and smart grid sectors. This advance signifies a transformative leap in capability and cost efficiency that is unlikely to be matched by conventional scaling over the next 15 years. As high-k gate dielectrics’ advantages are realized, large-scale markets in solid-state electrical substations, diverse transportation modes (land, sea, and air), and rugged applications in harsh environments will emerge. This pioneering material is the first commercially available hafnia gate dielectric for WBG semiconductors, primed for immediate manufacturing.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
IDEA is a capsule production tool that bridges the gap between industry limitations and application demands. Unlike existing methods, IDEA offers a scalable solution to produce capsules using diverse, high-performance polymers, enabling encapsulation of reactive or bioactive core solutions at unmatched rates. The advanced manufacturing tool increases the production rate of traditionally hard-to-make specialty microcapsules by 2-3 orders of magnitude and reduces the production-associated waste by up to 99% due to the elimination of the continuous phase. This invention solves the material availability bottleneck for novel capsule developments. Designed to overcome the bottleneck of material availability, IDEA makes lab-developed microcapsules commercially viable, with its success having propelled advancements in bio, energy, and many other applications. IDEA is also engineered to significantly minimize waste generation, enhancing the economic and environmental advantages of microencapsulation. What sets IDEA apart is its ability to produce capsules without relying on a liquid-form continuous phase, while preserving the liquid core essential for modern applications. This unique capability surpasses conventional industrial production techniques.
IDEA
PROCESS/PROTOTYPING
MAST-FCC – Microwave-Assisted Solids-to-Fuels & Chemical Conversion
National Energy Technology Laboratory
NETL’s Center for Microwave Chemistry developed the MAST-FCC technology to convert solid feed to fuels and chemicals. The technology has been transferred to industrial partners for commercial scale operations. MAST-FCC offers a system that can seamlessly convert variable solid feedstock to valuable fuels and chemicals. The system can be tuned to specific products. Due to its unique capability to interact directly with materials, MAST-FCC increases energy efficiency, increases reaction rate and product selectivity. The application of this technology can bring down the cost of fuel such as H2 to $2.8/Kg H2 from non-traditional feedstock with minimal carbon footprint. The modularity of the system allows for integration of existing and new energy infrastructure with ease. The compact scales offer the opportunity to deploy the technology to remote locations for remote applications such as on-site fuel generation and military applications. Development of MAST-FCC helps DOE achieve its energy security and independence goals.
MetaLitho3D
Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory
MetaLitho3D is a parallel 3D nanolithography platform that employs over 100,000 high-contrast metalenses to perform waferscale two-photon lithography. Compared to current commercial solutions, it fundamentally changes the way 3D nanolithography is performed, providing a thousandfold improvement to fabrication throughput, better quality, unlimited scalability and applicability. The platform for massively parallel 3D nanolithography using a metalens array.Its many applications include micro-electronics, photonics, architected materials, energy, and biomedicine, meeting their market need for high-resolution, highthroughput fabrication of wafer-scale components, devices and systems.
MF-SSLC: Metal Foam Based Separate Sensible and Latent Cooling
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
MF-SSLC (Metal-Foam–Based Separate Sensible and Latent Cooling) is a dehumidification platform that removes moisture using a thermally conductive porous metal-foam substrate coated with regenerable desiccants. It is used for humidity control and water management in air/ process streams, enabling separate treatment of latent and sensible loads. Effective humidity control is essential for maintaining indoor thermal comfort and preventing the negative health impacts associated with sick building syndrome. Conventional dehumidification systems typically rely on vapor compression cycles, which are often energy-intensive and bulky. In response to these limitations, ORNL has developed a groundbreaking metal foam-based Separated Sensible and Latent Cooling (MF-SSLC) system that decouples sensible and latent cooling processes. This innovative system leverages a unique porous metal foam substrate, coated with advanced desiccants formulated in-house through a water-based process. The result is a compact, efficient moisture management approach that significantly reduces the footprint of traditional systems while enhancing the overall system coefficient of performance (COP). By integrating high-performance desiccant materials with a highly porous and thermally conductive structure, ORNL’s MF-SSLC represents a major advancement in dehumidification technology. With broad potential applications across commercial and residential sectors, this scalable solution promises to redefine moisture control and support global efforts toward improved energy efficiency and sustainability.
PROCESS/PROTOTYPING
Platform to Accelerate Discovery of Tailored Industrial Enzymes (PAD-TIE)
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Platform to Accelerate Discovery of Tailored Industrial Enzymes (PAD-TIE) is a rapid, low-cost, and easy-to-use screening toolkit for engineering improved enzymes. PAD-TIE scans many variants to discover highly efficient enzymes tailored for industrial use— making industrial processes, such as enzymatic plastic recycling, more efficient and economical. According to a Los Alamos web page on the technology, PAD-TIE evaluates enzyme efficiency, stability, and production potential in a single process, ensuring that only the most viable candidates move forward. Validated in labscale bioreactors that replicate industrial recycling environments, PAD-TIE supports sustainable PET recycling and upcycling, breaking plastic down into its fundamental building blocks (monomers) for reuse: without the need for harsh chemicals or energy-intensive processes. The technique has been validated in lab-scale bioreactors that replicate industrial recycling environments. It supports sustainable PET recycling and upcycling, breaking plastic down into its fundamental building blocks (monomers) for reuse: without the need for harsh chemicals or energy-intensive processes.
The team developed a uniform, ultrahightemperature, stable plasma (USP) apparatus using tip-enhanced carbon-felt electrodes (Patent: PCT/ US2023/034378). It generates large-volume, controllable plasma with temperatures up to 8,000 K, high spatial uniformity and temporal stability enabling rapid synthesis and surface modification of refractory alloys, advanced ceramics and composites in seconds. Because its USP product relies on radiative and tipmediated discharge from carbon-felt electrodes, high-temperature exposure in an oxidation environment may induce minor carbothermal reduction or carbon contamination of oxygen-sensitive materials. Nonetheless, the ultrashort dwell times (seconds) for rapid materials synthesis minimize these side reactions, and ongoing development aims to eliminate the potentially adverse carbon contamination and to extend uniform heating to larger volumes.
The Solid-state Additively Manufactured Transition Joint (SAM+J) offers a breakthrough solution to a long-standing engineering challenge: the premature failure of dissimilar metal welds (DMWs) in high-temperature, high-stress, and cyclic environments. Traditional DMWs, commonly used in power generation, aerospace, and industrial systems, often degrade quickly due to the brittle fusion zones formed during conventional welding—posing risks to safety, reliability, and efficiency. SAM+J overcomes these limitations by integrating advanced additive manufacturing with hot isostatic pressing to produce a fully solid-state, metallurgically bonded transition. It eliminates the weak fusion zone and instead creates a functionally graded interface tailored to withstand creep, thermal fatigue, and corrosion. This innovation significantly extends service life—by up to six times compared to state-of-the-art welds—and reduces the need for costly repairs and downtime. Validated through comprehensive modeling and experimental testing, SAM+J enables more robust and efficient designs for next-generation energy systems while also offering retrofit solutions for aging infrastructure.
SOFTWARE/ SERVICES
SOFTWARE/SERVICES
DR-Weld: Digital Reality Weld and AM Simulation Tool
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
DR-Weld is a digital-reality simulation software that delivers unparalleled simulation speed and scalability for high-fidelity modeling of welding and metal AM of industry-scale components, such as nuclear reactor assemblies, automotive structures, and naval ship superstructures—capabilities that remain beyond the reach of today’s commercial simulation tools. Utilizing a patented hybrid explicit-implicit FEM approach combined with novel dynamically adaptive acceleration scheme, DR-Weld achieves simulation speeds up to thousands of times faster than leading commercial software for complex welded and additively manufactured structures. Its scalability across platforms, from cost-effective GPU workstations to advanced supercomputers, making high-fidelity simulations viable for a broad range of users. It especially lowers the cost barriers for small and mid-sized manufacturers, democratizing access to advanced simulation tools. Economically, DR-Weld accelerates development cycles by weeks or months, reducing prototyping costs and yielding potential savings of hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars per project in capital-intensive industries.
ExaDigiT Digital Twin Framework
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ExaDigiT is the first comprehensive digital twin framework for modeling liquidcooled supercomputers, integrating workload, power, and cooling simulations with interactive visualization in AR/VR. It enables holistic system optimization, supporting “what-if” analyses, future system prototyping, and AI-driven control strategies. Developed at ORNL in collaboration with Hewlett Packard Labs, ExaDigiT has been validated on Frontier, the world’s first exascale supercomputer, and the framework’s open-source ecosystem has gained global adoption, with contributions from major supercomputing centers such as CSC (Finland), CINES (France) and Argonne National Laboratory. ExaDigiT’s breakthrough approach connects dynamic power modeling with transient cooling behavior, offering a new way to investigate energy efficiency and optimize HPC operations. It is already influencing next-generation system designs and vendor evaluations, making it an essential tool for the future of sustainable supercomputing.
SOFTWARE/SERVICES
Griffin
Idaho National Laboratory; Argonne National Laboratory
The Griffin reactor physics tool for Multiphysics modeling and simulation makes advanced nuclear reactor design cheaper and safer by predicting how different reactor designs, fuels and materials will perform in real life. Industry has developed dozens of reactor designs that could power remote communities, mining operations, military bases and data centers. Others could provide high-temperature heat and electricity for communities and industry. Before these reactors become a reality, researchers, industry and regulators need to test safety and performance without building expensive prototypes. Griffin is a reactor physics tool for multiphysics modeling and simulation that makes advanced nuclear reactor design cheaper and safer by predicting how different reactor designs, fuels and materials will perform in real life. Where some modeling tools can simulate the basic functions of a reactor, Griffin provides the underlying physics that govern countless real-life interactions in the extreme environment of a reactor core. Griffin has been used to analyze the designs of pebble-bed reactors, prismatic reactors, molten-salt reactors, fast reactors, microreactors and several experimental facilities.
Lincoln Laboratory Radio Frequency Situational Awareness Model
High-Rate Delay-Tolerant Networking (HDTN) is transformational software for streaming and networking communications in space. It has the potential to enable a solar system internet allowing space exploration teams to receive telemetry from rovers and other space vehicles, and to maintain connections between spacecraft and Earth like never before. NASA developed HDTN to empower missions with high connectivity, by storing and forwarding data at points along a network before reaching its destination. In particular, engineers at the NASA Glenn Research Center developed High-Rate Delay Tolerant Networking, or HDTN, an implementation of DTN that reportedly transfers data four times faster than what is currently available.
The Lincoln Laboratory Radio Frequency Situational Awareness Model (LL RF-SAM) uses advances in AI to enhance the warfighter’s electromagnetic spectrum situational awareness. Innovations in self-supervised learning and test-time adaptation have enabled LL RF-SAM to flexibly characterize the spectrum more robustly than has been seen previously. This technology addresses fundamental needs that serve as barriers for adoption in the field — most notably, the need to have reliable model outputs from which end users can derive actionable insights. LL RF-SAM’s use of self-supervised learning for RF data, in conjunction with TTA for RF, gives this technology a competitive advantage that enhances robustness to real-world environmental variability. Additionally, LL RF-SAM strategically leverages self-supervised learning to minimize the data volume bottleneck that comes from human-in-the-loop data labeling, which drastically decreases upfront costs for data curation and improves the deployed model’s performance. Lastly, its developers have targeted deployment of this technology for tactical edge-focused scenarios operating at near real-time to assist operators as much as possible and in as timely a manner as possible. MIT Lincoln Laboratory envisions that the future adoption and spread of this technology will have a significant impact across various sectors, such as SIGINT and wireless infrastructure security.
Figure 1: Shown here is the Lincoln Laboratory Radio Frequency Situational Awareness Model's (LL RF-SAM) three-stage workflow, which consists of model pre-training (Stage I) focused on solving a pretext task of pseudo-labeling that can be derived from the data itself without human expert labeling; pre-deployment tasking (Stage II) that consists of taking the features learned in Stage I and focusing on a new target task, such as classification of a specific emitter, make, and model of an emitter family or a specific communications protocol; and post-deployment adaptation (Stage III). In Stage I, the model learns from large volumes of unlabeled data, in Stage II those features are refined and then continuously adapted during deployment in Stage III. This workflow provides a robust feature learning pipeline from conception to deployment.
Lincoln Laboratory Radio Frequency Situational Awareness Model
MagicABC
Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC)
MagicABC is a clinically grounded SLP-Agent, overcoming cross-context language barriers by embedding virtual speech therapists into interactive games. It replaces rigid, one-way methods with dynamic, two-way communication, offering real-time error correction, correcting language hallucinations, and delivering personalized, continuous support. The key advantage of MagicABC lies in its core SLP-Agent (Speech-Language Pathologist Agent), which enables bidirectional, guided communication within interactive games. By emulating the speaking patterns and cueing techniques of clinical speechlanguage pathologists, the SLP-Agent replaces rigid, rule-based responses, such as “incorrect” or “try again,” with therapeutic guidance that adapts in real time to the user’s specific input. When a user gives an incorrect or incomplete response, the system generates clinically meaningful cues that help the individual recognize errors and revise their reply, thereby improving expressive language and comprehension. That is to say, MagicABC redefines the traditional, one-way assistive paradigm of AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication). It addresses the limitations of AI interaction models caused by language hallucinations and deeply integrates the SLP-Agent into the logic of clinical language therapy. Acting as a dynamic communication partner to deliver therapeutic guidance at the level of every utterance within gameplay, offering individualized feedback that closely mirrors the real-time interaction of human clinicians.
OpenMC
Argonne National Laboratory
OpenMC is an open-source, highperformance Monte Carlo code with a Python-native interface for simulating neutron and photon transport in complex nuclear systems, scalable from laptops to exascale supercomputers. OpenMC transforms high-fidelity simulation of neutron and photon transport from a niche, licenseconstrained domain into an open, Python-native framework that any scientist/engineer can deploy on machines ranging from laptops to exascale supercomputers. Its modern C++ core is fast, yet fully scriptable, enabling automated exploration of a design space, optimization through machine learning and visualization in real time. By supporting integrated depletion, CAD-based geometry, and automated workflows for variance reduction, shutdown dose rate, and cross section generation, OpenMC significantly simplifies tasks that once required multiple proprietary codes. By democratizing advanced reactor analysis and accelerating innovation in the fusion industry, OpenMC delivers accessibility, performance and community impact.
PRESTO: Privacy Recommendation and Security Optimization
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
This Python package provides intelligent recommendations for optimal differential privacy algorithms based on user preferences and dataset characteristics. According to an online description, PRESTO, which stands for “Privacy REcommendation and SecuriTy Optimization,” provides automated recommendations for the best privacy preservation algorithm based on user preferences and data characteristics. PRESTO uses Bayesian optimization to automatically determine the best privacy preservation algorithm, privacy loss parameters, confidence intervals and reliability scores for a given dataset. PRESTO recommends privacy preserving algorithms using multi objective optimization. It balances privacy and utility through Bayesian optimization and data analysis. PRESTO supports diverse data types and applies well to healthcare, finance, and smart devices, evaluating trade offs with confidence intervals to ensure strong privacy in real world applications.
SOFTWARE/SERVICES
Protected Anti-jam Tactical SATCOM (PATS)
Key Management System Prototype
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
When secure satellite communication fails, missions and lives are at risk. Lincoln Laboratory’s PATS KMS Prototype solves one of the most critical and long-standing challenges in military SATCOM: how to securely distribute and rotate cryptographic keys at scale, in real time, and over wireless links. The system works even under jamming, compromise, and disconnection. This gold-standard reference implementation introduces two breakthrough innovations: a hybrid in-band keying protocol and a production-grade implementation of broadcast encryption algorithms. Together, they enable high levels of resilience, availability, automation, and scalability with minimal bandwidth overhead and no orphaning of legitimate users. Transitioned to government and industry partners through the U.S. Space Force. It is already adopted across the PATS ecosystem, the prototype is serving as the digital twin and technical baseline for the final operational system.
Simurgh
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Siemens Healthineers
AI Abdomen
Siemens Healthineers
AI Abdomen is the first commercially available AI powered solution for ultrasound that automatically finds, labels, and measures organs in milliseconds. Built into Siemens Healthineers Acuson Sequoia 3.5 system, AI Abdomen helps clinicians work faster with more accuracy and less physical effort hence making life easier for clinicians and patients. Siemens Healthineers notes that the improved ergonomics of AI Abdomen benefit the 90% of ultrasound users who have reported scanning while in pain, related to pressure applied to the transducer, abduction of the arm, and twisting of the neck and trunk. It also helps standardise exams across users, with a real-time organ-identification feature and freeze- measurement of organs.
Simurgh, an AI-based XCT framework, accelerates the scanning speed of nondestructive characterization of high-density (and other) metals by 12 times, with four times the resolution and six times improvement in flaw detection over industry-standard techniques. Simurgh saves costs, increases productivity, and eliminates the need for extensive data curation. Covered by US 17/392,645, ORNL ID 202004647, Simurgh Improves defect detection capabilities by four times, according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Simurgh has reliably demonstrated that it can identify flaws as small as 50 µm–100 µm. It lowers operational costs by reducing scan times, the need for extensive post-processing and manual input, and associated labor costs. It is also applicable across various industries including aerospace, automotive, biomedical, electronics, and advanced manufacturing. ORNL also highlights its scalability, noting that it facilitates high-throughput evaluation and testing, making it ideal for Industry 4.0 applications.
SOFTWARE/SERVICES
Storm-DEPART (Damage Estimate Prediction and Recovery Tool)
Idaho National Laboratory
Severe weather events are incredibly destructive to the power grid, but efficient, targeted planning for response and recovery can mitigate much of that damage. Storm-DEPART is an incident-tested, data-driven tool designed to improve decision-making when preparing for weather disasters and focus restoration resources where the need is anticipated. Storm-DEPART is a comprehensive tool for helping electric-service utilities prepare for weatherrelated disasters and respond to and recover from hurricanes and major ice storms. By aligning situational awareness and decision making, the outcome is quicker restoration of businesses and communities to normal, preserving lives and millions of dollars. Utilities now have the capability to better prepare for and respond to disruptive events, increasing the overall resilience of the nation’s electric-power grid. Improved recovery times and shorter restoration times offer a widespread and equitable benefit, helping community members at every economic level.
Viz ICH Plus
Viz.ai
VisionSafe
Institute for Information Industry
VisionSafe is an AI-powered smart cockpit designed for heavy commercial vehicles, featuring thermal imaging for all-weather collision warnings, fullposture driver monitoring, and immersive AR HUD projection. With its modular “CamBoost AI,” VisionSafe transforms standard MDVR systems into intelligent ADAS platforms—delivering enhanced safety, awareness, and driving comfort under any condition. Institute for Information Industry’s “Life Guardian Pathway System,” a separate product, was also chosen as a winner of the 2024 Artificial Intelligence Excellence Awards. That system uses AI image recognition technology. When wheelchair users and ambulances pass through intersections, roadside warning signs alert vehicle drivers to be mindful of vulnerable pedestrians and the passing ambulances.
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) accounts for up to 15% of strokes, which have the highest death and disability rates. Viz ICH Plus is an FDA-approved algorithm that accurately and automatically detects, labels, and quantifies brain bleed volume on non-contrast computed tomography images of ICH patients. Viz.ai’s clinically validated Viz ICH Plus algorithm can now accurately identify, label, and measure the volume of an ICH on NCCT images. In addition, Viz ICH Plus was designed to serve as a tireless assistant automatically reviewing NCCT images throughout entire hospital networks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Once Viz ICH Plus completes its hyperdensity measurements, it automatically calculates total volumes, and applies color-coded overlays to the NCCT images so that the clinician can quickly assess the location and severity of the ICH. The Viz ICH Plus algorithm also displays both left and right ventricular volumes and the midline shift. Furthermore, it allows the clinician to select the output that is most relevant for their evaluation of the patient’s condition, including the largest volume. As Viz ICH Plus is available in both a desktop and mobile application, the clinician can even determine appropriate next steps while on the go. In addition, Viz ICH Plus results are provided in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format, ensuring they will be compatible with the hospital’s Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and easily integrated into existing radiology and clinical workflows. In fact, as Viz ICH Plus is included in the Viz.ai One enterprise platform, which is already in use at more than 1,700 hospitals and health systems in the U.S. and Europe, their radiologists, neurologists and neurosurgeons can start using it right away.
