Featured Opportunities

A novel algae flow-way system capable of converting wastewater pollutants into net-carbon negative biofuels Waterway pollution has been aggravated by the leaking of chemical products into man-made water irrigation systems, natural streams, and rivers. Chemical pollutants such as fertilizer runoff from agricultural activities and trace metals from chemical processing are...

A new method of additive manufacturing that leverages fluidics and electrochemistry to rapidly produce high-quality parts with engineering materials. Existing methods of metal 3D printing are ineffective in creating micro-resolution parts of high-quality metals at room temperature and pressure without the need for postprocessing or electrochemical baths. Market Needs Additive...

Engineered viruses and phages capable of targeting pathogenic bacterium Pathogenic bacteria have been gradually developing resistance to known antibiotics, which could thwart the effort of preventing catastrophic bacterial outbreak infections. To control this resistance, certain phages have been evolved to infect each problematic bacterial group. Use of multi-phage cocktails can...

Long-lasting lithium primary batteries with a wide operational temperature range and increased safety. There is an ever-growing need to produce safer batteries that have longer run times and better temperature responses. Many current systems use lithium primary batteries because of their high energy densities and wide operational temperature range. However,...

A radiation detection material originally developed for national security applications at Sandia is headed into the commercial arena. Sandia National Laboratories and California-based startup Blueshift Optics are partnering to commercialize Organic Glass Scintillators (OGS), an award-winning technology that was initially developed at Sandia to advance radiation detection materials. Above: Injection-molded...

An alternative to high-pressure hydrogen compression that can isolate thousands of new metal hydride compositions for hydrogen storage applications Hydrogen compression is one of the key components of a hydrogen-based economy. Conventional mechanical hydrogen compressors have a few disadvantages including low energy efficiency, insufficient reliability, high operating costs, probability of...

Monitor and safeguard high-value assets such as enclosures, materials, and storage containers using time-reversed acoustic waves Tamper-indicating technologies are used to verify the integrity of monitored items or high valueassets. As the number of monitored items increases internationally and monitored items in storage become more difficult to access, new tamper-indicating...

PIDMS detects and mitigates cyberattacks to energy utilities and other distributed energy resources in real-time The Proactive Intrusion Detection and Mitigation System (PIDMS) is an award-winning sensing and monitoring system that detects cyberattacks and secures grid-edge photovoltaic (PV) smart inverters capable of making autonomous decisions to stabilize the grid. Smart...

Sandia Decon Formulation co-developer Maher Tadros demonstrates application of the formulation from a pressurized canister. The foam could be sprayed from handheld canisters or from trucks, or it could be incorporated into high-profile government military buildings. The formulation is non-toxic. Protective clothing is required to protect decontamination personnel from chemical...

Sandia National Laboratories in collaboration with Mayo Clinic has developed a rapidly producible, reusable N95 respirator mask designed for medical use Significant shortages in the supply and availability of medical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE), specifically N95 respirators, have been a defining feature of the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to inexpensive, reusable,...

In order to bring brain-inspired hardware, algorithms, and AI closer to realization for diverse applications, Sandia National Laboratories’ neural computing group is building a set of neuromorphic capabilities relevant to all system levels. AI-enabled smart products and services are exceptionally useful for everyday purposes such as wearables, cell phones, and...

An automated and multilayered PCB for microfluidic immunoassays that enables multi-sample testing and portability for clinical point-of-care applications Microfluidic devices are integrated into all manner of diagnostic or medical devices for reliable technical analysis of biological samples. Although microfluidic devices have gained recognition in the biomedical field in recent decades,...

3D printed dissolvable molds allow for efficient net-shape production of complex detectors while eliminating risk of breakage during mold removal 3D PVA printed molds Scintillators are widely used as detectors across many fields including medical diagnostics, high energy physics, and geophysical exploration. The market for scintillators calls for a variety...

Sandia’s endpoint detection method for the electrodeposition of copper through silicon vias (TSVs) could dramatically improve microelectronics manufacturing by increasing throughput and reducing consumables Through-silicon vias (TSVs) provide electrical and thermal interconnection from the front of a semiconductor chip to the back and thus are a key component of high-performance...

Offshore Wind Energy Simulator (OWENS) is a software toolset for the analysis, design, and certification of offshore, land-based, or marine hydrokinetic vertical-axis wind turbine systems. The OWENs toolset has the required physics models for coupled analysis of aero-hydroservo-elastic simulations necessary for design and certification of wind energy systems. Open all...

A simple, efficient approach for tuning and fabricating novel nanomaterial architectures with breakthrough properties using mechanical pressure Nanomaterials possess shape and size-dependent properties for diverse applications such as sensing, optics, and catalysis. Currently, nanomaterials are synthesized using chemical methods that require specialized processing conditions, expensive reactors and requirements, added purification...

A smaller, lighter, and less expensive solution for safer release of lighter-than-air flammable gases. Gaseous or liquid hydrogen tank releases, or releases of other lighter-than-air flammable gases, are typically routed up a vent mast into ambient air, where they can safely dissipate and not return to ground level. This requires...

A greener and more renewable pathway for ammonia production Ammonia (NH3) is an energy-dense chemical and vital component of fertilizer and other chemical commodities. NH3 is currently synthesized via the hydrocarbon intensive Haber-Bosch (H-B) process at high pressures of 150-300 bar and moderate temperatures of 350-500 °C. Hydrocarbons provide the...

Generate high performance biofuels by optimizing how fuels are blended. The past century of fuel research was performed under the assumption that the Research Octane Number (RON) of a blended fuel is bounded by the RON values of the base fuel and the additive compound. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories...

A compact, high-throughput diagnostic tool for characterizing laser-based processes Characterizing the laser absorptivity and efficiency compensation of laser-based processes can provide useful avenues for defect characterization and mitigation; however, laser-metal interactions during welding and metal additive manufacturing are notoriously complex. Existing techniques for measuring laser absorption efficiency rely on reflective...