Cory Hatch Archives - Idaho National Laboratory

Future of mining is microreactors: Idaho National Laboratory sees big benefits

October 2, 2023 7:55 am

Powering a remote zinc mine located roughly 600 miles northwest of Anchorage, Alaska, is a Herculean task. Governments and industry have taken a particular interest in remote arctic mining locations, not only because of the region’s vast mineral resources, but also because of shipping routes that are opening through the ice due to climate change. Still, getting energy to those

Researchers irradiate chloride-based molten salt in first-of-a-kind experiment

September 12, 2023 8:54 am

For decades, light-water nuclear power plants have provided safe, reliable carbon-free energy in the United States and around the world. But in the early days of nuclear energy research, light-water reactors were just one of several promising reactor types. Nuclear energy pioneers also designed and tested high-temperature reactor technologies that use gas, liquid metal and molten salt as coolants. One

Finally, an industrial-scale facility for testing new, clean hydrogen technologies

June 12, 2023 6:26 am

Hydrogen, the simplest and most abundant element in the universe, is vital for any number of industries, from fertilizer production to metal manufacturing and from petroleum refining to chemical synthesis. Hydrogen is also an excellent way to store energy for electricity generation or to power vehicles. But the most common way to produce hydrogen — steam methane reforming — relies

National lab helps Wyoming explore nuclear energy frontier

May 30, 2023 6:10 am

An agreement between Idaho National Laboratory and Wyoming positions the state to continue as a leader in energy production and innovation. The collaboration comes after TerraPower announced plans in 2021 to build its Natrium Power Plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Wyoming’s elected officials, educators and business leaders have since reached out to experts at INL for advice to maximize the economic

Idaho researchers develop tool to help restore electricity after natural disasters

May 9, 2023 12:01 pm

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast with wind speeds reaching 140 mph, eventually causing more than 1,800 deaths and $1.8 billion in damage. The hurricane also left roughly 3 million people in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia without electricity for up to three weeks. In February 2021, ice storms devastated communities throughout Texas,

From atoms to earthquakes to Mars: High-performance computing a Swiss Army knife for modeling and simulation

March 13, 2023 7:43 pm

At Idaho National Laboratory, computational scientists use INL’s supercomputers to perform “virtual experiments” to accomplish research that couldn’t be done by conventional means.

Jhansi Kandasamy comes full-circle as Idaho National Laboratory Net-Zero executive director

February 27, 2023 9:56 pm

Jhansi Kandasamy comes full-circle as INL Net-Zero executive director

Microgrid in a Box opening new possibilities in defense, utilities, disaster relief

February 9, 2023 6:23 pm

Microgrid in a Box, it includes 320 kilowatt-hours of battery storage, and can tie seamlessly into a modern electrical grid and coordinate the distribution of electricity for a small village, military base, or, in the event of a disaster, a hospital, transportation depot, or other critical infrastructure building.

Idaho researchers help Wyoming trailblaze energy, manufacturing frontiers

December 1, 2022 2:45 pm

Wyoming’s leadership in the nation’s energy future was the topic of this year’s Frontiers Project Meeting Oct. 7 in Jackson, Wyoming.

More data could turbocharge efforts to build better batteries, researchers say

November 14, 2022 3:29 pm

Battery scientists from the U.S., the United Kingdom and Germany have proposed the Battery Data Genome, a central repository for battery test information that could be accessed by researchers around the world.

Author: Cory Hatch