Berkeley Lab Energy Technologies Area

04/09/2026

What can a returned asteroid sample tell us about the origins of our solar system? A lot, if you have the right tools.

Researchers including scientists from Berkeley Lab Energy Technologies Area have published a groundbreaking study in PNAS analyzing samples from asteroid Bennu, returned by the NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration OSIRIS-REx mission. Using analytical capabilities uniquely available at Berkeley Lab, the team found that organic matter and minerals on Bennu exist in compositionally and spatially distinct chemical pockets at the nanoscale.

This tells us that water once flowed through Bennu’s parent body along restricted pathways, preserving delicate nitrogen-rich organic compounds and leaving behind a diverse mix of carbonates and organosulfur species.

Also, this finding shows that fragile organic molecules can survive the chaotic, and harsh environment of a primitive asteroid. It’s a truly exciting finding that is helping us understand the diversity of aqueous-based chemical processes in the outer solar system.

🔗 Read the full study here:

Asteroid Bennu preserves primitive material from the early solar system, and returned samples allow direct examination of how organics and minerals...

03/31/2026

The food & beverage industry is central to our economy and livelihood and yet significant aspects of the value chain are outdated and could be optimized for affordability. Berkeley Lab Energy Technologies Area has created the Food & Beverage Operational Optimization and Deployment (FOOD) Center with funding support from U.S. Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation to catalyze innovation in this sector.

The FOOD Center will support the development of technologies that target scalable solutions across the entire value chain. This includes operations in:
- Agriculture
- Food and beverage processing
- Retail and distribution
- Transportation and storage
- Byproducts and waste streams

The outcome will be a RD&D platform that supports public and private investment and enhanced U.S. technological competitiveness.

03/24/2026

With the staggering proliferation of data centers across the U.S., energy demand is skyrocketing. To advance options that will reduce the impact of this demand growth on the grid, Berkeley Lab Energy Technologies Area are forming the Data Center Cooling Collaborative with funding support from U.S. Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation.

A central component to the project is a data center cooling testbed network with private and public sector partners working to advance a variety of cooling technologies that reduce data center load on the grid.

Goals of the project are:
- To establish a data center cooling testbed network that supports diverse and evolving cooling needs across a wide range of IT-cooling configurations.
- To promote real-world impact and industry adoption through strong, long-term industry engagement.
- To develop industry-trusted testing protocols, digital twin software, and commercialization pathways.
- To reduce the overall time and cost to bring advanced cooling technologies to market.

Read more about this effort and follow along with our progress here:

Berkeley Lab projects among Department of Energy awardees for industrial innovation

03/17/2026

As electricity demand is expected to surge, Berkeley Lab Energy Technologies Area is leveraging demand flexibility capabilities for U.S. industry in conjunction with U.S. Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation.

Currently, only 9% of utilities offer demand flexibility programs and just 4% of customers participate. That means there is massive potential for the industrial sector to help stabilize the grid through load flexibility that utilizes existing capacity already on the market.

Resource-secure Energy Flexibility (REFLEX) will develop and demonstrate innovative approaches for harnessing load flexibility as a strategy to cut operational costs and support rapid growth in industrial productivity with existing grid resources.

The project will feature real-world load flexibility in multiple applications including:
- Data centers
- Food distribution
- Manufacturing
- Water treatment

REFLEX will be complemented by analysis of market potential and business case support tools. Read more in the project brief:

Berkeley Lab projects among Department of Energy awardees for industrial innovation

03/12/2026

As part of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation$155 million investment in American innovation, Berkeley Lab Energy Technologies Area is working across industries to research and test scalable solutions for industry and infrastructure.

“We are working with utilities, data center operators, and other energy-intensive industrial customers to introduce new flexible load and cooling technologies to make our economy stronger,” said Jessica Granderson, director of Berkeley Lab’s Building and Industrial Energy Systems Division whose team is part of the award.

The funded projects are:
- Leveraging Demand Flexibility Capabilities for U.S. Industry
- Advancing Cooling Technologies for Data Centers
- Innovating Scalable Technologies and Solutions for the Food and Beverage Industry

Find details on each project in our latest news article https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2026/03/12/improving-u-s-industrial-competitiveness-and-productivity/

Berkeley Lab

Berkeley Lab projects among Department of Energy awardees for industrial innovation

02/11/2026

Berkeley Lab's REFA tool provides a simple and practical calculation of the overall economic and financial performance of reconductoring solutions, considering advanced and traditional conductor technology solutions.

Transmission planners across the country are finding it valuable in their analysis efforts. Register for your free account here: refa.lbl.gov

U.S. Department of Energy

02/06/2026

“FORUM-AI aims to be the first full-stack, agentic system for materials science research and discovery. It will help scientists at every step of energy materials research.” — Anubhav Jain, principal investigator, Berkeley Lab Energy Technologies Area

🔗 Learn more via the first link in the comments.

02/04/2026

In case you missed our webinar on Berkeley Lab's REFA tool, developed in parternship with Office of Electricity, U.S. Department of Energy, the full recording is posted on our website and linked below.

The webinar provided a walk-through of the web-based tool complete with real-world scenarios of transmission line upgrade examples.

REFA – Reconductoring Economic & Financial Analysis Tool A first of its kind tool designed to help utility transmission planners better understand the benefits of reconductoring upgrades, using traditional or advanced conductors. Background: Why REFA? Increasing power transmission capacity is key...

01/30/2026

ICYMI! 💡 U.S. Department of Energy has selected Berkeley Lab’s Energy Technologies Area (ETA) to receive $2.5 million in U.S. Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation funding for our Food & Beverage Operation and Deployment Center project.

Our project will help catalyze and enable the adoption of next-generation process and equipment technologies, improving the efficiency and competitiveness of American industry.

🔗 Learn more via the first link in the comments.

01/28/2026

📣 Thrilled to share: U.S. Department of Energy has selected Berkeley Lab’s Energy Technologies Area (ETA) to receive $6 million in U.S. Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation funding for our thermal management and project. Our project will help advance U.S. National Laboratory capabilities to accelerate the development and adoption of transformational technologies to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of American industry.

🔗 Learn more via the first link in the comments.

01/27/2026

There is still time to join our REFA webinar. This virtual session will provide users with a detailed introduction to the tool and showcase the easy-to-use interface through real-world tramission line upgrade examples.

The webinar, like the tool, is free and open to the public. Registration is required: https://bit.ly/3Z8J1jf

Berkeley Lab
U.S. Department of Energy