Oak Ridge National Laboratory was named on 20 of the 2025 R&D 100 Awards, 17 as lead developer and three as co-developer. The showing sets a new record for the lab, accounting for about one-fifth of all winners. Since the 1980s, ORNL has won more than 260 R&D 100 Awards
Our sister publication engineering.com recently spotlighted the additive manufacturing–linked innovations behind some of these wins. In that coverage, Ian Wright, senior editor at engineering.com, highlighted three projects that were among the award recipients. BIPHASICS, a CO₂ capture system pairing a biphasic solvent (DETA) with a 3D-printed packed-bed design to cut regeneration energy up to 46% compared with conventional MEA processes. Next up, there’s SAM+J, a solid-state, additively manufactured transition joint enabling durable bonding of dissimilar metals for extreme environments. Rounding out the trio is DR-Weld, a GPU-accelerated simulation tool that shortens development cycles for large-scale welding and additive manufacturing.
Here’s a breakdown of the twenty:
Simurgh: AI-powered CT
According to ORNL, Simurgh reconstructs CT scans of dense, complex parts up to 12× faster with 4× higher resolution and 6× better flaw detection by fusing CAD and physics with AI.
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PRESTO:
A Python toolkit that selects and explains differential-privacy settings.
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ExaDigiT
A full data-center digital-twin for leadership-class supercomputers, modeling workloads, power and cooling with live telemetry.
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DR-Weld
GPU-accelerated “digital reality” simulator for welding/metal AM.
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SAM+J
Additively manufactured, graded transition joints that bond dissimilar metals for extreme environments.
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MF-SSLC
Compact dehumidification using porous metal foam coated with desiccants in a separate sensible/latent cooling (SSLC) design.
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Future Foundries
Unified platform integrating WAAM, 5-axis machining, 3D scanning, and induction heat treatment.
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E-GRIMS
Electrochemical graphitization in molten salts converts diverse carbons to battery-grade graphite at about 800 °C in 2 hours.
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BIPHASICS
DETA-based biphasic solvent plus AM heat-exchange packing cuts regeneration energy up to 46% and capture cost by about 30% versus MEA.
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Anisotropic PCM
Embedding about 5% anisotropic carbon fibers in phase-change materials reduced melting time at 20% solid from >8,000 s to approximately 1,260 s.
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Recyclable Thermosets
Fiber-reinforced copolyester vitrimer composites produced via VARTM.
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Next-Gen PIR Insulation
AI-designed anisotropic closed-cell PIR foam achieves R-8.3 per inch.
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NeXT Steel
Medium-carbon martensitic steel with 25–50% better fatigue/softening resistance up to 600 °C. Cummins piston prototypes passed a 500-hour peak-power test.
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HyPoCap
Oxygen-rich, hyperporous carbon (>4000 m²/g, 15% O) with record 610 F/g capacitance.
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Metalized Current Collectors
Lightweight polymer–metal composite collectors cut costs by about 85% and raise battery pack energy by 27%.
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Embedded-PCM HPWH
Heat pump water heater with phase-change capsules that store thermal energy off-peak and release during peaks.
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LMHE Engine
Lightweight V8 truck engine, 15% lighter and >10% more fuel-efficient than baselines.
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Rotary Transformer Motors
Brushless, magnet-free excitation system achieves 92–95% efficiency up to 20,000 rpm and +25% power density.
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UGA Grid Analyzer
Single-phase platform captures high-resolution voltage/current waveforms at the grid edge and streams securely for wide-area detection and prediction.
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Underwater X-ray
Diver-operated digital X-ray system for inspecting underwater structures without radiation risk.
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