Five facilities at Argonne where climate solutions are front and center

Argonne is home to several research centers and testbeds where scientists expand our understanding of the changing climate and develop solutions for a clean energy economy.

By now, the trends related to climate change are clear: hotter days, more frequent strong storms and a host of other effects. In unparalleled facilities at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, researchers are helping to bring technologies for clean energy and climate resilience from the lab to the real world.

During Earth Month, an occasion to highlight conservation and climate change efforts worldwide, here’s a look at how these Argonne centers are helping preserve and extend our resources.

Advanced climate projections for planning decisions

When local leaders make decisions about where to build cooling centers or how to harden against intense weather, they need a reliable view of the climate picture ahead. The Climate Risk and Resilience Portal (ClimRR) offers that view, providing easy-to-read maps and data on markers such as average temperatures, precipitation and wind speed.

ClimRR is one example of work at the Center for Climate Resilience and Decision Science (CCRDS). The tool is a joint collaboration between Argonne, DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and AT&T. Key resources at CCRDS include Argonne’s Visualization Lab, Studio for Augmented Collaboration and the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility, a DOE Office of Science user facility. Research at the center has also looked at how extreme heat will affect the power grid and its ability to supply energy during heat waves; and how changes in wind patterns can affect wildfire risks for utilities.

Scaling up materials for clean energy

When scientists hit upon a promising batteries” href=”https://www.anl.gov/science-101/batteries” target=”_blank”>battery ingredient or an efficient new method for making chemicals, the breakthroughs tend to happen at small scales in a lab. But the science doesn’t stop there. At Argonne’s Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF), today’s bench-scale ideas move on to the next phase of development, so they can be adopted commercially. The facility was built with support from DOE’s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO).

MERF ramps up quantities of materials from grams to kilograms, making it possible to prototype and pilot them at industrial scale. The facility also develops manufacturing processes for materials, including detailed descriptions for accurate cost modeling. MERF, which recently moved into an expanded 28,000-square-foot facility, has successfully scaled up dozens of materials over the years. Many of these materials are designed for the batteries and fuel cells we need to store energy, move vehicles and power industry without fossil fuels. MERF researchers are also collaborating with Northwestern University on the production of materials for water purification; and as part of DOE’s Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment, MERF is helping to scale up building blocks for intrinsically recyclable polymers.

A testbed for electric vehicles and charging

To reshape the country’s transportation system, which is now the largest source of planet-warming emissions, a massive shift to electric vehicles (EVs) is underway. A national goal to install 500,000 EV chargers by 2026 is just part of the challenge. We also need to support electrified medium- and heavy-duty trucks — and make sure all of this EV charging is efficient and in tune with the electric grid.

Argonne’s Smart Energy Plaza, funded by DOE’s VTO and supported by Argonne’s Sustainability Program, is fueling the transition. The plaza is a fully remodeled and repurposed gas station on Argonne’s campus and home to the lab’s Interoperability Center, which aims to ensure that components and networks made around the globe can work together. Researchers at the plaza evaluate a variety of technologies, including a variety of charging strategies and the inclusion of onsite solar power. They are also, with funding from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, working toward a more reliable public charging experience through the National Charging Experience Consortium.

Tech to recycle lithium-ion batteries

The increase in EVs has heightened demand for lithium, a precious resource that can be harvested from old batteries. Argonne’s ReCell Center, which is funded by DOE’s VTO, is working on ways to make battery recycling more profitable and widely adoptable by industry. Argonne leads the center, a collaboration among industry, academia and DOE national laboratories that was launched in 2019.

ReCell is also home to eight projects, supported by DOE’s Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technologies Office, that will help advance the goal of efficient recycling to conserve resources and lower the cost of batteries. And the center supports participants in DOE’s Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize, which awards cash prizes for disruptive solutions to meet battery recycling needs.

A wealth of data for climate research

To understand climate change and its impacts, we need to be able to measure it. That involves gauging atmospheric radiation, the light and heat from the sun, and how it interacts with our planet. Argonne manages two observatories in DOE’s Office of Science Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility. These, along with ARM’s multilab-managed, multiplatform facility, operate instrumentation in a broad range of climate conditions around the world.

Argonne manages the Southern Great Plains fixed observatory near Lamont, Oklahoma, and the ARM third Mobile Facility (AMF3) observatory. AMF3 is now being deployed to the southeastern United States to operate for five years. Researchers use ARM data from these two observatories to understand the processes that shape our climate. University students have used data from ARM as part of a virtual workshop focused on data science and data analytics, learning techniques for the next generation of climate-focused research insights. In May, the ARM summer school will host dozens of students over a week to introduce them to ARM’s data, computational tools and capabilities that will support them in their future research.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America’s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://​ener​gy​.gov/​s​c​ience.