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November 2018
NREL Shifts Carbon Fiber Research into Second Gear
Ongoing research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory could lead to a cleaner method of transforming acrylonitrile into carbon fiber, replacing petrochemicals with biomass as the starting point.
Molecular Scientists Unlock Sustainable Route Toward Hydrocarbons
A computational modeling team in NREL's Biosciences Center made a significant discovery regarding the key aspects of a cytochrome P450 enzyme that enable it to transform fatty acids directly to olefinic hydrocarbons, an important constituent of gasoline.
October 2018
NREL's Biomass Analysis Tools Celebrate a Decade as the Industry Standard
After nearly 10 years, the NREL-developed High Throughput Pipeline Tools have been delivering solid biomass composition analysis for researchers around the world.
September 2018
Nitrilation Process Produces Acrylonitrile, Attention, and Awards
NREL's clean, cost-competitive nitrilation process to produce a bio-based acrylonitrile is grabbing attention...and awards. This summer, alone, the process technology has been recognized with the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Mid-Continent Region Notable Technology Development Award, the CO-Labs Governor's Award, and has been named a 2018 R&D 100 Award finalist.
NREL Interns Energize the Laboratory
NREL Summer Interns unbox their potential to explore their passions in renewable energy.
July 2018
First Standard for Chemical Characterization of Bio-Oil Approved by ASTM: NREL Paves the Way Towards Commercialization
The path toward biofuel commercialization became easier with a recent NREL-developed bio-oil standard that was approved by ASTM International. The standard quantifies the total carbonyl content of complex pyrolysis bio-oils through a faster and more reliable titration method.
Chunmei Ban is Getting Charge Out of Battery Research by Finding Right Chemistry
Growing up in remote northwest China, researcher Chunmei Ban seemed destined to be a doctor--but decided to be a scientist, although she didn't know what scientists do.
June 2018
News Release: Researchers Discover New Enzyme Paradigm for Critical Reaction in Converting Lignin to Useful Products
An international research team, including scientists from NREL, has discovered and characterized a new family of cytochrome P450 enzymes that is critical to improving the conversion of lignin--one of the main components of plants--into valuable products such as nylon, plastics, and chemicals.
News Release: Novel Genetic Method Improves Efficiency of Enzyme
Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the University of Georgia developed a new genetic engineering technique to dramatically improve an enzyme's ability to break down biomass.
International Interest in NREL's Fuels and Engines Research
The European Union's goal is for 10% of all of Europe's transportation fuels to come from renewable sources by 2020. In April, CNBC World's international news program "Sustainable Energy" came to NREL to spotlight how the lab's breakthrough biofuels research is advancing progress toward that ambitious objective.
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Last Updated May 5, 2025