Argonne researchers win 2 R&D 100 Awards
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ARGONNE, Ill. (July 17, 2008)—Researchers at the U.S. Department of
Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and their industrial partners have
won two R&D 100 Awards for innovative fluid sealing and lithium-ion battery
technologies.
Argonne scientists have been awarded 101 R&D 100 Awards since the awards
were introduced by R&D Magazine in 1964. Winning a prestigious
R&D 100 Award -- dubbed the "Oscars of innovation" by The
Chicago Tribune -- provides proof that a product is one of the most innovative
ideas of the year, according to R&D
Magazine.
"This is yet the latest example of how the Department of Energy and our
national laboratories are continuing to demonstrate world-class leadership
in innovation, as we enhance our energy security, national security and economic
competitiveness," Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said. "On behalf
of the department, I would like to congratulate all of our employees who have
earned R&D 100 awards and in particular this year's winners."
"These awards demonstrate the scientific know-how and innovative spirit
on the part of Argonne researchers," said Argonne Director Robert Rosner. "I
offer my hearty congratulations to our winning scientists."
This year's winners are:
- EnerDel/Argonne High-Power Lithium-Ion Battery for hybrid
electric vehicles.
- Ultrananocrystalline Diamond (UNCD) Mechanical Seals, a fluid
sealing technology.
EnerDel/Argonne Advanced High-Power Battery for hybrid electric vehicles
The EnerDel/Argonne lithium-ion battery is a highly reliable and extremely
safe device that is lighter in weight, more compact, more powerful and longer-lasting
than the nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) )batteries in today's hybrid electric
vehicles (HEVs).
The battery is expected to meet the U.S.
Advanced Battery Consortium's $500
manufacturing price criterion for a 25-kilowatt battery, which is almost a
sixth of the cost to make comparable Ni-MH batteries intended for use in HEVs.
It is also less expensive to make than comparable Li-ion batteries. That cost
reduction is expected to help make HEVs more competitive in the marketplace
and enable consumers to receive an immediate payback in gas-cost savings rather
than having to wait seven years for the savings to surpass the premium placed
on HEVs.
Additionally, the EnerDel/Argonne battery does not use graphite as the anode
material, which been the cause for concerns about the safety other Li-ion battery
brands. Instead, Argonne developed an innovative, more stable new form of nano-phase
lithium titanate (LTO) to replace the graphite. It also developed a new way
of making nano-phased LTO that will allow for easier industrial processing,
as well as provide a high packing density that can increase the battery's energy
density and provide the power needed for vehicle acceleration and regenerative
charging of HEVs.
The battery's principal developers are Khalil Amine, an Argonne senior scientist
and group leader; Illias Belharouak, an Argonne materials scientist; Zonghai
Chen, an Argonne assistant chemist; Taison Tan, EnerDel's research and development
manager; Hiroyuki Yumoto, EnerDel's director of research and development; and
Naoki Ota, EnerDel president and chief operating officer.
The DOE Office of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) FreedomCAR
and Vehicle
Technologies program provides funding for Argonne battery research.
UNCD Mechanical Seals
UNCD Mechanical Seals are specially-treated pumping-system seals that have
their surfaces imparted with the properties of diamond to improve their reliability,
useful life and integrity in preventing the escape of pumped fluids into the
environment. UNCD is an engineered nanomaterial invented at Argonne and is
known for its exceptional smoothness when applied to the bearing surface of
a mechanical seal. UNCD is an exceptionally low-friction material, and among
its many benefits it saves energy by reducing friction on the sealing surface.
The UNCD Mechanical Seals were jointly developed by a team from Argonne, Advanced
Diamond Technologies, Inc., (ADT), Romeoville, Ill., and John
Crane Inc.,
Morton Grove, Ill. The Argonne team included former Argonne process development
engineer John Hryn, now senior development associate at Praxair, Inc., Gregory
Krumdick, engineer, Jeffrey Elam, chemist, and Joseph Libera, post-doctoral
appointee. The ADT contributors included Charles West, vice president of engineering,
James Netzel, director of seals engineering, and John
Carlisle, chief technical officer, and Orlando Auciello, ADT technical consultant
and Argonne senior physicist. The John Crane team included Douglas Volden,
new products director, Joe Haas, vice president of engineering, and Rick
Page, vice president of marketing.
EERE's Industrial
Technologies Program provided funding for the development
of the UNCD Mechanical Seals.
ADT, an Argonne spin-off company, secured the rights from Argonne to commercialize
the technology in 2004 and has since then actively pursued several applications
for it, including mechanical seals. ADT has developed a commercial manufacturing
platform for making UNCD Seals in volume with exceptional reproducibility and
quality. John Crane, the world's largest manufacturer of seals and associated
products, performed exhaustive tests that demonstrated that the UNCD-enhanced
seals have a significant friction-reducing advantage that improves the performance
capabilities of mechanical seals when compared to conventional mechanical seal
face materials.
Interestingly, the UNCD thin film production technology that was developed
in 2002 by Argonne and iplas
GmbH, near Cologne, Germany, won an R&D
100 Award in 2003. UNCD marked the first-ever affordable diamond film suitable
for mass production of a wide range of diamond-based microelectromechanical
systems, nanoelectromechanical system devices, biodevices, biosensors and microelectronic
circuits. Adjustments in the production process were necessitated to make UNCD
suitable for application on mechanical seals.
About Argonne
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.
About EnerDel
EnerDel is owned by Ener1, Inc. (80.5 percent) and Delphi Corporation (19.5
percent). EnerDel has a production facility in Indianapolis, Ind. EnerDel
currently employs approximately 65 highly experienced engineers and technicians
involved in the battery development of both cells and systems.
About Advanced Diamond Technologies
Advance Diamond Technologies, Inc. was formed in December 2003 to commercialize
the UNCD technology developed by Argonne National Laboratory. ADT is the licensee
to the Argonne portfolio of application and process patents for using, synthesizing
and micromachining UNCD films.
About John Crane
John Crane is part of Smiths
Group, a global technology business listed on
the London Stock Exchange. John Crane is the world leader in the design and
manufacture of mechanical seals and associated products mainly for the oil
and gas, chemical, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper and mining sectors.
For more information, please contact Angela Hardin (630/252-5501
or ahardin@anl.gov) at Argonne.
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