ORNL exascale

The KNS' Frank Munger discusses exascale computing with the DOE science chief, the KNS reports.

DOE signs Nissan LEAF Battery loan agreement

The Department of Energy signed a loan agreement to make $1.4 BN available to Nissan to support manufacture of the LEAF e-car battery at Smyrna, Tenn. Release here. The DOE release said, in part, "The loan will result in the creation of up to 1,300 jobs when the plants are operating at full capacity. Modification of the Smyrna manufacturing plant, which will begin later this year, includes a new battery plant and changes in the existing structure for electric-vehicle assembly. When fully operational, the vehicle assembly plant will have the capacity to build 150,000 Nissan LEAF electric cars per year, and the new plant will have an annual capacity of 200,000 batteries."

ORNL Michigan ties

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is active within Michigan's University Research Corridor. Crain's has it here.

NEWS: Piloting e-car charge-ups in Tennessee

The U.S. Department of Energy and Phoenix-based Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec, a sub of ECOtality, OTCBB:ETLY) announced today that Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville will be pilot cities for deployment of charging infrastructure to support Nissan's LEAF EV. The corporate release is here. Related story, News Sentinel. DOE release here. List of all related Stimulus funding winners.

W2E

Tennessee Tech and folks in Knoxville are getting a nibble at a new set of Department of Energy wind-to-energy grants. The KNS reports here. The DOE release is here.

ORNL Global Venture Challenge winners

Teams from Purdue, Clark Atlanta-Morehouse and Duke won top prizes in the fourth annual Global Venture Challenge at Oak Ridge NL, with presentations focusing on LED chips, plastics and biofuels. The event is supported by DOE Industry Technologies program. ORNL release here.

Oak Ridge luminaries discuss the Stimulus Era

[Updated March 26] ORNL Director and UT-Battelle CEO Thom Mason discusses the challenges and expectations facing ORNL in this KNS report. Recently elevated to deputy lab director, Thomas Zacharia (left) emphasizes ORNL's need to address "national imperatives." Jim Roberto gains echelon responsibility at critical time. And, complicating matters, ORNL is to get another $71 million in stimulation. Added: DOE Secretary Chu discusses his agency's spending of $1 billion plus.

ORNL targets expansion

DOE has given initial approval to doubling the research capacity of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Spallation Neutron Source facility (illustrated, with expansion highlighted). The potentially $1B project could be completed by 2020. The center advances materials sciences, nanotech, energy generation, pharma and other fields. The ORNL release; the Knoxville News Sentinel.