Nuclear is Here @OakRidgeNationalLab

Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

From the world’s first continuously operating nuclear reactor to today’s next-generation designs, Oak Ridge National Laboratory has helped shape nuclear energy from its very beginning. Now, as electricity demand surges — driven in part by AI and data centers — nuclear energy is once again in the spotlight.

This episode traces the arc of nuclear innovation: from the Graphite Reactor and Molten Salt Reactor Experiment to Kairos Power’s Hermes demonstration reactor now under construction in Oak Ridge. Along the way, we explore how ORNL’s expertise in molten salt technology, TRISO fuel and advanced manufacturing is helping make nuclear reactors safer, faster to build and more adaptable for the future.

ORNL is using #BigScience to make a big impact. Learn more: ornl.gov/bigscience

$Promethium unveiled: Rare earth element’s secrets exposed Scientists have uncovered the properties of a #rareearth element that was first discovered 80 years ago at the very same laboratory, opening a new pathway for the exploration of elements critical in modern #technology, from #medicine to #spacetravel. #Promethium was discovered in 1945 at Clinton Laboratories, now Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and continues to be produced at ORNL in minute quantities. Some of its properties have remained elusive despite the rare earth element’s use in medical studies and long-lived nuclear batteries. It is named after the mythological Titan who delivered fire to humans and whose name symbolizes human striving. The ORNL-led team of scientists prepared a chemical complex of promethium, which enabled its characterization in solution for the first time. Thus, they exposed the secrets of this extremely rare lanthanide, whose atomic number is 61, in a series of meticulous experiments. Learn more: https://www.ornl.gov/news/promethium-bound-rare-earth-elements-secrets-exposed This work was primarily co-sponsored by DOE’s Office of Science for ligand synthesis, lanthanide complexation studies, crystallization processes, spectroscopic analyses and simulation efforts. The production, purification and preparation of the promethium sample were supported by the DOE Isotope Program, managed by the Office of Science for Isotope R&D and Production. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction data collection and refinement were supported by the DOE Office of Science.$

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