Energy | Office of Technology Licensing

Available Technologies by Category
Two-Phase Thermal Management System for Integrated Motor Cooling	High-performance: Utilizes three-dimensional silicon carbide packaging and novel drive topologies with reduced switching losses, leading to increased power density and lower motor system size and weight Embedded: Integrates with the motor and drive electronics rather than requiring an externally attached heat exchanger system Efficient: Dramatically increases volumetric heat removal rates in electric motor systems by employing a wick structure designed to assist liquid delivery to enable evaporative cooling	8280
A Method for Creating a Protective Cap Layer for Semiconductor Wafers	Protective: Provides a thin protective layer or “cap” after the first layer is deposited, protecting the underlying structure from atmospheric contaminants Robust: Enables realization of the advantages of hybrid growth processes by eliminating performance-degrading contaminants and resulting defects Advanced: Offers superior protection against contamination compared with simple chemical cleaning methods utilized in other systems, especially against impurity species such as oxides	8435
Chip-Scale Electrochemical Double-Layer (ECDL) Supercapacitors	Decreased size: Minimizes space that does not contribute to volumetric density and is drastically smaller than conventional ECDL capacitors, allowing capacitor-dependent devices to shrink considerably High power: Achieves gravimetric energy densities of over 100 watt-hours per kilogram Improved performance: The vertically aligned graphene-functionalized carbon nanotubes Offers high porosity and surface area for improved pseudocapacitance by vertically aligning graphene-functionalized nanotubes	6573
Superior Supercapacitors	High performance: Achieves average energy densities as high as 90 Wh/Kg Scalable: Leverages a low-cost PAN fabrication process that dramatically increases surface area Widely applicable: Demonstrates potential for advances in a variety of energy storage and capacitive water desalination applications	6201
Fully Passive, Long-Range Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) via 5G	Large coverage: Provides a unique combination of large angular coverage and turn-on sensitivity in both planar and bent configurations Long range: Demonstrates the potential for RFIDs with practical reading ranges over 1.8 km Scalable: Scales in size to a precise degree, enabling selection of the optimal tradeoff between size and harvested power/reading range	8141, 8439
Purely Passive Radio-Frequency Identification	Powerful: Projected to support energy harvesting sensors at distances over 100 meters from readers and/or radio transmission sources Efficient: Enables conversion of RF energy at higher efficiency and at higher output voltages than current electronic energy harvesting methods Widely applicable: May advance RFID applications in a wide range of fields including computing, sensing, and communication	7194
Sustainable Combination Technology Delivers a Long-Lasting Self-Powered Battery	Continuous: Regulates power harvested in the presence of constant mechanical motion to store excess energy while pushing a constant voltage to the external load Eco-friendly: Reduces the need for consumers and technology developers to utilize supply-limited traditional batteries that are thrown away after a short use and could leak harmful chemicals into the environment Sustainable: Eliminates the need to mine an additional power supply by harvesting energy from underutilized electrostatic induction found in naturally occurring mechanical motion	6418
Zeolite Membrane Sieves Fabricated on Low-Cost Alumina Hollow Fiber Substrates	High performance: Enables lower-cost, scalable, membrane-based molecular separation Convenient: Can form a standalone complete separation or reduce bottlenecks in conventional separation processes	8080, 8167
Drive Belt with Surface Texture to Minimize Vibrations	Effective: Demonstrated significant reduction in vibration compared with flat, untextured belt surfaces in preliminary testing Simple: Provides a straightforward and easy-to-implement solution to a widespread problem Economical: Offers a far less expensive means of maintaining the operation of machinery compared with replacing worn belts or employing complex tension systems	8307
Heat Dissipation for Microelectronic Systems via Capillary Trap	Effective: Dissipates large heat fluxes via 3D heat spreading and evaporative cooling that could approach kW/cm2 and beyond while keeping the surface temperature under 90oC Preventive: Mitigates coolant dry-out at the critical heat flux levels that result in a rapid and large temperature rise and thus cause device burn-out Efficient: Exploits high cooling capabilities associated with phase-change heat transfer through evaporation	6272
Next-Generation Flow Battery for Large-Scale Energy Storage at One-Tenth the Cost	Higher power density: This design has achieved ultra-high power densities of 630 W/Ldevice (charge) and 170 W/Ldevice (discharge), compared to existing flow battery designs that achieve only 500 W/Ldevice (charge) and 90 W/Ldevice (discharge). Ultra-high current density: The design has achieved current densities of >300 mA/cm3 per device. Dramatically lower cost: The elimination of parts reduces fabrication costs by 90%. Cost is ~$330 rather than ~$4,400.	8284, 8571
Energy Storage for Automotive/Portable Applications	Increased storage density — backbone offers high surface area for hydrogen storage Fast and easy — polymer readily folds and unfolds for hydrogen storage and fast release in response to actuation Suitable for packaging — uses compliant polymers as a matrix to assume any form factor	3626
Poroelastic Solutions for Spherical-Tip Indentation	Robust: Provides a rigorous theoretical base that takes into account poroelastic coupling and the effects of Poisson’s ratio as well as the compressibility of both fluid and solid phases on force relaxation Intelligent: Can be used with sensors and processors to automatically direct an indentation tool and record pertinent data Flexible: Accommodates both permeable and impermeable indentation tools	7870
SlothBot: Sustainable Solution for Studying Climate Change	Wide-ranging: Can switch between two different wire branches and can therefore traverse a whole mesh of wires Sustainable: Utilizes solar energy and runs with a low power consumption, making the robot highly energy efficient Low risk: Employs a fail-safe design that protects the robot from damage in the event of a mechanical failure	8194
Highly Efficient, Durable Cathodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs)	More stable: The technique used enhances cathode durability while maintaining the high-kinetic electrode structure Stackable: The cathode design is suitable for implementation in a fuel cell stack Fast: The combination of nanoparticles and conformal coatings provides increased reaction sites and rapid transport paths	7256
Hybrid Triboelectric Nanogenerator Harvests Mechanical and Electrical Energy	Sustainable: Harvests energy from the environment to minimize the use of non-renewable materials for power Highly efficient: Exhibits an unprecedented conversion efficiency of 50% to 85%, an area power density of 313 watts per square meter, and a volume power density of 340 kilowatts per cubic meter Powerful: Integrates with several other TENGs for output power of 1 megawatt	6606
Three-Dimensionally Textured Photovoltaic (PV) Cells	Powerful: Improves probability of absorption via a novel light-trapping geometry Practical: Eliminates the need for heavy, complex, costly, and failure-prone mechanical systems required by traditional planar PV cells to track the sun Reliable: Improves photon absorption probability even at off-normal azimuth angles, leading to more predictable performance across all seasons for terrestrial applications	2922
Fabricating High-Power Solar Cells with a Novel Boron Emitter	Efficient: Demonstrates a competitive level of efficiency road map of over 24.2% Cost-effective: Offers a simplified approach for fabricating TOPCon solar cells while still maintaining their efficiency Sustainable: Improves upon current renewable energy solutions that provide alternatives to fossil fuel–based energy consumption	7991
Optical Wireless Communications System Self-Powered by Triboelectric Nanogenerator	High capacity: Utilizes optical electromagnetic frequencies for transmission to bypass the crowding from other wireless service providers Sustainable: Sources renewable energy via the TENG Practical: Contains parameters and techniques that can be optimized for different circumstances	7863
High-Performance Broadband Photodetector and Power Generator	Versatile: Adjusts for several different parameters, including light intensity, switching frequency, and illumination area Efficient: Provides voltage that is easily converted for use through a medium that is small, low cost, and easily fabricated Highly sensitive: Operates with ultra-high light sensitivity, even at very low light intensity, and fast response speeds	7965

Technologies