Episode Details

Disclaimer: This episode was produced when the laboratory operated as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The laboratory is now the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR).

In this episode, explore three ways NREL researchers are seeking out energy solutions:  

• An experiment dubbed “No Photon Left Behind” examined if growing tomatoes under the filtered light spectrum of a semitransparent photovoltaic panels would make them grow faster, bigger, and tastier.  
• The BOTTLE consortium at NREL released a paper recently that looked at new methods for recycling carbon fiber composites, the high-strength, low weight materials made from epoxy-amine resins that encase long carbon fibers and form a stiff material found in many consumer products like bicycles, planes, and cars.  
• NREL researchers are using an advanced imaging tool called x-ray nanoscale computed tomography imaging – or nano-C-T imaging, to analyze batteries at the end of their useful life and reveal hidden flaws that give us insights into how battery materials change during its life. 

This podcast is hosted by Jackson Fletcher, Kerrin Jeromin, Taylor Mankle, and Nataleah Small and written and produced by Hannah Halusker, Allison Montroy, and Kaitlyn Stottler. Editors are Joe DelNero, Brittany Falch, and Taylor Mankle. Graphics by Brittnee Gayet. Music by Ted Vaca and Chuck Kurnik, Jim Riley, and Mark Sanseverino of Drift BC. Peaks to Power is created by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory of the Rockies in Golden, Colorado. Email us at podcast@nlr.gov. Follow NLR on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Threads, and Facebook.