Smarter Grids, Brain-Like Materials, and an Award-Winning Pitch for Battery Recycling

This week, we’re highlighting NLR advancements in grid management, materials science, and critical materials recovery. You'll hear about: 

• A new open-source tool helping utilities use smart energy management to meet growing electricity demand while reducing the need for grid upgrades 
• Brain-inspired materials that can "remember" light, opening the door to more efficient machine vision and neuromorphic computing 
• An NLR postdoc’s award-winning pitch at the recent National Lab Research SLAM about using microbes to recover critical metals from spent batteries. 

Find the transcript for this show here.

This episode was hosted by Kerrin Jeromin and Taylor Mankle, written and produced by Allison Montroy, Hannah Halusker, and Kaitlyn Stottler, and edited by Taylor Mankle, Joe DelNero, and Brittany Falch. Graphics are by Brittnee Gayet. Our title music is written and performed by Ted Vaca and episode music by 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.  

Transcript

Taylor Mankle 0:04

Welcome to Peaks to Power, a podcast brought to you by the National Laboratory of the Rockies. It's Wednesday, June 17th. I'm Taylor Mankel.

Kerrin Jeromin 0:12

And I'm Karen Jerem. And hey, Taylor, hey listeners. Listen, we have three stories for you today that have something in common working smarter, not harder.

Taylor Mankle 0:22

Uh yes, something I'm always aspiring to do in my work, but am only sometimes successful at.

Kerrin Jeromin 0:28

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Same here, same here. At least for today's topics, our researchers figured out how to do it. We're talking about a partnership that's helping utilities manage electricity demand. New materials research inspired by the human brain, and an NLR scientist whose idea to recover critical minerals from old batteries recently won national recognition.

Taylor Mankle 0:49

Lots to discuss. Let's dive right in the You know, Kerrin, I feel like everyone is talking about electricity demand and the energy grid these days. I know it's even on my mind.

Kerrin Jeromin 1:04

Yeah, it's a really hot topic right now. As demand for electricity in the United States grows and evolves, utilities must continually analyze whether distribution infrastructure is up to the task.

Taylor Mankle 1:15

To keep up with growing demand and keep power reliable and operations safe, utilities will upgrade, supplement, or even replace their electrical distribution infrastructure. But these upgrades can be time-consuming, expensive, and disruptive to ratepayers.

Kerrin Jeromin 1:31

Smart energy management is the latest and greatest approach to meet the energy needs of large loads while mitigating these costly upgrades. It works by moving peak energy demand to occur during times when there is less overall grid demand. Think of it like roads and highways where there are periods of increased traffic and congestion. The electric grid has patterns of use that vary significantly over the course of the day and seasonally.

Taylor Mankle 1:55

A recent partnership between NLR and a major regional utility, Xcel Energy, has led to the development of a new open source tool for smart energy management. It's called the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Distribution System Integration Tool, or EVI DIST. While the model was developed for vehicle charging, it can be used to assess all sorts of distributed energy resources that may be installed by home or property owners.

Kerrin Jeromin 2:24

Researchers across transportation, grid planning, and analysis at NLR supported Xcel Energy over the course of two years to analyze selected areas within the utility's electric distribution network. They provided high-resolution information on how Xcel Energy's network may be affected by different scenarios of electric demand in both quantity and time of day.

Taylor Mankle 2:45

The big takeaway of the analysis found that in one of the main power lines that was studied, grid-aware smart energy management allowed more than 94% of vehicle charging sessions to be fully completed without overloading transformers.

Kerrin Jeromin 3:01

In other words, drivers still got the charge they needed while reducing stress on the local grid, which could help Xcel Energy avoid costly infrastructure upgrades. Remember, this is just a sample analysis, but it shows how powerful algorithms can be to help utilities plan for the future.

Taylor Mankle 3:18

The partnership was so fruitful that researchers decided to create EVI DIST so that other utilities across the country can model their own grid challenges and identify solutions.

Kerrin Jeromin 3:29

The code for the tool is on GitHub as we speak,  allowing anyone to use and improve the tool’s functionalities. 

Taylor Mankle 3:36

Delivering our lab's expertise directly to the people. I like the sound of that.

Kerrin Jeromin 3:40

Yeah, same here.

Taylor Mankle 3:48

This next story is pretty brainy, quite literally. New materials research from our basic energy sciences team is borrowing from the human brain to teach materials how to remember.

Kerrin Jeromin 4:01

Yeah, this one's technical. I learned a lot when we developed the story. It's a development that advances a field called optoelectronics. Think robots, sensors, computers, anywhere light needs to be detected, processed, or used to carry information.

Taylor Mankle 4:16

Today's machine vision systems process enormous amounts of data and use a lot of power. So scientists are trying to build materials that work more efficiently, like the human brain.

Kerrin Jeromin 4:28

Yeah, we're able to learn and remember because of tiny connections in our brains, known as synapses, that get stronger when we see or experience something repeatedly.

Taylor Mankle 4:38

But there are also some materials that can also see and remember. When light hits them, it creates an electric charge that remains even after the light is turned off. This effect is called persistent photoconductivity.

Kerrin Jeromin 4:51

The goal of a recent NLR study was to understand why persistent photoconductivity happens. Researchers studied a crystal called vanadium pentoxide, testing a long-standing theory that missing oxygen atoms are the reason why charges stick around.

Taylor Mankle 5:07

The thought is that those missing oxygen atoms create tiny defects that can trap electrical charges. Because the charges are trapped, they're released more slowly, creating a lingering electrical response that allows the material to retain a memory of the light it absorbed.

Kerrin Jeromin 5:24

The study opens the door to a new generation of materials with tunable memory and machine vision. Because they mimic human brain synapses, they could simplify circuitry while reducing both energy consumption and signal interference in devices.

Taylor Mankle 5:38

They also do things our eyes can't. These optoelectronic synapses can detect a broad range of light, including infrared, and they can be fixed onto flexible glass.

Kerrin Jeromin 5:49

That could make them useful in everything, from robots and sensors on automated vehicles to cameras, wearable devices, and so much more.

Taylor Mankle 5:57

NLR researchers are really shining new light on this area of research.

Kerrin Jeromin 6:07

Okay, we're heading to D.C. for our final story about one of our own postdoctoral researchers, Kalen Rasmussen, and his participation in a recent pitch competition on Capitol Hill.

Taylor Mankle 6:19

On April 15th, Kale n competed with 16 other early career researchers at the National Lab Research SLAM , an annual event that highlights the role and impact of U.S. Department of Energy laboratories in the nation's innovation ecosystem.

Kerrin Jeromin 6:34

With just three minutes and one slide, Kalen pitched his research on critical minerals recovery to an audience of more than 200 policymakers, congressional staffers, and laboratory representatives. No pressure, Kalen.

Taylor Mankle 6:47

At the lab, Kalen analyzes spent batteries to bolster the domestic critical metal supply chain. When batteries reach the end of their life, they often end up in a landfill because current battery recycling approaches are inefficient or involve harsh chemicals that generate toxic waste.

Kerrin Jeromin 7:05

Trying to come to a better solution, Kalen and his team at NLR are studying a tiny microbe that dissolves battery metals, allowing them to be purified and remanufactured. The process is called bioleaching, and it will help recover metals that already exist in the United States instead of buying more from other countries.

Taylor Mankle 7:24

More than 2,000 people tuned in to watch a live stream of the pitch competition, which, if you haven't guessed already, Kalen won.

Kerrin Jeromin 7:32

Woo-hoo! Way to go, Kalen. Yeah, he won the Energy Security Award, while other participants took home wins in national security, scientific discovery, advanced materials, and people's choice categories.

Taylor Mankle 7:44

Kalen's biggest takeaway from the competition was the power of distilling complex science into something anyone can enjoy and learn from.

Kerrin Jeromin 7:52

Which that is absolutely a message we can get behind. You know, as hosts of a science podcast, right? We love that stuff. Hopefully, you, our listeners, enjoy and learn from us too, of course.

Taylor Mankle 8:02

Definitely. And a huge congrats to Kalen on a job well done.

Kerrin Jeromin 8:12

All right, another Wednesday down, another fantastic series of developments from the National Laboratory of the Rockies. Thanks for hanging with me today, Taylor.

Taylor Mankle 8:20

Of course, Kerrin. It's always a pleasure. And thanks to our listeners for tagging along, too. If you like what you hear, give us a review on your favorite podcast player or send us an email at podcasts @nlr.gov.

Kerrin Jeromin 8:32

We'll catch you in two weeks with more news from the lab.

Taylor Mankle 8:42

This episode was adapted by National Laboratory of the Rockies news articles from May 2026, written by Aishwarya Krishnamoorthy, Connor O'Neil, and Anna Martin. Our theme music is written and performed by Ted Vaca, and episode music by Chuck Kurnik, Jim Riley, and Mark Sanseverino of Drift B-C. This podcast is produced by the National Laboratory of the Rockies Communications Office.