Partnering with Stanford University, the U.S. Department of Energy and industry , SLAC is developing next-generation solutions for energy storage, fusion energy, advanced manufacturing and recyclable materials. Our advanced facilities and expertise in energy science and technology, including AI and machine learning, are helping secure a future of abundant, reliable energy.
SLAC’s applied energy program advances technologies that transform how energy is produced, stored and used. Our research spans the full innovation pipeline, from the chemistry and materials science of individual components to device manufacturing and bringing new energy solutions to market.
Materials, chemistry and energy sciences are central to many of today’s most critical technical challenges:
Energy storage
What new materials can make electric batteries more powerful and longer lasting?
Energy and sustainability at SLAC
Learn how a collaboration with industry cuts battery initial charge time from 10 hours to just 20 minutes while extending lifespan by 50%, and how SLAC researchers are making sure these scientific breakthroughs are designed with real-world manufacturing in mind.
Learn how researchers at SLAC develop advanced characterization tools using our Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) to help researchers understand how chemical and biological processes break plastics down into their original building blocks.
Lithium Ion or Lithium Iron?
Could a breakthrough lithium-iron design that doubles the energy output per iron atom be the future of battery technology? Alexis Geslin of Stanford presents how X-rays, AI, and next-gen materials may be the future of battery technology.
See inside batteries: What X-rays reveal
Stanford and SLAC researchers are using our synchrotron (SSRL) to help uncover how and why batteries degrade, develop next-gen materials, and make them safer and longer-lasting.
Our scientific facilities
Scientists from universities, laboratories and private companies around the world use our cutting-edge research facilities.
SSRL
Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource provides extremely bright X-rays that scientists use in a wide range of research to probe matter on the scale of atoms and molecules.
LCLS
Linac Coherent Light Source is the world’s first hard X-ray free-electron laser allowing researchers to make stop-action movies of chemistry in action and explore proteins for new pharmaceuticals.
FACET-II
FACET-II provides high-energy electron beams for researching revolutionary particle accelerator technologies that could make future accelerators 100 to 1,000 times smaller and a lot more capable.
CryoEM
Stanford-SLAC CryoEM facilities give scientists unprecedented views of the inner workings of cells and materials in technologies like batteries and semiconductors.
For questions or comments, contact the SLAC Office of Communications at communications@slac.stanford.edu.
About SLAC
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory explores how the universe works at the biggest, smallest and fastest scales and invents powerful tools used by researchers around the globe. As world leaders in ultrafast science and bold explorers of the physics of the universe, we forge new ground in understanding our origins and building a healthier and more sustainable future. Our discovery and innovation help develop new materials and chemical processes and open unprecedented views of the cosmos and life’s most delicate machinery. Building on more than 60 years of visionary research, we help shape the future by advancing areas such as quantum technology, scientific computing and the development of next-generation accelerators.
SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.