Who knew that an ‘Oscar of innovation’ existed? It does and Vorbeck Materials along with its partners, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Princeton University have won it. From the June 22, 2012 news item on Nanowerk,
Vorbeck Materials, in partnership with Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL) and Princeton University, was recognized today by R&D Magazine for developing one of the 100 most significant scientific and technological products or advances of the year.
The R&D 100 Award honors Vorbeck’s breakthrough work with PNNL and Princeton to commercialize graphene technology, which will enable greater use of electric vehicles and faster charging consumer electronics.
In collaboration with Professor Ilhan Aksay at Princeton University, PNNL has demonstrated that small quantities of Vor-x™, Vorbeck’s unique graphene material, can dramatically improve the performance and power of lithium-ion batteries. The pioneering work will enable the development of batteries that last longer and recharge quickly, drastically reducing the time it takes to charge an electric vehicle to just a few hours and allowing smartphones to charge in as little as ten minutes. Lithium-ion batteries are also used to power laptops, power tools and other electronic devices.
Vorbeck is working to bring this new technology to market for use in consumer electronic devices, tools, and electric vehicles. Vorbeck is also partnering with Hardwire LLC of Maryland to integrate the new batteries into hybrid military vehicles.
You can find out more about the R&D 100 awards at the R&D (Research and Development) Magazine’s Award page,
The Awards, widely recognized as the “Oscars of Innovation”, identifies and celebrates the top high technology products of the year. Sophisticated testing equipment, innovative new materials, chemistry breakthroughs, biomedical products, consumer items, high-energy physics: the R&D 100 Awards spans industry, academia, and government-sponsored research. …
Since 1963, the R&D 100 Awards have identified revolutionary technologies newly introduced to the market. Many of these have become household names, helping shape everyday life for many Americans. These include the flashcube (1965), the automated teller machine (1973), the halogen lamp (1974), the fax machine (1975), the liquid crystal display (1980), the Kodak Photo CD (1991), the Nicoderm anti-smoking patch (1992), Taxol anticancer drug (1993), lab on a chip (1996), and HDTV (1998).
That’s a very impressive list of innovations.