Three Team Awards recognized ORNL collaborations: with BorgWarner on a wireless excitation system for high-performance electric motors avoiding rare-earth magnets; with Cummins on advanced steel alloys and manufacturability improvements for powertrains; and with General Motors, Ingalls Shipbuilding, and EPRI on DR-WELD tools for rapid welding and additive manufacturing.

Stacy Davis earned a Distinguished Achievement Award for leadership in developing the Fuel Economy Guide and related consumer information resources used by drivers, researchers, and policymakers.

Additional Team Award highlights include ORNL, Cummins, and industry innovations in steel alloys, metalworking, and high-pressure die casting to boost durability and manufacturability.

Vivek Sujan earned a Distinguished Achievement Award for developing OR-AGENT, an advanced modeling framework that optimizes regional deployment for electrified national transport by integrating freight, traffic, weather, and energy data.

The honors underscore ORNL’s growing role in reducing reliance on critical minerals and materials while advancing transportation energy efficiency and manufacturing capabilities.

Additional context notes that other team members across projects contribute to these efforts, with a broad goal of reducing dependence on critical minerals through these technologies.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the DOE Office of Science, highlighting the connection between fundamental physical science and practical transportation solutions.

The relationship between UT-Battelle, ORNL, and the DOE Office of Science situates these awards within the broader science mission.

Awards span subject areas such as transportation technologies, vehicle energy efficiency, advanced manufacturing, electric motor innovation, and materials science.

The awards emphasize ORNL’s role in advancing transportation technology, improving material sustainability, and fostering industry partnerships to reduce critical mineral dependencies and support electrified transportation deployment.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers won five of the Transportation Technologies Office awards at the 2026 Annual Merit Review in Arlington, Virginia, including two Distinguished Achievement Awards and three Team Awards for advances in transportation efficiency, vehicle technologies, and advanced manufacturing.