Resource Efficiency

UHV Technologies will develop and demonstrate a low cost, field deployable 3D x-ray computed tomography system that will image total root systems in the field with micron-size resolution and can sample hundreds of plants per cycle. This system is based on UHV's low cost linear x-ray tube technology and sophisticated reconstruction and image segmentation algorithms.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) will develop a field-deployable instrument that can measure the distribution of carbon in soil using neutron scattering techniques. The system will use the Associated Particle Imaging (API) technique to determine the three-dimensional carbon distribution with a spatial resolution on the order of several centimeters. A compact, portable neutron generator emits neutrons that excite carbon and other nuclei.

Texas A&M AgriLife Research will develop low field magnetic resonance imaging (LF-MRI) instrumentation that can image intact soil-root systems. The system will measure root biomass, architecture, 3D mass distribution, and growth rate, and could be used for selection of ideal plant characteristics based on these root metrics. It will also have the ability to three-dimensionally image soil water content, a key property that drives root growth and exploration.

Iowa State University (ISU) will develop new sensors that measure the amount of nitrogen in soils and plants multiple times per day throughout the growing season. Nitrogen fertilizer is the largest energy input to U.S. corn production. However, its use is inefficient due to a lack of low-cost, effective nitrogen sensors. Year-to-year variation in nitrogen mineralization, due to differences in soil water and temperature, creates tremendous uncertainty about the proper fertilizer input and can cause farmers to over-apply.

Sandia National Laboratories will develop novel, field-deployable sensor technologies for monitoring soil, root, and plant systems. First, the team will develop microneedles similar and shape and function to hypodermic needles used in transdermal drug delivery and wearable sensors. The minimally invasive needles will be used to report on sugar concentrations and water stress in leaves, stems, and large roots in real-time.

Colorado State University (CSU) will develop a high-throughput ground-based robotic platform that will characterize a plant’s root system and the surrounding soil chemistry to better understand how plants cycle carbon and nitrogen in soil. CSU’s robotic platform will use a suite of sensor technologies to investigate crop genetic-environment interaction and generate data to improve models of chemical cycling of soil carbon and nitrogen in agricultural environments.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) will develop an imaging-modeling toolbox to aid in the development of more efficient crops at field scales. The approach is based on a root phenotyping method called Tomographic Electrical Rhizosphere Imaging (TERI). TERI works by applying a small electrical signal to a plant, then measuring the impedance responses through the roots and correlating those responses to root and soil properties. Key target traits of the LBNL project include root mass, root surface area, rooting depth, root distribution in soil, and soil moisture content and texture.

The University of Minnesota (UMN) is developing an early stage prototype of an iron-nitride permanent magnet material for EVs and renewable power generators. This new material, comprised entirely of low-cost and abundant resources, has the potential to demonstrate the highest energy potential of any magnet to date. This project will provide the basis for an entirely new class of rare-earth-free magnets capable of generating power without costly and scarce rare earth materials.

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) is developing a cost-effective exchange-spring magnet to use in the electric motors of wind generators and EVs that uses no rare earth materials. This ANL exchange-spring magnet combines a hard magnetic outer shell with a soft magnetic inner core—coupling these together increases the performance (energy density and operating temperature). The hard and soft magnet composite particles would be created at the molecular level, followed by consolidation in a magnetic field.

University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) is developing a unique electric motor with the potential to efficiently power future classes of EVs and renewable power generators. Unlike many of today's best electric motors—which contain permanent magnets that use expensive, imported rare earths—UT Dallas' motor completely eliminates the use of rare earth materials. Additionally, the motor contains two stators. The stator is the stationary part of the motor that uses electromagnetism to help its rotor spin and generate power.