24 Technology Making batteries safer Internal shorts in lithium-ion batteries can lead to thermal runaway, which can cause catastrophic failures such as fires and release of electrolyte vapors. One way of limiting such catastrophic failures is to detect flaws and short circuits inside battery cells before they reach critical levels. INL researchers developed a fast metric, called self- discharge (SD) current, as a way to detect shorts and assess battery safety. The findings were published in the Journal of the Electrochemical Society, and the technology was an Early Stage Innovation finalist for a 2017 Idaho Innovation Award. Understanding confined fluid behavior New computer simulations from INL researchers could one day lead to more efficient oil and gas extraction. The computational methods can be used to design technologies that improve recovery of oil and natural gas trapped in nanoporous shales. The research combines high-resolution imagery from University of Utah with novel modeling approaches that account for the small and scattered pore structure of shale, an area in which traditional approaches fail. The research was published in the journal Physics of Fluids, and a paper has been accepted for publication in Nature: Scientific Reports. INL researchers developed the noninvasive battery self-discharge metric, which is applicable to any battery chemistry or design. INNOVATION & DEPLOYMENT