Sandia National Labs gets $1.2M to help with energy projects

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Sandia National Laboratories has been awarded $1.2 million in federal funds as part of an effort that supports some of the top research and development teams working to transform the nation's energy system.
The funds were announced Thursday by the U.S. Energy Department. In all, nearly $100 million is paying for 40 new projects.
Sandia will use its share to develop advanced core materials for electrical transformers with the aim of improving efficiency and resiliency.
Current transformers use copper windings surrounding a magnetic core to amplify the magnetic field generated by the coil. With new materials, scientists want to increase electrical efficiency while shrinking the size of the transformers by about 50 percent.
Sandia researchers also will work on developing a new polymer additive for transformer oil.