Energy Technology News

September 25, 2016

More Efficient Way to Split Water; Make Hydrogen

Thermal Metamaterial: Waste-Heat Harvesting

Fabric Uses Sun and Wind to Power Devices

Light May Tame Lethal Heart Disorders

Latest Headlines

updated 11:44pm EDT

Engineers Create Room-Temperature Multiferroic Material

Sep. 23, 2016 — Multiferroics -- materials that exhibit both magnetic and electric order -- are of interest for next-generation computing but difficult to create because the conditions conducive to each of those ... read more

Hunt for the Truest North

Sep. 21, 2016 — If you chop a magnet in half, you end up with two smaller magnets. Both the original and the new magnets have “north” and “south” poles. But what if single north and south poles exist, just ... read more

Scientists Find Twisting 3-D Raceway for Electrons in Nanoscale Crystal Slices

Sep. 23, 2016 — An exotic 3-D racetrack for electrons in ultrathin slices of a crystal has been observed for the first time, by a group of ... read more

Marriage Made in Sunlight: Invention Merges Solar With Liquid Battery

Sep. 22, 2016 — As solar cells produce a greater proportion of total electric power, a fundamental limitation remains: the dark of night when solar cells go to sleep. Lithium-ion batteries ... read more

X-Ray Laser Glimpses How Electrons Dance With Atomic Nuclei in Materials

Sep. 22, 2016 — The coupling between electrons and phonons determines how efficiently solar cells convert sunlight into electricity. It also plays key roles in superconductors that transfer electricity without ... read more

Popeye Was Right: There’s Energy in That Spinach

Sep. 22, 2016 — Using a simple membrane extract from spinach leaves, researchers have developed a cell that produces electricity and hydrogen from water using sunlight. Based on photosynthesis, and technology paves ... read more

Getting Ahead of the 'Curve' in Magnetic Study

Sep. 21, 2016 — Scientists noticed that magnetic skyrmions – small electrically uncharged circular structures with a spiraling magnetic pattern – do get deflected by an applied current, ... read more

A Conscious Coupling of Magnetic and Electric Materials

Sep. 21, 2016 — Scientists have successfully paired ferroelectric and ferrimagnetic materials so that their alignment can be controlled with a small electric field at near room temperatures, ... read more

Acoustic Resonator Device Paves the Way for Better Communication

Sep. 20, 2016 — A high-frequency version of a device known as an acoustic resonator has now been developed that could advance the field of quantum computing and information processing, ... read more

New Anode Material Set to Boost Lithium-Ion Battery Capacity

Sep. 19, 2016 — A team of researchersclaims to have made yet another step towards finding a solution to accelerate the commercialization of silicon anode for Lithium-ion ... read more

Group Says TV Makers Exploiting Energy Testing

The Range Of Electric Vehicles Isn't As Big A Problem As You'd Think

Severe Paralysis Partially Reversed Using Brain-Machine Interface Training

The Thai Village Using Cow Dung to Power Homes

Nine Innovative Approaches That Utilities Are Using to Plan for Increased Rooftop Solar

Sep. 20, 2016 — A new report surveys utility planning practices from roughly 30 studies across the United States. The rapid growth of rooftop solar has not been distributed equally across U.S. utility territories, ... read more

Study Yields New Knowledge About Materials for Ultrasound and Other Applications

Sep. 17, 2016 — Scientists have used neutron scattering to discover the key to piezoelectric excellence in newer materials for ultrasound and other ... read more

When Hackers Turn out the Lights

Sep. 16, 2016 — The development of the smart power grid and the smart meter in our homes to accompany it brings several benefits, such as improved delivery and more efficient billing. Conversely, any digital, ... read more

New Tech Promises to Boost Electric Vehicle Efficiency, Range

Sep. 15, 2016 — Researchers have developed a new type of inverter device with greater efficiency in a smaller, lighter package -- which should improve the fuel-efficiency and range of hybrid and electric ... read more

Food Waste Could Store Solar, Wind Energy

Sep. 15, 2016 — Saving up excess solar and wind energy for times when the sun is down or the air is still requires a storage device. Batteries get the most attention as a promising solution although pumped ... read more

New Tech to Boost Electric Vehicle Efficiency, Range

Sep. 15, 2016 — A new type of inverter device has been developed with greater efficiency in a smaller, lighter package – which will improve the fuel-efficiency and range of hybrid and electric ... read more

Advancing Lithium-Air Batteries With Development of Novel Catalyst

Sep. 15, 2016 — A fundamental step forward has been taken in advancing Li-air through the development of mixed metal catalyst that could lead to more efficient electrode reactions in the ... read more

Magnetic Polaron Imaged for the First Time

Sep. 15, 2016 — A new artificial magnetic material has been developed by researchers, enabling remarkable possibilities to materials research, say ... read more

New Tools Assess the Future of Wind Power

Sep. 13, 2016 — The largest expert survey yet on any energy technology, in this case wind energy, has been completed by researchers. Wind power costs are expected to continue falling for the next several decades, ... read more

Peculiar Metals? Insulator or Conductor

Sep. 13, 2016 — The electronic energy states allowed by quantum mechanics determine whether a solid is an insulator or whether it conducts electric current as a metal. Researchers have now theoretically predicted a ... read more

Hierarchical Control, Energy Balancing Is Obligatory for Storage Systems in Modern Grids

Sep. 13, 2016 — A new technology has been developed for the decentralized control of microgrids, especially in the energy storage section, and adopted a new standard for hierarchical control in the system. The ... read more

Lightweight, Wearable Tech Efficiently Converts Body Heat to Electricity

Sep. 12, 2016 — Researchers have developed a new design for harvesting body heat and converting it into electricity for use in wearable electronics. The experimental prototypes are lightweight, conform to the shape ... read more

New Technology Puts Solar Power to Work All Night Long

Sep. 12, 2016 — Current thermal energy storage systems for solar power plants rely on materials of low energy density and thermal conductivity, requiring more material at greater cost to meet storage requirements. ... read more

Couple Solar Panels With Lead-Acid Batteries to Increase Electricity Self-Sufficiency in Households

Sep. 12, 2016 — Couple solar panels with lead-acid batteries to increase electricity self-sufficiency in households, say investigators. Their simulations reveal that the maximum rate of self-sufficiency of solar ... read more

US Should Act to Support Innovation in Increasingly Clean Electric Power Technologies

Sep. 8, 2016 — A new report urges Congress, federal and state agencies, and regulatory institutions to significantly increase their support for innovation for what the report's study committee calls ... read more

Saskatchewan Uranium Mining Emits Few Greenhouse Gases, Study Shows

Sep. 8, 2016 — The mining and milling of Canadian uranium contributes very few greenhouse gases to nuclear power’s already low emissions, a research group has ... read more

Fuel Cell Membrane Outperforms Market: 'Goldilocks' Membrane Is Just About Right

Sep. 7, 2016 — Industrial interest is expected in a vehicular fuel cell membrane able to excrete protons at the most effective temperature ranges, allowing electrons to form an unimpeded electric ... read more

Insights from Higher Wind and Solar Generation in Eastern Grid, USA

Sep. 6, 2016 — A new study used high-performance computing capabilities and innovative visualization tools to model, in unprecedented detail, how the power grid of the eastern United States could operationally ... read more

Wearable Integrated Thermocells Based on Gel Electrolytes Use Body Heat as Power Source

Sep. 6, 2016 — Electronics integrated into textiles are gaining in popularity: Systems like smartphone displays in a sleeve or sensors to detect physical performance in athletic wear have already been produced. The ... read more

Fish 'Biowaste' Converted to Piezoelectric Energy Harvesters

Sep. 6, 2016 — Large quantities of fish are consumed in India on a daily basis, which generates a huge amount of fish 'biowaste' materials. In an attempt to do something positive with this biowaste, a ... read more

Tuesday, September 20, 2016