Energy

Cambridge, MA — Engineers at MIT and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have designed a heat engine with no moving parts. Their new demonstrations show that it converts heat to electricity with over 40 percent efficiency — a performance better than that of traditional steam turbines. The heat engine is a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cell, […]

South Korea — Zinc-air batteries, which produce electricity through a chemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and zinc, are considered to be next-generation candidates to meet the explosive demand for electric vehicles instead of lithium-ion batteries. They theoretically meet all required characteristics for next-generation secondary batteries, such as; high energy density, low risk of […]

South Korea — A Korean research team has developed a soft, mechanically deformable, and stretchable lithium battery which can be used in the development of wearable devices, and examined the battery’s feasibility by printing them on clothing surfaces. The research team, led by Dr. Jeong Gon Son from the Soft Hybrid Materials Research Center at […]

Beijing, China — Recently, iodine is increasingly clubbed with zinc anodes to fabricate sustainable zinc–iodine (Zn–I2) batteries (ZIBs) due to its high redox potential (I2/I-, 0.62 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode) and large theoretical capacity (211 mAh g-1). More importantly, the conversion reaction of iodine with high energy efficiency on a cathodic chamber endows ZIBs […]

Geesthacht, Germany — Hydrogen is considered a vital component of the energy transition: it can be produced from solar or wind power and therefore stores green energy in form of an environmentally friendly energy carrier, providing energy also at night and during periods of calm winds. Hydrogen also acts as a climate-neutral fuel for fuel-cell […]

Ishikawa, Japan — In recent times, sustainable development has been the overarching guiding principle of research concerning environmental issues, energy crises, and information and communication technology. In this regard, spintronic devices have emerged as promising candidates for surpassing conventional technology, which has run into the problem of excess waste heat generation in miniaturized devices. The […]

Dresden, Germany — Metal halide perovskites are receiving great attention as next-generation semiconductors for solar energy conversion. Since the first demonstration of 3.8% efficiency in 2009, efficiencies have increased rapidly and state-of-the-art perovskite solar cells exhibit high efficiencies over 25%, close to the record efficiencies of silicon photovoltaics. This fast growth during the last decade […]

Dalian, China — Natural gas can be used as fuel for generating electricity, heating and powering transportation. It is also the raw material to manufacture hydrogen and ammonia. Currently, biogenic and thermogenic processes are the two widely accepted methods for natural gas production. Whereas, high content of CO2 in gas products is inevitable during these […]

Menlo Park, CA — Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University may have found a way to revitalize rechargeable lithium batteries, potentially boosting the range of electric vehicles and battery life in next-gen electronic devices. As lithium batteries cycle, they accumulate little islands of inactive lithium that are cut […]

Sejong-si, Korea — A Korean research team has developed a technology that can produce carbon monoxide (CO), which has various applications in industry, by direct conversion of flue gas level low-concentration carbon dioxide (CO2). The Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, President Seok-jin Yoon) announced that the research team of Dr. Da Hye Won […]

Berkeley, CA — If the petrochemical industry is ever to wean itself off oil and gas, it has to find sustainably-sourced chemicals that slip effortlessly into existing processes for making products such as fuels, lubricants and plastics. Making those chemicals biologically is the obvious option, but microbial products are different from fossil fuel hydrocarbons in […]

Plymouth, UK — Retrofitting an existing masonry cavity walled building with a green or living wall can reduce the amount of heat lost through its structure by more than 30%, according to new research. The study, conducted at the University of Plymouth, centred around the Sustainability Hub – a pre-1970s building on the university campus […]