Quantum Battery
Australian scientists have made a significant leap forward in energy storage technology by developing and testing the world’s first proof-of-concept quantum battery, new research reveals. Similar to conventional batteries, quantum batteries charge, store, and discharge energy, but while everyday batteries rely on chemical reactions, quantum batteries leverage properties of quantum mechanics. The University’s Ultrafast Laser Laboratory in the School of Chemistry was used to test and confirm the prototype’s fast-charging behavior using advanced spectroscopy techniques. Researchers said the technology could transform how we store and use energy in the future, paving the way for super-fast charging of devices. The research offers a glimpse into a possible future powered by quantum energy storage.
Contact: Claire Smoorenburg
+61 383-444-123
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Light-Activated Material
Scientists have developed a new material that can use sunlight and water to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide (CO) – a key building block for making fuels, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and other everyday chemicals. Finding efficient ways to convert CO2 already in the atmosphere into useful products is a major scientific challenge. The team’s new catalyst combines ideas from biology and materials science to address the problem. In laboratory experiments, the new catalyst produces CO extremely efficiently, with no detectable by-products, outperforming many existing benchmark materials. The finding, led by The University of Manchester, could support the development of future technologies that recycle greenhouse gases to make fuels and useful chemicals, more sustainably, using nothing more than light and water.
Contact: Jessica Marsh
+07 780-281-312
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Solar-Powered Data Center
Penn Engineers have developed a novel design for solar-powered data centers that will orbit the Earth and could realistically scale to meet the growing demand for AI computing while reducing the environmental impact of data centers. Reminiscent of a leafy plant, with multiple, hardware-containing stems connected to branching, leaf-like solar panels, the design leverages decades of research on “tethers,” rope-like cables that naturally orient themselves under the competing forces of gravity and centrifugal motion. This architecture could scale to the thousands of computing nodes needed to replicate the power of terrestrial data centers, at least for AI inference, the process of querying tools like ChatGPT after their training concludes. Next, researchers hope to move beyond simulations, building and testing their design as a small prototype, with a limited number of nodes.
