Addressing the Energy Challenge with Vehicle-to-Grid Power

NREL scientists use new power electronics to support the electric power grid. Read on to learn more.

Self-Cleaning Coatings for Space or Earth

Electrodynamic dust shields (EDSs) are a key method to actively clean surfaces by running high voltages (but low currents) through electrodes on the surface. The forces generated by the voltage efficiently remove built-up, electrically charged dust particles. Innovators have developed a new transparent EDS for removing dust from space and lunar solar cells among other transparent surfaces.

Harnessing Wind and Solar Power Via Neural Networks

The team hopes this project can better position renewable energy as the primary source of electricity in the industry sector. The project aims to enable researchers and renewable energy installation companies to determine the optimal number of solar panels and wind turbines needed to prevent over or under production.

Heating Buildings with Solar Energy Stored in Sand

Affordable thermal storage could help industries and cities capture heat that is currently wasted, as well as balance the inconsistencies in wind and solar power output. But while Polar Night Energy is eager to work directly with potential customers, they realize that the challenges ahead are too big for them to tackle alone.

An All-Liquid Iron Flow Battery for Better Energy Storage

Flow batteries can serve as backup generators for the electric grid. Flow batteries are one of the key pillars of a decarbonization strategy to store energy from renewable energy resources. Their advantage is that they can be built at any scale, from the lab-bench scale, as in this PNNL study, to the size of a city block.

Space Solar Power Demonstrator Wirelessly Transmits Power in Space

Wireless power transfer was recently demonstrated by MAPLE — Microwave Array for Power-transfer Low-orbit Experiment — one of three key technologies being tested by the Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD-1), the first space-borne prototype from Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project (SSPP), which aims to harvest solar power in space and transmit it to the Earth’s surface.

New System Uses Only Solar Energy to Generate Hydrogen

The system harnesses the sun's heat to directly split water and generate hydrogen — a clean fuel that can power long-distance trucks, ships, and planes, while in the process emitting no greenhouse gas emissions.

Ultrathin Solar Cells Aim to Improve Satellite Life

Most space satellites are powered by photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight to electricity. Exposure to certain orbit radiation can damage the devices. Scientists have proposed a radiation-tolerant photovoltaic cell design that features an ultrathin layer of light-absorbing material.

Optimize Charging for Maximum Solar Energy Harvesting

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. If you need the least expensive option, direct charging works. If you can spend more, you can opt for a PWM circuit. If the price is secondary and you need the absolute best performance, a true MPPT may be the best solution for your application.

Accelerating Solar Energy Research More Sustainably

A robot developed at North Carolina State University can conduct experiments more sustainably and accelerate energy materials research.

Developing More Durable Solar Cells

An international research collaboration led by UCLA has developed a way to use perovskite in solar cells while protecting it from the conditions that cause it to deteriorate.

Developing More Durable Solar Cells

An international research collaboration led by UCLA has developed a way to use perovskite in solar cells while protecting it from the conditions that cause it to deteriorate.

New Method to Determine How 2D Materials Expand

2D materials can be packed together more densely than conventional materials, so they could be used to make devices that run faster and perform better.

Nanoimaging of Perovskite Solar Cell Materials

Scientists have developed a new characterization tool that allowed them to gain unique insight into a possible alternative material for solar cells.

Technique Merges Solar Cell and Liquid Battery

A highly efficient and long-lasting solar flow battery generates, stores, and redelivers renewable electricity from the Sun in one device.

Solar-Powered Smart Robots Walk Autonomously

A team has installed electronic “brains” on solar-powered robots that are 100 to 250 micrometers in size so that they can walk autonomously.

Reliable Power for Long-Term Lunar Surface Operations

To open the Moon to continuous multi-year human and robotic operation, Astrobotic is developing LunaGrid™ — a commercial power system for the surface of the Moon.

A Semiconductor Material with Superior Performance

Cubic boron arsenide provides high mobility to both electrons and holes, and it has excellent thermal conductivity. It is, according to the researchers, the best semiconductor material ever found.

5 Ws of the Artificial Leaf

Researchers at University of Cambridge have developed floating “artificial leaves” that generate clean fuels from sunlight and water and could eventually operate on a large scale at sea.

Enhancing Solar Option During Power Outages

Engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have designed a novel building-solar controller that optimizes solar energy with smart technology to keep microgrids operating for up to five days.

Using AI to Help Scale Up Advanced Solar Cell Manufacturing

The system makes it possible to integrate data from prior experiments, and information based on personal observations by experienced workers, into the machine learning process.

Extending the Lifetime of Organic Aqueous Flow Batteries

Over the course of their research, the team discovered that these anthraquinones decompose slowly over time, regardless of how many times the battery has been used.

Focusing the Sun – A Big Gain for Solar Power Efficiency

A new kind of optical concentrator can passively focus the sun onto a photovoltaic cell from any angle to reduce the amount of photovoltaic material needed for a given amount of power generation.

Solar Power for Carbon Capture

A solar thermal device mimics photosynthesis to convert carbon dioxide emissions into a clean energy resource.

Enhanced Material Stable Enough for Solar Cells

A simple change to the surface of perovskite removes a barrier to its functionality.

Photovoltaic Cell Increases Nighttime Power Generation

The device uses a thermoelectric module to generate voltage and current from the temperature gradient between the cell and the air.

Maximizing the Performance of Battery Cells for Better Energy Storage

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is leading the development of new lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery designs specific to the stationary storage requirements.

Foldable Solar Cells

Carbon nanotubes are used to create solar cells with unprecedented flexibility and resistance.