Soft Magnetic Nanocomposite for High-Temperature Applications

The material can be used in power electronics and power converters for solar energy power systems.

Smart Window Improves Energy Efficiency of Buildings

A customizable smart window harnesses and manipulates solar power to save energy and cut costs.

Perovskite Solar Cells Take the Heat

Perovskites could be the active ingredient that makes the next generation of low-cost, efficient, lightweight, and flexible solar cells.

Biohybrid Can Turn Carbon Dioxide into New Products

Applications exist both on Mars and on Earth.

Q&A: Simple Solar-Powered Desalination

Lenan Zhang and his team at MIT developed a small, economical, highly efficient device to provide fresh drinking water using only the Sun for its energy input.

Producing Cadmium Telluride Material for Solar Cells

A new method provides a more efficient, safer, and cost-effective way to produce cadmium telluride material for solar cells or other applications.

Thin Films of Barium Zirconium Sulfide Offer Exceptional Electronic Properties

These thin films hold great promise for solar cells and LEDs.

Material Removes Ice Buildup Without Power or Chemicals

From airplane wings, to overhead power lines, to the giant blades of wind turbines, a buildup of ice can cause problems ranging from impaired performance all the way to catastrophic...

Thermochromic Windows Convert Sunlight into Electricity

Relying on advanced materials such as perovskites and single-walled carbon nano-tubes, a window technology was developed that responds to heat by transforming from transparent to...

Alternating Current Photovoltaic Building Block

Today's photovoltaic power systems are generally comprised of a single photovoltaic module or multiple modules connected by combinations of series and parallel circuits as a photovoltaic array....

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

In 1977, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, Golden, CO) started as the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), spurred by national concern during the 1973 oil embargo that caused long...

Solar PV and Lithium-Ion Battery Hybrids for the IIoT — A User's Guide

Hybrid solutions that combine small photovoltaic (PV) panels with industrial grade rechargeable Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries provide long-term power for remote...

Products of Tomorrow

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.

High-Speed Reluctance Machine Design

Silphenix GmbH is an engineering and consulting firm in Switzerland specializing in high-speed electrical machines, magnetic bearings, and electromagnetic field analysis. One project focus is compact...

Auxiliary Power Solutions for 1500 VDC Photovoltaic Systems

Photovoltaic systems are continually evolving to improve their efficiency and financial viability. One trend is to move to larger strings of cells giving higher dc voltages to be...

Advanced Data Acquisition Technology Improves Global Weather Predictions

Northrop Grumman Corporation
Azusa, CA
www.northropgrumman.com

Two critical instruments built by Northrop Grumman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...

5 Ws of Invisible Glass

Who

Users of consumer electronics devices and solar cells, and high-power pulsed laser applications.

Environmentally Friendly, Rechargeable Proton Battery

A working, rechargeable proton battery was developed that could store more energy than currently available lithium-ion batteries. Potential applications include household storage of...

Solar-Powered Device Generates Electricity Through Ion Transport

By binding photosensitive dyes to common plastic membranes and adding water, chemists have made a new type of solar power generator. The device is similar to familiar silicon...

Facility Focus: Argonne National Laboratory

Located in Argonne, IL, Argonne National Laboratory (ARL) is a multidisciplinary science and engineering research center. Born out of the University of Chicago’s work on the Manhattan Project in...

Wearable Solar Thermoelectric Generator

Energy harvesting is a diverse field encompassing many technologies that involve a process that captures small amounts of energy that would otherwise be lost as heat, light, sound, vibration, or...

Paper-Folding Techniques Expand Compacted Spacecraft

Origami has once again inspired engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Besides aesthetic beauty, the Japanese tradition of paper-folding addresses a persistent problem...

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Opened in 1947 on the former site of the U.S. military's Camp Upton in New York, Brookhaven National Lab's (BNL) initial mission centered on the peaceful exploration of the atom. Particle accelerators, leading...

New Materials Could Turn Water into Solar Fuel

Solar fuels are created using only sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide (CO₂). Researchers are exploring a range of target fuels, from hydrogen gas to liquid hydrocarbons, but...

X-Ray Scattering Constructs 3D Images of Nanoparticle Grains

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new X-ray technique to see inside continuously packed nanoparticles, also known as grains, to examine deformations and...

Silicon Nanoparticles Enable Energy-Collecting Windows

Technology that embeds silicon nanoparticles into efficient luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) has been developed. The LSCs are the key element of windows that can efficiently...

Alpha-STREAM Convertor

Innovators at NASA’s Glenn Research Center have developed two novel technologies that make Stirling engines more efficient and less costly. First, Glenn’s thermoacoustic power converter uses sound to turn heat into...

Robot Powertrain Moves Toward Energy Autonomy

Inspecting the condition of dykes and other sea defense structures is typically a task for a team of robots. They consume a lot of energy to move across the dykes, perform tests, and communicate...