New Screening System May Point the Way to Renewable Hydrogen Power

A highly sensitive system for detecting the production of hydrogen gas can foster the development of hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Advancing Renewable Energy Production with Solar Thermochemical Hydrogen

Hydrogen has emerged as an important carrier to store energy generated by renewable resources, as a substitute for fossil fuels used for transportation, in the production of ammonia, and for other industrial applications.

Sensors Eliminate Sparking in Hydrogen Vehicles

The optical-based sensor detects the presence of hydrogen without electronics, making the process much safer.

Origami Solves Challenge of Storing and Moving Rocket Fuel

A folded plastic bladder could store and pump the fuel.

Process Creates Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Fuel Cells

This technology can be used for large production volumes such as fuel-cell-powered vehicles.

Taking Out the Trash, NASA-Style

A NASA-developed technology for testing heat shields transforms garbage into reusable chemicals.

Sensors Eliminate Sparking Risk in Hydrogen Vehicles

One of the final hurdles to hydrogen power is securing a safe method for detecting hydrogen leaks.

Generating Renewable Hydrogen Fuel from the Sea

Membranes that remove salt from water help split sea water into fuel.

Cryo-Fluid Capacitor (CFC)

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has created the Cryo-Fluid Capacitor (CFC) that capitalizes on the energy storage capacity of liquefied gases, and the relative simplicity of high-pressure gas bottles while...

Sandia National Laboratories

Sandia National Laboratories — headquartered in Albuquerque, MN, with a principal lab in Livermore, CA — is operated and managed by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC (a wholly owned...

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.

Aluminum as a Fuel

Batteries and combustion engines each have distinctive benefits and limitations. Batteries have simple construction and operate silently; however, their energy density (i.e., the energy per unit volume) is poor, and...

Freeze-Dried Boron Nitride Foam Soaks Up Carbon Dioxide

A light foam was created from two-dimensional sheets of hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) that absorbs carbon dioxide. Freeze-drying h-BN turned it into a macro-scale foam that...

Strong, Self-Healing Rubber

Self-healing hydrogels rely on water to incorporate reversible bonds that can promote healing. Engineering self-healing properties in dry materials, such as rubber, has proven more challenging because rubber is...

Sample Holder for Evaluating Thin Film Sensor Materials in Gaseous Environments

Thin film gas sensors are small, lightweight, and relatively easy to operate; however, the testing of these thin film gas sensors is difficult in harsh...

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...

Fast, Sensitive Hydrogen Sensor

Hydrogen is a promising potential fuel for cars, buses, and other vehicles, and can be converted into electricity in fuel cells. It already is used in medicine and space exploration, as well as in the...

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...

Process Produces Renewable Car Tires from Trees and Grasses

A team of researchers has invented a new technology to produce automobile tires from trees and grasses. Conventional car tires are viewed as environmentally unfriendly because they...

Aircraft Configured for Flight in an Atmosphere Having Low Density

NASA Langley Research Center researchers have developed an airplane capable of being stowed in a confined volume and deployed in a high-altitude environment for...

Preliminary Design of a Cryogenic Hydrogen Radiation Shield for Human Spaceflight

Human susceptibility to the harsh space radiation environment has been identified as a major hurdle for exploration beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO)....