A Hydrogen-Powered Airship Sets Course for Greener Aerial Inspections

A French startup, HyLight, has developed a hydrogen-powered airship that can precisely detect issues on energy infrastructure at an industrial scale without emitting greenhouse gases.

Converting Carbon Dioxide to Solid Carbon Nanofibers

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Columbia University have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide (CO2), a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon nanofibers, materials with a wide range of unique properties and many potential long-term uses.

AI Identifies New Materials for Carbon Capture

The atom-by-atom approach to MOF design enabled by AI will allow scientists to have what Argonne Senior Scientist and Data Science and Learning Division Director Ian Foster called a “wider lens” on these kinds of porous structures.

New Frequency Comb Can Identify Molecules in 20-Nanosecond Snapshots

With this new capability, researchers can potentially use frequency combs to better understand the split-second intermediate steps in fast-moving processes ranging from the workings of hypersonic jet engines to the chemical reactions between enzymes that regulate cell growth.

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.

Thin Flexible Sensor Characterizes High-Speed Airflows on Curved Surfaces

To improve efficiency, it is necessary to characterize and reduce flow separation on curved surfaces.

3D Printing Creates High-Performance Metal Alloy

Scientists used a 3D printer to create a high-performance metal alloy with an unusual composition that makes it stronger and lighter than state-of-the-art materials currently used in gas turbine machinery.

Thin Flexible Sensor Characterizes High-Speed Airflows on Curved Surfaces

To improve efficiency, it is necessary to characterize and reduce flow separation on curved surfaces.

Scrubbing Carbon Dioxide from Power Plant Smokestacks

Aluminum formate (ALF) has a talent for separating carbon dioxide from the other gases that commonly fly out of the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants.

Compact Laser Source Detects Pollution

A middle infrared light source can detect greenhouse and other gases as well as molecules in a person’s breath. The compact system, which resembles a tiny suitcase, contains just two parts: a standard...

Developing a Better Way to Recycle Lithium-Ion Batteries

Decarbonizing transportation is key for meeting U.S. greenhouse gas reduction targets because moving people and goods is the largest direct source of climate-altering emissions....

Sensors Driven by Machine Learning Sniff Out Gas Leaks

The ALFaLDS detection tool supports oil plants.

New Sensor Paves Way to Low-Cost Sensitive Methane Measurements

Recent advances could make it feasible to deploy networks of methane sensors to detect this greenhouse gas at large facilities.

Catalyst Makes Styrene Manufacturing Cheaper and Greener

This could reduce the environmental impact of styrene manufacturing.

Cavity-Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (CEAS) for Ozone Detection

This simple and inexpensive design achieves high-quality ozone measurements.

Virtual and Augmented Reality Device Simulates Vision Loss

VR/AR devices can simulate some of the key difficulties experienced due to glaucoma.

Methane Detector Sniffs Out Leaks

Methane is everywhere on Earth. It’s the main ingredient in the natural gas that powers heating, cooking, and electricity. It’s also a potent greenhouse gas. The presence of methane is also interesting for...

Bio-Renewable Process Creates “Green” Plastic

Plastics are often derived from petroleum, contributing to reliance on fossil fuels, and driving harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Crystallization Method for Carbon Capture from Ambient Air

A method to capture carbon dioxide directly from ambient air offers a new option for carbon capture and storage strategies to combat global warming.

Technological Advances, and How Structural Adhesives Support Manufacturing

Exciting new technological innovations are making the planet cleaner, people healthier, food more plentiful, transportation speedier, communication more accessible, 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 disintegrates...

Innovators Recognized for "Creating the Future" 2017

The Create the Future Design Contest has helped stimulate and reward engineering innovation over the past 16 years, drawing more than 14,000 product designs from engineers, students, and...

2017 Create the Future Design Contest: Aerospace & Defense Category Winner

Airfoil Performance Monitor (APM) John Maris, Puthy Soupin, Ludovic Laberge, and Marie-Hélène Larose Marinvent CorporationSaint-bruno, Quebec, Canada The patented...

2017 Create the Future Design Contest: Grand Prize Winner

Hi-Light - Solar Thermal Chemical Reactor Technology for Converting CO2 to Hydrocarbons Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao, Jessica Akemi Cimada da Silva, David Erickson, and Tobias Hanrath, Cornell...

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...

Drones Spot Gas Leaks From the Sky

ANAHEIM, CA. During this year’s SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing 2017 conference, panelists from industry, academia, and government demonstrated how miniaturized sensing platforms, and the unmanned aerial...

Robust, Highly Efficient Oxygen-Carbon Monoxide Cogeneration System

Oxygen, water, and fuel are of paramount importance to human life. As a leading concept, the solid-oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) is a very powerful technology, especially in...