2026 Battery & Electrification Summit (Online)

As electrification reshapes how vehicles are designed, powered, and integrated into energy ecosystems, OEMs and design engineers are faced with complex design challenges.

Robotic Skin Allows Tiny Robots to Navigate Complex, Fragile Environments

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a soft robotic skin that enables vine robots that are just a few millimeters wide to navigate convoluted paths and fragile environments. Read on to learn more.

Ultra-Efficient Hydrogen Combustion for Clean, Distributed Power and Propulsion

REV Force, a radically new hydrogen-compatible engine platform developed by Alpha-Otto Technologies, combines a patented mode of engine operation with an advanced combustion strategy to redefine what’s possible in clean, distributed power. Read on to learn more about the Energy, Power & Propulsion Finalist from the 2025 Create the Future Contest.

A One-Piece Liquid Rocket Thrust Chamber Assembly

NASA researchers are eliminating complex joints by manufacturing a 1-piece TCA utilizing 3D printing and large-scale additive manufacturing technologies to directly deposit the nozzle onto the combustion chamber. And, by replacing a traditional solid metal jacket with a composite overwrap for support, the overall weight is reduced by over 40 percent. Read on to learn more.

Making Hydrogen Power a Practical Proposition

Occupying a unique space as both an energy vector and a fuel, hydrogen has gained interest for propulsion and power generation applications over the past several years. Hydrogen has been investigated thoroughly throughout the previous decades, but with advances in hydrogen generation and infrastructure, and the increasing need to low-carbon propulsion solutions across all sectors, hydrogen propulsion may be poised for significant market penetration. Read on to learn more.

Process Purifies Hydrogen Fuel Over a Broad Temperature Range

New fuel cells could increase hydrogen’s application in vehicles, especially in extreme temperatures like cold winters. Read on to learn more about it.

Building a Better Rocket with the Help of Piezoelectric Sensors

Specialized measurement technology helps aerospace engineers improve combustion chambers and fuel injectors. In Switzerland, two ambitious student organizations have been using iterative pressure measurements to develop and build a significantly more efficient next generation of rocket engines. Read on to learn more.

HYPERFIRE: A Sub-Scale Non-Reacting Flow Test System

Engineers at NASAs Stennis Space Center have developed the HYdrocarbon Propellants Enabling Reproduction of Flows in Rocket Engines (HYPERFIRE), a sub-scale, non-reacting flow test system. HYPERFIRE uses heated ethane to enable physical simulation of rocket engines powered by a broad range of propellants in an inexpensive, accurate, and simple fashion. Read on to learn more.

Portable Engine Can Power Artificial Muscles in Assistive Devices

Researchers have developed a lightweight fluidic engine to power muscle-mimicking soft robots for use in assistive devices. What sets the new engine apart is its ability to...

DNA Origami Nanoturbine Sets New Horizon for Nanomotors

Flow-driven turbines lie at the heart of many machines that have shaped our societies, from windmills to airplanes. Even life itself depends critically on turbines for fundamental...

Generative Design Puts Hydrogen Fuel Cell Development in High Gear

Toyota Research Institute of North America has developed a simulation-driven generative design method and applied it to the design of flow field microchannel plates, which direct the movement of fluid reactants in microreactors like hydrogen — oxygen fuel cells.

Copper Catalyst Converts Carbon Dioxide into Liquid Fuels

A research team has gained new insight by capturing real-time movies of copper nanoparticles as they convert CO2 and water into renewable fuels and chemicals: ethylene, ethanol, and propanol, among others.

Fighting Gravity with the World’s First Propulsion Suit

Using jet fuel as a means to power five gas turbines, the suit can propel pilots about 40 mph for up to eight minutes and can generate more than 1,000 horsepower.

Lignin-Based Jet Fuel Packs More Power

An experimental plant-based jet fuel could increase engine performance and efficiency, while dispensing with aromatics, the pollution-causing compounds found in conventional fuels.