Energy

A Triple-Layer Battery Resistant to Fire and Explosion

The triple-layer solid electrolyte features a robust middle layer that boosts the battery’s mechanical strength, while its soft outer surface ensures an excellent electrode contact, facilitating an easy movement of lithium ions. Read on to learn more.

Safe and Energy-Efficient Quasi-Solid Battery for Electric Vehicles and Devices

A team of researchers from Japan has developed a non-flammable quasi-solid-state LIB that can overcome the limitations of conventional batteries. Read on to learn more.

Developing Advanced Recycling Technology to Restore Spent Battery Cathode Materials

A research team has developed a novel technology for directly recycling spent cathode materials from lithium-ion batteries through a simple process that addresses the limitations of conventional recycling methods. This innovative approach restores the spent cathode to its original state. Read on to learn more.

Building an Affordable Grid-Scale Alternative to Batteries

Researchers at Rice University have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Read on to learn more about it.

How to Detect Battery Failures Quicker

Batteries in electric vehicles can fail quickly, sometimes catching fire without much warning. Sandia National Laboratories is working to detect these failures early and provide sufficient warning time to vehicle occupants. Read on to learn more about it.

Nail Penetration Adapter for Li-Ion Battery Testing

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have designed a pneumatic nail penetration trigger system that drives a Li-ion battery cell into thermal runaway using a tungsten nail. Read on to learn more.

Critical Minerals Recovery from Electronic Waste

A PNNL research team used a simple mixed-salt water-based solution and their knowledge of metal properties to separate valuable minerals in continuously flowing reaction chambers. Read on to learn more.

Reducing Electronic Waste with Biodegradable and Recyclable Luminescent Polymers

Researchers have developed a strategy to design luminescent polymers with high light-emitting efficiencies from the start that are both biodegradable and recyclable. Read on to learn more.

Closed Ecological System Network Data Collection, Analysis, Control, and Optimization System

NASA Ames Research Center presents a novel, patent-pending adjustable-autonomous intelligent systems approach for developing sustainable, small-scale reproductions of subsets of the Earths biosphere that can be distributed both on and beyond Earth, for improving the quality of life for all life, expanding the diversity of life, studying and protecting life, as well as enabling life to permanently extend beyond Earth. Read on to learn more.

Ocean Platform Motion Control

NASA engineers have developed a new approach to mitigating unwanted motion in floating structures. Ideally suited to applications including offshore wind energy platforms and barges, the innovation uses water ballast as a motion damping fluid.

Cryogenic Flux Capacitor

NASA’s Cryogenic Flux Capacitor capitalizes on the energy storage capacity of liquefied gases. By exploiting a unique attribute of nano-porous materials, aerogel in this case, fluid commodities such as oxygen, hydrogen, methane, etc. can be stored in a molecular surface-adsorbed state. Read on to learn more.

Fabricating High-Temperature Superconducting Wires for Future Energy Generation

Researchers have fabricated the world’s highest-performing HTS wire segment while making the price-performance metric significantly more favorable. Read on to learn more.

Critical Minerals Recovery from Electronic Waste

A PNNL research team used a simple mixed-salt water-based solution and their knowledge of metal properties to separate valuable minerals in continuously flowing reaction chambers. Read on to learn more.

Researchers Discover a Surprising Way to Jump-Start Battery Performance

In a study published in Joule, researchers at the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center report that giving batteries a first charge at unusually high currents increased their average lifespan by 50 percent while decreasing the initial charging time from 10 hours to just 20 minutes. Read on to learn more.

Researchers Unveil Scalable Graphene Technology to Revolutionize Battery Safety and Performance

Researchers have developed a pioneering technique for producing large-scale graphene current collectors. This breakthrough promises to significantly enhance the safety and performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), addressing a critical challenge in energy storage technology. Read on to learn more.

New Battery Cathode Material Could Revolutionize EV Market and Energy Storage

A multi-institutional research team led by Hailong Chen has developed a new, low-cost cathode that could radically improve lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) — potentially transforming the electric vehicle (EV) market and large-scale energy storage systems. Read on to learn more.

Dormant Capacity Reserve in Lithium-Ion Batteries Detected

Using transmission electron microscopes, Researchers at Graz University of Technology were able to systematically track lithium ions as they traveled through battery material, map their arrangement in the crystal lattice of an iron phosphate cathode with unprecedented resolution, and precisely quantify their distribution in the crystal. Read on to learn more.

Second Life of Lithium-Ion Batteries Could Take Us to Space

The global use of lithium-ion batteries has doubled in just the past four years, generating alarming amounts of battery waste containing many hazardous substances. The need for effective recycling methods for spent lithium-ion batteries is becoming increasingly critical. Scientists from various Polish research institutions presented a promising solution to this issue. Read on to learn more about it.

Folded or Cut, This Lithium-Sulfur Battery Keeps Going

To address stability and safety issues, researchers have designed a lithium-sulfur battery that features an improved iron sulfide cathode. One prototype remains highly stable over 300 charge-discharge cycles, and another provides power even after being folded or cut. Read on to learn more.

3D-Printed Reactor Core Makes Solar Fuel Production More Efficient

In recent years, engineers at ETH Zurich have developed the technology to produce liquid fuels from sunlight and air. In 2019, they demonstrated the entire thermochemical process chain under real conditions for the first time, in the middle of Zurich, on the roof of ETH Machine Laboratory. Two ETH spin-offs, Climeworks and Synhelion, are further developing and commercializing the technologies. Read on to learn more.

Silicone Membrane for Wearable Devices is Comfortable and Breathable

A silicone membrane for wearable devices is more comfortable and breathable thanks to better-sized pores made with the help of citric acid crystals. The new preparation technique fabricates thin, silicone-based patches that rapidly wick water away from the skin. The technique could reduce the redness and itching caused by wearable biosensors that trap sweat beneath them. Read on to learn more.

Next-Generation Batteries Incorporate Cells with Silicon Anodes

Researchers have developed better rechargeable batteries by applying silicon to the batteries’ cathodes. Read on to learn more about it.

Stretchable, Flexible Biofuel Cell Runs on Sweat

A flexible and stretchable cell has been developed for wearable electronic devices that require a reliable and efficient energy source that can easily be integrated into the human body. Read on to learn more about it.

A Cheaper, Greener, More Efficient Alternative to Lithium-ion Batteries

It's time to rethink battery technology. Compared to other existing or developing technologies, a new lithium metal-based solid-state battery brings some significant advantages: It can be charged and discharged within one minute, lasts about 10 times as long as a Li-ion battery, and is insensitive to temperature fluctuations. Read on to learn more about it.

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.

Solid-State Lithium-Sulfur Battery Tech

Whether for large electric vehicle systems or small electronic devices, SABERS can potentially set new benchmarks in energy density and power, all while offering the utmost in safety and reliability. Read on to learn more.

Wearable Solar Concentrators

The novel solar concentrators can be applied to textile fibers without the textile becoming brittle and susceptible to cracking or accumulating water vapor in the form of sweat. Read on to learn more.