Energy Efficiency

Anode-Free Sodium Solid-State Battery

A team has created the world’s first anode-free sodium solid-state battery. This research has brought the reality of inexpensive, fast-charging, high-capacity batteries for electric vehicles and grid storage closer than ever. Read on to learn more.

New Products

See the new products, including Webasto's traction batteries, which are increasing from 35 to 40 kilowatt hours; Avery Dennison's pressure-sensitive adhesive tape solutions for EV battery cell wrapping applications; Thermo Fisher Scientific's Thermo Scientific™ LInspector™ Edge In-line Mass Profilometer; and more.

World’s Strongest Battery Paves Way for Light, Energy-Efficient Vehicles

When cars, planes, ships, or computers are built from a material that functions as both a battery and a load-bearing structure, the weight and energy consumption are...

Polyphase Wireless Power Transfer System

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have successfully demonstrated the first 270-kW wireless power transfer to a light-duty electric vehicle. The demonstration...

Medium-Voltage Converters Can Replace Grid Transformers

To electrify everything from vehicles to heating systems to stovetops, the U.S. grid must expand by about 57% and get more flexible, too. Solar and wind energy are the renewables most...

Robotics Virtual Twins Offer a Simulation-Based Approach to Real-time Operations

RVT is set to become a pivotal innovation in the quest for net-zero emissions within the automotive industry. By fully leveraging RVT capabilities, manufacturers can significantly reduce material waste, energy consumption, and emissions while enhancing resource efficiency and integrating renewable energy sources. Read on to learn more.

New Products

See the new products, including Nexperia's latest Energy Balance Calculator, StoreDot's new I-BEAM XFCTM concept, Bourns Inc.'s latest miniature resettable thermal cutoff device series, Rohde & Schwarz's wireless battery management system technology, Weidmuller USA's rugged battery connectors, Littelfuse Inc.'s overtemperature detection platform, and more.

Low-Voltage, Low-Power Pressure Sensors for Monitoring Health

Researchers have found ways to develop soft OECTs for wearable pressure sensors. They first experimented with a solid type of gating substance: a charged, gelatinous substance called an ionic hydrogel. Read on to learn more.

A Novel Technique to Create Energy-Efficient Microelectronics

Microelectronics face a key challenge because of their small size. To avoid overheating, microelectronics need to consume only a fraction of the electricity of conventional electronics while still operating at peak performance. Researchers have achieved a breakthrough that could allow for a new kind of microelectronic material to do just that.

Thicker, Denser, Better Electrodes May Hold the Key to Advanced Batteries

The improved method for fabricating battery electrodes may lead to high-performance batteries that would enable more energy-efficient EVs, as well as such benefits as enhancing power grid storage, according to Hongtao Sun, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at Penn State.

Advanced Binders for Advancing Li-ion Batteries

The work involved fabricating electrodes containing PVPA, PAA, and PVDF as binders, and their performance was assessed through electrochemical experiments and density functional theory.

A Flexible and Efficient DC Power Converter for Sustainable Energy Microgrids

Electric power comes in two kinds, AC and DC. Famously, the question over which kind should be used for national power grids, the “Current War” of the late...

Medium Voltage for More Efficient Power Transmission

Prasad Kandula and a group of scientists and engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are developing a modular medium-voltage system to fill the existing gap between high-voltage transmission and low-voltage power electronics.

Tiny Power Converters Run on Vibrational Energy

Scientists at the University of California San Diego and CEA-Leti have developed a ground-breaking piezoelectric-based DC-DC converter that unifies all power switches onto a single chip to...

An Electrifying Improvement in Copper Conductivity

A common carbon compound is enabling remarkable performance enhancements when mixed in just the right proportion with copper to make electrical wires. It’s a phenomenon that defies...

Stretchable Micro-Supercapacitors to Self-Power Wearable Devices

A stretchable system that can harvest energy from human breathing and motion for use in wearable health-monitoring devices may be possible, according to an international team of researchers.

Pump Considerations for Energy-Efficient Industrial Hydraulic Systems

Pump systems have advanced technically over many years. The recent innovations in demand-based variable speed hydraulic pump systems are the next step in lowering energy costs, reducing noise, and allowing for proactive maintenance opportunities.

Improving Battery Performance with More Efficient Electrodes

To improve battery performance and production, Penn State researchers and collaborators have developed a new fabrication approach that could make for more efficient batteries that maintain energy and power levels.

Optimize Charging for Maximum Solar Energy Harvesting

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. If you need the least expensive option, direct charging works. If you can spend more, you can opt for a PWM circuit. If the price is secondary and you need the absolute best performance, a true MPPT may be the best solution for your application.

Continuously Tunable Thermal Regulators for Batteries and Electronic Devices

Battery safety and performance in electronic devices and systems like battery thermal management, space conditioning, vehicle thermal comfort, and thermal energy...

Novel Solid Electrolyte Materials for Improved Battery Performance

A team has designed a new blueprint for solid-state batteries that are less dependent on specific chemical elements, particularly critical metals that are challenging to source due to supply chain issues. Their work could advance solid-state batteries that are efficient and affordable.

Diesel Engine Research Leading to Better Efficiency, Emissions Standards on the Roads

Purdue University’s Greg Shaver doesn’t believe there should be a trade-off between protecting the air we breathe and achieving better engine...

Power Electronics Workshop Invites Industry to Collaborate Around Grid Stability Challenges

Growth in renewable energy has initiated an era of power electronics for the grid, and engineers are grappling with the change. That is why the...