Energy

Renewable Energy

Browse key developments, news, and technical briefs for renewable energy sectors. Design engineers will discover insights to the advantages and integration of renewable power technologies.

Stories

INSIDER: Power

Compact Medium-Voltage Converters Enable Advanced Grid Architectures and Operations

As we trend toward more renewables and distributed energy resources (DERs), the design of the electric distribution system itself imposes physical...

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Insulation Material Enables More Efficient Electricity Distribution

High-voltage direct current cables can more efficiently transport electricity over long distances.

UpFront: Robotics, Automation & Control

UpFront: October 2021 Tech Briefs

NASA reveals winners of a CO2 conversion challenge.

INSIDER: Energy

Better Batteries for Grid-Scale Energy Storage

Molten sodium batteries have been used for many years to store energy from renewable sources, such as solar panels and wind turbines. However, commercially available molten sodium-sulfur...

INSIDER: Energy

More Efficient Electricity Distribution Thanks to New Insulation Material

If we are to transition to a world powered by renewable energy, efficient long-distance transport of electricity is essential, since the supply — renewable energy...

Facility Focus: Wearables

Facility Focus: The Pennsylvania State University School of Engineering

Learn about the batteries, skin sensors, flexible antennas, and other cutting-edge research coming from Penn State Engineering.

Briefs: Energy

Rechargeable Cement-Based Batteries

An entire 20-story concrete building could store energy like a giant battery.

Briefs: Energy

Flexible Organic Photovoltaics

These organic solar cells can be useful where constant, low power generation is sufficient.

Question of the Week: Energy

Will ‘Sweat Power’ Make Wearables Mainstream?

Engineers at the University of California San Diego developed a thin, flexible strip that can be worn on a fingertip and generate small amounts of electricity when a person’s finger sweats or presses on it. (Watch the demo on Tech Briefs TV.)

Briefs: Energy

Photovoltaic Solar Cell Works at Night

This cell could potentially operate around the clock, balancing the power grid over the day-night cycle.

Briefs: Materials

Electrolyte Boost Improves Performance of Aqueous Dual-Ion Batteries

New cell chemistry utilizes less costly and more abundant materials than lithium-ion batteries.

Question of the Week: Energy

Will Better Sensors Lead to Greater Adoption of Hydrogen Power?

One of the final hurdles to hydrogen power is securing a safe method for spotting hydrogen leaks. A sensor, featured in the June issue of Sensor Technology, has a greater sensitivity than other detectors.

INSIDER: Materials

Inexpensive Tin Packs a Big Punch for the Future of Supercapacitors

A sustainable, powerful micro-supercapacitor may be on the horizon. Until now, these high-capacity, fast-charging energy storage devices have been limited by the...

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

New Process Breaks Down Polystyrene

Due to the chemical stability and durability of industrial polymers, plastic waste does not easily degrade in landfills and is often burned, which produces carbon dioxide and other hazardous gases. In order...

Briefs: Automotive

Sensors Eliminate Sparking Risk in Hydrogen Vehicles

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

Blog: Energy

With 'Ghost'-Like Physics, Optical Rectennas Generate Power from Wasted Heat

Researchers from CU Boulder gave their optical "rectennas" a ghost-like way to turn wasted heat into power.

Briefs: Energy

Hybrid Propellant Formulation Uses Graphene Foams

This method increases burn rate of solid propellants.

Briefs: Energy

Enhancing Hybrid Flow Battery Electrodes with Nanomaterials

This technology provides highly efficient grid-scale electricity storage at a fifth of the cost of current storage technologies.

Briefs: Propulsion

Hybrid-Electric Plane Concept Could Reduce Air Pollution

The proposed design could reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by 95 percent.

Facility Focus: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Facility Focus: Cornell University College of Engineering

See the advanced materials, complex systems, and bioengineering technologies being created at Cornell.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

Turning Carbon Dioxide into Liquid Fuel

A new electrocatalyst efficiently converts carbon dioxide into ethanol.

Briefs: Energy

Extracting Bioproducts from Plants for Biofuels

Biofuels can achieve cost parity with petroleum fuels.

INSIDER: Materials

Luminescent Windows Generate Energy From Inside and Out

Rice University engineers have suggested a colorful solution to next-generation energy collection: Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) in your windows. The team designed and built...

INSIDER: Wearables

New Wearable Device Turns the Body Into a Battery

Researchers at CU Boulder have developed a new, low-cost, wearable device that transforms the human body into a biological battery. The device is stretchy enough that you can wear it like a...

Briefs: Energy

Material Moves Wind Turbine Blades Toward Recyclability

The material can be recycled, making renewable energy more sustainable while lowering costs in the process.

INSIDER: Energy

Advanced Solar Panels Extract More Energy from Sunlight

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers working to maximize solar panel efficiency said layering advanced materials atop traditional silicon is a promising path to eke more...