Renewable Energy

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.

Power Line Test Bed Energizes Technologies for Increasing Grid Capacity

As population growth and extreme temperatures strain the United States power grid, utilities and equipment manufacturers are looking for ways to increase the amount of...

My Opinion: There’s a Practical Way to Fix the Electric Grid Bottleneck

There will be a surging need for more electric power in the coming years. The problem is that we will quickly need to upgrade the grid to provide for it. Reconductoring can be a good start.

3 Energy Technologies that Will Power Your Interest

Watch this video to learn more about three new energy technologies. One is from Rice University; one is from Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France and University of San Diego, CA; and the last one is from Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa).

Crafting Safe, Long-Cyclable Lithium Metal Batteries for High Temperatures

A research team led by Professor Dong-Myeong Shin of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong has developed a new generation of lithium metal batteries, representing a significant advancement in the field. Here, an interview with Shin to learn more about the technology.

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.

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.

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.

New Upgrade Will Supercharge Atomic Vision of the World’s Most Powerful X-Ray Laser

The Department of Energy has given the green light for construction to begin on a high-energy upgrade that will further boost the performance of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the world’s most powerful X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) at the DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. 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.

My Opinion: AI and Cybersecurity, Protecting the Power Grid

The U.S. power grid is like the body’s central circulatory system — it provides the energy without which virtually nothing functions. Read on to learn more about what SAE Media Group's Ed Brown has to say on the matter.

How Much Do You Know About Battery Technologies?

Powering all the devices that enrich our lives, batteries are a godsend. We really couldn’t live without them. But, how much do you actually know about battery technologies? Find out with this quiz.

Battery Progress, But What’s the Holdup in Adoption?

There’s no shortage of alternatives to lithium-ion EV batteries in development. From lithium-iron phosphate to sodium-ion to multiple solid-state chemistries, companies are racing to perfect these technologies and figure out how to manufacture them at scale. Read on to find out what the holdup is.

Cheaper and Safer Battery Storage

Researchers have developed a new technique to solve the problem of how to increase the capacity of sodium-ion batteries. Read on to learn more about it.

Algorithms to Enhance Reliability of Electric Vehicle Charging

American drivers have long been accustomed to quickly filling up at a gas station with plenty of fuel available, and electric vehicle drivers want their pit stops to mimic this experience. Researchers are working to make EV charging more resilient. Read on to learn more about it.

A New Way to Enhance Durability of Lithium Batteries

Researchers have been developing batteries with higher energy storage density, and thus, longer driving range. Other goals include shorter charging times, greater tolerance to low temperatures, and safer operation. One of the more promising such batteries has a lithium-containing cathode supplemented with nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC). 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.

Detection Technology Can Help Minimize Wind Turbine Interactions with Birds and Bats

The data collected from cameras and vibration sensors continue to inform next steps in research. The goal is to make this technology commercially available for land-based and offshore wind turbines to ensure a harmonic relationship between wind energy and surrounding wildlife. Read on to learn more.

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.

Batteries and Recycling: The Next Frontier

Recycling EV batteries has been a goal of the auto industry for many years, but the infrastructure to make that a widespread reality is still in the early stages. As the amount of used lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery cells coming from EVs increases, the industry is getting ready to turn them into fresh packs. Read on to learn more.

Enhancing the Performance of All-Solid-State Batteries

A research team from Pohang University has successfully enhanced the performance and durability of all-solid-state batteries. This breakthrough was made possible through the implementation of a novel approach known as bottom electrodeposition. Read on to learn more.

Harnessing Wind and Solar Power Via Neural Networks

The team hopes this project can better position renewable energy as the primary source of electricity in the industry sector. The project aims to enable researchers and renewable energy installation companies to determine the optimal number of solar panels and wind turbines needed to prevent over or under production.

Carbon-Capture Batteries Developed to Store Renewable Energy, Help Climate

A new battery formulation captures carbon dioxide from industrial emissions and converts it into a solid form that has the potential to be used in other products. Read on to learn more.

Mimicking 'Plant Power' Through Artificial Photosynthesis

According to the researchers, this proof-of-concept system could be adapted to help produce precursors for plastics or other chemical feedstocks, as well as scaled up to produce larger amounts of sustainable biofuels.

Recyclable ‘Water Batteries’ That Won’t Catch Fire

A global team of researchers and industry collaborators led by RMIT University has invented recyclable ’water batteries’ that won’t catch fire or explode. Read on to learn more.