Renewable Energy

A Sodium-Aluminum Battery Aims to Integrate Renewables for Grid Resiliency

A new battery design could help ease integration of renewable energy into the nation's electrical grid at lower cost, using Earth-abundant metals.

Ignition Achievement Gives US New Opportunity to Lead World's IFE Research

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)’s historic achievement of fusion ignition Dec. 5 at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) positions the United States...

Longer-Lasting, Recyclable Phone Batteries

Instead of disposing of batteries after three years, we could have recyclable batteries that last three times longer.

Sleep Mode Makes Internet of Energy More Energy Efficient

A group of scientists in Nagoya University, Japan, have developed a possible solution to one of the biggest problems of the Internet of Energy, energy efficiency. They did so by...

Extensive NREL Power Electronics Capabilities

Imagine a technology that can convert, amplify, limit, filter, control, and transform electricity in countless ways to supply power to the electrical grid. These are power electronics, and the...

Beaming Clean Energy from Space

Once considered science fiction, technology capable of collecting solar power in space and beaming it to Earth to provide a global supply of clean and affordable energy is moving closer to reality. Through...

2022 Create the Future Design Contest: Sustainable Technologies/Future Energy Category Winner — SUNPave: Tomorrow’s Energy Today

When solar panels are placed horizontally, they harvest 15-20 percent less energy from the sun, and hence consumers end up paying a higher price for the harvested energy.

Q&A: Reinventing Offshore Wind Turbines

Dr. Brandon Ennis, Sandia National Laboratories’ offshore wind technical lead, had a radically new idea for offshore wind turbines: instead of a tall unwieldy tower, with blades at the top, he imagined a towerless turbine with blades pulled taut like a bow.

Model Predicts Seasonal Variability of Solar and Wind Power

Researchers at Columbia University, supported in part by a grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation, conducted a study that modeled the seasonal variability of solar and...

New Perovskite Solar Cell Has a Commercially Viable Lifetime

Princeton Engineering researchers have developed the first perovskite solar cell with a commercially viable lifetime, marking a major milestone for an emerging class of renewable...

Focusing the Sun – A Big Gain for Solar Power Efficiency

A new kind of optical concentrator can passively focus the sun onto a photovoltaic cell from any angle to reduce the amount of photovoltaic material needed for a given amount of power generation.

Plant-Based Thermotherapy Patch

Additional applications include defogging/defrosting, wearable devices, industrial heat systems, sensors, thermochromic displays, and microfluidic chips.

New Screening System May Point the Way to Renewable Hydrogen Power

A highly sensitive system for detecting the production of hydrogen gas can foster the development of hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Advancing Renewable Energy Production with Solar Thermochemical Hydrogen

Hydrogen has emerged as an important carrier to store energy generated by renewable resources, as a substitute for fossil fuels used for transportation, in the production of ammonia, and for other industrial applications.

Pushing the Boundaries of Sustainability in Global Materials

Sustainability isn’t just about making sure your discarded water bottle is recycled. It’s also about teaming with global entities to form innovative, technologically solid partnerships.

Products of Tomorrow

This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that innovation.

Hyliion Trucks Onward

Hyliion’s system can decrease fuel consumption and reduce emissions by capturing wasted energy and storing it in a battery pack.

Hydropower Technology Swaps Dams with Electric Trucks

In steep mountain regions, the potential for generating electricity from a small stream of water is high, however, the hydropower potential of these regions remains untapped as it...

Smart Grid for Stable, Reliable Electricity Supply

The largest ever simulation of its kind, modeled on the Texas power grid, concluded that consumers stand to save about 15 percent on their annual electric bills by partnering with...

Sustainable Energy using “Information Batteries”

Renewable energy has an intermittency problem — the sun provides no power at night, while winds can stop suddenly.

Wind Turbine Enhances Electrical Grid Stability

In a milestone for renewable energy integration, General Electric (GE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) operated a common class of wind turbines in grid-forming mode, which...

Spray-On Coating Could Make Solar Panels Snow-Resistant

An inexpensive, clear coating has reduced snow and ice accumulation on solar panels, enabling them to generate up to 85% more energy in early testing.

Fabrication Method for Large-Scale Production of Perovskite Solar Cells

The sulfolane-additive process yields easy fabrication, low cost, and long operating life.

How to Build an 'Ocean Battery'

Dr. Frits Bliek and his team at Ocean Grazer are building an "Ocean Battery" that brings hydrodam technology to the sea.

Solar-Powered Solutions on the Farm: A Microgrid for Crop Production

A newly completed solar microgrid system near Greensburg, Indiana, in Decatur County, is expected to generate enough emissions-free clean energy to offset nearly 4000 tons...

Ultrathin Solar Cells Get a Boost

Using ultrabright X-rays from the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, a team of researchers led by Rice University has determined that sunlight itself can improve the efficiency of 2D...

Microgrids are a Key to Grid Resiliency

The aging energy grid is being pushed to the breaking point. Power outages from extreme weather alone cost anywhere from $2 billion to $77 billion per year. And some isolated communities still rely on...