Electronics & Software

Energy

Your destination for advances in renewable energy, energy storage technologies, and trends in portable solar power, energy harvesting, wind power, and alternative energy. Design engineers will find the latest applications and multimedia resources including videos, white papers, webinars, and technical briefs.

Stories

Briefs: Energy

Producing Cadmium Telluride Material for Solar Cells

A new method provides a more efficient, safer, and cost-effective way to produce cadmium telluride material for solar cells or other applications.

Briefs: Energy

Device Harvests Energy from Low-Frequency Vibrations

A wearable energy harvesting device could generate energy from the swing of an arm while walking or jogging.

Briefs: Automotive

Coating Extends Lithium Metal Battery Life

The coating could make lightweight lithium metal batteries safe and long-lasting for the next generation of electric vehicles.

Articles: Energy

Products of Tomorrow

A wildfire-preventing gel; NASA's 3D tissue models, and more.

Q&A: Energy

Q&A: Simple Solar-Powered Desalination

Lenan Zhang and his team at MIT developed a small, economical, highly efficient device to provide fresh drinking water using only the Sun for its energy input.

Briefs: Energy

Relaxor Piezoelectric Single-Crystal Multilayer Stacks for Energy Harvesting Transducers (RPSEHT)

Applications include powering portable electronic devices and sensors, and harvesting waste mechanical energy for aircraft, automobile, and other transportation equipment.

Blog: Power

Answering Your Questions: What Will Drive Growth of Class 8 Electric Trucks?

A reader asks, "What market drivers need to occur for electric vehicles to be considered an acceptable replacement for vehicles with internal combustion engines?"

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Used Nissan LEAF Batteries Given “Second Life”

When electric vehicles end their life, the remaining storage capacity of the lithium battery is expected to be higher than 70%. After this, they can be reused for less demanding “second...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Researchers Develop A Roadmap to Use Perovskites for New Solar Cells

Materials called perovskites show strong potential for a new generation of solar cells, but they’ve had trouble gaining traction in a market dominated by silicon-based...

INSIDER: Electronics & Computers

Fast-Charging Supercapacitor is an Energy Storage Breakthrough

A new bendable supercapacitor made from graphene, which charges quickly and safely stores a record-high level of energy for use over a long period, has been developed and...

INSIDER: Power

New Electrode Design May Lead to More Powerful Batteries

New research by engineers at MIT and elsewhere could lead to batteries that can pack more power per pound and last longer, based on the long-sought goal of using pure lithium metal as...

Question of the Week: Energy

Will We Ever Recharge Electric Batteries As Quickly As We Get Gas?

Stanford University researchers have developed a machine learning-based method that cuts battery testing times by 98 percent. The team says that their A.I. technique could lead to a future where an electric battery is recharged in the time it takes to stop at a gas station. Watch...

Briefs: Energy

Slippery Surfaces Allow Sticky Pastes and Gels to Slide

An engineered surface treatment can reduce waste and improve efficiency in many processes.

Briefs: Nanotechnology

Bio-Inspired Mechanics to Make Robots More Effective

This technology could impact new directions in robotics design.

Articles: Imaging

Products of Tomorrow

Biodegradable batteries, solid-state ultracapacitors, and infrared camouflage.

Products: Electronics & Computers

New on the Market: March 2020

Thermal cameras, testing software, an ion air knife, and more.

Briefs: Aerospace

High-Performance, Piezoelectric, Hybrid Synthetic Jet Actuators

These actuators provide active flow control for airfoil surfaces and supersonic inlets of wing-borne vehicles.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Thin Films of Barium Zirconium Sulfide Offer Exceptional Electronic Properties

These thin films hold great promise for solar cells and LEDs.

Briefs: Energy

Green Jet Fuel Additive Made from Acetone Plus Light

The additive creates fuel from biomass while improving engine performance.

Articles: Propulsion

What’s Next in Mobility: WCX 2020 SAE World Congress Experience

Your preview of one of the largest technical mobility events of the year.

Articles: Communications

For Power-Efficient Wireless Sensing, Start with Analog Processing

Increase battery life and reduce data loads with an analog-first processing architecture.

Question of the Week: Energy

Will Rain Become a Viable Energy Source?

Our lead INSIDER story today demonstrated the power of a droplet energy generator – specifically the system’s ability to light up 100 LEDs with just a small amount of water.