Energy

How Much Do You Know About Energy Storage?

Renewable energy sources like wind and solar require energy storage in order to be practical and reliable. Test your knowledge of energy storage with this quiz.

Understanding Energy Dissipation for Improved Space Weather Forecasting

Insaco manufactured custom tooling to meet the unique part specifications for NASA’s DISSIPATION mission, which will enable better understanding of how the energy imparted by solar winds into the atmosphere is dispersed.

Hot Rocks Store Energy

Sandia engineers convert excess renewable electricity into heat that gets stored in piles of gravel.

Behold: The First Battery Prototype Using Hemoglobin

Researchers have developed a battery that uses hemoglobin as an electrochemical reaction facilitator, functioning for around 20-30 days.

New Material Could Lead to Better Hydrogen-Based Batteries, Fuel Cells

Researchers led by Genki Kobayashi at the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research in Japan have developed a solid electrolyte for transporting hydride ions at room temperature.

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.

A New Design for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are researching solutions to these Li-ion battery issues by testing new materials in battery construction. One such material is sulfur.

Space Solar Power Demonstrator Wirelessly Transmits Power in Space

Wireless power transfer was recently demonstrated by MAPLE — Microwave Array for Power-transfer Low-orbit Experiment — one of three key technologies being tested by the Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD-1), the first space-borne prototype from Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project (SSPP), which aims to harvest solar power in space and transmit it to the Earth’s surface.

3D Battery Imaging Reveals Real-Time Life of Lithium Metal Cells

A team from Chalmers University of Technology has succeeded in observing how the lithium metal in the cell behaves as it charges and discharges. The new method may contribute to batteries with higher capacity and increased safety in our future cars and devices.

Next-Generation Flow Battery Design

A research team from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reports that the flow battery, a design optimized for electrical grid energy storage, maintained its capacity to store and release energy for more than a year of continuous charge and discharge.

Highest-Resolution Single-Photon Superconducting Camera

The NIST camera is made up of grids of ultrathin electrical wires, cooled to near absolute zero, in which current moves with no resistance until a wire is struck by a photon. In these superconducting-nanowire cameras, the energy imparted by even a single photon can be detected because it shuts down the superconductivity at a particular location (pixel) on the grid. Combining all the locations and intensities of all the photons makes up an image.

Testing Space Applications with Solar Simulator Technology

NASA’s Artemis program consists of a series of missions designed to land humans on the Moon and establish a sustainable, continuing presence. A long-term foothold on the Moon’s surface enables invaluable research and testing opportunities that will set the stage for future groundbreaking missions, including the first human mission to Mars.

Self-Powered Sensor Automatically Harvests Magnetic Energy

MIT researchers have developed a battery-free, self-powered sensor that can harvest energy from its environment.

A Novel Strategy to Stabilize Zinc-Ion Batteries

Researchers constructed an electrocrystallization strategy to induce zinc texture growth. The adsorption of DMA induces Zn (002) texture growth and inhibits harmful side reactions.

Climate-Friendly Sodium-Ion Batteries to Rival Li-ion Batteries

The transition to a society without fossil fuels means that the need for batteries is increasing at a rapid pace. One option is a sodium-ion battery, where table salt and biomass from the forest industry make up the main raw materials.

My Opinion: Why Microgrids?

Microgrids are an excellent way of addressing multiple challenges facing our national electricity supply. They support resiliency and flexibility and offer a sensible way to integrate renewables.

TELEPORT: A New, Better Way to Extract Lithium

A research team from the University of Virginia has found a way to extract lithium from geothermal brines. The team’s method is called Targeted Extraction of Lithium with Electroactive Particles for Recovery Technology (TELEPORT).

A Green Li-ion Battery-Recycling Method

Researchers have improved on approaches that dissolve the Li-ion batteries in a liquid solution to reduce the amount of hazardous chemicals used in the recycling process.

New System Uses Only Solar Energy to Generate Hydrogen

The system harnesses the sun's heat to directly split water and generate hydrogen — a clean fuel that can power long-distance trucks, ships, and planes, while in the process emitting no greenhouse gas emissions.

A Temperature-Modulating Robotic System

A research team has developed a robotic system that can be unobtrusively built into the frame of a standard honeybee hive. Composed of an array of thermal sensors and actuators, the system measures and modulates honeybee behavior through localized temperature variations.

Top 10 Engineering Stories of 2023 on Tech Briefs

If you missed the most-popular engineering stories of 2023 on Tech Briefs, see the list below.

Beyond the Shadows: Engineering Solutions for Surviving the Lunar Night

Passive thermal control systems have been developed over years of research and product development and will serve as enabling technology for NASA’s VIPER and future missions.

Aerovy Mobility Develops Cloud Software to Support Electric Aircraft Infrastructure

Launched by Purdue University postgraduate students, Aerovy Mobility commercializes cloud-based software solutions to plan and operate infrastructure that charges electric aircraft with renewable energy.

Megawatt Motor Could Lead to Electrifying Large Aircraft

A team of MIT engineers is creating a one-megawatt motor that could be a key stepping-stone toward electrifying larger aircraft. The team has designed and tested the major components of the motor.

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.