Energy

Thick Electrodes’ Chemistry Matters More Than Structure for Battery Performance

A team of Rice University researchers led by materials scientist Ming Tang showed that even if the materials used in thick battery electrodes have nearly identical structures, their internal chemistry impacts energy flow — and, hence, performance — differently. This finding goes against conventional wisdom in the field. Read on to learn more.

Developing High-Energy, Stable All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries Using Aluminum-Based Anodes and High-Nickel Cathodes

Researchers from Nanjing University, led by Professor Ping He and Professor Shaochun Tang, have published a comprehensive study in Nano-Micro Letters on the development of high-energy, stable all-solid-state lithium batteries using aluminum-based anodes and high-nickel cathodes. Read on to learn more about it.

New AI Tool Predicts Lithium Metal Anode Failures from Just Two Early Cycles

In a groundbreaking study, researchers at Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School and the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have developed a predictive model that uses electrochemical data from the initial cycles of LMBs to forecast potential failures. Read on to learn more.

A Cleaner, Scalable Process to Recycle Lithium-Ion Batteries

In a major step forward for sustainable energy technology, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, led by Professor Yan Wang, William B. Smith Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, have developed a new, scalable method to recycle lithium-ion batteries in a way that is both efficient and environmentally friendly. Read on to learn more.

Built-In Smart Sensors Can Prevent Lithium-Ion Battery Fires Before They Start

New smart sensors can help detect dangerous internal failures in lithium-ion batteries before they escalate into fires or explosions, say researchers from the University of Surrey. Read on to learn more.

Next-Generation Elastomer Seals: Enhancing Battery Safety and Sustainability in E-Mobility

As the EV market accelerates toward mass adoption, the need for durable, efficient, and scalable battery technologies is reshaping supply chain priorities across the automotive and energy sectors. Advanced sealing materials, such as high-performance elastomers, are emerging as strategic enablers in this transformation. Read on to learn more.

Solving Fleet Electrification Bottlenecks with Battery-Integrated Charging Systems

Charging infrastructure has become the primary bottleneck to fleet electrification. Despite growing demand for electric trucks and increasing pressure to decarbonize logistics operations, many fleet operators face long delays for grid upgrades, transformer installations, and permitting, at times waiting more than a year to power vehicles that have already arrived. OptiGrid was formed in response to this growing gap between vehicle readiness and infrastructure availability. Read on to learn more.

Battery Innovation Key for Commercial and Off-Highway EVs

The move to electrified on- and off-highway equipment is not without its challenges. The industry itself lags greatly behind the passenger car industry, which accounted for 17.5 million EVs sold globally last year. But why? Read on to find out.

How Much Do You Know About EV Safety Innovations?

How much do you know about the safety innovations that keep EVs (and us) safe? Find out with this quiz.

My Opinion: AI Is Great — Is There Enough Electricity to Feed It?

Everybody’s talking about the problem of providing the electricity to power the growth of AI, but are we doing enough solve it?

Medium-Voltage Circuit Breaker Unlocks Electricity Abundance, Savings

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are breaking technical barriers with faster circuit breakers to enable and protect the modern electric grid. They developed...

Black Metal Could Give a Heavy Boost to Solar Power Generation

In the quest for energy independence, researchers have studied solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs) as a promising source of solar electricity generation. Unlike the...

Scalable Supercapacitor Technology Made from Graphene

Supercapacitors are siblings of batteries. Both technologies store electrical energy. Batteries have a high energy density but a low power density. In other words, they can store a lot...

How Much Do You Know About Wind Turbines?

Wind turbines are imperative in our search for renewable energy as we aim to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. How much do you know about wind turbines? Find out with this quiz.

New Physics-Based Simulation Tool Accelerates Battery Development

For years, researchers have been developing tools to accelerate the materials discovery and development of new energy storage technologies, including those that can predict the performance of the batteries systems for long-term grid services. With a new physics-based simulation tool, EZBattery Model, it now takes less than a second to predict the performance of redox flow batteries and its variants. Read on to learn more.

How ISS Will Be Evaluating Photovoltaic Materials

Solar cells account for approximately six percent of the electricity used on Earth; however, in space, they play a significantly larger role, with nearly all satellites relying on advanced solar cells for their power. That’s why Georgia Tech researchers will soon be sending 18 photovoltaic cells to the International Space Station (ISS) for a study of how space conditions affect the devices’ operation over time. Read on to learn more.

Flexible Silicon Photovoltaics: A Breakthrough in Space-Grade Solar Power

In-space manufacturing is expected to become a core part of future space economy by using assets in orbits or beyond Earth orbit for use in space. Tech Briefs interviewed space-focused solar energy startup Solestial’s CTO Stanislau Herasimenka about the key technology developments leading to this increased momentum for space-based manufacturing and the role solar power will play in it. Read on for the full interview with Herasimenka, edited for length and clarity.

A Technological Breakthrough for Ultra-Fast and Greener AI

AI systems like ChatGPT are notorious for being power-hungry. To tackle this challenge, a team from the Centre for Optics, Photonics and Lasers has come up with an optical chip that can transfer massive amounts of data at ultra-high speed. As thin as a strand of hair, this technology offers unrivaled energy efficiency. Read on to learn more.

Magnetic Breakthrough Aims to Enhance AI

Scientists have engineered a vast spin waveguide network that processes information with far less energy. These spin waves quantum ripples in magnetic materials offer a promising alternative to power-hungry electronics.

How Much Do You Know About Pneumatic Valves?

Determining how much and in which direction air passes through, pneumatic valves play an important role in any pneumatic system. How much do you know about pneumatic valves? Find out with this quiz.

Products of Tomorrow

See the products of tomorrow, including a compact, low-power receiver for 5G-compatible smart devices that is about 30 times more resilient to a certain type of interference than some traditional wireless receivers; a flexible, conductive skin, which is easy to fabricate and can be melted down and formed into a wide range of complex shapes; and tiny batteries that vanish after use inspired by Mission: Impossible.

Converting Waste Streams into Biofuel

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have developed a novel technology that creates a cost-competitive sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) that could reduce GHG emissions in the aviation industry by up to 70 percent. Read on to learn more.

Developing Durable Solar Panels Without Silicon

Using a new technology, Juan-Pablo Correa-Baena's lab has found a way to stabilize perovskite solar cells, which are built like a battery. Read on to learn more.

Making Hydrogen Power a Practical Proposition

Occupying a unique space as both an energy vector and a fuel, hydrogen has gained interest for propulsion and power generation applications over the past several years. Hydrogen has been investigated thoroughly throughout the previous decades, but with advances in hydrogen generation and infrastructure, and the increasing need to low-carbon propulsion solutions across all sectors, hydrogen propulsion may be poised for significant market penetration. Read on to learn more.

Sealing the Future of Hydrogen: Advanced Gaskets for Electrolyzer Efficiency

As a key technology in the transition to cleaner energy, electrolyzers are critical in enabling hydrogen production without reliance on fossil fuels. However, these renewable systems face significant engineering challenges that require meticulous technical attention. Read on to learn more.