Energy

INSIDER: Energy

Precision Spray Coating Makes Better Perovskite Solar Cells

Although perovskites are a promising alternative to silicon for solar cells, new manufacturing processes are needed to make them practical for commercial production. To help...

INSIDER: Power

Potassium Metal Battery Emerges as a Rival to Lithium-Ion Technology

Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have demonstrated how to overcome a persistent challenge to potassium metal batteries — dendrites. Their new battery...

INSIDER: Power

Solid State Batteries With Ten Times More Current Density

Solid state batteries are of great interest to the electric vehicle industry. New technology developed by scientists at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden and Xi'an...

INSIDER: Robotics, Automation & Control

Scavenger Technology Allows Robots to ‘Eat’ Metal for Energy

A new metal-air scavenger works like a battery, in that it provides power by repeatedly breaking and forming a series of chemical bonds. But it also works like a harvester,...

Blog: Green Design & Manufacturing

Is Water Vapor the Next Energy Source? Lightning Researchers Test the Idea

"Who knows? Maybe one day we will have roofs covered with humidity panels together with solar panels," TAU professor Colin Price told Tech Briefs.

Facility Focus: Robotics, Automation & Control

Facility Focus: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rensselaer Engineering focuses on solving the “grand challenges” facing humanity.

Briefs: Green Design & Manufacturing

'Artificial Leaf' Produces Clean Gas

This method of producing clean syngas could be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel alternative to gasoline.

Briefs: Energy

Scavenger Technology Allows Robots to “Eat” Metal for Energy

This type of energy source could be the basis for robots that seek out and “eat” metal, breaking down its chemical bonds for energy like humans do with food.

Briefs: Materials

Method Turns Trash Into Graphene

This green process produces pristine graphene in bulk using waste food, plastic, and other materials.

Briefs: Energy

Carbon Nanotube/Polymer Composites with Electrical and Thermal Characteristics

These composites could improve how unmanned vehicles dissipate energy.

Articles: Energy

Products of Tomorrow: June 2020

Nature-Inspired Energy Tech, Superelastic Tires, Wearable Supercapacitors, and more...

Briefs: Energy

Wearable Device Monitors Health

The flexible device harvests heat energy from the body to monitor health.

Briefs: Wearables

Fabric Allows Wearers to Control Electronic Devices Through Clothing

The rainproof, stainproof technology turns clothing into self-powered remotes while turning away bacteria.

Briefs: Data Acquisition

Open-Source Software Analyzes Economics of Biofuels and Bioproducts

This fast, flexible tool allows researchers to quickly compare and prioritize strategies for converting biomass to fuels and products.

Briefs: Medical

Ultrasonic System to Assess Compartment Syndrome

Applications include emergency medicine, combat casualty care, and sports injuries.

Briefs: Energy

Machine Learning Method for Battery Development

The method slashes battery testing times — a key barrier to longer-lasting, faster-charging batteries for electric vehicles.

Briefs: Aerospace

Leaf-Inspired Surface Prevents Frost Formation

This new design could conserve energy used for defrosting airplanes, appliances, and more.

Briefs: Lighting

Artificial Intelligence Finds and Labels 2D Materials Instantly

The AI system can help shorten the time required for 2D material-based electronics to be ready for consumer devices.

Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Shape Memory Alloy Mechanisms for CubeSats

This lightweight and efficient mechanism enables retention, release, and deployment of solar arrays and antennas.

Briefs: Energy

Guiding and Harnessing Transition Waves in Multi-Stable Mechanical Structures

The domino effect is used to design deployable systems that expand quickly with a small push and are stable and locked into place after deployment.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Spin Capacitor for Energy-Efficient Electronics

The capacitor could enable a new generation of electronics that will require less power and generate less heat.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

Polymer Twists and Bends in the Presence of Light

A liquid crystal elastomer can be programmed to exhibit controllable, dynamic behavior without the need for complex electronic components.

Blog: Transportation

Super-Porous Material Gives Hydrogen-Powered Vehicles a Boost

A team at Northwestern University is developing a material so porous that if you were able to unfold a gram of it, you could go farther than a football field.

Briefs: Energy

Maximizing Safety in Advanced Battery Systems

Fuse devices enable circuit safety in high-power applications, such as motion control and alternative energy generation, in addition to electric vehicles.

Briefs: Electronics & Computers

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.

Q&A: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

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.