Energy

Producing Oil from Duckweed

Scientists say that such oil-rich duckweed could easily be harvested to produce biofuels or other bioproducts.

New on the Market: November 2022

New products on the market in November 2022, including automotive relay, power inductors, RFID Read/Write modules, and more.

Liquid Metal Turns Motion into Electricity, Even Underwater

The soft and stretchable device converts movement into electricity and can work in wet environments.

Building Temperature-Resilient Batteries

In tests, the proof-of-concept batteries retained 87.5 percent and 115.9 percent of their energy capacity at -40 °C and 50 °C (-40 °F and 122 °F), respectively.

Triggering Li-ion Battery Cells with Laser Radiation

Inducing TR in a battery cell allows engineers to test and improve the safety performance of overheated batteries that can potentially catch fire or explode.

New Battery Technology Could Power Wearable, Self-Sustaining Fever Detector

Public temperature checks have become common practice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers at Texas A&M University hope to make it possible to check the temperatures of large groups of people more quickly and at a less expensive cost than allowed by current methods.

Technique Extends Next-Generation Lithium Metal Batteries

The discovery could enable lightweight, low-cost, long-lasting energy storage for electric vehicles, houses, and more.

High-Performance MXene Electrodes for Next-Generation Battery

Two-dimensional MXene has become popular in the energy world because of its fast energy storage capability. But unstable voltage output limits applications.

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.

2022 Create the Future Design Contest: Automotive/Transportation Category Winner — Betterfrost Ultra-Low Energy Defrost & Defog System

Betterfrost’s solution defrosts and defogs electric vehicles’ windshields with 20 times less power than current technology and extends the range of an EV by 38 km on an average commute in winter.

A Systems Engineering Approach to Sustainable Power Systems

Research and development work continue to deliver cleaner, more efficient, and more diverse ways of generating the energy we need to power modern society.

A High-Speed Look at Additive Manufacturing

Despite additive manufacturing's popularity, there are still several technological barriers that must be addressed to understand the process.

Researchers Take Stock of the Most Promising Control Scheme for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors

Electrical machines consume nearly half of all the electrical power generated worldwide, making them one of the top contributors to carbon...

Gallium Nitride Yields More Energy-Efficient Devices

Engineers have created new high-power electronic devices that are more energy efficient than their predecessors.

Bringing More Reliable Electricity to Puerto Rican Microgrids

Ben Ollis and a team of engineers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory are creating a novel orchestrator tool to manage a cluster of microgrids so they can directly support and communicate with each other, making them more resilient during long power outages. It is being installed as a demonstration project in the small town of Adjuntas in the Central Mountains of Puerto Rico.

Test Your Knowledge About Batteries

Do you know how far the battery has advanced since its inception? Find out with our quiz below.

5 Ws of Energy-Harvesting Yarns

A group of University of Texas at Dallas researchers have invented energy-harvesting yarns made from carbon nanotubes that produce electricity when repeatedly stretched.

Glow-in-the-Dark Algae May Be Ideal for Soft Robots

Engineers developed soft devices containing algae that glow when under mechanical stress —perfect for building soft robots.

Let’s Get Small: New Argonne Method Greatly Improves X-Ray Nanotomography Resolution

A group of scientists led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory has created a new method for improving the resolution of hard X-ray nanotomography.

Biofilm Harvests Energy in Evaporation

The biofilm has the potential to revolutionize the world of wearable electronics, powering everything from personal medical sensors to personal electronics.

Printed Rechargeable Batteries for the IIoT

Wireless sensors are critical for the IIoT, but they need long-term, reliable battery power.

Inflatable Actuators Use Origami Principles to Deform

Researchers have taken inspiration from origami to create inflatable structures that can bend, twist, and move in complex, distinct ways from a single source of pressure.

A Motorless Sailplane to Explore Mars’ Atmosphere

The UA team aims to design a motorless sailplane that can soar over the Martian surface for days at a time, using only wind for propulsion.

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.

How Much Do You Know About Electric Aircraft Advances?

How much do you know about the advances regarding to electric aircraft?

New Screening System May Point the Way to Clean, Renewable Hydrogen Power

A new, highly sensitive system for detecting the production of hydrogen gas may play an important role in the quest to develop hydrogen as an environmentally friendly and economical alternative to fossil fuels.

Highly Conductive Aluminum Can Equal Copper

A first-ever simulation of aluminum conductivity offers a recipe for an inexpensive substitute for copper.

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...