https://techxplore.com/energy-green-tech-news/ en-us The latest news on energy sciences and green technology, energy technology, energy renovation, alternative energy, and green energy. International collaboration to create standards and policies for the construction industry is vital to bring down the industry's carbon footprint, argues Professor Matti Kuittinen of Aalto University in a paper published in Buildings & Cities. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-global-policy-low-carbon.html Engineering Tue, 05 Dec 2023 17:07:03 EST news621018422 Taking key measures to reduce the power consumption of cooling equipment would cut at least 60 percent off predicted 2050 sectoral emissions, provide universal access to life-saving cooling, take the pressure off energy grids and save trillions of dollars by 2050, according to a new report published during the COP28 climate talks in Dubai. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-key-slash-emissions-cooling-sector.html Business Tue, 05 Dec 2023 16:57:04 EST news621017821 They hold modern life together in everything from airplane parts to apartment blocks, but steel, concrete and aluminum come with a hefty climate cost that the world could be paying for decades. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-blocks-pollution-steel-concrete-aluminum.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 05 Dec 2023 13:28:12 EST news621005289 Simulations from West Virginia University researchers demonstrate their use of two kinds of industrial wastewater to decontaminate each other has the potential to slash a power plant's total water use. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-power-recycle-wastewater-oil-gas.html Engineering Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:58:12 EST news621003488 To heat your home without damaging the climate, you will need to replace your gas boiler. UK government advisers recommend switching to appliances that run on electricity. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-hybrid-bills-carbon-footprint.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:17:03 EST news621001021 More than 2.2 billion people currently live in water-stressed countries, and the United Nations estimates that 3.5 million die every year from water-related diseases. Because the areas most in need of improved drinking water are also located in some of the sunniest places in the world, there is strong interest in harnessing sunlight to help obtain clean water. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-harvesting-air-solar-power.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 05 Dec 2023 11:00:01 EST news620987600 Amid the rubble of large-sale earthquake, war or other disaster—and as aging buildings and infrastructure are replaced—mountains of concrete are often taken to landfill or pounded into rubble for roads. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-recycling-concrete-carbon-emissions.html Engineering Tue, 05 Dec 2023 10:20:02 EST news620994001 Georgia Power Co. is urging the state's utility regulators to approve a deal to pay for the company's new nuclear reactors as a few holdout opponents keep fighting to try to get the Public Service Commission to keep the utility from collecting any cost overruns for the two reactors at Plant Vogtle. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-customers-pay-georgia-nuclear-reactors.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 05 Dec 2023 04:12:23 EST news620971940 High carbon emitting businesses in Asia will see consistent negative profits if they fail to decarbonize. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-asian-cement-steel-companies-decarbonize.html Business Mon, 04 Dec 2023 15:57:03 EST news620927821 Do electric bikes (e-bikes) improve the overall quality of mobility for certain groups in a region? Do they provide a similar level of time-, cost-, and energy-efficient access to opportunities as cars? https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-explore-impacts-e-bikes-sustainable-equitable.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 04 Dec 2023 13:18:41 EST news620918318 In a move to embrace sustainable steelmaking, British Steel has unveiled a £1.25 billion plan to replace two blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant with electric arc furnaces. This follows the UK government's commitment in September to invest up to £500 million towards an electric arc furnace at Tata Steel's Port Talbot plant in south Wales. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-electric-arc-furnaces-technology-poised.html Engineering Mon, 04 Dec 2023 12:18:19 EST news620914697 What if you could charge your electric vehicle in the same amount of time it takes to fill a tank of gas? In a new paper published in Joule, researchers from McGill University and the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) announced the development of a novel method that enables researchers to peer inside Li-ion batteries and, for the first time, track the physical processes that take place in both the liquid and solid parts of the battery cells as they happen. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-method-tracks-physical-liquid-solid.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 04 Dec 2023 12:15:35 EST news620914533 Often referred to as the "dream batteries," all-solid-state batteries are the next generation of batteries that many battery manufacturers are competing to bring to market. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, which use a liquid electrolyte, all components, including the electrolyte, anode, and cathode are solid, reducing the risk of explosion, and are in high demand in markets ranging from automobiles to energy storage systems (ESS). https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-degradation-mechanism-all-solid-state-batteries-commercialization.html Engineering Mon, 04 Dec 2023 10:26:04 EST news620907961 With the increase in solar panels on houses and plug-in cars patrolling the roads, batteries are going to be ever more important in the coming years. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-chico-state-effort-lighter-battery.html Energy & Green Tech Sat, 02 Dec 2023 10:30:01 EST news620648884 It would be a mistake to reject nuclear power because of problems at a handful of projects, Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said in an interview with AFP. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-nuclear-power-role-play-atomic.html Energy & Green Tech Sat, 02 Dec 2023 03:42:03 EST news620710920 A decade ago, the state's largest electric utility—Georgia Power—took its first, major step toward a future powered by the sun when it installed thousands of solar panels on 150 acres outside the town of Social Circle. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-solar-power-georgia-energy.html Energy & Green Tech Sat, 02 Dec 2023 03:40:01 EST news620649207 UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Friday plans by UAE state-owned renewables firm Masdar and German energy giant RWE to invest up to £11 billion ($14 billion) in a giant offshore windfarm. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-uk-unveils-bn-windfarm-investment.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 01 Dec 2023 15:32:41 EST news620667159 Steel production causes significant emissions of carbon dioxide. To decarbonize steel production and its high carbon dioxide emissions, Fraunhofer researchers, TS ELINO GmbH and Salzgitter AG are working on converting an existing steel mill to climate-neutral production methods. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-steel-mill-climate-neutral-production.html Engineering Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:09:03 EST news620647741 Damp, cold conditions are the enemy of wind power. If a layer of ice forms on the rotor blades, this can result in rotational imbalance and, hence, increased wear. In such cases, the turbines often have to be shut down for several days, leading to massive losses for the operators due to the pause in electricity production. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-drones-turbines-ice.html Robotics Fri, 01 Dec 2023 09:54:03 EST news620646841 European Union states set themselves lower targets for renewable power generation by 2030 than demanded under EU legislation, according to a report published on Friday. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-eu-states-lag-renewable-power.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 01 Dec 2023 07:38:02 EST news620638681 If we are to save the planet, we are going to have to use energy far more efficiently. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-12-cop28-energy-efficiency.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 01 Dec 2023 04:08:08 EST news620626080 It's a story that's become all too familiar—high winds knock out a power line, and a community can go without power for hours to days, an inconvenience at best and a dangerous situation at worst. UC Santa Cruz Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Yu Zhang and his lab are leveraging tools to improve the efficiency, reliability, and resilience of power systems and have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) -based approach for the smart control of microgrids for power restoration when outages occur. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-ai-based-approach-microgrids-power-efficiently.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 30 Nov 2023 15:03:46 EST news620579018 In the main hall of the research and robotics Arch Tec Lab on Hönggerberg campus, several robotic arms hang from the roof, while half-finished beige-colored curved structures reminiscent of sand sculptures are dotted around the floor. On one side of the room, mysterious parts protrude from wooden crates. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-3d-lightweight-insulating-elements.html Engineering Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:48:04 EST news620578081 It's tough for the cement and lime business to make its important products without generating high emissions. So, the industry is investing in research and innovative pathways to reduce its hard-to-abate emissions. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-concrete-australia-ambitious-cement-lime.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:22:05 EST news620576521 Hydrogen (H2) plays an important role in the renewable energy system to secure electricity generation. New and existing power plants must therefore be made ready for H2 operation. However, the conversion and new construction of power plants that can be operated with 100% hydrogen poses challenges. In addition, H2 readiness is not yet clearly defined in regulatory terms. These are the findings of scientists at the Reiner Lemoine Institute (RLI). https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-h8322-ready-power-solutions-conversion-gas-fired.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:21:04 EST news620576461 Batteries are challenging to observe and analyze. They can't really be opened up because of their volatile nature. One way to monitor batteries is through X-ray technology. However, the equipment is very expensive and those methods struggle to balance resolution, sensitivity and speed. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-sandpaper-x-ray-technique-batteries.html Engineering Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:58:00 EST news620567878 Australia's net-zero transition is struggling. Despite the government's efforts, announced last week, to revive flagging investment in renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions from existing industry are still rising. Yet under the Paris Agreement, Australia must adopt even more ambitious targets for 2035. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-transition-net-zeroand-australia-struggling.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:28:39 EST news620566112 Used lithium-ion batteries from cell phones, laptops and a growing number of electric vehicles are piling up, but options for recycling them remain limited primarily to burning or chemically dissolving shredded batteries. The current state-of-the-art methods can pose environmental challenges and be difficult to make economically at the industrial scale. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-greener-solution-powers-method-lithium-ion.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:45:03 EST news620559901 The building sector is the second largest sector in plastic consumption, and is responsible for more than a third of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Manufacturing processes of construction materials pollute air, land, and water. Accordingly, construction materials made from agro-industrial waste become increasingly attractive due to their lower environmental impact. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-rice-husk-recycled-newspaper-eco-friendly.html Engineering Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00:01 EST news620492032 A research team, led by Dr. Hosun Shin from the Interdisciplinary Materials Measurement Institute at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science and Professor Jae Yong Song's team from the Department of Semiconductor Engineering at Pohang University of Science and Technology has developed a long-life organic electrode that has potential to expedite the commercialization of next-generation secondary batteries. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-long-life-electrode-commercialization-next-generation-secondary.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 29 Nov 2023 16:12:03 EST news620496721