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. 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 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 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 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 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 Crews have installed what's billed as the nation's first wireless-charging public roadway for electric vehicles beneath a street just west of downtown Detroit. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-technology-beneath-detroit-street-electric.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 29 Nov 2023 15:57:04 EST news620495807 The levels of atmospheric aerosols and greenhouse gas emissions will have a significant impact in the future on both the production of photovoltaic energy and associated costs. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-greenhouse-gases-aerosols-atmosphere-solar.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:35:49 EST news620483745 A technology has been developed by Professor Youngkook Kwon's team in the School of Chemical Engineering at UNIST, aiming to significantly improve the performance of an electrolyzer used for hydrogen generation. This advancement brings us a step closer to the commercialization of green hydrogen production technology. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-electrolysis-stability-commercialization-green-hydrogen.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:11:02 EST news620385061 To reach the world's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, there must be a fundamental change in electronic materials to create a more reliable and resilient electricity grid. A diamond might be a girl's best friend, but it might also be the solution needed to sustain the electrification of society needed to reach carbon neutrality in the next 30 years. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-generation-semiconductors-diamond-device-highest.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 27 Nov 2023 17:13:04 EST news620327582 Bitcoin mining is often perceived as environmentally damaging because it uses huge amounts of electricity to power its intensive computing needs, but a new study demonstrates how wind and solar projects can profit from bitcoin mining during the pre-commercial development phase—when a wind or solar farm is generating electricity, but has not yet been integrated into the grid. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-solar-profit-bitcoin.html Business Mon, 27 Nov 2023 12:43:32 EST news620311410 The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) into various multi-carbon products is highly desirable, as it could help to easily produce useful chemicals for a wide range of applications. Most existing catalysts to facilitate CO2 reduction are based on copper (Cu), yet the processes underpinning their action remain poorly understood. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-tin-based-tandem-electrocatalyst-synthesis-ethanol.html Engineering Sat, 25 Nov 2023 10:20:01 EST news619870570 In recent years, engineers and material scientists have been trying to create increasingly advanced battery technologies that are charged faster, last longer, and can store more energy. These batteries will ultimately play a crucial role in the advancement of the electronics and energy sector, powering the wide range of portable devices on the market, as well as electric vehicles. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-approach-fast-charging-lithium-ion-batteries-graphite-based.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 23 Nov 2023 09:00:01 EST news619696531 The University of Ottawa, together with national and international partners, has achieved a world first by manufacturing the first back-contact micrometric photovoltaic cells. The cells, with a size twice the thickness of a strand of hair, have significant advantages over conventional solar technologies, reducing electrode-induced shadowing by 95% and potentially lowering energy production costs by up to three times. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-back-contact-micrometric-photovoltaic-cells.html Electronics & Semiconductors Wed, 22 Nov 2023 12:37:37 EST news619879055 A research team led by Prof. Chen Wei from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) designed a rechargeable hydrogen-chlorine (H2-Cl2) battery that can operate in temperatures ranging from -70°C to 40°C. The study was published in Journal of the American Chemical Society as the cover article. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-rechargeable-hydrogen-chlorine-battery-wide-temperature.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 22 Nov 2023 10:42:02 EST news619872121 Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies that could be critical tools to combat climate change have developed in line with other technologies from the last century. However, according to new studies led by Gregory Nemet, a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, these technologies need to develop faster to meet policy targets aimed at limiting global warming. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-outlook-scaling-carbon-technologies.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:26:39 EST news619806395 Dr. Hyekyoung Choi and Min Ju Yun's research team from the Energy Conversion Materials Research Center, Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), has developed a technology that can increase the flexibility and efficiency of a thermoelectric generator to the world's highest level by using "mechanical metamaterials" that do not exist in nature. The research results were published in Advanced Energy Materials. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-stretchable-efficient-wearable-thermoelectric-energy.html Engineering Tue, 21 Nov 2023 10:29:03 EST news619784941 Donor doping into a mother material with disordered intrinsic oxygen vacancies, instead of the widely used strategy of acceptor doping into a material without oxygen vacancies, can greatly enhance the conductivity and stability of perovskite-type proton conductors at intermediate and low temperatures of 250–400°C, as demonstrated by Tokyo Tech scientists (e.g. 10 mS/cm at 320°C). This innovative approach provides a new design direction for proton conductors for fuel cells and electrolysis cells. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-sustainable-energy-applications-breakthrough-proton.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 21 Nov 2023 09:43:04 EST news619782182 Northwestern University researchers have raised the standards again for perovskite solar cells with a new development that helped the emerging technology hit new records for efficiency. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-inverted-perovskite-solar-cell-efficiency.html Engineering Sat, 18 Nov 2023 05:02:46 EST news619506155 With the ever-increasing interest in renewable energy, scientists are continuously searching for new technologies to store energy. CO2 electrolysis is a promising way to store energy while recycling carbon dioxide. By applying electricity, CO2 and water react and produce more complex molecules. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-efficient-electrodes-carbon-dioxide-recycling.html Engineering Fri, 17 Nov 2023 10:26:04 EST news619439161 A team of engineers at the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, working with a pair of colleagues from Murata Manufacturing Company, has developed a regenerative electrocaloric heat pump that is more efficient than conventional air conditioners. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-electrocaloric-efficient-conventional-air-conditioners.html Engineering Fri, 17 Nov 2023 09:39:08 EST news619436343 When purchasing a smartphone, one of your primary considerations is typically finding a durable case and a screen protector to safeguard the device from external harm. Similarly, a group of researchers from POSTECH has recently garnered attention in the academic world by introducing a tungsten coating that functions as a shield, much like these protective cases and films, for eco-friendly hydrogen fuel cell electrodes. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-hydrogen-fuel-cell-durability-tungsten.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 16 Nov 2023 11:13:06 EST news619355582 Researchers in Australia have harnessed AI to produce solar cells from the mineral perovskite in just a matter of weeks, bypassing years of human labor and human error to optimize the cells. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-ai-solar-cells-perovskite.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 15 Nov 2023 16:56:04 EST news619289761 Researchers have documented for the first time the stresses that build up around solid-state battery electrolytes, helping set the stage for the development of improved and more efficient batteries. Scientists have long thought that stresses can build up around dendrites, thin metallic projects that can ultimately short out solid-electrolyte batteries, but they haven't been precisely measured. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-photoelasticity-quest-dendrite-resistant-solid-electrolytes.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 15 Nov 2023 10:43:02 EST news619267381 A team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory discovered an intriguing cooperative behavior that occurs among complex mixtures of components in electrolytes in batteries. Electrolytes are materials that move charge-carrying particles known as ions between a battery's two electrodes, converting stored chemical energy into electricity. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-blueprint-high-performance-batteries.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 14 Nov 2023 17:43:05 EST news619206182 Prof. Ye Jichun's team from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), along with researchers from Soochow University, have developed a polycrystalline silicon tunneling recombination layer for perovskite/tunnel oxide passivating contact (TOPCon) silicon tandem solar cells (TSCs), which has achieved excellent efficiency and high stability. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-tunneling-recombination-layer-boosts-efficiency.html Energy & Green Tech Tue, 14 Nov 2023 09:01:02 EST news619174861 As the world turns to greener power sources, it also needs to figure out how to store energy for times when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-aim-cheaper-fuel-cells-reality.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 13 Nov 2023 15:14:04 EST news619110841 University of Maryland researchers aiming to combat rising global temperatures have developed a new "cooling glass" that can turn down the heat indoors without electricity by drawing on the cold depths of space. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-cooling-glass-blasts-space.html Engineering Mon, 13 Nov 2023 11:36:53 EST news619097810 As information and communication technologies (ICT) process data, they convert electricity into heat. Already today, the global ICT ecosystem's CO2 footprint rivals that of aviation. It turns out, however, that a big part of the energy consumed by computer processors doesn't go into performing calculations. Instead, the bulk of the energy used to process data is spent shuttling bytes between the memory to the processor. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-2d-semiconductor-transistors-redefining-energy.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 13 Nov 2023 11:00:02 EST news619090313 A floating, solar-powered device that can turn contaminated water or seawater into clean hydrogen fuel and purified water, anywhere in the world, has been developed by researchers. https://techxplore.com/news/2023-11-solar-powered-device-fuel.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 13 Nov 2023 11:00:02 EST news619090308