Energy & Green Tech news

Energy & Green Tech

There's a better way to cool data centers that cuts their huge thirst for water

Water is an amazing substance. The human body is made up of more than 50% water. Approximately 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water. We drink it, bathe in it, cook with it and clean with it. It is also used to cool ...

Energy & Green Tech

Could nuclear energy solve power grid struggles? Q&A with an expert

Nuclear energy already plays a pivotal role in powering some of the largest economies in the U.S., including Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas, and it could be key to offsetting rapidly increasing demand for electricity across ...

Engineering

For green building, 'durable is the new 'sustainable'

Reducing the negative environmental impact of buildings—globally one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions—might be even more difficult than expected. New research from Drexel University indicates that, ...

Engineering

Could urine help make EV batteries? Electricity converts urea into hydrazine for energy storage

A team of researchers from Adelaide University's School of Chemical Engineering has identified a new way to create an important chemical for energy storage using urea. Hydrazine, the chemical in question, is widely used in ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

An energy storage device designed to be recycled

Smartwatches, phones and even some drones rely on lightweight, rechargeable energy storage systems. Once those devices wear out, many end up as electronic waste. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Energy Letters have developed ...

Energy & Green Tech

Why AI may boost carbon emissions instead of cutting them

AI data centers get a bad rap, not least because of concerns that they drive climate change by consuming massive amounts of electricity. But one potentially larger impact of AI on global carbon emissions may be that it's ...

Energy & Green Tech

Green hydrogen goldmine: Discovery of a hidden energy source

As the world searches for sources of low-emission energy, researchers at Edith Cowan University (ECU) have uncovered a potential clean energy game-changer beneath Western Australia's red soil. The new study has revealed a ...

Energy & Green Tech

How cement plants can remove CO₂ from the atmosphere

Cement is one of the most in-demand building materials of our time. Every year, around 4 billion tonnes are produced. Cement production is energy-intensive, and greenhouse gases are emitted during the process—particularly ...

Engineering

What 100,000 simulations reveal about the US power grid

On August 13, 2003, a single transmission line near Cleveland, Ohio, sags into an overgrown tree limb and short circuits. Within minutes, nearby lines overload and trip one after another, triggering cascading failures across ...

Engineering

Why solid-state batteries keep short-circuiting

Batteries that use solid metal as their charge-carrying electrolyte could potentially be a safer and far more energy-dense alternative to lithium-ion batteries. Unfortunately, these solid-state batteries have been plagued ...

Engineering

Harvesting heat and electricity from the sun, when you need it

Solar energy is abundant and frustratingly ill-timed. A sunbeam can become either electricity (useful for running modern life) or heat (useful for keeping spaces warm). But conventional solar hardware is single-minded: Photovoltaic ...

Energy & Green Tech

EVs can generate widespread economic benefits, new study says

Putting more electric cars on the road doesn't just benefit those with enough money to buy the often-pricey vehicles, it also pushes down prices at the gas pump while strengthening U.S. energy security, according to new research ...

Engineering

New bifacial solar cells yield efficiencies above 32%

Solar cells, devices that can convert sunlight into electricity, are now widely used in many countries worldwide. Over the past few years, energy engineers have been exploring alternative designs that could further boost ...