Energy & Green Tech news

Engineering

Cool roofs could have saved lives during London's hottest summer

As many as 249 lives could have been saved in London during the 2018 record-setting hot summer had the city widely adopted cool roofs, estimates a new study by researchers at UCL and the University of Exeter.

Engineering

New cooling system works on gravity instead of electricity

Its abundance of sunlight and heavy investment in solar cell technology has positioned Saudi Arabia well in its transition to becoming a leading exporter of renewable energy. Indeed, solar energy currently makes up more than ...

Energy & Green Tech

Researcher wants to ensure AI doesn't ruin the environment

Artificial intelligence (AI) has changed the world as we know it. It's been used for everything from health-care monitoring to writing speeches. But the technology's impact on the environment is becoming a serious concern.

Business

Study warns of $557 trillion in stranded assets by 2050 if fossil fuel investments continue

Continued investment in carbon-intensive industries will drastically increase the amount of "stranded assets" as the world moves to net-zero emissions, researchers warn.

Energy & Green Tech

Britain's last coal-fired power station closes

The UK's last coal-fired power station will officially close its doors on Monday, making Britain the first G7 country to end its reliance on the fossil fuel to produce electricity.

Energy & Green Tech

Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom

Taxi driver Surendra Parajuli's decision to buy an electric cab would have been unthinkable a decade ago, when chronic power cuts left Nepalis unable to light their homes at night.

Engineering

Which is ecologically better: Concrete or plastic pipes?

On behalf of the FBS (Federal Association of Concrete Sewer Systems), Fraunhofer UMSICHT prepared a life cycle assessment of the environmental impact of wastewater pipes made of (steel) concrete. This also functions as an ...

Energy & Green Tech

NASA data powers energy saving decisions

NASA's long-term, global view of Earth from space includes data on sunlight, wind, temperature and precipitation, all key elements in understanding how our planet works. That same, information is also being put to very practical ...

Energy & Green Tech

Research shows fractals could be pleasing in solar panels

Stress reduction and improved solar electricity could someday come together in an unexpected package, and a University of Oregon study suggests that a new design of eye-pleasing, fractal-patterned rooftop solar panels could ...

Energy & Green Tech

Scientists develop high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Recently, research groups led by Prof. Liu Jian and Prof. Wu Zhongshuai from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed Fe1-xS-decorated mesoporous carbon spheres as ...

Energy & Green Tech

Seeing 'under the hood' in batteries

From next-gen smartphones to longer-range electric cars and an improved power grid, better batteries are driving tech innovation. And to push batteries beyond their present-day performance, researchers want to see "under ...

Energy & Green Tech

Can solar power ever fully replace fossil fuels?

The 2019/20 Australian bushfire season, known as the black summer, changed how remote communities get electricity. But can we change the entire nation's energy use?

Energy & Green Tech

Tandem solar cell world record: New branch in the NREL chart

A new world-record-setting solar cell developed by HZB combines the semiconductors perovskite and CIGS to a monolithic 'two-terminal' tandem cell. Due to the thin-film technologies used, such tandem cells survive much longer ...

Energy & Green Tech

Technique harvests waste heat from untapped sources

Thermoelectric materials convert heat to electricity or vice versa. However, their application to harvest waste heat is limited by challenges in fabrication and materials. Finding cost-effective ways to cover large and potentially ...

Robotics

New scavenger technology allows robots to 'eat' metal for energy

When electronics need their own power sources, there are two basic options: batteries and harvesters. Batteries store energy internally, but are therefore heavy and have a limited supply. Harvesters, such as solar panels, ...