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 ...

Engineering

Creating smart, resilient cities for a sustainable future

The vision to create sustainable urban spaces is becoming a reality in several European cities, including Rotterdam, Umea and Glasgow. Thanks to the EU-funded Ruggedised project, Rotterdam is developing and implementing various ...

Energy & Green Tech

AI techniques used to improve battery health and safety

Researchers have designed a machine learning method that can predict battery health with 10x higher accuracy than current industry standard, which could aid in the development of safer and more reliable batteries for electric ...

Energy & Green Tech

Floating wind turbines on the rise

Over 26,000 megawatts (MW) of planned offshore wind capacity exists in the offshore wind development pipeline. Rapidly falling technology costs for offshore wind, including floating offshore wind technology, have aided the ...

Energy & Green Tech

Cleanup of US nuclear waste takes back seat as virus spreads

The U.S. government's efforts to clean up Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has lumbered along for decades, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens ...

Energy & Green Tech

The hydrogen factory of the future

Hydrogen is indispensable to successfully transitioning to renewables and meeting climate targets. It is the essential building block of sector coupling. While it provides an ecofriendly option to meet industry demand for ...

Energy & Green Tech

Uncertain climate future could disrupt energy systems

Extreme weather events—such as severe drought, storms, and heat waves—have been forecast to become more commonplace and are already starting to occur. What has been less studied is the impact on energy systems and how ...

Energy & Green Tech

Major new study charts course to net zero industrial emissions

A major new study by an interdisciplinary team of researchers finds that it is possible—and critical—to bring industrial greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2070. Published Sunday in Applied Energy, the study assesses ...

Energy & Green Tech

Scientists tap unused energy source to power smart sensor networks

The electricity that lights our homes and powers our appliances also creates small magnetic fields that are present all around us. Scientists have developed a new mechanism capable of harvesting this wasted magnetic field ...

Energy & Green Tech

'Tequila' powered biofuels more efficient than corn or sugar

The agave plant used to make tequila could be established in semi-arid Australia as an environmentally friendly solution to Australia's transport fuel shortage, a team of researchers at the University of Sydney, University ...

Energy & Green Tech

Researchers develop novel supercritical water oxidation system

A research group from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has proposed a novel supercritical water oxidation (SCWO) system with an inverse cool-wall reactor to realize ...