Energy & Green Tech news

Engineering

A pendulum-based system allows energy to be extracted from ocean currents

Converting the vibrations generated by water currents in contact with an object into energy. This is the basis of the new system designed by Francisco Huera, a researcher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the ...

Energy & Green Tech

The best hydrogen for heavy-duty transport is locally produced and green, say researchers

If trucks ran on hydrogen instead of fossil fuels, carbon dioxide emissions from heavy-duty road transport could be significantly reduced. At the same time, a new study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden shows ...

Business

Adding batteries to hydropower facilities could increase dam lifespan and potential revenue

In its current form, the nation's electric grid largely doesn't store energy. The vast majority of electricity generated by fossil fuels, hydropower, and other sources flows into the grid and is immediately used by consumers. ...

Energy & Green Tech

Smart transparent woods can block UV and save energy

Environmentally friendly buildings are highly attractive for sustainable development and efficient energy consumption. Recently, scientists have made significant strides toward the development of energy-efficient smart windows—with ...

Energy & Green Tech

Microsoft says will foot AI's massive power bill

Microsoft said Tuesday it will shoulder the full electricity costs of its US data centers to prevent American households from facing higher power bills driven by surging AI energy demand.

Business

Understanding ammonia energy's tradeoffs around the world

Many people are optimistic about ammonia's potential as an energy source and carrier of hydrogen, and though large-scale adoption would require major changes to the way it is currently manufactured, ammonia does have a number ...

Engineering

Pushing organic solar cell efficiency past 18%

A joint research team from National Taiwan University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, and National Tsing Hua University has discovered a precise molecular engineering strategy. By adjusting the side chains of organic ...

Energy & Green Tech

Electric vehicles could catch on in Africa sooner than expected

The number of vehicles in Africa is expected to double between now and 2050—faster than on any other continent. The question is not whether mobility will increase, but how. A new study led by researchers at ETH Zurich and ...

Energy & Green Tech

Power grid testing boosts distribution innovations to utility scale

A historic legacy now translates to pioneering capabilities in electric grid technology at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The secure electrical infrastructure that enabled World War II nuclear advances ...

Energy & Green Tech

New technique could facilitate faster nuclear forensics

Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have, for the first time, used a breakthrough technique with a goal of better identifying the origin of nuclear materials—a tool that could someday help efforts to prevent the ...

Energy & Green Tech

Ionogel innovation could power safe, enduring energy storage

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed an innovative energy storage system design that introduces a safer, more efficient method for electrical charge transfer.

Energy & Green Tech

AI data centers could stabilize the power grid

The rapid development and widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems is posing new challenges for electricity consumption. This is because most AI systems rely on data centers, facilities hosting several computing ...

Business

Power paradox: Why wind energy could face an economic squeeze

Wind is doing a better job of displacing carbon from the electricity grid than it gets credit for, according to a recent mechanical engineering master's graduate whose economics-steeped thesis makes the case that wind power ...

Energy & Green Tech

New book explores 'socially sustainable' architecture

Alexandra Staub, author and professor of architecture in the College of Arts and Architecture's Stuckeman School at Penn State, examines how architects can better serve society by changing their approach to the building process ...

Energy & Green Tech

The state of lithium

Shabbir Ahmed, assistant professor in South Dakota State University's Department of Mechanical Engineering, is conducting unique research to better understand a technological invention that has defined the 21st century: lithium-ion ...