Energy & Green Tech news

Energy & Green Tech

Breaking down the battery problem: Cheaper, more efficient cathodes could cut costs

Consider the humble rechargeable battery: Many people start their day by unplugging their phone from a charger to check the weather or commute to work, or throw on their favorite podcast. They'll end the day by plugging in ...

Energy & Green Tech

Carbon nanotube fiber 'textile' heaters could help industry electrify high-temperature gas heating

A cross-disciplinary team at Rice University has developed a new type of electric heating element—one that looks less like a traditional metal coil and more like a high-performance thread. In a study published in Small, ...

Engineering

Zeolite 'thermal batteries' could cut data center cooling power up to 86%

Data centers—the warehouse-sized buildings that store photos, stream movies and train artificial intelligence—are voracious consumers of electricity. A surprisingly large share of that power never reaches a microchip. ...

Energy & Green Tech

Cheaper EV batteries? How a fabrication tweak makes sulfur work in solid-state cells

Spurred by EVs and electrified aviation, global demand for lithium-ion batteries is expected to more than double its 2023 levels by 2030, far outstripping demand, according to S&P Global Insights. New batteries must be powerful, ...

Business

Power outages cost US electricity customers billions

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have provided the first comprehensive analysis of the specific costs of power outages to local customers across the nation. It found that the average ...

Electronics & Semiconductors

Canadians toss electronics at a concerning rate

The first survey of Canadian consumers regarding their purchase and disposal of electronics reveals that 64% of people replace their items for reasons other than the device breaking down or being obsolete. This behavior points ...

Energy & Green Tech

AI tool predicts building emissions from simple text descriptions

Researchers at the University of Bath have developed the first artificial intelligence (AI) tool that predicts the carbon footprint of buildings from simple text descriptions, giving architects real-time feedback on sustainability ...

Energy & Green Tech

Small modular reactors gain competitive edge with new digital twin

Advanced nuclear is within reach—and a new digital twin reveals how smarter plant operations can enhance the economic viability and safety of small modular reactors, or SMRs. In collaboration with the University of Tennessee ...

Energy & Green Tech

Diversifying lithium-rich mineral sources with petalite

Demand for lithium is surging, as the world transitions to renewable energy and adopts new technologies. Lithium-ion batteries play a central role in this shift, powering everything from cars to portable electronics. To meet ...

Energy & Green Tech

China ramps up energy boom flagged by Musk as key to AI race

New data on China's relentless energy installations underscore warnings from Elon Musk and Jensen Huang that the nation's world-beating power network will deliver a major advantage over the U.S. in the race to dominate artificial ...

Engineering

Your future home might be framed with printed plastic

The plastic bottle you just tossed in the recycling bin could provide structural support for your future house. MIT engineers are using recycled plastic to 3D print construction-grade beams, trusses, and other structural ...