Energy & Green Tech news

Engineering

Small modular reactor potential lies in industry, not grid power

A technoeconomic assessment of small modular reactor (SMR) development across the United States suggests stakeholders should shift focus from the power sector to industry, according to a University of Michigan Engineering ...

Energy & Green Tech

Consumer camera modification offers low-cost way to assess solar cell performance

Commercial cameras can be powerful, producing images with exquisite detail that mimic real life. In the lab, specially designed cameras can photograph objects in the infrared region, invisible to the naked eye.

Energy & Green Tech

Real-world EV data reveal how uneven cell aging shortens battery lifespan

Electric vehicles (EVs), including cars, buses and trains, could significantly reduce the substantial greenhouse gas emissions produced by the transportation sector. These vehicles' performance and reliability over time, ...

Energy & Green Tech

Bike-sharing can make big dent in tailpipe emissions

Five heavily used bikes could take the emissions from one fossil fuel-powered car off Vancouver's roads, according to Simon Fraser University researchers, who say expanding bike-share networks can play a big role in curbing ...

Energy & Green Tech

Renewables hit record in 2025, but world must move faster: Report

Global renewable power capacity grew by record levels last year, a report showed Monday, hailed by the U.N. climate chief as a sign that the "brute power of market forces" is making the transition to clean energy irreversible.

Energy & Green Tech

EU proposes energy rating for data centers

Data centers in Europe will be rated on energy and water consumption under an EU proposal put forward Monday to pre-empt possible public discontent as the bloc pushes to boost its computing capacity.

Electronics & Semiconductors

Harvesting hot electrons could break solar panel barrier

Physics predicts that no more than 33% of the solar energy that falls on a solar panel can be converted into electricity. However, experiments and simulations by scientists at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands ...

Energy & Green Tech

Using light to track critical currents in the power grid

The increasingly complex network of electricity generators and consumers poses major challenges for Austria's energy transmission infrastructure. For example, the use of increasingly powerful inverters and rectifiers in the ...

Energy & Green Tech

Doubts as Italy eyes electric future for steel plant

Italy's government says the country's largest steelworks must be converted to electric furnaces after a court-ordered shutdown of polluting furnaces but, as Rome seeks a buyer, critics say its plan is woefully unsubstantiated.

Energy & Green Tech

Neighborhood effects of rooftop solar support the energy transition

A study by researchers from the Universities of Passau and Lausanne shows that when a household installs a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, neighboring households respond as well—and not only by installing solar panels themselves.

Energy & Green Tech

Energy-efficient electric drying with superheated steam

Drying is widely used across many sectors, including the paper, cement and chemical industries. It is a key step in the production, processing and treatment of minerals, food or detergents, for example.

Energy & Green Tech

Day-ahead solar forecasting improved for energy sector by up to 13%

Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated techniques that can improve day-ahead solar forecasts by up to 13% over the most consistently performing individual model. The work also emphasizes the importance ...

Energy & Green Tech

Existing power grids draw data centers to cities, study finds

When people picture a data center, they often imagine something remote: a huge warehouse humming quietly far from the city. New research from NYU Tandon School of Engineering shows that assumption is largely wrong.

Engineering

Study advances solar desalination with multifunctional membrane

As the world's population grows and industry expands, many countries in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia are facing a freshwater scarcity crisis. Finding sustainable ways to produce clean water has become an urgent ...

Engineering

Why making lighter and better batteries takes time

Lithium-ion batteries have revolutionized our lives since they first came onto the market in the early 1990s. They are now used in all sorts of devices, such as cellphones, laptops and electric vehicles.