https://techxplore.com/rss-feed/energy-green-tech-news/ en-us The latest news on energy sciences and green technology, energy technology, energy renovation, alternative energy, and green energy. Many chemical processes require hydrogen, which is still being produced from fossil fuels. A protonic ceramic electrolyzer cell (PCEC) is a device that can produce hydrogen from water at temperatures that match key industrial processes. Researchers at the University of Groningen recently showed that careful coordination of materials in such a PCEC can double the production of hydrogen with the same electricity consumption. The results are published in Energy and Environmental Science on Oct. 14, 2026. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-hydrogen-production-synergy-materials.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:40:08 EDT news711903001 The rare earth elements that help power electric vehicles, wind turbines, medical imaging machines and other advanced technologies may be hiding in an unlikely place: industrial wastewater. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-porous-material-recovers-valuable-rare.html Engineering Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:08 EDT news711902101 With artificial intelligence (AI) data centers consuming electricity at a growing rate, identifying a sustainable computing solution to offset these massive community and environmental disruptors is proving critical. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-brain-semiconductor-chips-smarter-greener.html Hardware Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:40:20 EDT news711818581 The start of a new battery materials library could pave the way for future AI models to help scientists design sodium-ion batteries that charge faster, last longer and store more energy, according to new research from the University of Surrey. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-materials-library-ai-sodium-ion.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 21 Oct 2026 13:00:08 EDT news711806281 Research by Columbia University faculty in the Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science has revealed a new insight that challenges long-held assumptions about the fundamental chemistry of lithium-ion batteries. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-lithium-ions-unexpected-clusters-battery.html Engineering Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:20:20 EDT news711719294 A new study led by researchers at The University of Manchester has provided the first plant-wide assessment of chemical looping reforming, an emerging hydrogen production technology that combines hydrogen generation with built-in carbon capture. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-generation-hydrogen-production-built-carbon.html Engineering Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:00:01 EDT news711647221 A team of researchers in India has developed a new compound capable of releasing both hydrogen and methane when heated at low temperatures. In their new study, published in Science Advances, the researchers show how this new compound can provide a foundation for creating recyclable molecular compounds for storing and delivering alternative fuel components. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-fuels-crystalline-compound.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 19 Oct 2026 13:20:04 EDT news711633952 As the effects of climate change and the associated risks are increasingly being felt, several organizations have developed roadmaps that outline potential steps toward carbon neutrality in the aviation sector. These strategies include multiple levers, such as developing alternative fuels and introducing more efficient aircraft, and are supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) and the European Commission, among others. They are typically evaluated based on a single criterion: greenhouse gas emissions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-decarbonization-civil-aviation-transition-strategies.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:00:09 EDT news711373508 A research team led by professor Seong Kyun Kim of the Department of Physics and Chemistry at DGIST has developed a "passive cooling film material" that uses moisture in the air to cool electronic devices—no water or electricity is required. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-cooling-thermal-ai-era-electronic.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 16 Oct 2026 11:00:01 EDT news711366607 A research team led by professor Wonyoung Lee of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) has developed a technology that addresses interfacial contact resistance, a key factor limiting the performance of protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs), a next-generation clean energy technology. The new approach improves both the energy efficiency and durability of the cells. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-nanoscale-coating-boosts-hydrogen-cell.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 15 Oct 2026 17:00:03 EDT news711297061 Chemists developed a way to significantly improve the performance of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) made with perovskite. The journal Nature published the advancement in these hybrid LEDs, which hold potential for a range of uses, including biomedical sensing, low-light imaging and automated facial recognition. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-chemical-fine-tuning-perovskite-efficiency.html Engineering Thu, 15 Oct 2026 15:20:08 EDT news711293039 Thanks to the exponential rise of AI, the rapid construction of large, gigawatt-gobbling data centers across the country has stoked concerns about how the power grid will hold up under this additional strain. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-power-reductions-center-strain-energy.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 15 Oct 2026 15:00:02 EDT news711292458 Solar panels that can be coated onto thin, flexible surfaces could one day be made the way newspapers are printed, at room temperature and without the toxic chemicals the process has relied on, claim researchers from the University of Surrey. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-greener-chemistry-toxicity-perovskite-solar.html Engineering Thu, 15 Oct 2026 13:00:02 EDT news711286801 When trying to figure out a better design for a bacteria-powered biobattery, Binghamton University researchers found inspiration in nature—specifically, the insides of our small intestines. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-gut-power-small-intestineinspired-biobatteries.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 15 Oct 2026 11:40:07 EDT news711282790 A U.S. soldier may carry up to 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of batteries to power communications equipment and other electronics on missions. New research from FIU could help lighten that load. A team of engineers has developed a dual-use, razor-thin solar device that can harvest sunlight to generate electricity and also produce light. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-wearable-solar-device-power-soldiers.html Engineering Wed, 14 Oct 2026 10:20:01 EDT news711190402 A new study by researchers, including those in Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Department of Chemical Engineering, has found that the fastest-growing plant on Earth may offer a sustainable and cost-effective alternative to petroleum-derived transportation fuels. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-bamboo-emerges-potential-source-carbon.html Energy & Green Tech Wed, 14 Oct 2026 10:00:14 EDT news711190364 Asphalt containing recycled plastic held together better than conventional asphalt and showed a lower level of plastic-like particles after combined traffic and moisture-related laboratory testing, according to a study led by Penn State researchers. The findings suggest that improved pavement durability may help limit particle release, the team said, but field studies are needed to determine whether the same pattern occurs on real roads. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-recycled-plastic-asphalt-boost-pavement.html Engineering Wed, 14 Oct 2026 09:40:09 EDT news711188582 Hydrogen is expected to become an important energy carrier of the future, particularly for industrial applications. But this requires climate-friendly technologies that split water into hydrogen and oxygen. One major challenge is cost: PEM water electrolysis requires components that can withstand highly corrosive conditions. Some of these components are coated with platinum. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-platinum-cheaper-hydrogen-ultrathin-electrolyzer.html Engineering Tue, 13 Oct 2026 15:00:12 EDT news711120663 The cladding tubes of the fuel rods used in nuclear reactors must remain leak-tight—despite the risk of corrosion from the surrounding cooling water and despite the radiation they are exposed to during operation. It is therefore important to know how quickly corrosion layers form and how porous they are. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-3d-imaging-technique-nuclear-fuel.html Engineering Tue, 13 Oct 2026 14:40:16 EDT news711120181 A new battery binder—the glue that holds together a battery's internal parts—could make lithium-ion batteries more environmentally friendly and easier to recycle without sacrificing performance. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-binder-battery-recycling-sacrificing.html Engineering Mon, 12 Oct 2026 16:40:27 EDT news711040501 Around half of the energy used to train AI can be saved without affecting speed or performance, using software developed at the University of Michigan Engineering. Now, U-M researchers are working with NVIDIA to integrate their new approach into Megatron-LM, NVIDIA's open-source platform for training AI. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-software-tools-ai-energy.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 12 Oct 2026 16:20:11 EDT news711040381 Zinc-air batteries can store significantly more energy than lithium-ion batteries, but until now have been virtually impossible to recharge. A team led by Professor Jörg J. Schneider from the Department of Chemistry has now demonstrated how a material made of iron, nickel and carbon enables the battery to be charged and discharged up to 500 times. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-zinc-air-batteries-gain-momentum.html Energy & Green Tech Sun, 11 Oct 2026 12:20:01 EDT news710759710 Wind turbines, devices that can convert energy from the wind into electricity, do not burn fuel during operation and could thus reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite their possible environmental advantages, building these devices depends heavily on the mines and factories supplying the metals they are made of. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-high-rare-earth-demand-complicate.html Business Sat, 10 Oct 2026 11:20:07 EDT news710757587 A team co-led by researchers at the University of California San Diego has developed a new way to make perovskite solar cells—a promising next-generation solar technology—more efficient and durable. By creating a temporary liquid while the material crystallizes, researchers were able to grow perovskite crystals that were larger, more uniform and contained fewer defects. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-temporary-liquid-perovskite-solar-cells.html Energy & Green Tech Fri, 09 Oct 2026 13:20:01 EDT news710768221 Heating and cooling buildings account for a large portion of global energy use. A research team in the Texas A&M University Department of Materials Science and Engineering was featured on the cover of ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces for a study that aims to reduce that energy consumption. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-gel-energy-consumption.html Engineering Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:40:04 EDT news710696101 To mitigate climate change, direct air capture of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere has emerged as an increasingly attractive option for limiting global warming. But scaling up systems to remove and safely store enough CO₂ faces major obstacles, according to researchers at the Georgia Tech School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE). https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-simple-modification-commercial-resin-air.html Engineering Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:40:12 EDT news710677588 Researchers from Nagoya University in Japan have developed a durable fuel-cell catalyst by wrapping platinum nanoparticles in nitrogen-containing graphene and placing them on carbon nanotubes. This design retained 96.9% of its active surface after 30,000 durability cycles, pointing towards fuel cells with longer lifespans and lower platinum demand. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-platinum-fuel-cells-longer-nitrogen.html Engineering Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:20:01 EDT news710668801 Most electricity is generated by using heat to produce steam, which then turns a turbine. Although this approach performs exceptionally well in the high-temperature, superheated-steam regime, we currently lack widely applicable technologies that can exploit the much more abundant resource of low-temperature heat. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-method-reveals-efficiently-based-cells.html Engineering Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:20:14 EDT news710600798 Solar cells absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity. This process, however, is not perfect, and a large part of the solar energy is simply lost along the way. Some of it is lost as heat, while photons with insufficient energy pass through the cell without generating electricity. These are the sources of loss that most scientists in the field try to minimize, but there is another important one known as Boltzmann loss. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-solar-cells-gain-efficiency-emitting.html Engineering Tue, 06 Oct 2026 13:00:06 EDT news710508901 Wireless charging has already transformed how people power phones, wearables and even electric vehicles. The next leap is to advance wireless technologies beyond delivering electrical energy to directly producing nonelectrical outputs, such as optical, thermal and mechanical energy, according to actual needs. This would create an energy delivery network as flexible and efficient as the internet. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-10-wireless-energy-internet-roadmap-path.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 05 Oct 2026 11:00:11 EDT news710416081