Cleantech and Environmental News – Latest Headlines

100% renewable energy sources require overcapacity

To switch electricity supply from nuclear to wind and solar power is not so simple.

January 25, 2017 Read more

Five reasons why you might be driving electric sooner than you think

New research has investigated innovations in electric mobility that could take the electric car from a niche to the mass market.

January 25, 2017 Read more

Scientists lay foundations for new type of solar cell

Using hot polarons to harvest sunlight.

January 24, 2017 Read more

An efficient way to convert renewable resources into energy

The NLO for PV project has doubled the maximum efficiency of converting solar radiation to energy by designing a device to harvest the heat losses of photovoltaics.

January 23, 2017 Read more

Finding ways to fix the climate before it is too late

Scientists and policymakers rely on complex computer simulations called Integrated Assessment Models to figure out how to address climate change. But these models need tinkering to make them more accurate.

January 18, 2017 Read more

Scientists make plastic from pine trees

Most current plastics are made from oil, which is unsustainable. However, scientists have developed a renewable plastic from a chemical called pinene found in pine needles.

January 17, 2017 Read more

Designing architecture with solar building envelopes

In a new project, researchers currently developing two facade collectors for solar thermal energy generation, which permit a high degree of design flexibility: a strip collector for opaque facade sections and a solar thermal blind for transparent sections.

January 16, 2017 Read more

Biofuel matchmaker: Finding the perfect algae for renewable energy

Streamlined process speeds up algae strain selection, could lower biofuel production costs.

January 13, 2017 Read more

When and how is investing in a solar power plant worth it?

Scientists compiled a guide to calculate the yield from a solar power plant before operations have started.

January 11, 2017 Read more

New technology will cut plug-in hybrid fuel consumption by one third

Researchers are combining connected vehicle technology and evolutionary algorithms to make PHEVs more efficient.

January 11, 2017 Read more

Summer heat for the winter

Can thermal solar energy be stored until wintertime? Within a European research consortium Empa scientists and their colleagues have spent four years studying this question by pitting three different techniques against each other.

January 10, 2017 Read more

Crystallization method offers new option for carbon capture from ambient air

Researchers have found a simple, reliable process to capture carbon dioxide directly from ambient air, offering a new option for carbon capture and storage strategies to combat global warming.

January 9, 2017 Read more

Pioneering a better way to make renewable hydrogen

Scientists have developed a method which boosts the longevity of high-efficiency photocathodes in photoelectrochemical water-splitting devices.

January 9, 2017 Read more

Scientists identify a new approach to recycle greenhouse gas

Carbon dioxide conversion process may be adapted for biofuel synthesis.

January 6, 2017 Read more

Artificial leaf goes more efficient for hydrogen generation

A team of international researchers has recently engineered a new artificial leaf that can convert sunlight into fuel with groundbreaking efficiency.

January 4, 2017 Read more

Tenfold jump in green tech needed to meet global emissions targets

Green innovations must be developed and spread globally 10 times faster than in the past if we are to limit warming to below the Paris Agreement's 2 degrees C target.

January 3, 2017 Read more

The answer is blowing in the wind

Physics research provides new insights into the fluctuations of wind energy, with implications for engineering and policy.

December 31, 2016 Read more

Scientists build bacteria-powered battery on a single sheet of paper

Researchers have created a bacteria-powered battery on a single sheet of paper that can power disposable electronics.

December 21, 2016 Read more