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Already noted for saving gasoline and having zero emissions, electric cars have quietly taken on an unlikely new dimension - the ability to reach blazing speeds that rival the 0-to-60 performance of a typical Porsche or BMW, and compete on some race courses with the world's best gasoline-powered cars, an authority said here today at a major scientific conference.
Sep 9th, 2013
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Renewable energy holds the promise of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. But there are times when solar and wind farms generate more electricity than is needed by consumers. Storing that surplus energy in batteries for later use seems like an obvious solution. But a new Stanford University study finds that when you factor in the energetic costs, grid-scale batteries make sense for storing surplus solar energy, but not for wind.
Sep 9th, 2013
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A University of California, Riverside assistant professor of electrical engineering and several colleagues have created a new measurement tool that could help avoid an energy crisis like the one California endured during the early 2000s and better prepare the electricity market for the era of the smart grid.
Sep 9th, 2013
Read moreResearchers are exploring thin film photovoltaic (PV) technology based on kesterite - Copper-Zinc-Tin Sulphide crystal structure - materials that are less expensive and more widely available than materials currently used in PV panels.
Sep 9th, 2013
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The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is starting up a research factory for small series production of lithium-ion cells. The batteries that will be manufactured based on the new methods developed there will meet the enormous demands on product quality and efficiency.
Sep 9th, 2013
Read moreNew research from the University of East Anglia shows that rising ocean temperatures will upset natural cycles of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and phosphorous. Plankton plays an important role in the ocean's carbon cycle by removing half of all CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and storing it deep under the sea. Findings published today in Nature Climate Change reveal that water temperature has a direct impact on maintaining the delicate plankton ecosystem of our oceans.
Sep 8th, 2013
Read moreWith almost 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide released each year from burning coal, gasoline, diesel and other fossil fuels in the United States alone, scientists are seeking ways to turn the tables on the No. 1 greenhouse gas and convert it back into fuel.
Sep 8th, 2013
Read moreThe EU-funded MERGE project ('Mobile Energy Resources in Grids of Electricity') was aimed at addressing the issue of electric vehicle deployment without major changes to existing power network infrastructure.
Sep 6th, 2013
Read moreTwenty five years ago, the German chemist Michael Braungart developed a new approach to recycling, now called 'Cradle to Cradle' or C2C after the book, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, which he and the American architect William McDonough published in 2002. Their basic idea is that the recycling process should start with the initial design of products.
Sep 6th, 2013
Read moreStudy shows that factors other than wages dominate trends in photovoltaic costs, raising the prospect of competitive manufacturing anywhere.
Sep 6th, 2013
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Although microbes that live in the so-called "dark ocean"-- below a depth of some 600 feet where light doesn't penetrate-- may not absorb enough carbon to curtail global warming, they do absorb considerable amounts of carbon and merit further study, according to a University of Iowa study.
Sep 5th, 2013
Read moreCoal-fired electricity may have little or no economic future in Australia, even if carbon capture and storage becomes commercially available, a new analysis has found.
Sep 5th, 2013
Read moreThe Algae Biomass Organization (ABO), the trade association for the algae industry, and the Algae Industry Incubation Consortium, Japan (AIIC), a group working to commercialize algae biofuels in Japan, announced today a cooperative effort to share algae industry best practices and expertise that is commencing at the International Symposium on Algal Biomass being held September 5-6 at the Nomura Conference Plaza Nihonbashi in Tokyo, Japan.
Sep 5th, 2013
Read moreAn Arizona State University engineer, along with a physician and an urban planning expert at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is undertaking research to help cities take steps to lessen the impact of rising temperatures.
Sep 5th, 2013
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Rice farming near Beijing has contaminated and tapped the city's drinking water supply. For the past four years, China has been paying farmers to grow corn instead of rice, an effort that Stanford research shows is paying off for people and the environment.
Sep 5th, 2013
Read moreUN-backed study says annual treated wastewater in North America roughly equals volume of Niagara Falls; less than 4 percent is reused.
Sep 5th, 2013
Read moreComparison of photovoltaic manufacturing in the US and China shows that scale and supply-chain development gives China the competitive advantage.
Sep 5th, 2013
Read moreIndia's Union Government has approved the establishment of a new central center for solar energy research and development and related activities. The National Institute for Solar Energy (NISE) will be established through the conversion of the existing Solar Energy Center in Gurgaon, with a goal to develop it as a 'world class institute'.
Sep 5th, 2013
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