Cleantech and Environmental News – Latest Headlines

Cheaper Chinese solar panels are not due to low-cost labor

Comparison of photovoltaic manufacturing in the US and China shows that scale and supply-chain development gives China the competitive advantage.

September 5, 2013 Read more

India to set up the National Institute for Solar Energy

India'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'.

September 5, 2013 Read more

Creating renewable plastics that don't cost the Earth

Imagine a future where packaging is made entirely from waste material and biodegrades to harmless by-products. Or where your home's cavity wall insulation foam is made from captured CO2 emissions. Or where construction materials, vehicle components and engineering plastics are sophisticated biological composites comprised of tough cellulose fibres embedded in naturally derived polymers.

September 5, 2013 Read more

Sharing the risks/costs of biomass crops

Farmers who grow corn and soybeans can take advantage of government price support programs and crop insurance, but similar programs are not available for those who grow biomass crops such as Miscanthus.

September 4, 2013 Read more

Limestone powder enhances performance of 'green' concrete

The promising laboratory results suggest a path to greatly increasing the use of fly ash in concrete, leading to sizable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, construction costs and landfill volumes. Global production of cement for concrete accounts for 5 to 8 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

September 4, 2013 Read more

Air pollution worsened by climate change set to be more potent killer in the 21st century

Call for stronger emission controls to curb air pollution and associated health risks and premature deaths.

September 4, 2013 Read more

Repackaging solar for the mass market

The mass market appeal of solar power could get a boost from design and packaging concepts being developed at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.

September 4, 2013 Read more

Direct ethanol from microalgae

A team of European scientists is on a mission to prove that microalgae can be used to produce bioethanol as a biofuel for less than EUR 0.40 a litre.

September 3, 2013 Read more

The true raw material footprint of nations

The amount of raw materials needed to sustain the economies of developed countries is significantly greater than presently used indicators suggest.

September 2, 2013 Read more

Increased greenhouse gases and aerosols have similar effects on rainfall

Although greenhouse gases and aerosols have very distinct properties, their effects on spatial patterns of rainfall change are surprisingly similar, according to new research.

September 2, 2013 Read more

Desalination to secure water in the desert

Murdoch University researchers are working with the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia (NCEDA) on an innovative project to secure water supplies in desert communities.

September 2, 2013 Read more

Mapping the renewable energy potential below our feet (w/video)

Easy-to-access visualisation of the 'very shallow geothermal potential' of Europe has been made possible thanks to an EU-funded project. By harmonising pre-existing data relating to geological, hydrogeological, soil and climate, the THERMOMAP project has developed an open source web service, accessible to all.

September 2, 2013 Read more

Modular battery concept for short-distance traffic

Electric mobility may be economically efficient today. Battery-based electric drives can be applied efficiently in urban buses, for instance. Frequent acceleration and slow-down processes as well as a high utilization rate in short-distance traffic make their use profitable even when considering current battery costs. At the IAA International Motor Show in Frankfurt, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) will present an e-city bus demonstrator to illustrate the concept.

September 2, 2013 Read more

Solar energy for sensor nodes

Tiny solar cells applied directly to a silicon chip are a potential way of efficiently and reliably powering wireless sensor networks in the future. Above all, this would simplify large-scale applications, for instance in agriculture.

September 2, 2013 Read more

ASU LightWorks, Sandia partner to tackle renewable energy challenges

Arizona State University and Sandia National Laboratories have signed a formal partnership agreement on important renewable energy challenges. The goals of the memorandum of understanding are to encourage collaborative research, build educational and workforce development programs and inform policy endeavors.

August 31, 2013 Read more

Designer sugarcane, not switchgrass, being retooled to produce biofuels (w/video)

Second-generation bioenergy plants could be released in two years.

August 30, 2013 Read more

New study finds algal cells create fat more quickly than thought, could aid biofuel research

A new study shows show that lipid accumulation in algal cells begins just hours after they are starved of nitrogen - not days, as scientists previously believed.

August 30, 2013 Read more

Hydrogen fuel from sunlight with a unique semiconductor/catalyst construct

Researchers have developed a method by which molecular hydrogen-producing catalysts can be interfaced with a semiconductor that absorbs visible light. Experimental results indicate that the catalyst and the light-absorber are interfaced structurally as well as functionally.

August 29, 2013 Read more