Cleantech and Environmental News – Latest Headlines

Innovative self-cooling, thermoelectric system developed

Researchers at the UPNA/NUP-Public University of Navarre have produced a prototype of a self-cooling thermoelectric device that achieves 'free' cooling of over 30ºC in devices that give off heat. It is a piece of equipment that acts as a traditional cooler but which consumes no electricity because it obtains the energy it needs to function from the very heat that has to be dissipated.

April 11, 2013 Read more

New centre to focus on harvest and storage of solar energy

Imagine a car coated with a surface that can simultaneously capture and store energy from the sun's rays. It would solve one of the main problems associated with solar cells - they don't work at night or in foul weather.

April 10, 2013 Read more

Understanding the life of lithium ion batteries in electric vehicles

Scientists today answered a question that worries millions of owners and potential owners of electric and hybrid vehicles using lithium-ion batteries: How long before the battery pack dies, leaving a sticker-shock bill for a fresh pack or a car ready for the junk heap?

April 10, 2013 Read more

Limiting greenhouse gas emissions from land use in Europe

New research presented by IIASA researcher Hannes Bottcher at the EGU General Assembly this week estimates future land use emissions for the European Union, showing that Europe could potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land use by more than 60 percent by 2050.

April 10, 2013 Read more

Diatoms explain release of CO2

Scientists have found unexpectedly high concentrations of opal, a mineral containing silicate, in marine sediments during the transition periods from ice ages to warm phases. The explanation as to what caused these high concentrations can also clarify how oceans release sequestered carbon dioxide. The underlying mechanism is still unexplained today.

April 10, 2013 Read more

NREL launches initiative to build solar performance database

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has launched an initiative to build an open-source database of real-world performance from solar facilities across the country.

April 9, 2013 Read more

New wind harvesting invention to bring cities to life

Is this what the cities of the future will look like? Towering skyscrapers fitted with softly rotating panelled windows that harness wind energy and convert it into electricity?

April 9, 2013 Read more

'Artificial leaf' gains the ability to self-heal damage and produce energy from dirty water

Another innovative feature has been added to the world's first practical 'artificial leaf', making the device even more suitable for providing people in developing countries and remote areas with electricity, scientists reported here today. It gives the leaf the ability to self-heal damage that occurs during production of energy.

April 9, 2013 Read more

Global solar photovoltaic industry is likely now a net energy producer

The rapid growth of the solar power industry over the past decade may have exacerbated the global warming situation it was meant to soothe, simply because most of the energy used to manufacture the millions of solar panels came from burning fossil fuels. That irony, according to Stanford University researchers, is coming to an end.

April 8, 2013 Read more

Hydrogen from methane without CO2 emissions

Production of hydrogen from methane without carbon dioxide emissions is the objective of a project in which KIT is a major partner. At KALLA, the Karlsruhe Liquid-metal Laboratory, researchers are setting up a novel liquid-metal bubble column reactor, in which methane is decomposed into hydrogen and elemental carbon at high temperature.

April 8, 2013 Read more

Smog-eating pavement on 'greenest street in America'

The big rigs rattling past smokestacks sure don't make this Chicago roadway look like the greenest street in America.

April 7, 2013 Read more

Study provides new insight into photosynthesis

Pigments found in plants and purple bacteria employed to provide protection from sun damage do more than just that. Researchers from the University of Toronto and University of Glasgow have found that they also help to harvest light energy during photosynthesis.

April 4, 2013 Read more

Department of Energy renews Joint BioEnergy Institute for another five years (w/video)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a five-year renewal of funding for the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), a Bay Area multi-institutional scientific partnership. Under the renewal, JBEI will be funded at the rate of $25 million annually through 2018.

April 4, 2013 Read more

Highest efficiency in black solar cells ever: 18.7%

Scientists at Aalto University, Finland and Fraunhofer ISE, Germany report an efficiency of 18.7% for black silicon solar cells, the highest efficiency reported so far for a black silicon solar cell.

April 4, 2013 Read more

Novel steps in quest for organic materials capable of converting solar energy into electricity

New research explores artificial photosynthesis and the design of new photoelectric materials known as biomimetic materials.

April 4, 2013 Read more

Materials manufacturers unlikely to meet targets for carbon-emissions reductions by 2050

Despite more energy-efficient manufacturing, researchers found that such processes may be approaching their thermodynamic limits: There are increasingly limited options available to make them significantly more efficient. The result is that energy efficiency for many important processes in manufacturing is approaching a plateau.

April 4, 2013 Read more

The Combined Power Plant 2 Project: Renewable energy yielding results

A network of small power plants capable of replacing traditional power stations has long been the dream of proponents of renewable energy. The idea, however, has always foundered on concerns over whether a decentralised network could meet national energy demands and provide a stable service while dealing with such huge capacities. Now, a team of European researchers have taken a giant step towards making this dream a reality with the Combined Power Plant 2 (Kombikraftwerk2) project.

April 3, 2013 Read more

Breakthrough in hydrogen fuel production could revolutionize alternative energy market

A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered a way to extract large quantities of hydrogen from any plant, a breakthrough that has the potential to bring a low-cost, environmentally friendly fuel source to the world.

April 3, 2013 Read more