Carbon monoxide-rich exhaust gases from steel plants are only being reclaimed to a minor extent as power or heat. Researchers have developed a new recycling process for this materially unused carbon resource: They successfully produced fuel and specialty chemicals from these exhaust gases on a laboratory scale.
Posted: Jul 1st, 2015
Read more
3D measurements of microstructures reveal that sodium's larger ion size does not degrade battery materials as much as previously thought.
Posted: Jun 29th, 2015
Read more
Sharc25, a European research project launched in May, is setting out to develop extremely efficient thin-film solar cells for the next generation of more cost-effective solar modules.
Posted: Jun 26th, 2015
Read more
By 2030 around half of all electricity in Europe should come from renewable energies in order to reach EU climate targets. This applies to Germany, France, the Benelux countries, Austria and Switzerland. Varying volumes of national wind and solar supply can be balanced out through the cross-border integration of power systems.
Posted: Jun 25th, 2015
Read more
Global power generation will experience five dominant trends over the next 25 years, putting unprecedented pressure on energy companies, utilities and policy-makers, according to the New Energy Outlook 2015, published today.
Posted: Jun 24th, 2015
Read more
Researchers have developed a new technique for 'scheduling' energy in electric grids that moves away from centralized management by tapping into the distributed computing power of energy devices. The approach advances the smart grid concept by coordinating the energy being produced and stored by both conventional and renewable sources.
Posted: Jun 24th, 2015
Read more
Research in solar-derived liquid fuels, or solar fuels, aims to make a range of products that are compatible with our energy infrastructure today, such as gasoline, jet fuel and hydrogen. The goal is to store sunlight in liquid form, conveniently overcoming the transient nature of sunlight.
Posted: Jun 23rd, 2015
Read more
An advanced manufacturing approach for lithium-ion batteries promises to significantly slash the cost of the most widely used type of rechargeable batteries while also improving their performance and making them easier to recycle.
Posted: Jun 23rd, 2015
Read more
Researchers have devised a new formula for calculating the maximum efficiency of thermoelectric materials, the first new formula in more than a half-century, designed to speed up the development of new materials suitable for practical use.
Posted: Jun 22nd, 2015
Read more
Last week, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) released a report demonstrating that increases in clean energy investments create more job opportunities.
Posted: Jun 22nd, 2015
Read more
Making water safe to drink for rural, off-grid Indian villages.
Posted: Jun 22nd, 2015
Read more
An investigation into how owls fly and hunt in silence has enabled researchers to develop a prototype coating for wind turbine blades that could significantly reduce the amount of noise they make.
Posted: Jun 22nd, 2015
Read more
Researchers have now pioneered a process that could enable the efficient recycling of two rare-earth metals, neodymium and dysprosium. These elements comprise the small, powerful magnets that are found in many high-tech devices. In contrast to the massive and energy-intensive industrial process currently used to separate rare earths, the method works nearly instantaneously at room temperature and uses standard laboratory equipment.
Posted: Jun 18th, 2015
Read more
Switchgrass is an excellent candidate for biofuel production. However, growing and processing switchgrass is barely profitable. It lacks qualities, such as high biomass yield, needed to maximize biofuel production. To breed switchgrass that has the optimal combination of traits, the researchers tried evaluating plants using the Smith-Hazel Selection Index.
Posted: Jun 18th, 2015
Read more
Scientists have made an important discovery that forms the basis for the development of new applications in biofuels and the sustainable manufacturing of chemicals.
Posted: Jun 18th, 2015
Read more
Researchers and industry are cooperating within the SOLAM (solar melting of aluminium in a directly radiated rotary kiln) project to develop a method by which aluminium foundries could use solar energy to melt this metal. The method would allow the companies to reduce their electricity consumption to a great extent and substantially lower their carbon dioxide emissions.
Posted: Jun 17th, 2015
Read more