Energy Efficiency News

RSS

Sulfur Used for Storing Solar Energy Overnight

A research team from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) along with their European partners plans to build an advanced sulfur-based storage system for solar power. Mass chemical storage of solar power and its overnight use as a fuel are to be realized by means of a closed sulfur-sulfuric acid cycle.

4 May 2017

New Molybdenum-Coated Catalyst Enhances the Production of Hydrogen

Hydrogen is considered to be one of the most promising clean fuels for use in portable generators, houses and cars. Hydrogen can also be sustainable fuel with no carbon footprint when it is produced from water using renewable energy resources.

4 May 2017

Research Video Shows Bubble-Blowing Battery in Action for First Time

Lithium-air batteries with around three times the energy capacity by weight of today's lithium-ion batteries could enable electric cars to drive a greater distance on a single charge in the days to come.

27 Apr 2017

High Efficiency Solar Cells Now Possible with New Simplified Fabrication Process

EPFL and CSEM researchers in Neuchâtel have developed a new amazing process for creating crystalline solar cells using electrical contacts at the rear, suppressing all shadowing at the front.

26 Apr 2017

Murray Material Resembling Porous Leaf Veins Could Enhance Battery Capacity

An international research team has deduced that the performance of applications ranging from rechargeable batteries to high-performance gas sensors can be enhanced by using the natural structure seen in leaves.

7 Apr 2017

New Electrode Prototype for On-Chip Energy Harvesting and Storage

An innovative prototype that could solve the storage challenge, which still holds back solar as a total energy solution, has been developed by researchers inspired by American fern.

3 Apr 2017

New Method Shows Promise for Making Lighter, Safer, More Efficient Lithium-Ion Batteries

A team of researchers from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the Council for Scientific Research (initialed CSIC in Spanish) have patented a technique for producing new ceramic electrodes for lithium-ion batteries that are more efficient, more resistant, cheaper, and safer than standard batteries.

31 Mar 2017

Rice Team Develops Oxygen-Evolution Catalyst for Solar Applications

An efficient, simple-to-manufacture oxygen-evolution catalyst has been created by Rice University scientists. This catalyst matches well with semiconductors for solar water splitting, the changing of solar energy to chemical energy in the form of oxygen and hydrogen.

24 Mar 2017

Researchers Effectively Store Solar Energy in Chemical Liquid

Efficient solar energy storage in a chemical liquid has been demonstrated by a team of scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. The stored energy can be transported and then discharged as heat whenever required.

21 Mar 2017

New Method to Improve Lithium-Sulfur Batteries for Electric Transport and Smart Grid Uses

Most of today’s portable electronics including cell phones, laptops, tablets, smart watches, and fitness trackers are powered by rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. However, their energy density - the quantity of energy stored within a given quantity of physical space, or mass - will have to be enhanced for these batteries to be extensively used in electric transport and smart grid applications.

7 Mar 2017