A research team created a supercharged self-charging supercapacitor that will transform the future of renewable energy.
Category: sustainability – Page 7
Scientists have unlocked the secret world of dark excitons — tiny energy carriers crucial for the future of solar power and LEDs.
Using an advanced microscopy technique, researchers have mapped their formation in unprecedented detail, opening new doors for improving energy efficiency in cutting-edge materials.
Tracking invisible energy carriers in next-gen technology.
Japan introduces the first ‘super solar panel’ that is comparable to 20 nuclear reactors at once. It is called the perovskite solar cells (PSC).
Wireless communications technology has transformed the world, but the devices, which are quickly growing in number, require a consistent and ample source of power. Dong et al. developed a transparent device that harvests energy from two sources — radio waves and the sun — to power a wide range of wireless devices.
The breakthrough represents a significant step forward in optimizing energy conversion, since previous systems typically focused on harvesting either radio frequency or solar power, but not both. For example, coupling the energy harvester device with a solar cell increases the solar cell’s maximum power output by 13.11%. Furthermore, the device demonstrates an optical transparency of over 80 percent, allowing it to be invisibly integrated into many next-generation wireless technologies as both an energy harvester and a light transmitter.
Device may make smart windows and the Internet of Things more energetically sustainable.
Researchers from Stanford University are working on solar panel technology that works at night, which is one of the biggest challenges of solar power.
Scientists have unlocked a groundbreaking way to produce clean hydrogen using microwaves, drastically reducing the extreme heat required for conventional methods.
By harnessing microwave energy, the team lowered the reaction temperature by over 60%, making hydrogen production far more efficient and sustainable. A key breakthrough was the rapid creation of oxygen vacancies, essential for splitting water into hydrogen, in just minutes rather than hours.
Revolutionizing Hydrogen Production with Microwaves.
Google’s X “moonshot factory” this week announced its latest graduate. Heritable Agriculture is a data-and machine learning-driven startup aiming to improve how crops are grown.
As the firm noted in an announcement post published Tuesday, plants are incredibly efficient and impressive systems. “Plants are solar powered, carbon negative, self-assembling machines that feed on sunlight and water,” Heritable wrote.
Yet agriculture puts a massive strain on the planet and its resources, accounting for around 25% of anthropogenic greenhouse emissions. It’s the planet’s largest consumer of groundwater and can lead to soil erosion and water pollution via pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals.
Researchers develop a catalyst boosting lithium-air batteries with 0.52V, 960-hour stability, and 95.8% efficiency, advancing energy storage.
A team of engineers and roboticists at the University of Hong Kong have designed, built and tested an aerial robot capable of navigating unknown environments safely at high speeds while avoiding obstacles. In their paper published in the journal Science Robotics, the group describes how they overcame problems encountered by others attempting to build similar robots and how well their quadcopter robot, called SUPER, performed during testing.
Roboticists have been trying for several years to build a flying robot that could perform like birds—moving safely at high speeds while adjusting to unknown conditions as they arise, such as encountering gusts of wind, power lines, tree limbs or other objects appearing suddenly in their path.
Most such flying robots have relied on various types of sensors and cameras that had to process massive amounts of video data, slowing the speeds at which they could operate. In this new effort, the researchers in Hong Kong say they have finally overcome these challenges.