Wind Wing sails saved cargo ship up to 12 tons of fuel per day

A shipping vessel left China for Brazil while sporting some new improvements last August—a pair of 123-feet-tall, solid “wings” retrofitted atop its deck to harness wind power for propulsion assistance. But after its six-week maiden voyage testing the green energy tech, the Pyxis Ocean MC Shipping Kamsarmax vessel apparently had many more trips ahead of Read more about Wind Wing sails saved cargo ship up to 12 tons of fuel per day[…]

Satellite beamed power from space to Earth for the first time ever

The first experiment to transmit power to Earth from space could lead to a space-based solar power station within 10 years, according to one of the researchers involved. Such a station would benefit from greater exposure to the sun, due to the lack of clouds and atmosphere along with the ability to avoid nighttime darkness. Read more about Satellite beamed power from space to Earth for the first time ever[…]

Deep Abandoned Mine In Finland To Be Turned Into A Giant Gravity Battery

[…] the idea behind gravity batteries is really simple. During times when energy sources are producing more energy than the demand, the excess energy is used to move weights (in the form of water or sometimes sand) upwards, turning it into potential energy. When the power supply is low, these objects can then be released, Read more about Deep Abandoned Mine In Finland To Be Turned Into A Giant Gravity Battery[…]

Turning glass into a ‘transparent’ light-energy harvester

What happens when you expose tellurite glass to femtosecond laser light? That’s the question that Gözden Torun at the Galatea Lab at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, in collaboration with Tokyo Tech scientists, aimed to answer in her thesis work when she made the discovery that may one day turn windows into single material light-harvesting Read more about Turning glass into a ‘transparent’ light-energy harvester[…]

Two EV models powered by sodium-ion batteries roll off line in China

Two electric vehicle (EV) models powered by sodium-ion batteries have rolled off the production line in China, signaling that the new, lower-cost batteries are closer to being used on a large scale. A model powered by sodium-ion batteries built by Farasis Energy in partnership with JMEV, an EV brand owned by Jiangling Motors Group, rolled Read more about Two EV models powered by sodium-ion batteries roll off line in China[…]

firefly green fuels waste reactor and jet engine

UK startup makes human waste into low carbon jet fuel

Firefly Green Fuels, a UK-based company, has developed a new form of jet fuel that is entirely fossil-free and made from human waste. The company worked with experts at Cranfield University to confirm that the fuel they developed had a 90 percent lower carbon footprint than what is used in aviation today, according to the Read more about UK startup makes human waste into low carbon jet fuel[…]

lawrence livermore national laboratory NFT chamber

Nuclear fusion net gain experiment replicated three times.

Last year on a December morning, scientists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California (LLNL) managed, in a world first, to produce a nuclear fusion reaction that released more energy than it used, in a process called “ignition.” Now they say they have successfully replicated ignition at least three Read more about Nuclear fusion net gain experiment replicated three times.[…]

Adaptive wax-motor roof tile can cut both heating and cooling costs

[…] an adaptive tile, which when deployed in arrays on roofs, can lower heating bills in winter and cooling bills in summer, without the need for electronics. “It switches between a heating state and a cooling state, depending on the temperature of the tile,” said Xiao, the lead author of the study. “The target temperature Read more about Adaptive wax-motor roof tile can cut both heating and cooling costs[…]

New way to charge batteries using indefinite causal order, comes with counterintuitive findings

Batteries that exploit quantum phenomena to gain, distribute and store power promise to surpass the abilities and usefulness of conventional chemical batteries in certain low-power applications. For the first time, researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, take advantage of an unintuitive quantum process that disregards the conventional notion of causality to improve the Read more about New way to charge batteries using indefinite causal order, comes with counterintuitive findings[…]

Airbus commissions three wind-powered ships

The plane-maker on Thursday revealed it has “commissioned shipowner Louis Dreyfus Armateurs to build, own and operate these new, highly efficient vessels that will enter into service from 2026.” The ships will have conventional engines that run on maritime diesel oil and e-methanol, the latter fuel made with a process that produces less CO2 than Read more about Airbus commissions three wind-powered ships[…]

Google’s AI stoplight program leads to less stops, less emissions

It’s been two years since Google first debuted Project Green Light, a novel means of addressing the street-level pollution caused by vehicles idling at stop lights. […] Green Light uses machine learning systems to comb through Maps data to calculate the amount of traffic congestion present at a given light, as well as the average Read more about Google’s AI stoplight program leads to less stops, less emissions[…]

Microsoft is going nuclear to power its AI ambitions

Microsoft thinks next-generation nuclear reactors can power its data centers and AI ambitions, according to a job listing for a principal program manager who’ll lead the company’s nuclear energy strategy. Data centers already use a hell of a lot of electricity, which could thwart the company’s climate goals unless it can find clean sources of energy. Energy-hungry Read more about Microsoft is going nuclear to power its AI ambitions[…]

Heat pumps twice as efficient as fossil fuel systems in cold weather, study finds – gas lobby misinforms, blocks uptake

Heat pumps are more than twice as efficient as fossil fuel heating systems in cold temperatures, research shows. Even at temperatures approaching -30C, heat pumps outperform oil and gas heating systems, according to the research from Oxford University and the Regulatory Assistance Project thinktank. […] The research, published in the specialist energy research journal Joule, Read more about Heat pumps twice as efficient as fossil fuel systems in cold weather, study finds – gas lobby misinforms, blocks uptake[…]

Scientists design novel nonlinear circuit to harvest clean power using graphene

Obtaining useful work from random fluctuations in a system at thermal equilibrium has long been considered impossible. In fact, in the 1960s eminent American physicist Richard Feynman effectively shut down further inquiry after he argued in a series of lectures that Brownian motion, or the thermal motion of atoms, cannot perform useful work.   Now, Read more about Scientists design novel nonlinear circuit to harvest clean power using graphene[…]

Nuclear Fusion Scientists Successfully Recreate Net Energy Gain

[…] Reuters reports that scientists with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility in California repeated a fusion ignition reaction. The lab’s first breakthrough was announced by the U.S. Department of Energy in December. While the previous experiment produced net energy gain, a spokesperson from the lab told the outlet that this second experiment, Read more about Nuclear Fusion Scientists Successfully Recreate Net Energy Gain[…]

MIT Boffins Build Battery Alternative Out of Cement, Carbon Black, and Water

Long-time Slashdot reader KindMind shares a report from The Register: Researchers at MIT claim to have found a novel new way to store energy using nothing but cement, a bit of water, and powdered carbon black — a crystalline form of the element. The materials can be cleverly combined to create supercapacitors, which could in Read more about MIT Boffins Build Battery Alternative Out of Cement, Carbon Black, and Water[…]

Scientists Beam Space-Based Solar Power to Earth for First Time

[…] The experiment is a part of Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project, and the institute announced a successful transmission via press release yesterday. The researchers conducted the power transfer experiment using the Microwave Array for Power-transfer Low-orbit Experiment, or MAPLE, which is a small prototype aboard the in-orbit Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD-1) that launched Read more about Scientists Beam Space-Based Solar Power to Earth for First Time[…]

Bio-inspired Nanocomposite Membranes for Osmotic Energy Harvesting: Joule

Context & Scale Osmotic energy is a renewable energy with zero emissions and minimal daily variations. However, the membranes for osmotic energy harvesting must have multiple properties that are thought to be impossible to realize to make this technology viable. Here, we show that cartilage-inspired cation-selective composite membrane assembled from aramid nanofibers and boron nitride Read more about Bio-inspired Nanocomposite Membranes for Osmotic Energy Harvesting: Joule[…]

Newly discovered enzyme that turns air into electricity, providing a new clean source of energy

Australian scientists have discovered an enzyme that converts air into energy. The finding, published today in the journal Nature, reveals that this enzyme uses the low amounts of the hydrogen in the atmosphere to create an electrical current. This finding opens the way to create devices that literally make energy from thin air. The research Read more about Newly discovered enzyme that turns air into electricity, providing a new clean source of energy[…]

40-passenger hydrogen electric plane completes maiden flight

Mere weeks after achieving experimental airworthiness certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Universal Hydrogen has successfully taken its 40-passenger regional hydrogen electric plane to the skies. The aircraft took off from Washington state this morning and ascended to an altitude of 3,500 mean sea level (MSL) before safely landing, as you can see in Read more about 40-passenger hydrogen electric plane completes maiden flight[…]

Wind Turbine Giant Develops Solution To Keep Blades Out of Landfills

Vestas, the world’s largest producer of wind turbines, says it has developed a chemical solution that allows the blades — made with durable epoxy resin — to be broken down and recycled. Bloomberg reports: “This signals a new era for the wind industry,” Vestas said in a statement. If it’s implemented at scale, the technology Read more about Wind Turbine Giant Develops Solution To Keep Blades Out of Landfills[…]

Researchers can now pull hydrogen directly from seawater, no filtering required

Researchers at the University of Adelaide announced this week that they made clean hydrogen fuel from seawater without pre-treatment. Demand for hydrogen fuel, a clean energy source that only produces water when burned, is expected to increase in the coming years as the world (hopefully) continues to pivot away from fossil fuels. The findings could Read more about Researchers can now pull hydrogen directly from seawater, no filtering required[…]

Rolls-Royce successfully tests hydrogen-powered jet engine

Britain’s Rolls-Royce (RR.L) said it has successfully run an aircraft engine on hydrogen, a world aviation first that marks a major step towards proving the gas could be key to decarbonising air travel. The ground test, using a converted Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A regional aircraft engine, used green hydrogen created by wind and tidal power, the Read more about Rolls-Royce successfully tests hydrogen-powered jet engine[…]

In France, all large parking lots now have to be covered by solar panels

In France, solar just got a huge boost from new legislation approved through the Senate this week that requires all parking lots with spaces for at least 80 vehicles – both existing and new – be covered by solar panels. The new provisions are part of French president Emmanuel Macron’s large-scale plan to heavily invest Read more about In France, all large parking lots now have to be covered by solar panels[…]

Team creates crystals that generate electricity from heat

To convert heat into electricity, easily accessible materials from harmless raw materials open up new perspectives in the development of safe and inexpensive so-called “thermoelectric materials.” […] The novel synthetic material is composed of copper, manganese, germanium, and sulfur, and it is produced in a rather simple process […] The powders are simply mechanically alloyed Read more about Team creates crystals that generate electricity from heat[…]