Energy and Green Tech News

Researchers have long been searching for alternatives to lead-based perovskites for use in electronic devices due to concerns about toxicity and performance limitations. Tin-based perovskites offer a promising solution, but they also present their own challenges, particularly the instability caused by tin oxidation and the difficulty of forming defect-free films.... Read more

Fast charging a battery is supposed to be risky—a shortcut that leads to battery breakdown. But for a Georgia Tech team studying zinc-ion batteries, fast charging led to a breakthrough: It made the battery stronger. This result could revolutionize how we power homes, hospitals, and the grid.... Read more

Google will provide its Gemini artificial intelligence tools to US federal agencies practically free, the government announced Thursday.... Read more

Researchers have demonstrated a new technique for precisely controlling phase boundaries in thin film materials by manipulating the thickness of those films—allowing them to engineer energy storage materials that do not rely on toxic elements. In proof-of-concept testing for the new technique, the researchers found that a nontoxic thin film... Read more

In Canada, it can seem like there are two seasons: winter and construction. Whether it's repairing sidewalks and streets, or building new homes and apartments, much of this work uses cement—the key ingredient of concrete.... Read more

A collaborative team of researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Ajou University in South Korea has revealed that the unique fan-like propellers of Rhagovelia water striders—which allow them to glide across fast-moving streams—open and close passively, like a paintbrush, ten times faster than... Read more

Machine learning software helps agencies make important decisions, such as who gets a bank loan or what areas police should patrol. But if these systems have biases, even small ones, they can cause real harm. A specific group of people could be underrepresented in a training dataset, for example, and... Read more

A Concordia-led team of researchers has developed a groundbreaking model that rethinks the way packages are delivered in urban environments.... Read more

A new type of drone, inspired by the aerial precision of birds of prey, could one day navigate through dense city skyscrapers to deliver our packages or inspect hard-to-reach offshore wind farms, thanks to pioneering research from the University of Surrey.... Read more

A recent study has identified that the primary cause of early-stage performance decline in water electrolyzers is due to the agglomeration of platinum (Pt) catalyst particles on the cathode.... Read more

Biological systems have inspired the development of next-generation soft robotic systems with diverse motions and functions. Such versatility in soft robots—in terms of rapid and efficient crawling—can be achieved via asymmetric bending through bilayer-type actuators that combine responsive liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) with flexible substrates. This, in turn, requires temperature-responsive... Read more

Researchers affiliated with UNIST have managed to prolong the lifespan of iron-chromium redox flow batteries (Fe-Cr RFBs), large-capacity and explosion-proof energy storage systems (ESS). This advancement enhances the safety and reliability of storing renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, which often produce electricity intermittently, enabling secure storage and... Read more

Potassium- and calcium-modified ilmenite oxygen carriers, developed by the Institute of Science Tokyo, significantly improve hydrogen yields and redox reaction efficiency in chemical looping systems. The chemical modification of ilmenite results in the formation of a calcium titanate phase with iron substitution.... Read more

Space-based solar power has the potential to reduce Europe's need for land-based renewable energy by up to 80%—a potential game-changer for reaching net-zero by 2050.... Read more

A German company is putting used electric vehicle batteries to new use by stacking them into fridge-size units that homes and businesses can use to store their excess solar and wind energy.... Read more