Oxford University scientists may have solved one of the greatest hindrances of expanding access to solar energy. Scientists from the university’s physics department have created an ultra-thin layer of material that can be applied to the exterior of objects with sunlight access in place of bulky silicon-based solar panels. The ultra-thin and flexible film is Read more about Oxford scientists’ new light-absorbing material can turn everyday objects into solar panels[…]

“Nature recently published an open-access article (not paywalled) that studies the lifecycle of lithium-ion batteries once they are manufactured,” writes Slashdot reader NoWayNoShapeNoForm. “The study is a ‘cradle-to-grave’ look at these batteries and certain chemicals that they contain. The University researchers that authored the study found that the electrolytes and polymers inside lithium-ion batteries contain Read more about Lithium Ion Batteries a Growing Source of PFAS Pollution, Study Finds[…]

[…] “Although there have been previous sodium, solid-state, and anode-free batteries, no one has been able to successfully combine these three ideas until now,” said UC San Diego PhD candidate Grayson Deysher, first author of a new paper outlining the team’s work. The paper, published today in Nature Energy, demonstrates a new sodium battery architecture Read more about A breakthrough in solid state sodium batteries: inexpensive, clean, fast-charging[…]

A battery’s best friend is a capacitor. Powering everything from smartphones to electric vehicles, capacitors store energy from a battery in the form of an electrical charge and enable ultrafast charging and discharging. However, their Achilles’ heel has always been their limited energy storage efficiency. Now, Washington University in St. Louis researchers have unveiled a Read more about Capacitor Breakthrough: 19-Fold Increase in Energy Storage Potential – could kill batteries[…]

Windows welcome light into interior spaces, but they also bring in unwanted heat. A new window coating blocks heat-generating ultraviolet and infrared light and lets through visible light, regardless of the sun’s angle. The coating can be incorporated onto existing windows or automobiles and can reduce air-conditioning cooling costs by more than one-third in hot Read more about Window coating blocks sun heat from any angle but not view[…]

[…] 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[…]

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[…]

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[…]

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[…]

[…] 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[…]

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[…]

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[…]

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[…]