Sodium batteries for use in smart grids?
New high-performance electrode material for sodium full cells.
Aug 27th, 2015
Read more
Cleantech and Environmental News – Latest Headlines
Subscribe to our Cleantech News feed
Research demonstrates millions of plastic particles exist in cosmetic products
Everyday cosmetic and cleaning products contain huge quantities of plastic particles, which are released to the environment and could be harmful to marine life, according to a new study.
Aug 26th, 2015
Read moreWe can turn CO2 in the air into new materials - but don't expect that to stop climate change
What if there were a way to suck carbon dioxide right out of the air and turn it into useful products? It might seem fantastic but scientists have actually proved it's possible. One of the challenges with making it a viable process, however, is manufacturing products that are valuable enough to cover the high costs of extracting the carbon dioxide.
Aug 26th, 2015
Read moreHow to store sunlight on a tight energy budget: Add more protons
The reaction to convert solar energy to fuel is 50 times faster with a simple change in the solvent used.
Aug 21st, 2015
Read moreNew technology can expand LED lighting, cutting energy use and greenhouse gas emissions
Highly efficient, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) could slash the world's electricity consumption. They are already sold in stores, but more widespread adoption of the technology has been hindered by high costs due to limited availability of raw materials and difficulties in achieving acceptable light quality. But researchers report today that they have overcome these obstacles and have developed a less expensive, more sustainable white LED.
Aug 19th, 2015
Read moreNew technology could reduce wind energy costs
Engineers have developed a novel technique to predict when bearings inside wind turbines will fail which could make wind energy cheaper. The method uses ultrasonic waves to measure the load transmitted through a ball bearing in a wind turbine.
Aug 13th, 2015
Read moreResearchers use wastewater treatment to capture CO2, produce energy
Cleaning up municipal and industrial wastewater can be dirty business, but engineers have developed an innovative wastewater treatment process that not only mitigates carbon dioxide emissions, but actively captures greenhouse gases as well.
Aug 4th, 2015
Read moreCO2 removal cannot save the oceans - if we pursue business as usual
Greenhouse-gas emissions from human activities do not only cause rapid warming of the seas, but also ocean acidification at an unprecedented rate. Artificial carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere has been proposed to reduce both risks to marine life. A new study based on computer calculations now shows that this strategy would not work if applied too late.
Aug 3rd, 2015
Read moreAssessing the efficiency of solar-active-houses
Solar-Active-Houses heat themselves using heat collectors and water tanks. However, no one had conducted an objective assessment of how efficiently they do so. Researchers put some of these solar houses to the test, identified where there was room for improvement and laid the scientific groundwork for this housing concept.
Aug 3rd, 2015
Read moreTHRIVE sets its sights on waste heat
The partners in the interdisciplinary research project THRIVE will be teaming up until 2017 to develop a heat pump that is powered by waste heat.
Jul 27th, 2015
Read moreWind energy provides 8 percent of Europe's electricity
EU's grid connected cumulative capacity in 2014 reached 129 GW, meeting 8% of European electricity demand, equivalent to the combined annual consumption of Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece and Ireland.
Jul 24th, 2015
Read moreTechnologies, outlook and life cycle assessments for electric vehicles
The study comprehensively charts current progress in technology, identifies trends, and analyses life cycle assessments for a variety of vehicle concepts.
Jul 23rd, 2015
Read morePerovskite solar technology shows quick energy returns
A new study reports that perovskite modules are better than any commercially available solar technology when products are compared on the basis of energy payback time.
Jul 20th, 2015
Read moreHow to reduce the high cost of hydrogen pipelines
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has put firm numbers on the high costs of installing pipelines to transport hydrogen fuel - and also found a way to reduce those costs.
Jul 20th, 2015
Read moreNew family of chemical structures can effectively remove CO2 from gas mixtures
A newly discovered family of chemical structures could increase the value of biogas and natural gas that contains carbon dioxide.
Jul 16th, 2015
Read moreVariable solar power from North Africa provides the basis for a sustainable business model
Transferring power from Africa to Europe via a high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line could be a sustainable business model with added value for both regions. This is the conclusion reached by researchers in the EU-sponsored BETTER project.
Jul 16th, 2015
Read moreMolecular fuel cell catalysts hold promise for efficient energy storage
A metal-free alternative catalyst for fuel cells may be at hand. A team of chemists introduces a new approach that uses a molecular catalyst system instead of solid catalysts. Although molecular catalysts have been explored before, earlier examples were much less efficient than the traditional platinum catalyst.
Jul 15th, 2015
Read moreAre fuel cells environmentally friendly? Not always!
Are fuel cells always more environmentally friendly? An international team of scientists performed a series of calculations and reached a conclusion: It depends on the fuel.
Jul 15th, 2015
Read more