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Novel steps in quest for organic materials capable of converting solar energy into electricity
New research explores artificial photosynthesis and the design of new photoelectric materials known as biomimetic materials.
April 4, 2013 Read more
Materials manufacturers unlikely to meet targets for carbon-emissions reductions by 2050
Despite more energy-efficient manufacturing, researchers found that such processes may be approaching their thermodynamic limits: There are increasingly limited options available to make them significantly more efficient. The result is that energy efficiency for many important processes in manufacturing is approaching a plateau.
April 4, 2013 Read more
The Combined Power Plant 2 Project: Renewable energy yielding results
A network of small power plants capable of replacing traditional power stations has long been the dream of proponents of renewable energy. The idea, however, has always foundered on concerns over whether a decentralised network could meet national energy demands and provide a stable service while dealing with such huge capacities. Now, a team of European researchers have taken a giant step towards making this dream a reality with the Combined Power Plant 2 (Kombikraftwerk2) project.
April 3, 2013 Read more
Breakthrough in hydrogen fuel production could revolutionize alternative energy market
A team of Virginia Tech researchers has discovered a way to extract large quantities of hydrogen from any plant, a breakthrough that has the potential to bring a low-cost, environmentally friendly fuel source to the world.
April 3, 2013 Read more
Bringing climate-change lessons out of the lab
McGill University Biology Professor Catherine Potvin, a renowned expert on climate change and tropical-forest ecology, will begin sharing insights from her laboratory|s research through a novel series of videos to be made available online starting this week.
April 3, 2013 Read more
Hydrogen storage for energy efficient buildings
Accounting for some 40% of all energy consumption, the building sector is one of Europe's most energy consuming. And as the vast majority of this power comes from fossil fuels, increasing energy efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions and using Renewable Energy Sources (RES) has in recent years become priority.
April 3, 2013 Read more
WWF: Maintenance of fossil fuel subsidies is a global scandal, supporting IMF findings
The continued maintenance of fossil fuel subsidies is a global scandal and governments should work to transform these subsidies into financing for energy efficiency and renewable energy, says WWF, responding to a report released last week by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
March 30, 2013 Read more
Bacterial boost for clean energy
Joseph Miceli, a researcher at ASU's Biodesign Institute, studies specialized microorganisms known as anode respiring bacteria (ARB). Rather than investigating their role in health and disease however, his research explores the ability of these microbes to clean up waste and produce useful energy in the form of electricity or hydrogen.
March 30, 2013 Read more
Picking apart photosynthesis
New insights from Caltech chemists could lead to better catalysts for water splitting.
March 29, 2013 Read more
'Waste heat' may economize CO2 capture (w/video)
In some of the first results from a federally funded initiative to find new ways of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fired power plants, Rice University scientists have found that CO2 can be removed more economically using 'waste' heat - low-grade steam that cannot be used to produce electricity.
March 28, 2013 Read more
Discovery opens door to efficiently storing and reusing renewable energy
Two University of Calgary researchers have developed a ground-breaking way to make new affordable and efficient catalysts for converting electricity into chemical energy.
March 28, 2013 Read more
U.S. Dept. of Energy launches the Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has unveiled a new initiative to support American manufacturing of clean energy products, including solar technologies and batteries, with a focus on improving productivity.
March 28, 2013 Read more
UCSB summit draws key leaders to discuss innovations in energy efficiency science and technology
The 2013 Summit on Energy Efficiency will bring together leading experts to discuss the latest innovations in materials science and technology for energy generation, energy storage, lighting, and electronics.
March 27, 2013 Read more
Making 'the cloud' greener
As the world becomes increasingly digital, demand for data centres is booming - and so too is their energy consumption. Data centres worldwide produce around half the volume of emissions of the global aviation industry and more than the total emissions of the Netherlands. EU-funded researchers are developing ways to reduce data centres' environmental impact.
March 27, 2013 Read more
Australia and China agree to work together on carbon markets
Experts from the University of New South Wales will begin work with leading Chinese universities in a landmark collaboration to be announced in Sydney this week.
March 27, 2013 Read more
China's power utilities exposed to water disruption
China's 'Big Five' power utilities have hundreds of gigawatts of thermal power plants in water-stressed areas and face retrofit costs of up to $20 billion to improve their resilience, new report finds.
March 27, 2013 Read more
What's going on with Chinese solar?
The bankruptcy of Chinese solar energy company Suntech Wuxi is being depicted in the media as a sign of chaos in the solar industry.
March 27, 2013 Read more
Meeting the computing challenges of next-generation climate models
Berkeley Lab hosts international workshop as climate scientists find themselves in a deluge of data.
March 26, 2013 Read more