A blast of gas for better solar cells
Treating silicon with carbon dioxide gas in plasma processing brings simplicity and control to a key step for making solar cells. A simple process for depositing silicon oxide onto silicon wafers could be a great step forward for making silicon-based solar cells. Researchers at KAUST have used a method called plasma processing in a chamber filled with carbon dioxide gas.
Ambitious but controversial: Japan's new hydrogen project
Japan’s new 2050 deadline for carbon neutrality has thrown a spotlight on its efforts to find new, greener fuel options, including an ambitious but controversial liquid hydrogen venture. The Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) is a joint Japanese-Australian project intended to produce plentiful, affordable fuel for Japan.
Global analysis shows major electric utilities not moving to greener alternatives
An enterprise environmentalist at the University of Oxford has conducted an analysis of the major electricity-producing utilities around the world and has found that they are not doing much to move from fossil fuels to greener alternatives. In her paper published in the journal Nature Energy, Galina Alova describes her analysis of big electricity producers in countries around the globe and what she found.
Energy firm says its nuclear-waste fueled diamond batteries could last thousands of years
A cellphone power source that lasts nine years. An auto-battery pack that lasts nearly a century. A pacemaker that is powered to last 28,000 years. These surreal claims are being made by a California-based battery company that says successful early test results recently competed on a nano-diamond battery brings them closer to realizing such claims.
5 Tips To Build The Best Network For Your Greentech Enterprise
From launching an award-winning environmental movement to co-founding a startup for tree-planting drones, Irina Fedorenko is a serial entrepreneur with the ability to inspire others to participate in galvanising change.
California’s New Regulations On Heavy Duty Diesels Is Equivalent Of Removing 16 Million Cars From Road
It was a decision 10 years in the making. On Thursday the California Air Resources Board finally approved new regulations that will dramatically reduce Nitrogen Oxide emissions in the state.
Faster, more efficient energy storage could stem from holistic study of layered materials
A team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a novel, integrated approach to track energy-transporting ions within an ultra-thin material, which could unlock its energy storage potential leading toward faster charging, longer lasting devices.
Researchers have a bold proposal to tackle one of the biggest barriers to more renewable energy
The phrase “too much of a good thing” may sound like a contradiction, but it encapsulates one of the key hurdles preventing the expansion of renewable energy generation. Too much of a service or commodity makes it harder for companies to sell them, so they curtail production.
Scientists develop an economical atomic battery with power increased by 10 times
Scientists from NUST MISIS have presented an innovative autonomous power source: a compact atomic battery that can last up to 20 years. Due to the original 3-D structure of the beta-voltaic element, its dimensions have decreased by three times, the specific power has increased by 10 times, and the cost has decreased by 50%. The results have been published in the international scientific journal Applied Radiation and Isotopes.
Geothermal energy from shell limestone
In 2017 a huge storage facility in the pores of a sandstone layer at a depth of between 1015 and 1045 meters below Berlin’s Grunewald forest that had been used to temporarily store natural gas, to cover the city’s fluctuating needs, was shut down.
How Europe Can Lead The Technical ‘Moonshot’ Of Carbon Capture And Sequestration
The race to combat climate change is accelerating. Every day, large investors and corporations launch strategies to curb emissions and pledge ambitious goals of becoming carbon neutral. Consider the shocking open letter written earlier this year by Laurence D. Fink, the CEO of investing giant Blackrock. Fink said, in effect, that if corporations don’t factor climate change mitigation into their long term plans, then Blackrock will take action by voting out boards or simply withdrawing investments.
What Contains 3 Times More Energy Than Gasoline, But Produces Zero CO2?
It’s the most abundant element in the universe. Pound for pound, it carries three times the energy of gasoline, but when burned it produces no harmful emissions — only water vapor. Yet in the effort to decarbonize our economies, as wind turbines and solar panels are raised, it almost seems like hydrogen has been left out of the conversation.
Last Saturday, The Earth Ran Out Of Resources (Again). Here’s What That Means
The planet ran out of resources last Saturday, August 22. At least, that’s one way to regard Earth Overshoot Day, the date that represents the point at which human demand for natural resources outstrips what the planet is able to provide.
Environmental Sustainability And AI
As a senior executive, you’re likely aware of the many strategic opportunities and threats posed by AI. According to IDC, spending on AI hardware and software is increasing at a CAGR of 24%. AI-driven projects will rapidly become a substantial percentage of any company’s investment in technology.
Energy-efficient tuning of spintronic neurons
The human brain efficiently executes highly sophisticated tasks, such as image and speech recognition, with an exceptionally lower energy budget than today’s computers can. The development of energy-efficient and tunable artificial neurons capable of emulating brain-inspired processes has, therefore, been a major research goal for decades.