Energy – Page 16 – Impact Lab

Energy, Green Friendly, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News, Solar Energy

Britain generating more electricity from zero carbon than fossil fuels for first time since industrial revolution

July 7, 2019

Wind turbines on the west coast of cumbria near workington, Cumbria, Uk, with a flock of Herring Gulls flying past.

The figures were described as a landmark tipping point.

Britain is generating more of its energy from zero carbon sources than fossil fuels for the first time since the industrial revolution in a landmark tipping point, National Grid has confirmed.

In what was described as an historic milestone, and a watershed moment, the amount of electricity coming from wind, solar, nuclear and hydro power overtook coal and gas by more than one percentage point at the end of May.

Continue reading… “Britain generating more electricity from zero carbon than fossil fuels for first time since industrial revolution”

Automobiles, Energy, Engineering, Science & Technology News

New material could unlock potential for hydrogen powered vehicle revolution

July 1, 2019

New material could unlock potential for hydrogen powered vehicle revolution

Scientists have discovered a new material that could hold the key to unlocking the potential of hydrogen powered vehicles.

As the world looks towards a gradual move away from fossil fuel powered cars and trucks, greener alternative technologies are being explored, such as electric battery powered vehicles.

Another ‘green’ technology with great potential is hydrogen power. However, a major obstacle has been the size, complexity, and expense of the fuel systems—until now.

Continue reading… “New material could unlock potential for hydrogen powered vehicle revolution”

Energy, Science & Technology News, Solar Energy, Solar Power

After 40 years of searching, scientists identify the key flaw in solar panel efficiency

June 26, 2019

Solar panels are fantastic pieces of technology, but we need to work out how to make them even more efficient – and scientists just solved a 40-year-old mystery around one of the key obstacles to increased efficiency.

A new study outlines a material defect in silicon used to produce solar cells that has previously gone undetected. It could be responsible for the 2 percent efficiency drop that solar cells can see in the first hours of use: Light Induced Degradation (LID).

Multiplied by the increasing number of panels installed at solar farms around the world, that drop equals a significant cost in gigawatts that non-renewable energy sources have to make up for.

In fact, the estimated loss in efficiency worldwide from LID is estimated to equate to more energy than can be generated by the UK’s 15 nuclear power plants. The new discovery could help scientists make up some of that shortfall.

Continue reading… “After 40 years of searching, scientists identify the key flaw in solar panel efficiency”

Energy, Record Breaker, Science & Technology News, Space

The Crab Nebula just blasted Earth with the highest-energy photons ever recorded

June 26, 2019

One measured photon has roughly the energy of a falling ping-pong ball.

The Tibetan Plateau is a vast elevated plain almost five kilometers above sea level, sometimes called the Roof of the World. It is bordered to the south by the world’s highest mountain range and to the north by desert lands. It is one of the most isolated places on Earth.

But the extreme altitude makes it a useful place for scientists. In 1990, they built an observatory here to study the showers of subatomic particles that rain down from the upper atmosphere whenever it is hit by a high-energy cosmic ray. This work is better done at high altitude because there is less atmosphere to absorb the particles.

Continue reading… “The Crab Nebula just blasted Earth with the highest-energy photons ever recorded”

Energy, Environment, Science & Technology News

Why ‘flammable ice’ could be the future of energy

June 20, 2019

Last year, Japan succeeded in extracting an untapped fuel from its ocean floor – methane hydrate, or flammable ice. Proponents argue that it will offset energy crises, but what are the environmental risks?

Buried below the seabed around Japan, there are beds of methane, trapped in molecular cages of ice. In some places, the sediment covering these deposits of frozen water and methane has been eroded away, leaving whitish mounts of what looks like dirty ice rearing up out of the seafloor.

Put a match to this sea ice and it doesn’t just melt, it ignites

Continue reading… “Why ‘flammable ice’ could be the future of energy”

Analysis, Energy, Engineering, Science & Technology News

IISc team ‘confirms’ superconductivity at room temperature, backed by 8 more experts now

June 13, 2019

Levitation of a magnet on a superconductor

When it first came out, the IISc study created quite a stir because superconductivity at room temperature is seen as the holy grail of physics.

Bengaluru: Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, have reiterated their promising, if controversial, discovery of superconductivity at room temperature, with eight more researchers backing the finding originally put forth by a team of two last year.

The team of 10 posted a preprint of their paper on arXiv, an open repository where peers discuss academic research, last week, but it is yet to be peer-reviewed or published in any scientific journal.

Continue reading… “IISc team ‘confirms’ superconductivity at room temperature, backed by 8 more experts now”

Electric Automobile, Electric Vehicles, Energy, Science & Technology News, Transportation

COBE debuts ‘green oasis’ charging station to power electric vehicles in 15 minutes

June 11, 2019

COBE presents the first of 48 ultra-fast charging stations in scandinavia, marking the inception of a new way of recharging vehicles on the road. the station, situated in the danish city of fredericia, is part of a larger network along the highways of denmark, sweden, and norway. german-based energy giant E.ON and danish e-mobility service provider clever embarked on the joint venture to build and operate this network with the aim of ultimately transitioning entirely to electrically powered vehicles, replacing the conventional method of burning fuel internally.

Continue reading… “COBE debuts ‘green oasis’ charging station to power electric vehicles in 15 minutes”

Energy, Food, New Inventions, Science & Technology News

Energy researchers break the catalytic speed limit

June 8, 2019

A new discovery by University of Minnesota and University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers could increase the speed and lower the cost of thousands of chemical processes used in developing fertilizers, foods, fuels, plastics, and more.

A team of researchers from the University of Minnesota and University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered new technology that can speed up chemical reactions 10,000 times faster than the current reaction rate limit. These findings could increase the speed and lower the cost of thousands of chemical processes used in developing fertilizers, foods, fuels, plastics, and more.

Continue reading… “Energy researchers break the catalytic speed limit”

Batteries, Battery, Energy, Engineering, Science & Technology News

The holy grail of lithium batteries

May 23, 2019

Mark Bissett, lecturer in nanomaterials at The University of Manchester, poses for a photograph holding a model showing the hexagonal structure of graphene inside a laboratory at the National Graphene Institute facility, part of the The University of Manchester, in Manchester, U.K., on Thursday, April 12, 2018. Researchers are studying ways to use graphene in batteries, and the material has the potential to significantly boost performance in a much-needed technology.

Continue reading… “The holy grail of lithium batteries”

Energy, Engineering, Science & Technology News, Wearables

Self-Powered wearable tech

May 17, 2019

For emerging wearable tech to advance, it needs improved power sources. Now researchers from Michigan State University have provided a potential solution via crumpled carbon nanotube forests, or CNT forests.

Changyong Cao, director of MSU’s Soft Machines and Electronics Laboratory, led a team of scientists in creating highly stretchable supercapacitors for powering wearable electronics. The newly developed supercapacitor has demonstrated solid performance and stability, even when it is stretched to 800% of its original size for thousands of stretching/relaxing cycles.

The team’s results, published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials, may spur the development of new stretchable energy electronic systems, implantable biomedical devices, as well as smart packaging systems.

Continue reading… “Self-Powered wearable tech”

Energy, Engineering, Science & Technology News, Solar Energy

Researchers make organic solar cells immune to the ravages of water, air and light

May 16, 2019

The market for organic solar cells is expected to grow more than 20% between 2017 and 2020, driven by advantages over traditional silicon solar cells: they can be mass produced at scale using roll-to-roll processing; the materials comprising them can be easily found in the earth and could be applied to solar cells through green chemistry; they can be semitransparent and therefore less visually intrusive — meaning they can be mounted on windows or screens and are ideal for mobile devices; they are ultra-flexible and can stretch; and they can be ultra-lightweight.

Continue reading… “Researchers make organic solar cells immune to the ravages of water, air and light”

Energy, Green Friendly, Science & Technology News, Solar Energy

These “biosolar panels” suck CO2 from the air to grow edible algae

May 9, 2019

In London, scientists are testing the “BioSolar Leaf,” which uses carbon-hungry organisms to help clean the air better than trees can–all while providing an excellent source of protein.

At Imperial College London’s new campus in West London, some rooftops will soon hold bright green “biosolar” panels covered with algae. The plants suck carbon dioxide out of the air and produce fresh oxygen at a rate 100 times faster than trees covering the same amount of land–and then the microscopic organisms can be harvested to be used in food.

“We call it a ‘BioSolar Leaf,’” says Julian Melchiorri, CEO of Arborea, the company that designed the new technology. “It uses solar energy, but instead of converting solar energy into electricity [like a solar panel], we convert solar energy into food.”

Continue reading… “These “biosolar panels” suck CO2 from the air to grow edible algae”