Buffalo, New York’s NanoDynamics Energy is at the receiving end of a nice DOE grant to continue development a 400-watt solid oxide fuel cell fuel by hydrogen, methane gas and related biogases. The $2.4 million contract allows NanoDynamics to scale-up their technologies from previous 20-watt+ prototypes SOFCs running on biogas, and develop efficient manufacturing techniques.
Read MoreInvestigators at the Oak Ridge National Lab have confirmed startling characteristics in a solid electrolyte material we reported on several weeks ago, one that should allow solid oxide fuel cells to operate at temperatures hundreds of degrees lower than what is currently possible and boost the practicality of solid-oxide fuel cells. To recap, a research…
Read MoreOhio State University researchers say they have invented a new material that “will make cars even more efficient by converting heat wasted through engine exhaust into electricity” and with “twice the energy efficiency” of any thermoelectric material currently on the market. Lead researcher Joseph Heremans, an OSU professor of mechanical engineering and physics, reports on the new…
Read MoreWork at Japan’s National Institute of Materials Science may allow solar cells to be built into you house and car windows, windshield and even your sunglasses. The NIMS group, led by Dr. Shojiro Komatsu, has been interested in BN cell because it would be transparent to the visible light spectrum. Researchers claims to have already…
Read MoreShanghai-based Sancon Resources Recovery Inc. is a fast growing environmental services firm with operations in Australia and China. In 2007, the firm reportedly sold more than 25,000 tons of industrial waste – largely derived from plastic, cardboard and paper – to China’s ever-growing manufacturing market. Now Sancon has announced that it will develop glass-powder raw materials made from the recycled…
Read MoreCan asphalt roads and parking lots be used as a ubiquitous and inexpensive means for collecting and utilizing solar energy? Researchers at Massachusetts’ Worcester Polytechnic Institute say: Yes. Led by Rajib Mallick, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, a WPI research team says it has found a way to use asphalt’s heat-absorbing properties as…
Read MoreWe came across two very different stories about passive methods that can produce cleaner air – methods developed centuries apart. First, in a test that may lead to a breakthrough in the reduction of air pollution, the town of Hengelo in the Dutch province of Overijssel is paving one of its roads with concrete brick…
Read MoreAccording to a new report from BCC Research the global market for thin film in energy applications is expected to increase from $1.1 billion in 2007 to $1.4 billion in 2008 and $3.9 billion by 2013, for a compound annual growth rate of 23.5 percent. The report divides the market into application segments for photovoltaics,…
Read MoreIt seems like there is a breakthrough a week in the realm of lower-cost catalysts for producing hydrogen. The latest news comes from Ohio State University, where researchers are using a $1.1 million grant to develop alternatives to pricey rare and precious metallic catalysts like platinum and rhodium. With these metals selling for thousands of…
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In a previous edition of Ceramic Tech Weekly, we posted information and a brief video about MIT researcher Daniel Nocera and his apparently successful efforts to cut down on the use of costly platinum. Now the good folks at Blip.TV have gone out and toured Nocera’s lab and conducted a longer interview with him. Check…
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