Energy

Video: Startups move solid-state batteries toward commercialization

By Lisa McDonald / April 21, 2021

Solid-state batteries show great promise to outperform conventional lithium-ion batteries in terms of energy density, weight, cost, and recharge times. In recent months, several startup companies announced noteworthy progress in developing solid-state batteries for next-generation electric vehicles. Today’s CTT highlights the work being done by QuantumScape, a California-based battery research company.

Read More

MAX radiation protection for next-generation nuclear power plants

By Jonathon Foreman / April 20, 2021

MAX phases are layered ceramic materials with both ceramic and metal-like properties, as well as good radiation tolerance, making them ideal candidates for use in next-generation nuclear power technologies. Two recent papers investigate the irradiation of Cr2AlC to determine its potential for this application.

Read More

Video: Bladeless generators—a possible future for wind energy

By Lisa McDonald / March 24, 2021

Since 2014, Spanish technology startup Vortex Bladeless SL has aimed to develop a bladeless wind generator as an alternative to conventional wind turbines. Learn more about the technology and find out when we may see it commercialized.

Read More

Putting the sun in a bottle: Royal Society Kavli Lecture on fusion energy generation

By Jonathon Foreman / February 19, 2021

Moving away from carbon-based energy and toward sustainable energy infrastructure is important for long-term world health. The latest Kavli Lecture hosted by The Royal Society looks at the possible role of fusion energy in our sustainable energy future.

Read More

Ceramics for sustainable energy, plus more inside March 2021 ACerS Bulletin

By Lisa McDonald / February 18, 2021

The March 2021 issue of the ACerS Bulletin—featuring ceramic and glass materials for sustainable energy—is now available online. Plus—process modeling of a tunnel kiln.

Read More

Video: Decommissioned wind turbine blades get a second wind through reuse and recycling

By Lisa McDonald / January 20, 2021

The vast majority of wind turbine blades that reach end-of-use are either being stored in various places or taken to landfills because there are few options for recycling. Numerous companies and universities are working to change that.

Read More

Achieve success by inversing expectations—scientists show promise of antiperovskite oxides in photovoltaic applications

By Lisa McDonald / January 12, 2021

Perovskite materials are some of the most hotly researched materials in the photovoltaic field right now. However, antiperovskite materials, which have an inverse perovskite structure, show promise as well. Two researchers in Korea used simulations to explore the potential of two antiperovskite oxides in photovoltaic applications.

Read More

Lifting the veil on record efficiency: Researchers detail how they created record-setting perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell

By Lisa McDonald / December 18, 2020

In January, researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin announced they created perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells with 29.15% power conversion efficiency. A recently published paper details how they fabricated and tested these record-setting cells.

Read More

Porous volumetric ceramic burners increase oven energy efficiency

By Lisa McDonald / November 24, 2020

Though gas ovens are considered more energy efficient than electric ovens, they still face challenges with dissipation of heat into the environment. Porous volumetric ceramic burners are a combustion technology that may improve heat transfer in gas ovens, and researchers in Germany investigated the technology’s heat transfer mechanisms to better illuminate its potential.

Read More

Pursuing the future of energy: A review on perovskite tandem solar cell development and fundamentals

By Lisa McDonald / October 23, 2020

Perovskite tandem solar cell technologies improved rapidly in the past six years, but there are still challenges keeping them from commercialization. A recent review article by two researchers at the University of Surrey in the U.K. provides an expansive look at this budding industry.

Read More