US Department of Energy

For Cheaper Solar Cells, Thinner Really is Better

Costs of solar panels have plummeted over the last several years, leading to rates of solar installations far greater than most analysts had expected. But with most of the potential areas for cost savings already pushed to the extreme, further cost reductions are becoming more challenging to find.

Airspeq

At CES 2020 IDTechEx met with Tania Sole from Airspeq. The company has developed a MEMS based sensor to detect airborne particulate matter. The technology is based on patent pending MEMS thin-film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) technology.

Neutron Diffraction Used for the First Time to Improve Batteries

The first battery innovation project in Europe using hi-tech neutron diffraction techniques has been launched in Spain under the Consortium for Battery Innovation's new technical program.

Finalists Announced for 2019 R&D 100 Awards

Finalists for the venerable R&D 100 Awards have been announced by R&D World magazine and its new parent company, WTWH Media, LLC.

Polluted Wastewater in the Forecast? Try a Solar Umbrella

Researchers have demonstrated a way to double the rate of evaporation by using solar energy and taking advantage of water's inherent properties.

Tests Measure Solar Panel Performance Beyond Established Standards

Photovoltaics used in solar panels are sensitive to environmental factors and often suffer degradation over time. International Electrotechnical Commission standards for accelerated degradation do not include field tests. While some testing facilities have made data available, much of the data needed to make business decisions for PV is not available publicly.

Thin Films with Tantalizing Properties

Scientists have created thin films made from barium zirconium sulfide and confirmed that the materials have alluring electronic and optical properties predicted by theorists.

Large, High-Quality Perovskite Films Created at Record Speed

Large perovskite films for solar cells can now be rapidly manufactured. The new approach, which combines the right amounts of volatile and less volatile solvents in a blade-coating process, could be an important step towards the commercialisation of perovskite solar cells.

Big Advancements Ahead in Lead Battery Energy Storage Innovation

A three-year scientific research project currently underway at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory is showing promising results to unlock the untapped potential of lead batteries. Lead batteries currently supply over 70% of the world's rechargeable battery energy needs. Yet, possibilities exist to expand their performance to meet growing energy storage and transportation demands.

AllCell Technologies

AllCell Technologies design and manufacture LI-ion battery packs. Their phase change material thermal management technology helps them produce lightweight and long lasting batteries.

Building a Better Battery with Machine Learning

Designing the best molecular building blocks for battery components is like trying to create a recipe for a new kind of cake, when you have billions of potential ingredients. The challenge involves determining which ingredients work best together — or, more simply, produce an edible (or, in the case of batteries, a safe) product.

3D Printing Improves Tiny Electrodes for Medical Sensors

A new 3D-printing method allows manufacturers to better customize carbon microelectrodes used as biomedical implants. These implants are used to record signals from the brain or nervous system.

Ripple in Flexible Material Could Improve Electronic Properties

Two-dimensional materials — those either only an atom or layer thick — display a number of interesting properties and could form the foundation for a range of new devices. One of these materials, molybdenum disulfide, has shown an unusual flexibility that could make it attractive as a semiconducting component of bendable electronics.

Collaboration Reviews Battery Recycling Process for Electric Vehicles

The US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory has collaborated with the Faraday Institution in a newly released Nature review of challenges and opportunities associated with recycling lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles.

Machine Learning Algorithms Help Predict Traffic Headaches

Urban traffic roughly follows a periodic pattern associated with the typical "9 to 5" work schedule. However, when an accident happens, traffic patterns are disrupted. Designing accurate traffic flow models, for use during accidents, is a major challenge for traffic engineers, who must adapt to unforeseen traffic scenarios in real time.

Invention of Teeny-Tiny Organic Films Could Enable New Electronics

The first cell phone, released in 1983, was the size of a brick and weighed two-and-a-half pounds. The newest Apple Watch, released this fall, weighs 1.1 ounces.

Longer-Lasting Catalysts to Improve Fuel Cells

Materials scientists have made a major leap in understanding the long-term effectiveness of fuel cells by integrating experiments with computer simulation studies. The result reveals a new mechanism in understanding how fuel cell catalysts can be made more durable.

Shedding New Light on the Charging of Lithium-ion Batteries

Exposing cathodes to light decreases charge time by a factor of two in lithium-ion batteries. Researchers have reported a new mechanism to speed up the charging of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. Simply exposing the cathode to a beam of concentrated light -- for example, the white light from a xenon lamp -- lowers the battery charging time by a remarkable factor of two or more. If commercialized, such technology could be a game changer for electric vehicles.

Encouraging The Broader Adoption of Additive Manufacturing

GE Additive has entered into a five-year cooperative research and development agreement with the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The agreement focuses on processes, materials and software to drive industrialization and encourage the broader adoption of additive manufacturing technology.

Scientists Pinpoint Cause of Dendrites, Whiskers in Lithium Batteries

Scientists have uncovered a root cause of the growth of needle-like structures--known as dendrites and whiskers--that plague lithium batteries, sometimes causing a short circuit, failure, or even a fire.