US Department of Energy

Lasers could take 3D printing to next level

Cars that go more than 1,000 miles on a single fill-up and smartphones that can run for days without recharging are among the possibilities that could come out of a new research project that brings together 3D printing and laser processing.

Device provides cooling for off-grid locations

Researchers have devised a new way of providing cooling on a hot sunny day, using inexpensive materials and requiring no fossil fuel-generated power. The passive system, which could be used to supplement other cooling systems to preserve food and medications in hot, off-grid locations, is essentially a high-tech version of a parasol.

Explaining the plummeting cost of solar power

The dramatic drop in the cost of solar photovoltaic modules, which has fallen by 99 percent over the last four decades, is often touted as a major success story for renewable energy technology. But one question has never been fully addressed: What exactly accounts for that stunning drop?

120-kilowatt wireless charging for vehicles

Researchers have demonstrated a 120-kilowatt wireless charging system for vehicles—providing six times the power of previous ORNL technology and a big step toward charging times that rival the speed and convenience of a gas station fill-up.

Manganese may finally solve hydrogen fuel cells' catalyst problem

Manganese is known for making stainless steel and aluminum soda cans. Now, researchers say the metal could advance one of the most promising sources of renewable energy: hydrogen fuel cells.

Fuel cell runs on methane at practical temperatures

Fuel cells have not been particularly known for their practicality and affordability, but that may have just changed. There's a new cell that runs on cheap fuel at temperatures comparable to automobile engines and which slashes materials costs.

Dancing atoms in perovskite materials

A new study is a step forward in understanding why perovskite materials work so well in energy devices and potentially leads the way toward a theorized "hot" technology that would significantly improve the efficiency of today's solar cells.

A solar cell that does double duty for renewable energy

In the quest for abundant, renewable alternatives to fossil fuels, scientists have sought to harvest the sun's energy through "water splitting," an artificial photosynthesis technique that uses sunlight to generate hydrogen fuel from water. But water-splitting devices have yet to live up to their potential because there still isn't a design for materials with the right mix of optical, electronic, and chemical properties needed for them to work efficiently.

New, durable catalyst for key fuel cell reaction

The new catalyst exceeds Department of Energy targets for performing the oxygen reduction reaction, a key step in generating an electric current in a hydrogen fuel cell.

New material, manufacturing process, uses sun's heat for cheaper power

Researchers have developed a new material and manufacturing process that would make one way to use solar power - as heat energy - more efficient in generating electricity.

Palau to host world's largest microgrid

The Republic of Palau announced the signing of a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement of a proposed plan to develop and deploy a 35MW solar PV and 45MWh battery storage microgrid in Palau.

Electric vehicle cybersecurity grant

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded Virginia Tech a $3 million grant for research on electric vehicle charging infrastructure cybersecurity as part of a larger $80 million investment by the department on advanced technologies research.

Safer, more efficient rechargeable batteries

Materials scientists have sussed out the physical phenomenon underlying the promising electrical properties of a class of materials called superionic crystals. A better understanding of such materials could lead to safer and more efficient rechargeable batteries than the current standard-bearer of lithium ion.

Painting solar cells provides new path to market

A scientist wields a cheap paintbrush, the kind you'd buy at a hobby shop for less than a buck. With a steady, purple-gloved hand, he paints a yellowish liquid onto a specially prepared piece of glass about the size of a half-dollar. And as simple as that, a perovskite solar cell is born.

Yotta Solar solves panel level energy storage

Yotta Solar is introducing a revolution in solar PV plus energy storage technology - the SolarLEAF. The patented SolarLEAF utilizes the world's first and only 100% passive thermal regulation system for panel-level energy storage.

Verdant Power secures $6 million funding for tidal power system

Verdant Power has received $6 million in funding for the next phase of its program to advance the development of the Company's tidal power system in New York.

Nanoparticles for improving smart-window energy efficiency

U.S. buildings leak an estimated 30 percent of their energy through inefficient windows, costing consumers an estimated $42 billion annually. But that could begin to change if efforts are successful in commercializing a patented new process for synthesizing vanadium dioxide nanoparticles that makes manufacturing energy-efficient ​"smart windows" economical.

Raynergy new world record on certified PCE 13.28% single junction OPV

The 13.28% efficiency was independently confirmed by Newport PV laboratory, a recognized center for verification of solar cell results under standard testing conditions in August 2018.

Tritium receives DOE funding to develop high-powered charging for EVs

Tritium is receiving a portion of $3.2 million in federal funding awarded to the Electric Power Research Institute for developing an extreme fast charging system that can connect to the grid.