US Department of Energy

New concept turns battery technology upside-down

A new approach to the design of a liquid battery, using a passive, gravity-fed arrangement similar to an old-fashioned hourglass, could offer great advantages due to the system's low cost and the simplicity of its design and operation.

Large-scale technique to produce quantum dots

A method to produce significant amounts of semiconducting nanoparticles for light-emitting displays, sensors, solar panels and biomedical applications has gained momentum.

Aztrong

AzTrong is a Taiwanese graphene company strong focused on end applications. It has so far raised $6m and is scaling up an rGO process and targets the energy storage, thermal interface material and e-textile applications.

CAFE Tenth Electric Aircraft Symposium Report: overview

This annual event by the delightful staff of the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency Foundation CAFE took place May 19-20 at San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront.

CAFE Tenth Electric Aircraft Symposium Report May 2016

IDTechEx attended the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation event in San Francisco on May 19-20. This article provides a fuller overview of what we learnt from the event.

Milestone in solar cell efficiency

Australian engineers have edged closer to the theoretical limits of sunlight-to-electricity conversion by photovoltaic cells with a device that sets a new world efficiency record.

New catalyst offers efficient storage of alternative energies

Researchers have designed the most efficient catalyst for storing energy in chemical form, by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, just like plants do during photosynthesis.

Rice husks into lithium-ion anodes for plug-in electric vehicles

Rice is one of the top three staple foods in the world. But in the future, it may be a key part of the battery in your plug-in electric vehicle.

Unexpected discovery leads to a better battery

An unexpected discovery has led to a rechargeable battery that's as inexpensive as conventional car batteries, but has a much higher energy density.

Non-toxic and cheap thin-film solar cells

'Zero-energy' buildings -- which generate as much power as they consume -- are now much closer after a team achieved the world's highest efficiency using flexible solar cells that are non-toxic and cheap to make.

Nanotube semiconductors well-suited for PV systems

Researchers at the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) discovered single-walled carbon nanotube semiconductors could be favorable for photovoltaic systems because they can potentially convert sunlight to electricity or fuels without losing much energy.

Battery technology with off-the-charts charging capacity

Researchers have invented nanowire-based battery material that can be recharged hundreds of thousands of times, moving us closer to a battery that would never require replacement.

Flipping a chemical switch helps perovskite solar cells beat the heat

Thin films of crystalline materials called perovskites provide a promising new way of making inexpensive and efficient solar cells. Now, an international team of researchers has shown a way of flipping a chemical switch that converts one type of perovskite into another — a type that has better thermal stability and is a better light absorber.

Scale up on ocean wave energy harvesting

The Mechanical Motion Rectifier, a novel power takeoff that uses the up and down and back and forth oscillation of wave energy and turns it into a unidirectional rotation to drive the generator.

Nearly $4 million in federal funds to boost solar bankability

The U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative selected four organizations - SGIP, SunSpec Alliance, kWh Analytics, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - to lead the Orange Button initiative and to streamline the way the solar industry establishes and manages data.

SGIP to lead stakeholder engagement, strategy for Orange Button

SGIP has announced that it is receiving approximately $600,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative to manage stakeholder engagement, strategy, and program evaluation for the Orange Button initiative.

What's hot and what's not in Printed Electronics

IDTechEx has been following the printed electronics market for fifteen years. In this article we provide ten brief updates across different parts of the industry.

Finalist in wave energy prize competition

Oscilla Power has developed mechanical and electromagnetic systems that allow cost-effective, highly scalable magnetostrictive alloys to produce significant quantities of energy in specific environments.

Quantum dots enhance light-to-current conversion

Harnessing the power of the sun and creating light-harvesting or light-sensing devices requires a material that both absorbs light efficiently and converts the energy to highly mobile electrical current.

20-kilowatt wireless charging for vehicles

A 20-kilowatt wireless charging system has achieved 90 percent efficiency at three times the rate of the plug-in systems commonly used for electric vehicles today.