US Department of Energy

Researchers set world record in solar energy efficiency

Researchers have converted over 40% of the sunlight hitting a solar system into electricity, the highest efficiency ever reported.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide used for energy storage products

Chemists and engineers have discovered a fascinating new way to take some of the atmospheric carbon dioxide that's causing the greenhouse effect and use it to make an advanced, high-value material for use in energy storage products.

High-temperature thermoelectric generator for U.S. military

The successful demonstration of a 1,000W TEG designed for diesel engine exhaust heat recapture.

Shaping the future of energy storage with conductive clay

In the race to find materials of ever increasing thinness, surface area and conductivity to make better performing battery electrodes, a lump of clay might have just taken the lead.

Growing the US electric vehicle market

The White House and U.S. Department of Energy announced private sector commitments to cut carbon pollution and reduce their dependence on foreign oil.

Shaping the future of energy storage with conductive clay

In the race to find materials of ever increasing thinness, surface area and conductivity to make better performing battery electrodes, a lump of clay might have just taken the lead.

Energy Harvesting & Storage and IoT Applications Awards USA 2014

The winners of the IDTechEx awards for Energy Harvesting & Storage and the Internet of Things were announced today on the opening day of the largest event IDTechEx has produced to date in California, which is estimated to have attracted over 2,500 attendees at the Santa Clara Convention Centre.

Clean energy bio batteries a step closer

Researchers from are a step closer to enhancing the generation of clean energy from bacteria.

New form of crystalline order holds promise for thermoelectrics

Since the 1850s scientists have known that crystalline materials are organized into 14 different basic lattice structures. However, a team of researchers now reports that it has discovered an entirely new form of crystalline order.

Tiny renewable wind turbine for developing world

A hybrid energy harvester that combines a small-scale wind turbine — built out of bamboo — with a solar panel.

Super stable garnet ceramics ideal for high-energy lithium batteries

Scientists have discovered exceptional properties in a garnet material that could enable development of higher-energy battery designs.

World's thinnest electric generator

Researchers report that they have made the first experimental observation of piezoelectricity and the piezotronic effect in an atomically thin material, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), resulting in a unique electric generator and mechanosensation devices that are optically transparent, extremely light, and very bendable and stretchable.

Model evaluates more battery electrolyte possibilities in less time

A researcher has built the Advanced Electrolyte Model, a powerful tool used to analyze and identify potential electrolytes for battery systems.

The world's most powerful thermoelectric generator

The world's most powerful thermoelectric generator, which captures exhaust heat and converts it into electricity.

How to make a perfect solar absorber

The key to creating a material that would be ideal for converting solar energy to heat is tuning the material's spectrum of absorption just right.

World's first solar battery

Is it a solar cell? Or a rechargeable battery? Actually, the patent-pending device invented at The Ohio State University is both: the world's first solar battery.

New imaging capability key to extending battery lifetime, capacity

A new method developed for studying battery failures points to the potential next step in extending lithium ion battery lifetime and capacity, opening a path to wider use of these batteries in conjunction with renewable energy sources.

New formulation leads to improved liquid battery

Researchers have improved a proposed liquid battery system that could enable renewable energy sources to compete with conventional power plants.

Engineer to build 'hot' solar cells with $2.5 million grant

Associate professor of electrical engineering Minjoo Larry Lee has been awarded $2,540,000 to develop dual-junction solar cells that can operate efficiently at extreme temperatures above 750 degrees Fahrenheit.

Study sheds new light on why batteries go bad

A comprehensive look at how tiny particles in a lithium ion battery electrode behave shows that rapid-charging the battery and using it to do high-power, rapidly draining work may not be as damaging as researchers had thought - and that the benefits of slow draining and charging may have been overestimated.