US Department of Energy

Making the grid smarter

As the smart grid moves from concept to reality, Argonne National Laboratory is helping to ensure this technology will interact seamlessly with the emergence of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

Graphene films clear major fabrication hurdle

Graphene films clear major fabrication hurdle

Laminar batteries are better

Laminar batteries are increasingly adopted in electronics because they have better cooling, damage tolerance and performance in respect of charge and discharge speed when optimally designed for this shape. Companies such as Cymbet and Infinite Power Solutions already supply small laminar lithium batteries for such applications as backup power for electronics and some even continue to operate if a nail is driven through them.

New nanocatalyst improves fuel cell technology

Long hampered by high manufacturing costs and durability issues, fuel cell technology could overcome those obstacles and take a significant step towards mainstream adoption thanks to a finding by a Texas A&M University chemical engineering professor.

Government funding for OLED lighting

A pilot facility to manufacture white OLED panels will be built as part of a two year program to demonstrate up to a four times improvement in energy efficiency for white OLED lighting that will meet commercial lighting targets.

3M partners with NREL to develop thin film solar energy technology

3M has teamed up with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to develop technology for the creation of low-cost thin-film photovoltaic modules. The $7.33 million partnership will also include concentrating solar power and biofuel technology development.

Breakthrough in thin film solar cell technology

Researchers have made an important breakthrough in the use of continuous flow microreactors to produce thin film absorbers for solar cells. This innovative technology could significantly reduce the cost of solar energy devices and reduce material waste.

Advance made in thin film solar cell technology

Researchers have made an important breakthrough in the use of continuous flow microreactors to produce thin film absorbers for solar cells - an innovative technology that could significantly reduce the cost of solar energy devices and reduce material waste.

Worlds smallest superconductor

Scientists have discovered the world's smallest superconductor, a sheet of four pairs of molecules less than one nanometer wide.

Farmers use energy harvesting

Many farms around the world are now looking for ways to use renewable energy to power their farming practices.

Thin film photovoltaics focus: Photovoltaics Europe 2010 Germany

With a multitude of topics covered in the different conference tracks, the photovoltaics sessions attracted significant amount of interest. The main reason is the growth of photovoltaics technologies and thin film platforms in specific, but also the interest of a large number of solar cell developers in discovering new applications, other than rooftop and solar farm installations which have, by now, become highly competitive.

Berkeley researchers light up white OLEDS

Light-emitting diodes, which employ semiconductors to produce artificial light, could reduce electricity consumption and lighten the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. However, moving this technology beyond traffic signals and laser pointers to illumination for office buildings and homes—the single largest use of electricity—requires materials that emit bright, white light cheaply and efficiently. White light is the mix of all the colors, or wavelengths, in the visible spectrum.

UCF confirms Planar Energy's battery efficiency

Researchers at the University of Central Florida's (UCF) Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center has verified findings by Planar Energy that the company said could lead to cost and performance improvements in large format batteries required for practical electric vehicles.

New path to solar energy via solid-state photovoltaics

A newly discovered path for the conversion of sunlight to electricity could brighten the future for photovoltaic technology. Researchers with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have found a new mechanism by which the photovoltaic effect can take place in semiconductor thin-films. This new route to energy production overcomes the bandgap voltage limitation that continues to plague conventional solid-state solar cells.

NREL and 3M sign agreement on renewable energy research

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has announced a series of Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with 3M, the Minneapolis based technology company.

Lab plays key role in Department of Energy's artificial retina project

Scientists and engineers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are developing the electronics for a third-generation artificial retina.

Innovalight's patent for solar cells manufactured with silicon ink

Innovalight awarded key patent by U.S. patent & trademark office for solar cells manufactured with silicon ink Includes selective emitters made from silicon ink and crystalline silicon wafers

Waste exhaust heat could power cars

Amerigon designs, develops and markets products based on efficient thermoelectric device technologies, and Amerigon subsidiary, BSST is advancing the use of thermoelectrics in the area of power generation.

Micro-transfer printing technology selected for $3 million award

Semprius is one of 4 to be awarded funding for their novel technology to develop high performance concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) modules using their patented micro-transfer printing technology.

Affordable electronic window shutters

Thirty percent of the energy used by buildings in the United States is spent making up for heat loss or gain through windows. That constitutes about $40 billion in electricity costs each year. Windows that change color in response to changes in the weather help save on electricity costs by absorbing sunlight in the winter and reflecting it in the summer but they have been expensive and not widely used. Electrochromic windows sandwich materials that change color when a small electrical field is applied across them. This change is triggered by changes in light or temperature measured by sensors.