US Department of Energy

Research team assesses environmental impact of organic solar cells

Solar energy could be a central alternative to petroleum-based energy production. However, current solar-cell technology often does not produce the same energy yield and is more expensive to mass-produce.

Oerlikon Solar breaks two world records

Oerlikon Solar breaking two world records: lowest module production cost and highest lab cell efficiency.Oerlikon Solar introduces ahead of its technology roadmap the new production line "ThinFab".

14% efficiency with commercial-scale CIGS thin film solar modules

A manufacturer of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic solar panels, today announced that the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) independently confirmed the 14.3% efficiency of its large area production modules.

Micro-supercapacitors have the potential to power nomad electronics

Research team develops ultra high-power energy storage devices

Progress with thermoelectric harvesting

At the forthcoming Energy Harvesting USA event in Boston Massachusetts, 16-17 November, Prof Gang Chen of Massachusetts Institute of Technology will talk on "Power from temperature difference: thermoelectric technology for energy harvesting".

New world record with efficient CIGS solar cell

The new record-breaking solar cells from ZSW are made of extremely thin layers of copper, indium, gallium and diselenide (CIGS for short).

Recent advances in lithium ion battery chemistry

Progress is now rapid in improving lithium rechargeable batteries known as lithium ion. Some are counterintuitive and a big surprise.

Research team develops ultra high-power energy storage devices

A team of researchers from the U.S. and France report the development of a micro-supercapacitor with remarkable properties. These micro-supercapacitors have the potential to power nomad electronics, wireless sensor networks, biomedical implants, active radiofrequency identification (RFID) tags and embedded microsensors, among other devices.

US Department of Energy awards $92 million for energy research

New ARPA-E projects in 18 states will accelerate innovation in clean energy technologies, increase America's competitiveness and create jobs.

Military Electric Vehicles -part four - pure electric

The US Military is in the market for regular electric vehicles both as air base ground Support Equipment GSE that tows aircraft and fetches and carries to them and for general runabouts at military bases.

DOE offers Abound Solar $400 million conditional loan guarantee

Abound Solar offered $400 million conditional commitment for loan guarantee by U.S. Department of Energy

Remy traction motors - $60.2 Million Grant

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) officials recently visited the international headquarters of Remy International to meet with company officials and finalize a $60.2 million grant allowing Remy to accelerate standardization and commercialization of their award-winning Remy HVH electric motor technology.

NREL and Solarmer Energy to extend lifetime of plastic solar cells

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Solarmer Energy, Inc., recently signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) to collaborate on improving the lifetime of plastic solar cells, a promising new solar conversion technology.

Highly efficient solar cells could result from quantum dot research

Conventional solar cell efficiency could be increased from the current limit of 30 percent to more than 60 percent, suggests new research on semiconductor nanocrystals, or quantum dots, led by chemist Xiaoyang Zhu at The University of Texas at Austin.

Contract to develop solar cells for space applications

Spire Corporation, an American global solar company providing capital equipment and turnkey production lines to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, has announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Spire Semiconductor LLC, has been awarded a contract from the Missile Defence Agency (MDA) to develop high efficiency, multi-junction solar cells for space applications.

Tesla plugs into Wall Street

US electric automaker Tesla Motors has gone public.

Spire matches world record for solar cell efficiency

Spire Corporation, an American global solar company providing capital equipment and turnkey production lines to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) modules and cells, has announced its wholly owned subsidiary, Spire Semiconductor, LLC, has matched the current efficiency record for a concentrator solar cell.

Printed nanocrystals could offer lowest cost per watt

Solexant's innovative printed nanocrystal technology platform has the potential to deliver the lowest cost per watt in the solar industry.

Smith Electric Vehicles

Smith Electric Vehicles was famous for the painfully slow but much loved British milk delivery truck - a pure electric vehicle.

Partnership to develop thin film solar 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.