⚡ Energy Press Releases

A landmark multiyear collaborative National Science Foundation study conducted by researchers at Florida Atlantic University, the Brookings Institution and Texas State University, as well as four partnering Noyce institutions, sheds new light on the state of the STEM teacher workforce in high-need schools across the United States. The research highlights both the resilience of STEM teachers under significant pressures and the ongoing challenges that threaten equitable access to high-quality STEM education for students in underserved communities. Increasing student achievement in math, science and other STEM subjects is ...

ATLANTA, March 25, 2026 — The state of Kentucky produces 95% of the world’s bourbon, and all that bourbon leaves behind an enormous amount of waste grain, called stillage. Now, researchers at the University of Kentucky have developed a process to transform that stillage into electrodes. With the bourbon byproduct electrodes, they created supercapacitors that could store more energy than similarly sized commercial devices. The researchers will present their results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Spring 2026 is being held March 22-26; it features nearly 11,000 presentations on a range of science topics. Josiel ...

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 00:05 GMT WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH 2026 The hidden cost of sperm storage: ejaculates found to deteriorate across the animal kingdom Current World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines typically recommend 2–7 days of abstinence before taking semen samples or assisted reproduction. However, a new study led by Oxford University researchers suggests that regular ejaculation – whether through sexual activity or masturbation – results in higher quality sperm, with less DNA damage.  The ...

With the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and intelligent sensing technologies, high-sensitivity sensing materials have become critical for next-generation electronic systems. However, conventional piezoelectric ceramics face a long-standing challenge: the strong intrinsic coupling between the piezoelectric charge coefficient (d₃₃) and the dielectric constant (εᵣ). Although various strategies can enhance d₃₃, they are typically accompanied by a simultaneous increase in εᵣ, thereby limiting improvements in the piezoelectric voltage coefficient (g₃₃) and overall sensing sensitivity. This fundamental ...

The National Science Foundation Energy Storage Engine in Upstate New York, which aims to transform upstate into America's battery tech capital, will receive $45 million over three years for the second phase of the program. The initiative, led by Binghamton University and its core partners — Cornell University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Syracuse University, Griffiss Institute, Launch-NY, and NY-BEST — is one of nine inaugural Engines launched under NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines program.  Since its launch in 2024, the Energy Storage Engine has received $15M from the NSF. The initiative may receive up to ...

When you pull a polymer sheet with T-shaped cuts, all the slits pop open simultaneously. Magnetize the same sheet, and the rows open one at a time in a repeatable sequence. Pairing two magnetized sheets back-to-back forces an ordered top-to-bottom opening 90% of the time — and absorbs 30% more kinetic energy.

Sea urchin spines produce up to 100 millivolts when struck by water, thanks to their gradient porous internal structure. Researchers 3D-printed artificial versions that generate eight times the signal amplitude of non-gradient designs, creating self-powered underwater sensors.

A new study calculates that biochar produced from bioenergy crops grown on China's abandoned farmland could remove atmospheric CO2 for roughly $9.60 per ton, compared to about $91 per ton for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage. The approach could scale to 1.88 billion tons annually under optimized conditions.

Powerful electronics don’t have to come at an environmental cost.  Scientists at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed high-performance, lead-free piezoelectric thin films directly on standard silicon wafers. Their results mark a significant step toward production of environmentally friendly energy-harvesting devices that are compatible with conventional semiconductor manufacturing.  Piezoelectric materials generate electric charge from mechanical stress and deform when exposed to an electric field. These materials are common, present for example in ...

SNU researchers built a wearable thermoelectric generator that produces electricity from body heat while lying completely flat on skin. The trick: embedding copper nanoparticles in select regions of a silicone substrate to redirect heat flow laterally, creating the temperature difference thin films normally cannot achieve.

Researchers have developed a one-step laser technique that creates prelithiated silicon-graphene battery anodes at room atmosphere, delivering over 1700 mAh/g capacity with 83% retention after 4,500 charge cycles - far outperforming existing silicon anode approaches.

A new review in the Chinese Journal of Catalysis synthesizes recent advances in single-atom catalysts for selective hydrogenation, showing how isolated metal sites on supports achieve nearly 100% atomic utilization and precise selectivity - with implications for pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and green chemistry.

Researchers at Korea's KIER developed a dual-electrode seawater electrolysis system that dissolves mineral deposits using naturally acidified seawater, eliminating the need for acid washing while achieving 15 times better performance than single-electrode designs over 400 hours.

A Guilin University team created lead-free tungsten bronze ceramics that achieve 7.93 J/cm3 energy density at 94.25% efficiency with ultrafast 1.56-microsecond discharge times, maintaining performance across a 30-180 degrees C temperature range.

Replacing ordinary water with heavy water in the electrolyte bath surrounding carbon nanotube 'twistron' yarns boosted peak electrical power 2.5-fold and energy output 1.8-fold per stretch cycle, reaching 9.5% conversion efficiency.

Direct mechanical testing of lithium dendrites shows they fracture at tensile strengths exceeding 150 MPa - roughly 250 times stronger than bulk lithium at 0.6 MPa. A thin solid electrolyte interphase coating transforms soft lithium into rigid, brittle needles.

Scientists have measured the mechanical properties of lithium dendrites for the first time, discovering these battery-killing structures are strong and brittle - fracturing at tensile strengths exceeding 150 megapascals, roughly 250 times stronger than bulk lithium.

A new study in JCAP shows that a population of blazars could explain the origin of the most energetic neutrino ever detected, a 220 PeV particle recorded by the still-incomplete KM3NeT/ARCA detector in the Mediterranean Sea in February 2023.

Scientists discovered that hydrogenated cobalt zirconide shrinks along one axis when heated, driven by a magnetic phase transition rather than the vibrational mechanism of its hydrogen-free counterpart. The finding could enable custom materials with zero net thermal expansion.

Applying an electric field to relaxor-based ferroelectric ceramics extended phonon lifetimes and boosted directional thermal conductivity by close to 300%, far exceeding the 5-10% improvements seen in earlier work.

Arumugam Manthiram's Nature Energy framework breaks oxide cathodes into three controllable factors -- electronic configuration, chemical bonding, and chemical reactivity -- to guide ML-driven development of cheaper, safer lithium-ion batteries.

By precisely repositioning nitrogen atoms within covalent organic frameworks, researchers at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics created a catalyst that produces hydrogen from water at six times the rate of its structural twin, achieving 12.1% quantum efficiency under visible light.

Hydrogen peroxide ranks among the world's top 100 industrial chemicals, but its production is centralized and its transport hazardous. A review maps advances in electrocatalysts that generate H2O2 on-site from oxygen and water via a two-electron oxygen reduction reaction.

Non-psychoactive cannabis compounds CBD and CBG reduced liver fat, triglycerides, and ceramides in mice fed a high-fat diet. The surprise: they worked partly by boosting phosphocreatine, an energy reserve the liver does not normally rely on heavily.

Using scanning electrochemical cell microscopy for the first time on thermochemical reactions, researchers at Warwick and MIT mapped activity across a platinum catalyst surface with unprecedented detail, finding coordinated electron flows between crystal grains rather than independent reaction sites.