Energy
press releases.

Energy5 May 2025

A Big Data approach for battery electrolytes

Discovering new, powerful electrolytes is one of the major bottlenecks for designing next-generation batteries for electric vehicles, phones, laptops and grid-scale energy storage. The most stable electrolytes are not always the most conductive. The most efficient batteries are not always the most stable. And so on. “The electrodes have to satisfy very different properties at the same time. They always conflict with each other,” said Ritesh Kumar, an Eric and Wendy Schimdt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellow working in the Amanchukwu Lab at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of ...

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Energy30 Apr 2025

Fusion energy: ITER completes world’s largest and most powerful pulsed magnet system with major components built by USA, Russia, Europe, China

In a landmark achievement for fusion energy, ITER has completed all components for the world’s largest, most powerful pulsed superconducting electromagnet system. ITER is an international collaboration of more than 30 countries to demonstrate the viability of fusion—the power of the sun and stars—as an abundant, safe, carbon-free energy source for the planet. The final component was the sixth module of the Central Solenoid, built and tested in the United States. When it is assembled at the ITER site in Southern France, the Central Solenoid will be ...

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Energy30 Apr 2025

Stronger and safer: New design strategy for aluminium combines strength with hydrogen embrittlement resistance

Aluminium alloys are well-known for their low weight and corrosion resistance, making them ideal candidates for applications in a low-carbon economy - from lightweight automobiles to tanks for storing green hydrogen. However, their widespread application is limited by a key challenge: they suffer from embrittlement leading to cracking and failure when exposed to hydrogen. Till now, alloys resistant to hydrogen embrittlement were rather soft, limiting their application in hydrogen-related technologies that require high strength. Now, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials (MPI-SusMat) ...

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Energy26 Apr 2025

Cercus electric stimulation enables cockroach with trajectory control and spatial cognition training

A research paper by scientists at Beijing Institute of Technology presented a steering control strategy for cyborg insects in operant learning training of cockroaches in a T-maze. Cockroaches developed a preference for specific maze channels after only five consecutive sessions of unilateral cercus electrical stimulation and steering behavior induction, achieving a memory score of 83.5%, outperforming traditional punishing training schemes. The research paper, published on Mar. 7, 2025 in the journal Cyborg and Bionic Systems. Cyborg insects are highly adaptable for detection and recognition assignments, achieved through the electrical stimulation of multiple organs ...

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Energy25 Apr 2025

Animal energy usage made visible through video

Energy scarcity is a central driver of animal behavior and evolution. The amazing diversity of life on this planet is a testament to the plethora of novel biological solutions to the problem of securing and maintaining energy. However, despite being so central to biology, it remains difficult to quantify, and thereby empirically analyze, energy consumption. While organisms use energy for a very wide variety of processes – from growth to cognition – one activity is a major drain for many animals: movement. For highly mobile animals, movement is as such a powerful lens through which to estimate ...

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Energy22 Apr 2025

Politecnico di Milano: a study in Earth’s future on agrivoltaics reducing the competition between food and energy

Can agriculture and solar energy work together instead of competing? A study led by Maddalena Curioni, Nikolas Galli, Giampaolo Manzolini and Maria Cristina Rulli, researchers in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Department of Energy at the Politecnico di Milano, sheds new light on the potential of agrivoltaics. Published in the prestigious journal Earth’s Future, the paper analyses how the coexistence of photovoltaic panels and agricultural crops can help solve the global conflict over land use. With the growing demand for renewable energy and the need to produce increasing amounts of food, the pressure on arable land is intensifying. ...

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Energy21 Apr 2025

From research to real-world, Princeton startup tackles soaring demand for lithium and other critical minerals

Tracing its roots to fundamental research conducted at Princeton, a new startup is upending decades-old approaches for the way the world extracts lithium and other materials, including nitrate and potash, that power today’s clean energy technologies and support modern agriculture. The company, Princeton Critical Minerals (formerly PureLi), which emerged from the University’s ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship, has developed a technology for boosting minerals production from evaporation ponds. These ponds currently generate around 40% of the world’s lithium and most of its naturally occurring nitrate. The technology is a black disc with a special, ...

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Energy18 Apr 2025

Inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 upregulates the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling pathway to mitigate hepatocyte ferroptosis in chronic liver injury

Background and Aims Ferroptosis plays an essential role in chronic liver diseases, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) affects liver fibrosis through multiple mechanisms. However, research on COX-2 regulation of ferroptosis in chronic liver injury remains limited. This study aimed to investigate whether and how COX-2 regulates ferroptosis in chronic liver injury. Methods In vivo, a thioacetamide (TAA)-induced chronic liver injury model, characterized by significant liver lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress, was used. COX-2+/+ and COX-2–/– mice ...

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Energy16 Apr 2025

Porous and powerful: How multidirectional grading enhances piezoelectric plate performance

Piezoelectric materials have long been celebrated for their ability to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, making them indispensable in smart systems for sensing, actuation, and vibration control. However, incorporating porosity and multidirectional grading into these materials introduces a host of challenges in understanding their behavior under varying environmental conditions. These complexities are further compounded by the interaction of hygrothermal conditions with electrical and mechanical loads. As a result, there is a pressing need for more in-depth research to predict the real-world performance of these materials. Published ...

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Energy16 Apr 2025

A step toward harnessing clean energy from falling rainwater

When two materials come into contact, charged entities on their surfaces get a little nudge. This is how rubbing a balloon on the skin creates static electricity. Likewise, water flowing over some surfaces can gain or lose charge. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have harnessed the phenomenon to generate electricity from rain-like droplets moving through a tube. They demonstrate a new kind of flow that makes enough power to light 12 LEDs. “Water that falls through a vertical tube generates a substantial amount of electricity by using a specific pattern of water flow: plug flow,” says Siowling Soh, the study’s corresponding ...

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Energy15 Apr 2025

Corn leads to improved performance in lithium-sulfur batteries

PULLMAN, Wash.­­ -- Researchers at Washington State University have demonstrated a way to use corn protein to improve the performance of lithium-sulfur batteries, a finding that holds promise for expanding the use of the high-energy, lighter-weight batteries in electric vehicles, renewable energy storage and other applications. Lithium-sulfur batteries are lighter for the same amount of energy and more environmentally friendly than commonly used lithium-ion batteries, but their commercial adoption has been limited by technological hurdles that shorten their lifespan. The WSU team’s research, published in the Journal of Power Sources, ...

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Energy11 Apr 2025

A fluid battery that can take any shape

Using electrodes in a fluid form, researchers at Linköping University have developed a battery that can take any shape. This soft and conformable battery can be integrated into future technology in a completely new way. Their study has been published in the journal Science Advances. “The texture is a bit like toothpaste. The material can, for instance, be used in a 3D printer to shape the battery as you please. This opens up for a new type of technology,” says Aiman Rahmanudin, assistant professor at Linköping University. It is estimated that more than a trillion gadgets will be connected to the Internet in ten years’ time. In addition to traditional ...

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Energy9 Apr 2025

A step toward cleaner iron extraction using electricity

Iron and its alloys, such as steel and cast iron, dominate the modern world, and there’s growing demand for iron-derived products. Traditionally, blast furnaces transform iron ore into purified elemental metal, but the process requires a lot of energy and emits air pollution. Now, researchers in ACS Energy Letters report that they’ve developed a cleaner method to extract iron from a synthetic iron ore using electrochemistry, which they say could become cost-competitive with blast furnaces. "Identifying oxides which can be converted to iron metal at low temperatures is an important ...

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Energy8 Apr 2025

Spray drying tech used in instant coffee applied to high-capacity battery production

The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) and the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) have jointly developed the 'spray drying technology-based high-performance dry electrode manufacturing technology' for the realization of high-capacity secondary batteries. Secondary battery electrodes are made by mixing 'active materials' that store electrical energy, 'conductive additives' that help the flow of electricity, and 'binders' which act as a kind of adhesive. There are two methods for mixing these materials: the 'wet ...

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Energy2 Apr 2025

KTU researchers explore using soil for heat storage

When spring arrives and the heating season comes to an end, keeping warm becomes less of an issue. However, scientists remind us that it is not just a seasonal necessity – heat is also a valuable energy resource that can be stored and used when needed most. Researchers at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) have discovered an innovative solution beneath our feet: using soil as an efficient thermal energy storage system. KTU professor Dr Tadas Ždankus and his team have been investigating how the ground can serve not only for construction purposes but also as a medium for heat storage. At the ...

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Energy29 Mar 2025

Nuclear monitoring system suggests landslide cut off internet in west Africa

Hydroacoustic signals captured by the world’s international nuclear monitoring system suggest an underwater landslide may have broken communications cables and disrupted internet traffic in west African countries for several weeks in March 2024. Researchers used data collected by hydrophones installed by the International Monitoring System of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) to determine the location of the possible landslide, placing it along the steep slopes of Trou Sans Fond Canyon offshore of Ivory Coast. The proposed landslide corresponds with the timing and location of four broken cables in the canyon, according to Vaibhav Vijay Ingale of UC ...

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Energy27 Mar 2025

Commercial fusion power plant closer to reality following research breakthrough

Successfully harnessing the power of fusion energy could lead to cleaner and safer energy for all – and contribute substantially to combatting the climate crisis. Towards this goal, Type One Energy has published a comprehensive, self-consistent, and robust physics basis for a practical fusion pilot power plant. This groundbreaking research is presented in a series of six peer-reviewed scientific papers in a special issue of the prestigious Journal of Plasma Physics (JPP), published by Cambridge University Press. The articles serve as the foundation for the company’s first fusion power plant project, which Type One Energy is developing with the Tennessee ...

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Energy26 Mar 2025

We are vastly overestimating the amount of fresh water available for lithium mining, new study finds

March 26, 2025 We Are Vastly Overestimating the Amount of Fresh Water Available for Lithium Mining, New Study Finds New research led by UMass Amherst hydrologists sounds the alarm over mining practices that have immediate implications for transition to low-carbon economy AMHERST, Mass. — New research into lithium mining in the “Lithium Triangle” of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia — source of more than half of the world’s lithium resources — shows that the commonly accepted models used ...

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Energy26 Mar 2025

A safe nuclear battery that could last a lifetime

SAN DIEGO, March 26, 2025 — Sometimes cell phones die sooner than expected or electric vehicles don’t have enough charge to reach their destination. The rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries in these and other devices typically last hours or days between charging. However, with repeated use, batteries degrade and need to be recharged more frequently. Now, researchers are considering radiocarbon as a source for safe, small and affordable nuclear batteries that could last decades or longer without charging. Su-Il In, a professor at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology, will present his results at the spring meeting of the American Chemical ...

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Energy26 Mar 2025

How elephants plan their journeys: New study reveals energy-saving strategies

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 05:01 GMT / 01:01 ET WEDNESDAY 26 MARCH 2025 How elephants plan their journeys: New study reveals energy-saving strategies A new study has revealed that African Elephants have an extraordinary ability to meet their colossal food requirements as efficiently as possible. Data from over 150 elephants demonstrated that these giants plan their journeys based on energy costs and resource availability. The findings – published today (26 March) in the Journal of Animal Ecology– could provide crucial information to help protect these iconic animals and their habitats. Being an elephant is no easy task. As massive herbivores weighing several ...

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Energy24 Mar 2025

Household electricity three times more expensive than upcoming ‘eco-friendly’ aviation e-fuels, study reveals

Existing tax policies during the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources will lead to major energy injustices and skewed priorities, new research published in Climate Policy shows. The peer-reviewed study found that electricity serving primary needs, such as heating or lighting, ultimately costs three times more than electricity for tertiary needs such as long-distance mobility – mostly due to taxation policies. Further highlighting the ongoing social inequalities of fuel and related policies, the findings also demonstrate within the European Union (EU), the wealthiest 1% of all its population is responsible for 66% of the distance ...

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Energy21 Mar 2025

New study sheds light on risks from residential heat and energy burdens in Miami

A new study on indoor extreme heat connects these two burdens to reveal how the co-occurrence of escalating energy bills and dangerously hot homes in Miami-Dade County exacerbates health and well-being risks for vulnerable households across months of the year. “Our findings help us understand which types of households are struggling with high indoor heat and high energy bills in a place like Miami, which is hot for many months of the year,” said Lynée Turek-Hankins, the lead author of the study that was conducted during her doctoral studies at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the Abess Center for Ecosystem ...

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Energy17 Mar 2025

Dialing in the temperature needed for precise nuclear timekeeping

For decades, atomic clocks have been the pinnacle of precision timekeeping, enabling GPS navigation, cutting-edge physics research, and tests of fundamental theories. But researchers at JILA, led by JILA and NIST Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder physics professor Jun Ye, in collaboration with the Technical University of Vienna, are pushing beyond atomic transitions to something potentially even more stable: a nuclear clock. This clock could revolutionize timekeeping by using a uniquely low-energy transition within the nucleus of a thorium-229 atom. This transition is less sensitive to environmental disturbances than modern atomic clocks and has been proposed for tests of fundamental ...

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Energy14 Mar 2025

Liquid metal-enabled synergetic cooling and charging: a leap forward for electric vehicles

A recent study published in Engineering presents a novel approach to address the challenges of high-power direct current fast charging (DC-HPC) in electric vehicles (EVs). The research, led by a team from China Agricultural University, focuses on developing a synergetic cooling and charging strategy using a gallium-based liquid metal flexible charging connector (LMFCC). As the demand for EVs grows, DC-HPC technology, especially for megawatt-level charging currents (≥1000 A), is crucial for reducing charging time. However, it brings the ...

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Energy12 Mar 2025

A path to safer, high-energy electric vehicle batteries

Nickel’s role in the future of electric vehicle batteries is clear: It’s more abundant and easier to obtain than widely used cobalt, and its higher energy density means longer driving distances between charges. However, nickel is less stable than other materials with respect to cycle life, thermal stability, and safety. Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and Argonne National Laboratory aim to change that with a new study that dives deep into nickel-based cathodes, one of the two electrodes that facilitate energy storage in batteries. "High-nickel cathodes ...

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