Energy
press releases.

Energy13 May 2024

Exceptionally large transverse thermoelectric effect produced by combining thermoelectric and magnetic materials

1. A NIMS research team has demonstrated for the first time ever that a simple stack of thermoelectric and magnetic material layers can exhibit a substantially larger transverse thermoelectric effect—energy conversion between electric and heat currents that flow orthogonally to each other within it—than existing magnetic materials capable of exhibiting the anomalous Nernst effect. This mechanism may be used to develop new types of thermoelectric devices useful in energy harvesting and heat flux sensing. 2. Seebeck effect-based ...

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Energy13 May 2024

New Study: The price tag of phasing-out coal

Coal phase-out is necessary to solve climate change, but can have negative impacts on workers and local communities dependent on coal for their livelihoods. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and Central European University in Austria have studied government plans for coal phase-out around the world and discovered that more than half of such plans include monetary compensation to affected parties. This planned compensation globally amounts to USD 200 billion, but it excludes ...

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Energy9 May 2024

Presenting a safer, low-cost, and low-energy whole-body magnetic resonance imaging device

Machine learning enables cheaper and safer low-power magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without sacrificing accuracy, according to a new study. According to the authors, these advances pave the way for affordable, patient-centric, and deep learning-powered ultra-low-field (ULF) MRI scanners, addressing unmet clinical needs in diverse healthcare settings worldwide. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has revolutionized healthcare, offering noninvasive and radiation-free imaging. It holds immense promise for advancing medical diagnoses through artificial intelligence. However, despite its five decades of development, MRI remains largely inaccessible, particularly ...

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Energy8 May 2024

Department of Energy announces $160 million for research to form microelectronics science research centers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $160 million to advance President Biden’s vision to secure the future of American leadership in semiconductor innovation by implementing a key provision in the historic CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. §19331), Microelectronics Research for Energy Innovation. This funding will support the formation of Microelectronics Science Research Centers (MSRCs) focused on energy efficiency and extreme environments. For ...

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Energy7 May 2024

Seven ORNL inventions licensed to Texas-based lithium recovery firm

A collection of seven technologies for lithium recovery developed by scientists from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been licensed to Element3, a Texas-based company focused on extracting lithium from wastewater produced by oil and gas production. The technologies were developed through the Critical Materials Innovation Hub, a DOE Energy Innovation Hub led by Ames National Laboratory that is dedicated to accelerating scientific and technological solutions to ensure secure domestic supply chains for ...

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Energy7 May 2024

SwRI evaluates reliability of pressure relief valves for liquid natural gas tanks in train derailment scenarios

SAN ANTONIO — May 7, 2024 —Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has helped determine the viability of pressure relief valves for liquid natural gas tanks in the event of a train derailment for the Federal Rail Administration (FRA). The report from the FRA shows that a study conducted by SwRI demonstrates that the pressure relief valves work as designed to prevent overpressurization and explosion if a derailment occurs. “The pressure relief valves on tanks that transport liquid ...

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Energy3 May 2024

New Nevada experiments will improve monitoring of nuclear explosions

On an October morning in 2023, a chemical explosion detonated in a tunnel under the Nevada desert was the launch of the next set of experiments by the National Nuclear Security Administration, with the goal to improve detection of low-yield nuclear explosions around the world. Physics Experiment 1-A (PE1-A) is the first in a series of non-nuclear experiments that will compare computer simulations with high-resolution seismic, tracer gas, acoustic and electromagnetic data gleaned from underground explosions and atmospheric experiments, said Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Stephen Myers ...

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Energy2 May 2024

New eco-friendly lubricant additives protect turbine equipment, waterways

Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed lubricant additives that protect both water turbine equipment and the surrounding environment. Each year, roughly 2.47 billion gallons of lubricating oil are consumed in the United States alone for engines and industrial machinery, according to DOE, with about half eventually finding its way into the environment. While environmentally acceptable lubricants are available, they are not optimized with additives that can greatly improve performance while posing minimal environmental impact if accidentally released. To create nontoxic, biodegradable and high-performing lubricant ...

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Energy2 May 2024

Cost-effective, high-capacity, and cyclable lithium-ion battery cathodes

Charge-recharge cycling of lithium-superrich iron oxide, a cost-effective and high-capacity cathode for new-generation lithium-ion batteries, can be greatly improved by doping with readily available mineral elements. The energy capacity and charge-recharge cycling (cyclability) of lithium-iron-oxide, a cost-effective cathode material for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, is improved by adding small amounts of abundant elements. The development, achieved by researchers at Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, and Nagoya Institute of Technology, is reported in the journal ACS Materials Letters. Lithium-ion batteries have become indispensable in modern life, used in a multitude ...

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Energy30 Apr 2024

$3.6 million to advance nuclear energy awarded to U-M

Four U-M projects funded by the Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy University Partnerships program aim to make nuclear energy safer and more equitable. The projects are designed to improve the monitoring of nuclear reactors during operation; explore the safety of an advanced modular reactor design; develop a framework for ethical, consent-based siting of nuclear facilities; and upgrade a facility for modeling radiation damage to reactor components. Real-time radiation effects on optics How well could optical sensors monitor future advanced nuclear reactors? Funded with $1 million, Igor Jovanovic, a professor of nuclear ...

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Energy26 Apr 2024

Energy trades could help resolve Nile conflict

Scientists have shed light on a new, transformative approach that could help resolve a dispute over the Nile river’s water resources. The Nile is one of the longest rivers globally and spreads over 11 countries in East Africa, supplying water, energy production, environmental quality and cultural wealth. However, the use of Nile resources has been a long-standing source of tension, often overshadowing opportunities for cooperation and mutual benefit. But as the demand for energy, water, and food in Africa is steadily increasing, the study, led by The University of Manchester in collaboration with regional organisations, offers a glimmer of hope at a resolution. The research, ...

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Energy26 Apr 2024

New favorite—smart electric wheel drive tractor: realizes efficient drive with ingenious structure and intelligent control

Electric tractors are intended to be used in the field instead of traditional fuel tractors and can be used in greenhouse planting, indoor farming, mountainous operations, and other special operating scenarios. Unlike traditional fuel tractors, electric tractors have no exhaust emissions, rapid drive system response, flexible power output, or other advantages. These scenarios require electric tractors to be able to adapt to complex drive and operating environments, putting higher requirements on the design of electric tractors and their control systems. Therefore, ...

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Energy25 Apr 2024

New offshore wind turbines can take away energy from existing ones

As summer approaches, electricity demand surges in the U.S., as homes and businesses crank up the air conditioning. To meet the rising need, many East Coast cities are banking on offshore wind projects the country is building in the Atlantic Ocean. For electric grid operators, knowing how much wind power these offshore turbines can harvest is critical, but making accurate predictions can be difficult. A team of scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder and their collaborators are working to tackle the challenge. In a new paper published March 14 in the journal Wind Energy Science, a team led by Dave Rosencrans, a doctoral student, and Julie K. Lundquist, a ...

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Energy25 Apr 2024

How electric vehicle drivers can escape range anxiety

Two of the biggest challenges faced by new and potential electric vehicle (EV) drivers are range anxiety and speed of charging, but these shouldn’t have to be challenges at all. That is according to a study by Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, and the University of Delaware, USA. Researchers discovered that a change in refuelling mindset, rather than improving the size or performance of the battery, could be the answer to these concerns. The transition from filling up at a petrol station to recharging your electric vehicle in the most convenient location for you, requires a whole new way ...

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Energy24 Apr 2024

This salt battery harvests osmotic energy where the river meets the sea

Estuaries — where freshwater rivers meet the salty sea — are great locations for birdwatching and kayaking. In these areas, waters containing different salt concentrations mix and may be sources of sustainable, “blue” osmotic energy. Researchers in ACS Energy Letters report creating a semipermeable membrane that harvests osmotic energy from salt gradients and converts it to electricity. The new design had an output power density more than two times higher than commercial membranes in lab demonstrations. Osmotic energy can be generated anywhere salt gradients are ...

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Energy24 Apr 2024

Researchers develop high-energy-density aqueous battery based on halogen multi-electron transfer

Traditional non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries have a high energy density, but their safety is compromised due to the flammable organic electrolytes they utilize. Aqueous batteries use water as the solvent for electrolytes, significantly enhancing the safety of the batteries. However, due to the limited solubility of the electrolyte and low battery voltage, aqueous batteries typically have a lower energy density. This means that the amount of electricity stored per unit volume of aqueous battery is relatively low. In a new study published in Nature Energy, a research group led by Prof. LI Xianfeng from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) ...

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Energy23 Apr 2024

Zap Energy achieves 37-million-degree temperatures in a compact device

In the nine decades since humans first produced fusion reactions, only a few fusion technologies have demonstrated the ability to make a thermal fusion plasma with electron temperatures hotter than 10 million degrees Celsius, roughly the temperature of the core of the sun. Zap Energy’s unique approach, known as a sheared-flow-stabilized Z pinch, has now joined those rarefied ranks, far exceeding this plasma temperature milestone in a device that is a fraction of the scale of other fusion systems. A new research paper, published this month in Physical ...

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Energy23 Apr 2024

A non-equivalent co-doped strategy to effectively improve the electrical properties of BIT-based high-temperature piezoelectric ceramics

In the field of aerospace, a high-temperature piezoelectric vibration sensor is one of the few key devices that can be monitored in a high-temperature and harsh environment, so it is particularly urgent to develop high performance high-temperature piezoelectric ceramics as the core component of this kind of sensor. Bi4Ti3O12 (BIT), as one vital type of bismuth layered structure ferroelectrics (BLSFs), has great application prospects in high-temperature environments due to its excellent TC of 675 ℃. However, the volatilization of Bi during the sintering process in BIT-based ceramics leads to the generation of oxygen vacancy ...

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Energy22 Apr 2024

Ion thermoelectric conversion devices for near room temperature

They published their work on Apr. 10 in Energy Material Advances. The electrode sheet of the thermoelectric device consists of ionic hydrogel, which is sandwiched between the electrodes to form, and the Prussian blue on the electrode undergoes a redox reaction to improve the energy density and power density of the ionic thermoelectric generator. Prof. Zeng Wei of the Institute of Chemical Engineering, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, said that at the beginning, the group mainly carried out research based on the thermal diffusion effect and published a series of research results. In spite of this, their results never realized the ...

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Energy19 Apr 2024

New beta-decay measurements in mirror nuclei pin down the weak nuclear force

The Science The Standard Model of Particle Physics is scientists’ best understanding of the forces that describe how subatomic particles interact. The Standard Model encompasses four forces: the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, the electromagnetic force, and the gravitational force. All four forces govern the way our universe works. However, the weak nuclear force is exceptionally difficult to study as it is overshadowed by the much greater effects of the strong nuclear and electromagnetic forces. Scientists have gained new ...

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Energy19 Apr 2024

Lightweight and flexible yet strong? Versatile fibers with dramatically improved energy storage capacity

The latest wearable devices, such as Samsung's Galaxy Ring and Apple's Vision Pro, are taking healthcare a step further and even enabling people to work virtually. Given the characteristics of wearable devices that require them to be small and lightweight, there is an inevitable limitation on battery capacity, still presenting a technical barrier to incorporating a variety of functions. In order for wearable devices to fully realize the imagined life, it is necessary to develop a lighter and more fromlessenergy storage method. The Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) announced that a joint research team led by Dr. Hyeonsu Jeong ...

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Energy18 Apr 2024

Mess is best: disordered structure of battery-like devices improves performance

The energy density of supercapacitors – battery-like devices that can charge in seconds or a few minutes – can be improved by increasing the ‘messiness’ of their internal structure. Researchers led by the University of Cambridge used experimental and computer modelling techniques to study the porous carbon electrodes used in supercapacitors. They found that electrodes with a more disordered chemical structure stored far more energy than electrodes with a highly ordered structure. Supercapacitors are a key technology for the energy transition and could be useful for certain forms of public transport, as well as for ...

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Energy18 Apr 2024

Novel material supercharges innovation in electrostatic energy storage

By Shawn Ballard Electrostatic capacitors play a crucial role in modern electronics. They enable ultrafast charging and discharging, providing energy storage and power for devices ranging from smartphones, laptops and routers to medical devices, automotive electronics and industrial equipment. However, the ferroelectric materials used in capacitors have significant energy loss due to their material properties, making it difficult to provide high energy storage capability. Sang-Hoon Bae, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in ...

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Energy18 Apr 2024

Department of Energy announces $16 million for traineeships in accelerator science & engineering

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $16 million in funding for four projects providing classroom training and research opportunities to train the next generation of accelerator scientists and engineers needed to deliver scientific discoveries. U.S. global competitiveness in discovery science relies on increasingly complex charged particle accelerator systems that require world-leading expertise to develop and operate. These programs will train the next generation of scientists and engineers, providing the expertise needed ...

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Energy18 Apr 2024

Advanced nuclear magnetic resonance technique developed to reveal precise structural and dynamical details in zeolites

Zeolites are widely used in many industries. There is still a need to fully understand their intrinsic catalytic nature due to the complexity of the hydroxyl-aluminum moieties. Atomic-scale analysis of local environments for the hydroxyl species is essential for revealing the intrinsic catalytic activity of zeolites and guiding the design of high-performance catalysts. However, many unfavorable factors prohibit the elucidation of their fine structures such as low quantity, meta-stable property, structural similarity, ...

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