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Energy

Deep-sea microbes get unexpected energy boost

For many years, the deep ocean has been seen as a nutrient-poor environment where microbes living in the water survive on very limited resources. But new research from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) challenges that idea. A study led by SDU-biologists at the Department of Biology shows that nutrients might not be so sparse after all in the deep and that microbes have access to a hitherto unknown source of dissolved organic food. The study shows that sinking organic particles—known as marine snow—begin to leak dissolved carbon and nitrogen when they reach depths of 2–6 kilometres, presenting microbes in the surrounding seawater with nutrients. The leakage is caused ...

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Energy

New method measures energy dissipation in the smallest devices

In order to build the computers and devices of tomorrow, we have to understand how they use energy today. That’s harder than it sounds. Memory storage, information processing, and energy use in these technologies involve constant energy flow – systems never settle into thermodynamic balance. To complicate things further, one of the most precise ways to study these processes starts at the smallest scale: the quantum domain. New Stanford research published Feb. 9 in Nature Physics combines theory, experimentation, and machine learning ...

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Energy

Oxygen-modified graphene filters boost natural gas purification

As we shift toward more sustainable fuels, natural gas and biogas, which mainly contain methane (CH4), have become important sources of energy and raw materials for chemical production. However, these gases also contain impurities that must be removed before use. One major contaminant is carbon dioxide (CO2), which reduces the energy content of the gas and can cause corrosion in pipelines. One promising method for efficiently separating CO2 from these gases is filtration using graphene membranes containing ...

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Energy

Study finds banning energy disconnections shouldn’t destabilise markets

Approaches by some European countries and Australia to protect energy consumers could help countries worldwide phase out harmful electricity disconnections without destabilising power markets, new research has found. The RMIT University-led study examines protections in Spain, France and Ireland and outlines how similar measures could be adapted in other competitive energy markets to reduce the harms caused by disconnections for non‑payment. Across Europe, 20 million households were disconnected from electricity and gas at some point during 2022, according to the EU Agency for the Cooperation ...

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Energy

Novel approach to a key biofuel production step captures an elusive energy source

Plants grown for biofuel have the potential to power our travel industry, but an important fraction of their chemical power has remained stubbornly difficult to recover. New research from the DOE-funded Center for Advanced Biofuel and Bioproduct Innovation on the University of Illinois campus has demonstrated a way to preserve native lignin structure, a key component of plant matter for conversion to other valuable products, putting an improved pathway for biofuel and bioproduct production within reach. The ...

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Energy

Chung-Ang University scientists generate electricity using Tesla turbine-inspired structure

The demand for energy is ever-increasing across various industries. In recent decades, scientists have explored the electrostatic potential of particulate matter as a highly promising avenue for energy harvesting. However, this technology poses ignition risks that can cause significant harm owing to uncontrolled electrical discharge. While some studies have attempted to mitigate this issue by introducing additional particles or water, these approaches lead to restricted applicability and also ignore the high electric potential. In previous research, a team of researchers from South Korea, including Professor Sangmin Lee from the School ...

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Energy

New device switches terahertz pulses between electric and magnetic skyrmions

WASHINGTON — Researchers have created an optical device that can generate both electric and magnetic vortex-ring-like light patterns. These structured light vortices, known as skyrmions, are highly stable and resistant to disturbances, making them promising for reliably encoding information in wireless applications. “Our device not only generates more than one vortex pattern in free-space-propagating terahertz pulses but can also be used to switch, on demand, between two modes using the same integrated platform,” said corresponding author Xueqian Zhang from Tianjin University. “Such controllability is essential for real applications, where reliable ...

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Energy

Study reveals how superionic state enables long-term water storage in Earth's interior

The cycling of water within Earth's interior regulates plate tectonics, volcanism, ocean volume, and climate stability, making it central to the planet's long-term evolution and habitability and a key scientific question. While subducting slabs are known to transport water into the mantle, scientists have long assumed that most hydrous minerals dehydrate at high temperatures, releasing fluids as they descend. Whether water can survive the extreme conditions of the deep lower mantle, however, has remained an open question. To fill this knowledge gap, a research team from the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences ...

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Energy

Physicists predict significant growth for cadmium telluride photovoltaics

A solar energy generation technology once considered limited in its potential is poised for significant growth in the United States. That’s the conclusion of a team of scientists who analyzed the outlook for cadmium telluride photovoltaics in research published in the peer-reviewed journal Joule. University of Toledo physicists including Dr. Michael Heben, a Distinguished University Professor and McMaster Chair and Director of the Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization, collaborated with partners at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Laboratory ...

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Energy

A new method to unlock vast lithium stores

Demand for lithium is skyrocketing as factories across the world churn out electric vehicles and the massive batteries that make wind turbines and solar panels reliable sources of energy. Unfortunately, current methods for producing lithium are slow and require high-quality feedstocks that are found in relatively few locations on the planet. Ironically, the environmental costs are also significant: refining the mineral behind clean energy requires large amounts of land and pollutes water supplies that local communities depend ...

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Energy

ORNL to partner with Type One Energy, UT on world-class facility to validate next-gen fusion

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Type One Energy and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT), are partnering to establish a world-class facility that will drive American innovation and move fusion energy closer to reality. This high-heat flux (HHF) facility, located at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Bull Run Energy Complex in East Tennessee, will evaluate how materials react under extreme conditions in a fusion device. The HHF facility will accelerate the development of plasma-facing components (PFCs), ...

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Energy

Multifunctional dipoles enabling enhanced ionic and electronic transport for high‑energy batteries

As global demand for sustainable energy surges, the performance ceiling of current battery technologies is increasingly tied to how efficiently ions and electrons move through the cell. Now, a multinational team led by Dr. Yuntong Sun (Nanyang Technological University), Dr. Zhendong Hao (Nanjing Institute of Technology) and Prof. Jong-Min Lee (DGIST) has delivered a panoramic review in Nano-Micro Letters showing how molecular and ionic dipole interactions can push that ceiling higher. The work provides a design playbook for next-generation high-energy batteries that are safer, longer-lasting and wide-temperature-capable. Why ...

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Energy

Theoretical study of laser-enhanced nuclear fusion reactions

Intense Laser and Nuclear Fusion In a collaborative study, Assistant Professor Jintao Qi (Shenzhen Technology University), Professor Zhaoyan Zhou (National University of Defense Technology), and Professor Xu Wang (Graduate School of China Academy of Engineering Physics) investigated the theoretical processes of nuclear fusion in the presence of intense laser fields. The study addresses a central challenge in controlled fusion research: overcoming the strong Coulomb repulsion between positively charged nuclei, which conventionally necessitates heating fusion fuel to temperatures exceeding tens of ...

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Energy

Optimized kinetic pathways of active hydrogen generation at Cu2O/Cu heterojunction interfaces to enhance nitrate electroreduction to ammonia

Ammonia (NH₃) is an indispensable chemical in modern industry, serving as a core feedstock for fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and numerous industrial products. However, the dominant industrial ammonia synthesis method, the Haber-Bosch process, relies on harsh high-temperature and high-pressure conditions and contributes over 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, posing urgent environmental challenges. In contrast, the electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction (NITRR) emerges as a sustainable alternative: it converts environmentally abundant ...

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Energy

New design playbook could unlock next generation high energy lithium ion batteries

A new scientific review outlines how a little understood class of battery materials could help deliver safer, higher energy lithium ion batteries while reducing reliance on critical metals such as cobalt and nickel. Researchers have synthesized and analyzed recent global advances in cation disordered rocksalt cathode materials, a promising alternative to today’s dominant lithium ion battery cathodes used in electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and grid storage. The study provides a clear framework for overcoming long standing performance challenges that have so far limited commercial adoption. Cation disordered rocksalt ...

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Energy

Layered hydrogen silicane for safe, lightweight, and energy-efficient hydrogen carrier

Hydrogen, a clean energy source, requires a highly reliable and safe storage system, which is currently lacking. Layered hydrogen silicane (L-HSi) is a promising, safe, lightweight, and energy-efficient solid-state hydrogen carrier with potential for practical utility. This material releases hydrogen when irradiated with low-intensity visible-light sources like sunlight or LEDs. L-HSi represents a new direction for hydrogen carrier system research. Hydrogen is a promising fuel that can replace conventional fossil fuels as it emits no carbon dioxide during combustion or oxidation and can be produced from ...

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Energy

Bottleneck in hydrogen distribution jeopardises billions in clean energy

A recent study from Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University found that while hydrogen production, storage and fuel cell technologies are advancing rapidly, the hydrogen distribution infrastructure is developing at half the speed, creating a critical bottleneck that could put billions in clean energy at risk. The findings, published in the journal Sustainable Futures, are an important milestone in recognising that, while other hydrogen technologies improve and costs fall, distribution expenses could take up a large share of hydrogen system budgets, significantly limiting overall efficiency and growth of ...

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Energy

Molecular sieve-confined Pt-FeOx catalysts achieve highly efficient reversible hydrogen cycle of methylcyclohexane-toluene

Professor Qiming Sun of Soochow University and Researcher Manyi Yang of Nanjing University successfully achieved confined loading of highly dispersed Pt-FeOx nanoparticles within nanosheet molecular sieves. This catalyst exhibited excellent catalytic performance in the dehydrogenation of methylcyclohexane and the hydrogenation of toluene, realizing hydrogen energy storage and release mediated by the "methylcyclohexane-toluene" reaction. The study shows that the Pt-FeOx catalyst possesses excellent ...

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Energy

Discarded cigarette butts transformed into high performance energy storage materials

Every year, billions of cigarette butts are discarded worldwide, creating one of the most pervasive and persistent forms of environmental litter. Now, researchers have demonstrated that this problematic waste can be converted into advanced carbon materials capable of powering next generation energy storage devices. In a new study published in Energy & Environmental Nanotechnology, scientists report a method to transform waste cigarette butts into nitrogen and oxygen co doped nanoporous biochar with exceptional performance ...

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Energy

Tougher solid electrolyte advances long-sought lithium metal batteries

A solid – rather than liquid – electrolyte between the opposite electrodes of a battery should, in theory, enable a rechargeable lithium metal battery that is safer, packs much more energy, and charges considerably faster than the lithium-ion batteries commercially available today. For decades, scientists and engineers have explored several paths to realize the great promise of lithium metal batteries. A major problem with the solid, crystalline electrolytes under study has been the formation of microscopic cracks that ...

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Energy

Gas-atomized Ca–Mg alloy powders produce hydrogen simply by adding water — high-efficiency hydrogen generation at room temperature

Key findings Adding 100 mL of water at room temperature (25 ℃) to 1 g of the alloy powder results in nearly complete hydrolysis and yields a high hydrogen output in a short time. After correcting for water vapor, the measured hydrogen volume corresponds to approximately 737–760 mL H₂ per gram of powder (produced within about 10 minutes). Raising the water temperature to 60 ℃ further increases both reaction rate and total yield, reaching up to ≈835 mL H₂/g (uncorrected value). Microstructural analysis using SEM/TEM/EDS shows that the gas-atomized powders are spherical (diameter ~6–65 ...

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Energy

Underwater photos show seabirds, seals and fish interacting with a tidal turbine in Washington State

Underwater photos show seabirds, seals and fish interacting with a tidal turbine in Washington State Article URL: https://plos.io/4jjG9cB Video caption: A seal swims past while the turbine is stationary (video playback is at 25% speed). Video credit: Cotter et al., CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Video link: https://plos.io/4j1tc71 Article title: Observations of marine animal interactions with a small tidal turbine Author countries: U.S. Funding: The development and deployment of the Turbine Lander was sponsored by the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC) under Naval Sea Systems Command ...

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Energy

Frozen hydrogen cyanide ‘cobwebs’ offer clues to origin of life

A substance poisonous to humans — hydrogen cyanide — may have helped create the seeds of life on Earth. At cold temperatures, hydrogen cyanide forms crystals. And, according to computer models reported in ACS Central Science, some of the facets on these crystals are highly reactive, enabling chemical reactions that are otherwise not possible at low temperatures. The researchers say these reactions could have started a cascade that gave rise to several building blocks of life. “We may never know precisely how life began, but understanding how some of its ingredients take shape is within reach. Hydrogen cyanide is likely one source of this chemical ...

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Energy

Understanding ammonia energy’s tradeoffs around the world

Many people are optimistic about ammonia’s potential as an energy source and carrier of hydrogen, and though large-scale adoption would require major changes to the way it is currently manufactured, ammonia does have a number of advantages. For one thing, ammonia is energy-dense and carbon-free. It is also already produced at scale and shipped around the world, primarily for use in fertilizer. Though current manufacturing processes give ammonia an enormous carbon footprint, cleaner ways to make ammonia do exist. A better understanding of how to guide the ammonia fuel industry’s continued development ...

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Energy

Left in the cold: Study finds most renters shut out of energy-saving upgrades

As winter heating costs rise, new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York reveals a cold truth. Renters – who make up approximately ⅓ of the U.S. population – are missing out on energy efficiency improvements that could lower their bills, make their apartments more comfortable and improve their health. This study, “Still muddling through: Local sustainability leaders and energy efficiency in rental units,” was published in Energy Research & Social Science. ...

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