Energy
press releases.

Energy16 Jul 2025

Battery sharing could cut energy costs for communities

What if neighbourhoods could lower their electricity bills without investing in expensive battery systems? An international study led by researchers at CWI (the national research institute for mathematics and computer science in the Netherlands) suggests exactly that: by leasing capacity from large, commercially operated batteries, communities can access the benefits of energy storage without the high upfront costs or additional technical challenges. In collaboration with GIGA Storage, a leading operator of grid-connected batteries in the Netherlands, the University of Glasgow (UK) and ...

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Energy16 Jul 2025

Drexel engineers want to make buildings more energy efficient by making walls, floors and ceilings more like elephant ears

Drawing inspiration from the veinous ears of jackrabbits and elephants, Drexel University researchers have come up with a new approach to passive heating and cooling that could one day make buildings more energy efficient. Their concept, recently published in the Journal of Building Engineering, embeds a vascular network within cement-based building materials that, when filled with paraffin-based material, can help passively regulate the surface temperature of walls, floors and ceilings. The approach is an effort to address the substantial contribution of building energy demand — nearly 40% of all energy use — to the production of greenhouse gas. ...

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Energy16 Jul 2025

Pusan National University researchers develop game-changing method to create safer, long-lasting lithium-ion batteries

With the recent global push toward renewable energy and electric vehicles, the demand for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is rising rapidly. The performance and stability of LIBs largely depend on the cathode material, which can account for nearly 40–45% of the total battery cost. Among cutting-edge technologies, high-nickel cathodes stand out for their high energy density and cost efficiency. However, increasing the nickel content also intensifies side reactions, severely compromising interfacial robustness and mechanical integrity—factors that limit large-scale applications. A promising solution is the use of full concentration gradient ...

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Energy16 Jul 2025

Induction effect of fluorine-grafted polymer-based electrolytes for high-performance lithium metal batteries

In a major advance toward safe and ultra-long-life energy storage, Authored by Haitao Zhang and Xiaoyan ji from Luleå University of Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences introduce F-QSCE@30, a fluorine-grafted quasi-solid composite electrolyte that exploits the built-in induction effect of –CF2–CF–CF3 side chains to simultaneously boost ionic conductivity and sculpt a self-armoring LiF-rich interphase. Published in Nano-Micro Letters, the work rewrites the performance ...

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Energy15 Jul 2025

Novel feature-extended analysis unlocks the origin of energy loss in electrical steel

Magnetic hysteresis loss or iron loss is an important magnetic property that determines the efficiency of electric motors and is therefore critical for electric vehicles. It occurs when the magnetic field within the motor core, made up of soft magnetic materials, is repeatedly reversed due to the changing flow of current in the windings. This reversal forces tiny magnetic regions called magnetic domains to repeatedly change their magnetization direction. This change is, however, not perfectly efficient and results in energy loss. ...

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Energy14 Jul 2025

SwRI evaluates effects of hydrogen and natural gas blends on storage tanks

SAN ANTONIO — July 14, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is taking on the challenges of a hydrogen-powered future. In collaboration with NYSEARCH, a nonprofit research and development organization for the gas industry serving utility members across North America, SwRI is investigating how blending hydrogen into liquid natural gas (LNG) could affect the integrity of the LNG storage tanks. Natural gas is widely used to power appliances and heat homes. By blending hydrogen into ...

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Energy10 Jul 2025

New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows

HOUSTON – (July 10, 2025) – A new coating for glass developed by Rice University researchers and collaborators could help reduce energy bills, especially during the cold season, by preventing heat-loss from leaky windows. The material ⎯ a transparent film made by weaving carbon into the atomic lattice of boron nitride ⎯ forms a thin, tough layer that reflects heat, resists scratches and shrugs off moisture, UV light and temperature swings. The researchers simulated how the material would behave in an actual-sized building in cities with cold winters like New York, Beijing and Calgary, showing it improved energy savings by 2.9% compared ...

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Energy10 Jul 2025

Fluorinated polyimide: High toughness and low dielectric properties pave new path for high-frequency communication materials

Conventional polyimides (PIs) exhibit excellent thermal stability and mechanical performance, yet their dielectric properties (dielectric constant (Dk) > 3.2, dissipation factor (Df) > 0.005 @ 10 GHz). In previous reports, the introduction of trifluoromethyl reduced the dielectric constant and dissipation factor, but it increased chain rigidity, weakened hydrogen bonds interaction, and reduced free volume, which definitely reduced mechanical performance (such as poor toughness leading to crack risks in advanced packaging). Therefore, it is necessary to design PI materials with high toughness and low dielectric properties to meet ...

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Energy9 Jul 2025

New catalyst enables triple-efficiency decomposition of ammonia for clean hydrogen

A research team led by Dr. Kee Young Koo from the Hydrogen Research Department at the Korea Institute of Energy Research (President: Yi Chang-Keun, hereafter referred to as KIER) has developed a novel and more cost-effective method for synthesizing ammonia decomposition catalysts. This new approach enables more efficient hydrogen production from ammonia and is expected to make a significant contribution to the realization of a hydrogen economy. Composed of three hydrogen atoms and one nitrogen atom, ammonia has a high hydrogen content, ...

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Energy8 Jul 2025

Scientists find new way to control electricity at tiniest scale

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have uncovered how to manipulate electrical flow through crystalline silicon, a material at the heart of modern technology. The discovery could lead to smaller, faster, and more efficient devices by harnessing quantum electron behavior. At the quantum scale, electrons behave more like waves than particles. And now, scientists have shown that the symmetrical structure of silicon molecules can be fine-tuned to create, or suppress, a phenomenon known as destructive interference. The effect can turn conductivity “on” or “off,” functioning as a molecular-scale ...

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Energy8 Jul 2025

Breakthrough in upconversion luminescence research: Uncovering the energy back transfer mechanism

A recent study has made a breakthrough in the understanding of upconversion luminescent materials, particularly in revealing the energy back transfer (EBT) mechanism between Yb3+ and Er3+ ions. Researchers utilized Er3+-doped Yb3+-self-activated NaYb(MoO4)2 phosphor and crystal, as well as Yb3+/Er3+ codoped NaBi(MoO4)2 crystal as research subjects to investigate the effects of factors such as excitation power density and Yb3+ ion concentration on the EBT process. Through the study of various samples in different states (phosphors and crystals) and different doping conditions, they ...

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Energy4 Jul 2025

Planned hydrogen refuelling stations may lead to millions of euros in yearly losses

As hydrogen infrastructure is rolled out in the EU, refuelling stations must be distributed according to the same principle in all countries. But now a study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden points to shortcomings in EU regulations. Using an advanced model, the researchers show that the distribution of refuelling stations may both be incorrectly dimensioned and lead to losses of tens of millions of euros a year in some countries. By 2030, EU countries must have built hydrogen refuelling stations at least every ...

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Energy2 Jul 2025

U.S. military spending reductions could substantially lower energy consumption

A new analysis suggests that reductions in U.S. military spending could result in significant decreases in energy consumption by the Department of Defense, leading to reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Ryan Thombs of Penn State University, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Climate on July 2. Of all the world’s institutions, the U.S. military produces the most greenhouse gas emissions. This occurs through such activities as maintaining bases, continual preparations and training, research and development, and transporting people, supplies, and weapons worldwide. According to military ...

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Energy1 Jul 2025

ECMWF - delivering forecasts over 10 times faster and cutting energy usage by 1000

Embargo Tuesday 1st July 2025 06:00AM BST Today, just over 100 days after the launch into production of the world first openly available 24/7 operational AI forecast model AIFS-Single, ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) is unveiling the first ensemble model using Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning. The new model, called AIFS ENS, will be available as open source to the user community over the coming weeks. The new ensemble model outperforms state-of-the-art physics-based models for many measures, including surface temperature, with gains of up to 20%. At ...

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Energy24 Jun 2025

UTA powers smarter microgrids with new converter tech

The University of Texas at Arlington has awarded funding to research teams to launch new investigative projects. The Research Enhancement Program (REP), administered by UTA’s Office of Vice President for Research and Innovation, offers seed funding to investigators to help them test new ideas and explore new directions that could lead to future innovations and more competitive proposals for external funding from federal agencies and nonprofit foundations. In our research series, we highlight six of these grants. Researcher: Liwei Zhou, Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering Project title: “Highly Accurate Micro-grid Multi-time-scale Control and Optimization ...

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Energy24 Jun 2025

Direct observation of the charge distribution at the ferroelectric interface was succeeded

Multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) (1), which utilize ferroelectric ceramics, are widely used as electronic components in various devices such as smartphones, personal computers, televisions, and automotive systems. With the advancement of mobile devices, home appliances, and IoT technologies, there is an increasing demand for MLCCs to become more compact, offer higher capacitance, and exhibit greater reliability. MLCCs are structured with alternating layers of ferroelectric material and internal electrodes. Within the ferroelectric layers, there are domains with differing polarization directions, as well as domain interfaces on the nanometer (one-billionth of a ...

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Energy24 Jun 2025

New strategy for lead-free antiferroelectric design: Sn and Ce Co-doping regulates NaNbO₃ phase structure

For decades, researchers have pursued lead-free alternatives to replace toxic yet high-performance lead-based antiferroelectrics (AFEs). Sodium niobate (NaNbO3, NN) emerged as a prime candidate due to its low cost and environmentally benign nature. However, its irreversible phase transition at room temperature, resulting in energy-wasting ferroelectric-like hysteresis, has hindered practical applications. The team published their work in Journal of Advanced Ceramics on June 18, 2025. Now, a materials scientists team has cracked this challenge through ions co-doping strategic. As published in Journal of Advanced Ceramics, co-doping NN with variable-valence elements Sn and Ce ...

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Energy17 Jun 2025

How chemical bonds are formed: physicists at TU Graz observe energy flow in real time

For the first time, a research team led by Markus Koch from the Institute of Experimental Physics at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) has tracked in real time how individual atoms combine to form a cluster and which processes are involved. To achieve this, the researchers first isolated magnesium atoms using superfluid helium and then used a laser pulse to trigger the formation process. The researchers were able to observe this cluster formation and the involved energy transfer between individual atoms with a temporal ...

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Energy16 Jun 2025

Printed energy storage charges into the future with MXene inks

Researchers at Boise State University have developed a stable, high-performance Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene ink formulation optimized for aerosol jet printing—paving the way for scalable manufacturing of micro-supercapacitors, sensors, and other energy storage and harvesting devices. This work, recently published in Small Methods —part of the prestigious Wiley Advanced portfolio — marks a significant advance in the additive manufacturing of two-dimensional (2D) materials for energy storage applications [1]. MXenes, a family of 2D transition metal carbides, nitrides, ...

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Energy16 Jun 2025

Feeding smarter: mannanase improves broiler growth even with less soy and energy

Researchers tested the enzyme’s effectiveness in a 3×2 factorial experiment, combining different SBM concentrations and mannanase doses under low-energy conditions. The findings show that mannanase improved feed conversion ratios, reduced gut inflammation, and enhanced microbial balance, especially in diets containing 17.83% or more SBM. Soybean meal (SBM) is a primary protein source in poultry diets, but it contains anti-nutritional factors—particularly mannans—that hinder digestion and stimulate immune responses, leading to energy loss. Mannanase, an enzyme that breaks down β-1,4-mannosidic bonds in ...

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Energy16 Jun 2025

SwRI’s Angel Wileman named one of Women in Hydrogen 50 for 2025

SAN ANTONIO — June 16, 2025 — The Women’s Global Leadership Conference (WGLC) in Energy has selected Southwest Research Institute’s Angel Wileman for 2025’s Women in Hydrogen 50. This list recognizes 50 women, nominated by their colleagues and peers, as the current and future leaders of the hydrogen economy. This distinction honors Wileman as one of the most accomplished figures in her industry, with the potential to affect real change. “I am deeply honored to be recognized as a leader in the hydrogen community. Society has the ...

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Energy13 Jun 2025

New cooling tech could curb data centers' rising energy demands

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new cooling technology that could significantly improve the energy efficiency of data centers and high-powered electronics. The technology features a specially engineered fiber membrane that passively removes heat through evaporation. It offers a promising alternative to traditional cooling systems like fans, heat sinks and liquid pumps. It could also reduce the water use associated with many current cooling systems. The advance is detailed in a paper published on June 13 in the journal Joule. As artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing continue to expand, the demand for data processing—and ...

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Energy12 Jun 2025

Zinc–iodine battery with outstanding stability now a reality

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have developed a new dry electrode for aqueous batteries which delivers cathodes with more than double the performance of iodine and lithium-ion batteries. “We have developed a new electrode technique for zinc–iodine batteries that avoids traditional wet mixing of iodine,” said the University of Adelaide’s Professor Shizhang Qiao, Chair of Nanotechnology, and Director, Centre for Materials in Energy and Catalysis, at the School of Chemical Engineering, who led the team. “We mixed active materials as ...

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Energy12 Jun 2025

Lithium supply will fall short of growing electric vehicle demand through 2029

In a study publishing June 12 in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports Sustainability, researchers conducted the most comprehensive analysis to date on lithium supply and demand in China, Europe, and the USA. Despite that domestic lithium production in some of these regions could grow as much as 10 times by 2030, it would still fall short of the soaring demand for electric vehicles (EVs) without expanding imports or technological innovation. “Lithium today is as important as gasoline in the industrial revolution,” says author Qifan Xia of East China Normal University in Shanghai. “While lithium reserves are substantial around the world, they are distributed ...

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Energy12 Jun 2025

Turning poison into a source of energy

Getting used to carbon monoxide T. kivui grows at high temperatures and is able to produce organic substances from simple molecules such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen. These properties can be used to utilize the bacterium in connection with biomass gasification plants, for example, in order to valorlize synthesis gas produced there from waste biomass such as agricultural residues or wood waste. For example, T. kivui can be used to sustainably produce acetic acid through gas fermentation and, after appropriate genetic modification, ethanol or isopropanol – raw materials ...

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