Collaboration between researchers at the RIKEN Institute, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science, and University of Tokyo resulted in development of a robust robotic system that uses natural hydrothermal vents on the sea floor to generate electricity. This novel system is simple and corrosion-resistant, and it could be used to revolutionize ocean exploration and improve our… »
Collaboration between engineers at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Marburg in Germany resulted in the development of a new method for the desalination of seawater. In comparison with conventional techniques, the new method is significantly simpler and requires less energy. Energy consumption is so little that it can work with… »
A group of researchers from Washington University in St. Louis came up with an idea to combine two existing technologies in order to clean up industrial oxidation reactions. They are using photovoltaic cells to power electrochemical reactions to eliminate the toxic byproducts of reactions commonly used in chemical synthesis — and with them the environmental… »
One of the problems with harvesting sunlight is that sunlight leads to a gradual degradation of many systems developed to harness it. But plants have adopted an interesting strategy to address this issue by constantly breaking down their light-capturing molecules and reassembling them from scratch, thus renewing the basic structures that capture the sun’s energy… »
Bloom Energy Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based company committed to changing the way people generate and consume energy, announced today the availability of the Bloom Energy Server, a patented solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology that provides a cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable alternative to both today’s electric grid as well as traditional renewable energy… »
A fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, heat, and water. In order to produce energy, fuel cells use oxygen and hydrogen. Hydrogen is high in energy, yet an engine that burns pure hydrogen produces almost no pollution. It’s also the most plentiful known element in the universe. Despite its simplicity and abundance,… »
