From Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Two years after the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory provided a model of nearly every building in America, commercial partners are using the tool for tasks ranging from designing energy-efficient buildings and cities to linking energy efficiency to real estate value and risk. International companies like Google…
Rensselaer researchers to focus on improving life and efficiency of nuclear reactors
Rensselaer Professor Jie Lian has been awarded $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the Nuclear Energy University Research Program (NEUP) to conduct research and develop new materials that will make advanced nuclear reactors more resilient and economically efficient. Dr. Lian, the principal investigator of the project, will be joined by collaborators…
Researchers measure photovoltaic external quantum efficiency to transform the future of solar cells
Researchers at Swansea University, U.K., have proven that it is possible to achieve near-unity charge generation quantum yields in organic solar cells. These findings present a route for designing and constructing higher-performance solar cells, which help to secure the future using renewable energy sources to meet sustainability goals. The research, led by Dr. Wei Li…
U.S. DOE grants $25M to advance clean hydrogen technologies for electricity generation
From the U.S. Department of Energy The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $24.9 million in funding for six research and development projects to support the advancement of clean hydrogen for electricity generation. DOE will partner with private companies to research advanced technology solutions that could make hydrogen a more available and effective fuel…
SOLiTHOR seeds $10.6M to develop a new solid-state battery cell technology
SOLiTHOR, the newly created spin-off company from imec – partner in the European energy R&D innovation hub Energyville – is spearheading the development, manufacturing and commercialization of innovative solid-state lithium (Li) battery cell technology to reliably and economically offer high energy storage solutions. SOLiTHOR raised $10.6 million (€10 million) in a seed investment round led…
Powering the moon: Sandia researchers design microgrid for future lunar base
From Sandia National Laboratory Sandia National Laboratories is well-known for designing reliable and resilient microgrids for military bases and vital city services. Now, Sandia researchers are working with NASA to design one for the moon. This is not the first time Sandia has partnered with NASA to power equipment on the moon. In fact, Sandia…
Advanced Ionics secures $4.2M for decarbonization of industrial hydrogen production
Advanced Ionics, a provider of next-generation industrial electrolyzers that can produce hydrogen for less than $1/kg, has announced the closing of its initial financing of $4.2 million led by Clean Energy Ventures, a venture capital firm funding early-stage climate tech innovations, with participation from SWAN Impact Network. By requiring significantly less electricity than other electrolyzers,…
The R&D 100 winner of the day: Eco-Mobility with Connected Powertrains
Southwest Research Institute developed Eco-Mobility with Connected Powertrains with Toyota Motor North America and the University of Michigan to achieve over 20% energy savings and reduced carbon emissions in connected and automated vehicles. This technology features algorithms, software and testing tools for route, speed profile and power flows to lower fuel consumption by leveraging vehicle-to-vehicle,…
Argonne to host webinar exploring benefits of replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen
Join Argonne experts for “Science at work: Combating climate change with hydrogen,” at 11:00 a.m. CDT, Wednesday, May 11, 2022, as they explore the environmental and economic benefits of replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen. Replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen could turn manufacturing and transportation into green industries. Companies can use hydrogen to reduce their carbon…
US Dept. of Energy funds Rensselaer’s development of technologies to reduce nuclear waste and advance clean energy
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has been awarded $607,505 from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) to help develop technologies to resolve the waste and storage challenges associated with Advanced Nuclear Reactor fuel cycles. The project is funded through ARPA-E’s “Optimizing Nuclear Waste and Advanced Reactor Disposal Systems” (ONWARDS) program, which…
Growing zinc battery initiative welcomes startup Zēlos Energy
Silicon Valley startup Zēlos Energy announces plans to join the Zinc Battery Initiative (ZBI), the voice of the zinc battery industry. ZBI’s rapidly growing membership is comprised of leading zinc battery manufacturers, including Zēlos, which has developed a sustainable, safe zinc-manganese battery designed as an alternative to lead acid and lithium-ion batteries in a variety…
R&D 100 winner of the day: dGen
National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s dGen is an open-source software that simulates customer adoption of distributed energy resources (DERs) through 2050. dGen is used by government and grid planning organizations to predict future energy systems at high spatial resolution and under diverse scenarios. It is an engine for equitably and cost-effectively integrating more DERs. The opensource…
R&D 100 winner of the day: UCC: Ultraconductive Copper-CNT Composite
Ultraconductive Cu-CNT composite, from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is a new class of high-performance conductors in which carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are incorporated into a copper (Cu) matrix, demonstrate improved electrical conductivity, higher current-carrying capacity, and improved mechanical properties compared to pure Cu. Growing demand for electrical energy and increasing need for more energy-efficient power delivery…
Hydrogen and coal are powering the future, in this week’s R&D power index
National Energy Storage Summit to jumpstart America’s energy storage future
On March 8 and 9, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is hosting the National Energy Storage Summit, a virtual public event that will connect thought leaders across industry, government, communities, and the research enterprise to catalyze partnerships and accelerate solutions around specific challenges to America’s energy storage future. Exponential energy storage deployment is both…
Science at Work: Electric vs. conventional Vehicles – which are greener?
by Argonne National Laboratory Join Argonne experts as they explore the best ways to measure greenhouse gas emissions Wednesday, March 2, 2022, 12:00 PM – 12:15 PM EST Are electric vehicles (EVs) really better for the environment than conventional ones? With 30 EV models to be introduced this year, many are asking this same question.…
Inflation will be R&D game changer in 2022, in this week’s R&D power index
The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending February 11, 2022, closed at 5,188.11 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was down -4.28% (or 231.98 basis points) from the week ending February 4, 2022. The stock of eight RDWI members gained value from 0.02% (Alibaba) to 5.34% (Daimler AG). The stock…
The U.S. Department of Energy looking to fund solar technologies
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) announced the Concentrating Solar-Thermal Power (CSP) Fiscal Year 2022 Research, Development, and Demonstration funding program, which will award up to $25 million for innovative research and development projects in CSP technologies. These projects will accelerate the large-scale development and deployment of solar technologies. CSP technologies offer value as renewable energy resources that can…
R&D 100 winner of the day: Infinitum Electric Air-Core Motor
Infinitum Electric’s Air-Core Motors use lightweight materials and modular design to generate the same power in half the size and weight, at a fraction of the carbon footprint of conventional motors. Infinitum Electric motors offer a fully integrated system: motor, variable frequency drive (VFD) and embedded IoT in a single compact package. Infinitum Electric developed…
ABB seeks partners to join energy efficiency movement
Last month, ABB hosted an exclusive virtual roundtable discussion to give members of the media an opportunity to learn more and ask questions about the energy efficiency movement being championed by the company. The event explored the practical benefits and data of integrating high-efficiency solutions into existing industrial and commercial infrastructure to affordably and immediately…
R&D 100 winner of the day: Timken Split Tapered Roller Bearing for Mainshaft
The Timken Split Tapered Roller Bearing for Mainshaft is designed for uptower installation in wind turbine nacelles. Non-split solid ring bearings require expensive ground-based cranes for bearing replacement. The Timken product has two halves that are installed using smaller uptower cranes and no blade removal, dramatically reducing costs and downtime. Most wind turbines operate under…
LiTAS lithium extraction pilot plant deployed to world’s largest lithium resource
EnergyX has successfully deployed the first of three LiTAS pilot plants, a containerized direct lithium extraction (DLE) unit, for operation at Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni, the largest lithium resource in the world. EnergyX first licensed its core technology from the University of Texas in May 2019, and only two years later has amassed a team…
R&D 100 winner of the day: Bison
Bison, from Idaho National Laboratory, helps engineers model fuel performance inside a nuclear reactor, allowing them to test different fuel configurations and optimize safety and efficiency. Nuclear power companies use Bison to create advanced simulations of the new fuel configurations required to power the next generation of more economical nuclear reactors. Bison is a nuclear…
R&D 100 winner of the day: AeroMINE
AeroMINE (Motionless INtegrated Extraction), from Sandia National Laboratories, stationary wind harvesters provide safe, scalable, distributed electricity generation with no external moving parts. They easily integrate with buildings or operate stand-alone. They can complement rooftop solar providing safe, affordable and reliable power to warehouses, box stores, commercial buildings, military bases and remote locations, massively reducing greenhouse…
VW’s Elli launches ‘Volkswagen Naturstrom Connect’ with electric mobility pioneers ev.energy.
Elli, the Volkswagen subsidiary that provides sustainable energy and charging solutions, has partnered with ev.energy to launch the Volkswagen Group’s first ever intelligent household electricity tariff: Volkswagen Naturstrom Connect. The tariff will use ev.energy’s platform to market and manage the new tariff with electric vehicle owners. The Volkswagen Naturstrom Connect tariff has been developed by…