Systems using the new innovative FilmTec Fortilife XC120, a spiral-wound reverse osmosis element from from DuPont Water Solutions, achieve water concentrations beyond 80,000 ppm to ~120,000 ppm of total dissolved solids while operating within the pressure limits of standard available reverse osmosis equipment. Reaching these concentrations pushes the overall water recovery up from 90% to…

Cotton and polyester blended-fiber fabrics have been extensively used by clothing manufacturers, and these materials have made up a considerable number of garment wastes disposed of by consumers. Green Machine uses The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel Limited (HKRITA)’s hydrothermal technology to separate PET-cotton blended textile fibers and decolor the PET fiber…

Buildings generate 39% of global CO2 emissions. Decarbonizing the building sector and improving the climate resilience of buildings are essential to the global clean economy. However, evaluating and prioritizing cost-effective technical solutions for individual buildings at city scale poses a significant challenge for city stakeholders. City Buildings, Energy and Sustainability (CityBES), developed by Lawrence Berkeley…

Grengine, a developer of the world’s first stackable, modular energy storage system, announces it has named Erin Rand as its new CEO, while founder and former CEO, Connie Stacey, will move into a new role as CTO. Formerly known as Growing Greener Innovations, the company also publicly announced its new corporate brand: Grengine. The new…

Oil-derived, single-use plastics are designed to be disposed of immediately after use, but they persist in the environment for much longer. These plastics take decades to degrade and are a huge source of pollution around the world. Despite the urgency to replace traditional plastics with sustainable alternatives, bioplastics are still decades away from meeting the…

By Mark Jones It looks innocuous in my hand, yet there are growing calls to ban it. It may use technology created for the Manhattan Project, but, in my hand, it doesn’t feel like a weapon. It feels natural, in spite of the very unnatural materials it may contain. I’m not at all cautious as…

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, has announced it is receiving a funding renewal from the Department of Energy (DOE). IACMI becomes the first clean energy institute to be renewed by DOE. IACMI will be receiving federal funding across five fiscal years, with a first-year investment of $6 million…

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. announced it will power all the company’s current U.S. sites with 100% renewable electricity by 2026. The company’s new 20-year virtual power purchasing agreement with EDF Renewables includes the full output of the 200-MW Millers Branch Solar project. The agreement with EDF Renewables will deliver approximately 545,000 MWh of renewable electricity…

Metaspectral, a software company, has received funding as part of the smartEarth Canadian Space Agency initiative to build a method to systematically and methodically quantify the carbon dioxide (CO2) levels present at ground-elevation using hyperspectral data. Metaspectral has created a hybrid on-premise and cloud-based software platform that is used in a variety of industries to…

2022 has been a busy year for the R&D community, from the continuing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to the repercussions on the economy and funding for future research. We’ve seen some amazing breakthroughs and innovations — and welcomed back the R&D 100 Awards banquet dinner. It’s been a busy year in the industry. Here’s…

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…

From Southwest Research Institute Leaders of Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and Tecnológico de Monterrey (Tec de Monterrey), a private, nonprofit, independent university based in Monterrey, Mexico, launched a new research initiative to advance sustainable manufacturing practices that protect the environment while developing materials and technology. SwRI President and CEO Adam Hamilton, P.E., and Dr. Guillermo…

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…

By Mark Jones I’ve discovered a new sport, one made possible by Erik Rintamaki. No, he’s not the inventor of pickleball — and the sport I found is not the fastest growing in the U.S. My new sport is a bit more scientific and, for R&Ders, it comes with a useful allegory. The sport I…

From Berkeley National Lab, By Alison Hatt Scientists have designed a new material system to overcome one of the biggest challenges in recycling consumer products: mixed-plastic recycling. Their achievement will help enable a much broader range of fully recyclable plastic products and brings into reach an efficient circular economy for durable goods like automobiles. We…

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…

Auto makers are racing to produce electric vehicles, but few firms know how to recycle old EV batteries. A scientist at Argonne National Laboratory is hosting a 15-minute webinar on June 29 at 1 p.m. CT that will describe the path businesses can take to recycle those batteries profitably. In 2020, over 1.7 million electric…

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…

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,…

MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a science and technology company, has announced that its ZooMAb recombinant antibodies platform earned Accountability, Consistency and Transparency (ACT) label from My Green Lab, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a culture of sustainability in science. The first-ever antibody to achieve ACT…

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,…

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…

By Mark Jones Last month, I got caught up in the Olympic mixed doubles curling. At the start of the competition, I think it is safe to say no one guessed a team would go undefeated on the way to a gold medal. The gold-medal winning Italians were young and from a country with very…

By Becky Chambers Hennessy, contributing writer   If you haven’t heard the drumbeat from the American Chemical Society (ACS), April 17 marks the start of 2022 Chemists Celebrate Earth Week, designed to promote “the positive role that chemistry plays in the world.” But as important as that role is, let’s face it: “Chemistry” has an…

Recycling rare earth elements from high-tech devices typically involves a toxic process that’s banned in many countries, including the United States. Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory have developed a new environmentally friendly process known as RE-Metal that enables the recovery of rare earth metals from waste electronics and other sources. RE-Metal helps solve an enormous…