Green Technology

As lithium-ion batteries have become a ubiquitous part of our lives through their use in consumer electronics, automobiles and electricity storage facilities, researchers have been working to improve their power, efficiency and longevity.... Read more

Nanotechnology researchers at The University of Texas at Dallas have made novel carbon nanotube yarns that convert mechanical movement into electricity more effectively than other material-based energy harvesters.... Read more

A solar distillation device can purify brine from reverse osmosis plants with over 10 percent salinity, as well as water taken directly from the Red Sea. The technology offers double the freshwater production rate of existing salt-rejection solar stills.... Read more

"We know a great deal about windmills on land, and something about fixed-bottom wind turbines at sea, but much less about floating wind turbines," says Geir Grasmo, Professor at the University of Agder (UiA).... Read more

Researchers at the University of I llinois Urbana-Champaign have successfully demonstrated efficient geothermal heat storage while simultaneously repurposing an abandoned oil and gas well.... Read more

Cleaning glass facades and solar installations is expensive and time-consuming. Dirt reduces the yield of solar modules. However, the Fraunhofer Institute for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology (FEP) has now succeeded in applying crystalline titanium oxide to ultra-thin glass using a roll-to-roll process, thus achieving hydrophobic surfaces that... Read more

For many avid outdoorspeople, summertime and camping go hand in hand. But as climate change continues to drive summer temperatures higher, outdoor recreation could become less relaxing—and cooling technologies like fans and portable air conditioners require electricity that is seldom available at the average campsite.... Read more

There is money to be made—and potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—by finding a second life for the potato peels, fried dough particles, cheese whey and other industrial food-processing waste products that routinely end up in landfills, according to new research.... Read more

Be it through the food we eat, vehicle we use or way we live, we use fossil fuels and emit greenhouse gases in various activities in our daily lives. We need to reduce emissions across sectors, starting with our homes. This requires ambitious and quick action.... Read more

The U.S. natural gas infrastructure is expansive, providing service for 32% of the nation's energy consumption in 2021. To reduce the emissions from natural gas service, blending hydrogen into natural gas pipelines could prove to be a promising, cost-effective pathway. It would not only use existing natural gas infrastructure but... Read more

In recent years, environmental problems caused by global warming have become more apparent due to greenhouse gases such as CO2. In natural photosynthesis, CO2 is not reduced directly, but is bound to organic compounds that are converted to glucose or starch. Mimicking this, artificial photosynthesis could reduce CO2 by combining... Read more

South Africans had to deal with the worst ever series of power cuts in 2022. All in all the country lost a record 205 days of electricity due to constant breakdowns at the coal-fired power plants run by Eskom, the state-owned electricity utility. The plants are old and have not... Read more

Every year, the United States spends nearly a trillion dollars fighting metallic corrosion, an electrochemical reaction that occurs when metals oxidize and begin to rust. By taking on this surprisingly insidious issue, researchers have now estimated how much corrosion is gradually worsening global carbon emissions.... Read more

To reduce carbon emissions and still meet the growing demands of the electronics industry, scientists will need to develop alternative battery technologies that are more durable, sustainable, and can store more energy. In recent years, they have thus been trying to develop alternative battery technologies using different material combinations.... Read more

Researchers from the University of Birmingham have designed a novel adaptation for existing iron and steel furnaces that could reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the steelmaking industry by nearly 90%.... Read more