ScienceDaily: Energy Technology News

A new study estimated the cumulative effects of the shale gas boom in the Appalachian basin in the early 2000s on air quality, climate change, and employment. The study found that effects on air quality and employment followed the boom-and-bust cycle, but effects on climate change will likely persist for generations to come. The study, which also considered how to compensate for these effects, provides insights for long-term decision making in this field.

Researchers have developed new thermoelectric materials, which could provide a low-cost option for converting heat energy into electricity.

Artificial Intelligence may be just the thing to accelerate spray-on solar cell technology, which could revolutionize how consumers use energy. A research team has used Machine Learning, aka Artificial Intelligence to optimize the materials used to make perovskite solar cells (PSC). The Organic-Inorganic halide perovskites material used in PSC converts photovoltaic power into consumable energy.

Studying radiation chemistry and electronic structure of materials at scales smaller than nanometers, scientists prepared samples of clay in ultra-thin layers. Working at the TRIUMF particle accelerator, they bombarded the samples with antimatter subatomic particles. They found their system is a proven tool for radiation studies of material to be used to store nuclear waste -- important for Canadian nuclear industry looking to build its first geological repository.

Researchers have developed a high precision 3D circuit simulator in the time-domain for quantifying EM noise and elucidated its origin, allowing for optimal layout to reduce EM nose. The use of the simulator is applicable to cutting-edge circuit design.

Ethylene, or ethene, is a primary feedstock for the chemical industry, including as a starting material for the production of a wide variety of plastics. Scientists have now introduced a new electrochemical technique for selective and energy-efficient production of ethylene from carbon monoxide, which can be obtained from renewable resources and waste.

Researchers in Korea have found an effective and inexpensive strategy to transform solar cells from opaque to transparent. Existing transparent solar cells tend to have a reddish hue and lower efficiency, but by punching tiny holes on crystalline silicon wafers, it allows light through without coloring. The holes are then strategically spaced, so the human eye is unable to 'see' the pattern.

Engineers have developed a three-dimensional monolithic organic battery electrode.

Researchers have created a more feasible way to combine transistors and memory on a chip, potentially bringing faster computing.

Scientists may have figured out how dust particles can stick together to form planets, according to a new study that may also help to improve industrial processes.

Laboratory experiments and a parabolic flight campaign have enabled an international team of researchers to gain new insights into water electrolysis, in which hydrogen is obtained from water by applying electric energy. Water electrolysis could play a key role in the energy transition if efficiency improvements can be achieved. The findings offer a possible starting point for enhancing the environmental impact of hydrogen-based technologies.

Old habits are hard to break. A new study of replacement of traditional wood and coal burning stoves with clean energy in China suggests that, without a better understanding of the reasons behind people's reluctance to give up traditional stoves, it will be difficult for policies in China and elsewhere in the world to succeed in encouraging this shift towards clean energy.

A team of researchers studying new methods to remove toxic heavy metals from biosolids -- the solid waste left over after sewage treatment -- found the key is a brief spin through a microwave.

Nuclear physics usually involves high energies, as illustrated by experiments to master controlled nuclear fusion. One problem is how to overcome the strong electrical repulsion between atomic nuclei which requires high energies to make them fuse. But fusion could be initiated at lower energies with electromagnetic fields that are generated by state-of-the-art free electron lasers emitting X-ray light. Researchers describe how this could be done.

A research team has reported seeing, for the first time, atomic scale defects that dictate the properties of a new and powerful semiconductor. The study shows a fundamental aspect of how the semiconductor, beta gallium oxide, controls electricity.

Simulations show that halo currents can serve as a proxy for the total force produced by vertical disruptions.

Researchers have developed a revolutionary way to encode computational information without using electrical current. As a global first, this could lead to faster technological devices that could efficiently use energy without overheating.

A recent study gives researchers an easier way of finding Weyl semimetals and manipulating them for potential spintronic devices.

Scientists combine forced convection cooling with thermo-electrochemical energy conversion to create a self-sustaining liquid cooling system. A liquid electrolyte is circulated through a cell to cool a hot object, and the reversible chemical reaction in the cell generates a higher electric power than the hydrodynamic pump work required to drive the liquid through the cell. This technology resolves the longstanding unaddressed issue of the loss of free energy component of the thermal energy.

The location and operation of wind energy plants are often in direct conflict with the legal protection of endangered species. The almost unanimous opinion of experts from local and central government authorities, environmental NGOs and expert offices is that the current mechanisms for the protection of bats in wind power projects are insufficient.