Photovoltaics generated $38 billion in 2009

19 hours ago | News

Worldwide solar photovoltaic (PV) installations reached a record high of 6.43 gigawatt (GW) in 2009-a 6% Y/Y growth, according to the latest Marketbuzz 2010 Report from Solarbuzz, an international solar energy market research and consulting company, and a division of The NPD Group.

Wastewater sludge to be turned into 600 kW a day

19 hours ago | News

The project hasn’t reached full-scale yet, but the renewable energy research project that started out in a Nevada lab has reached demonstration stage at a water reclamation facility. The process dries sludge that is normally trucked away for disposal, converting it to solid fuel that can be gasified to produce electricity.

Solving hydrogen storage issues with layered graphene sheets

Mar 18 | News

Graphene—carbon formed into sheets a single atom thick—now appears to be a promising base material for capturing hydrogen, according to recent research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Univ. of Pennsylvania. The findings suggest stacks of graphene layers could potentially store hydrogen safely for use in fuel cells and other applications.

Battery breakthrough: silicon-based Li-ion anode stands up under stress

Mar 15 | News

Lithium-ion battery anodes are made from graphite. Silicon anodes would offer a ten-fold improvement, but ion travel quickly destroys the material. A new experimental silicon-carbon nanocomposite, built through self-assembly, solves the degradation problem.

Drying technology extracts more energy from high moisture coal

Mar 15 | News

Developed with funding from the DOE's Clean Coal Power Initiative, a new DryFining technology from NETL uses waste heat from a power plant to reduce moisture content in lignite coal and also segregates particles by density. Occurring before oxidation, this sorting process eliminates many higher density compounds like sulfur and mercury and allows greater energy extraction and lower harmful emissions.

High-speed pipeline revs up biomass analysis

Mar 11 | News

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Lab are analyzing 1,000 samples of biomass at a time, finding which one, combined with the right enzyme, most eagerly gives up its sugars to be converted into biofuel. Their work is part of an effort to meet federal regulations that require the U.S. produce 36 billion gallons of biofuel by 2022.

Once a seafarers' scourge, the gribble could be biofuel hero

Mar 9 | News

Tiny marine isopods called gribbles were for centuries the bane of sailors, whose vessels were quickly devoured. Even today, piers and docks are rapidly gnawed away, and researchers have now been attracted to the enzymes in their gut, which can convert wood into sugars without the help of microbes.

Honeywell signs agreement to provide system-design for Shell

Mar 9 | News

Honeywell announced that it has signed a global five-year agreement to be a Main Automation Contractor (MAC) for Shell.

Alternative energy crops in space

Mar 9 | News

What if space held the key to producing alternative energy crops on Earth? That's what researchers are hoping to find in a new experiment on the International Space Station. The experiment, National Lab Pathfinder-Cells 3, is aimed at learning whether microgravity can help jatropha curcas plant cells grow faster to produce biofuel, or renewable fuel derived from biological matter.

New energy source comes from the common pea

Mar 5 | News

If harnessing the unlimited solar power of the sun were easy, we wouldn't still have the greenhouse gas problem that results from the use of fossil fuel. And while solar energy systems work moderately well in hot desert climates, they are still inefficient and contribute only a small percentage of the general energy demand. A new solution may be coming from an unexpected source—a source that may be on your dinner plate tonight.

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Much ado about next to nothing

Mar 15

The recent review of the past 10 years of the National Nanotechnology Initiative--as presented by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology--suggested the rise of nanomanufacturing as the near future of nanotechnology. But the actual proposed funding reflects a cautious approach, even about nanotech in general.

Lunar tires, space MRSA, and resonating microfluidics

Mar 5

I typically attend the annual Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy each year in pursuit of specific coverage. This year, I sought out candidates for coverage in a vacuum technology article, and pulled together some instruments for a spectroscopy guide. But as busy as that kept me, it wasn’t all mass spectrometers and vacuum pumps on the show floor.  

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NuGard Coating Ashburn Hill

Jan 7

NuGard First Response Protective Clothing are lightweight coveralls, jackets, and pants that provide protection from heat and flame while keeping the wearers body temperature constant.

Multi-Touch Music Maker

Jan 7

Professor David Wessel shows his multi-touch interface that uses computer technologies that allow him to experiment with fine controls to "caress" the instrument.