The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Sorted by date Results 26 - 48 of 48
Swiss scientists create device that makes green fuel from water vapor and sunshine. Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne have created a device that can harvest water from the atmosphere and turn it into hydrogen fuel – a process powered entirely with solar energy. While inspired by the natural mechanisms of photosynthesis, the scientists devised something more akin to an electrochemical sponge. Such a device that can extract water from the air a...
The White House has allotted $500 million for a program that aims to transform old and current mine sites into renewable energy hubs. Being administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Clean Energy Demonstrations on Current and Former Mine Land Program aims to validate innovative approaches to converting mine lands to clean energy projects, with a goal of replication across the nation. DOE says the repurposing of mine land for energy projects that lower carbon dioxide...
Looking beyond the carbon dioxide emitted from tailpipes, Toyota Motor Corp. is investigating hydrogen as a cleaner and tastier fuel for the stoves and ovens that cook the food for millions of households around the globe. Teaming up with Rinnai, a Japanese manufacturer of gas appliances, Toyota plans to demonstrate the potential advantages of hydrogen-fueled cooking and home heating in Woven City – a living laboratory that Toyota's human-centered mobility and technology subsid...
As Australia's first laser fusion energy company, HB11 Energy has been awarded A$22 million (US$15.5) to develop next-generation high-power lasers needed to create a multi-billion-dollar nuclear energy industry in the land down under. This forms a part of the A$50 million (US$35.1 million) Trailblazer grant awarded to the universities of Adelaide and New South Wales under the "Defence Trailblazer for Concept to Sovereign Capability" bid. It comprises A$6 million (US$4.2...
What if the very carbon dioxide being blamed for global warming was the secret ingredient of massive batteries for the storage of renewable energy meant to prevent additional CO2 from entering the atmosphere in the first place? Italy-based startup Energy Dome has created such a battery that could help fully utilize low-carbon energy while also helping to stabilize electrical grids. The primary problem with renewable energy sources like wind and solar is the electricity they...
A small Australia-based energy technology company is hot on the trail of building a prototype of a long-lived power generation system that could open the path to extended space travel, as well as a reliable and low-cost source of electricity for remote defense sites. But the revolutionary GenX units – which can provide power for decades without a continuous fuel source nor any human intervention or maintenance – is just one of several barrier-breaking technologies that Pho...
Paper-thin and inexpensive solar cells printed from ink may one day replace the cumbersome traditional solar cells made from silicon thanks to a material created at Imperial College London called ferrocene. "Silicon cells are efficient but expensive, and we urgently need new solar energy devices to accelerate the transition to renewable energy," said Nicholas Long, a professor from the department of chemistry at Imperial College London and a co-lead author of a scientific...
In two back-to-back deals, First Solar Inc. has secured contracts for the installation of 4.75 gigawatts of responsibly produced thin-film photovoltaic solar modules. Origis Energy, one of America's largest solar and energy storage developers, placed an order for 750 megawatts of the cadmium telluride thin film photovoltaic modules produced by First Solar. "This 750 MW solar agreement builds on a long-term alliance between the First Solar and Origis teams," said Samir Verstyn,...
From hot sand in Alabama to hydrogen storage at Tennessee coal mines, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management is investing $2.4 million into projects that could increase the duration, reliability, and affordability of novel energy storage technologies. "The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management is investing in projects that will advance thermal and hydrogen energy storage technologies for use during and beyond the electricity...
Seeking to wean Wyoming's energy grids and coffers off coal and other fossil fuels, the United States Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management is providing the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources with funds to evaluate the idea of deploying clean hydrogen technologies in the state. The Biden administration sees the development of affordable clean hydrogen as a key to achieving its goal of net-zero carbon emissions in the U.S. by 2050....
Selected as the technology partner for the Darlington nuclear project, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy will work with Ontario Power Generation to deploy a BWRX-300 small modular reactor at the Darlington site on the north shore of Lake Ontario in Clarington. "We are thrilled to be selected by OPG as a technology partner," said GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy President and CEO Jay Wileman. "OPG is Ontario's climate change leader and is positioned to become a world leader in SMRs....
A French private-public partnership that includes Schlumberger New Energy and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) is tackling the carbon dioxide emissions from two industrial sectors that account for more than 15% of global CO2 output – cement manufacturing and steelmaking. Leveraging more than two decades of research and development by CEA, the French technology venture known as Genvia has signed agreements with industrial leaders to scale up n...
Under the radar, the Department of the Air Force selected Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska to pilot its first micro-reactor, the next generation of energy capabilities that could power some of the most rural regions of the Last Frontier. Initiated in response to the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that required identifying potential locations to site, construct, and operate a micro-reactor by the end of 2027, the Eielson Air Force Base in North Pole,...
Canada-based nuclear energy producer, General Fusion Inc., July 27 announced a partnership with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to advance fusion reactor technology through the use of tritium extraction techniques in commercial power plants in a novel fusion power concept reactor. Using the conventional fusion process, General Fusion will develop a nonconventional reactor that is a practical and economical approach to power through magnetized target fusion (MTF) – a fusion p...
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, Bill Gates' TerraPower, and Warren Buffet-backed PacifiCorp recently announced efforts to advance a Natrium reactor demonstration project in the Cowboy state, bringing a new wave of carbon-free energy to the coal capital of the United States. "I am thrilled to see Wyoming selected for this demonstration pilot project, as our great state is the perfect place for this type of innovative utility facility and our experienced workforce is looking...
With a little bit of gold, scientists at Pennsylvania State University have taken another step toward the vision of turning windows into transparent solar cells that generate electricity while still offering a view of the world outside. "Transparent solar cells could someday find a place on windows in homes and office buildings, generating electricity from sunlight that would otherwise be wasted," said Kai Wang, assistant research professor of materials science and...
Volvo Construction Equipment recently opened a lab to test and develop hydrogen fuel cell technology solutions in heavy construction machines and other applications, marking a significant advancement in Volvo Group's ambition to be fossil-free by 2040. As part of the company's commitment to the Science-Based Targets initiative – considered a necessary measure to meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement – this investment will offer Volvo Group unique conditions to test and...
First Solar Inc. is leveraging the power of Group 5 elements to nearly eliminate the degradation of its newest generation of photovoltaic solar panels. Group 5 refers to vanadium, niobium, tantalum, and dubnium that are in the fifth vertical row from the right on the periodic table. Only the first three are naturally occurring refractory metals – dubnium has been produced in laboratories but has only a short half-life. Scientists at First Solar's labs in Silicon Valley and Ohi...
Early last year, the U.S. Department of Energy launched three separate award programs to fund domestic private companies in developing nuclear reactors in the United States. Congress appropriated US$230 million to kick off this series of investments and through a cost-sharing partnership the DOE, will award amounts to private companies while expecting to invest close to US$4 billion over seven years with the partners providing at least 20% in matching funds. "All of these proj...
TerraPower, a nuclear innovation company co-founded by Bill Gates, and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy are developing a hybrid nuclear reactor and energy storage system specially designed to be integrated with renewable energy dominated power grids. While conventional nuclear power plants are excellent at delivering large and steady loads of carbon-free electricity into a power grid, they are not good at shifting their output to offset fluctuating outputs from solar and wind....
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission completed the final review phase of the design for NuScale Power's groundbreaking small modular reactor. This is a major milestone that provides customers with the surety that the safety aspects of the NuScale small modular reactor design has been approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which allows them to move forward with plans to develop these small nuclear plants. "This is a significant milestone not only for NuScale, but...
Working with leading domestic solar companies, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Washington Clean Energy Testbeds at the University of Washington, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and University of Toledo have formed the U.S. Manufacturing of Advanced Perovskites Consortium (US-MAP), which will work to accelerate commercialization of perovskite technologies. Perovskites are a class of compounds which have the same type of crystal structure as a calcium...
Global interest has begun for recent development in the renewable energy race with an unlikely contender – miniaturized nuclear reactors. This relatively new nuclear reactor design, known as a small modular reactor, or SMR, is based off already well-established nuclear technology principles, providing a new direction for companies seeking to create smaller, more strategically located mini-reactors in an increasingly competitive market. The appeal of these small and medium s...
