Blog

ANDRITZ is Replacing the Old Hickory Dam Equipment

Catwell — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT

The Old Hickory Dam is being upgraded with a 7-blade turbine and new runners. (Image Credit: Mark Rankin/US Army Corps of Engineers) Big projects usually don’t finish when first expected. At Tennessee’s Old Hickory Dam, ANDRITZ was suppo...(read more)

Farmers in Egypt Use Solar Panels to Grow Crops

Catwell — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT

Agrovoltaics. (Image Credit: ADMC/pixabay) For thousands of years, Egypt has made agriculture work in its harsh environment. Nowadays, however, farmers are facing more challenges: water scarcity and increasing temperatures that damage crops. Agrovo...(read more)

Scientists Created Batteries Made of Chitosan from Seafood Waste

Catwell — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT

(Image Credit: Chandler Cruttenden/Unsplash) Poor crabs. Aqueous zinc-metal batteries could be applicable for grid storage. After all, there is a lot of zinc, and it’s cheaper and safer than lithium. Conventional liquid electrolytes and polyme...(read more)

NASA Plans to Launch a Nuclear Reactor in Space

Catwell — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 22:24:13 GMT

Artist’s concept of the Space Reactor-1 Freedom spacecraft flying past Mars. (Image Credit: NASA) Solar power can be limited for deep space travel. When spacecraft move farther away from the sun, the sunlight reaching their solar panel weakens...(read more)

Researchers Create Digital Twin of a Battery to Uncover What Causes Degradation During Fast Charging

Catwell — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:00:34 GMT

Diagram of the team’s research. (Image Credit: Kang et al., InfoMat 2026. Creative Commons Attribution License) Fast charging cuts down on lithium-ion batteries charging time. However, transporting the lithium into electrodes at high rates le...(read more)

AI Data Centers Require a Lot of Water, Where Does It Go?

Catwell — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 18:20:53 GMT

AI data centers use water to cool the servers. (Image Credit: UCR/Evan Fields) I was wondering why water used in data centers can’t be reused. Nature cycles water constantly, it seems odd that the water is used to cool but then disappears. Why...(read more)

Honeycomb-Shaped 3D PV Modules Could Generate More Electricity Than Flat Panels

Catwell — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 18:26:33 GMT

Figure showing the honeycomb-structured 3D PV design, the mechanical metamaterial support, and the light recapture mechanism. (Image Credit: Advanced Materials Technologies) Although PV modules are useful, they have a flaw. They don’t retain a...(read more)

Ancient Cities Are Now Using Solar Panels in Roof Tiles

Catwell — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 20:48:30 GMT

Roof tiles in the Villa of the Mysteries produce power. (Image Credit: Pompeii Archaeological Park) Renewables in ancient cities? While solar panels produce clean energy, there’s usually a catch. The problem? Solar panels affect the appearance...(read more)

MIT Develops a New Technique to Extract Lithium from Spodumene Rock

Catwell — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 16:38:33 GMT

(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons) MIT researchers recently created a new method to extract lithium from spodumene rock using a low-temperature process. A bathroom renovation inspired the research. At the time, Yet-Ming Chiang, MIT’s Kyocera Pr...(read more)

Researchers Develop Water Battery That Can Be Safely Disposed

Catwell — Thu, 21 May 2026 19:25:08 GMT

Comparing the neutral pH 7 with other battery technologies. (Image Credit: nature) Researchers at the City University of Hong Kong have developed an aqueous battery with a pH 7 electrolyte. The battery system is built with water-based materials and ...(read more)

A Modeling Study Predicts That Solar Farms Could Produce Rainfall

Catwell — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 14:18:42 GMT

A solar farm. (Image Credit: TheOtherKev/pixabay) Is that bad? In the UAE, where water is harder to come by than oil, cloud seeding or desalination plants produce freshwater for everyone living there. Now, a 2024 modeling study says huge solar farms...(read more)

Deep Fission is Burying Nuclear Reactors One Mile Deep

Catwell — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 19:45:50 GMT

Deep Fission is a startup focusing on the burial of nuclear reactors as a cheaper, simpler alternative to traditional above-ground power plants. (Image Credit: Deep Fission) Nuclear power is becoming more complex and costly, and one startup wants to...(read more)

Engineers Build a Alt Energy Device That Generates Power at Night

Catwell — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 20:51:19 GMT

Render and data show radiative cooling of the top plate to the night sky and warming of the bottom plate to the ground. This produced a temperature difference that powered the engine. (Image Credit: ScienceAdvances) Engineers at the University ...(read more)

Japan’s Sidewalks Converts Human Footsteps into Useable Electricity

Catwell — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 21:03:12 GMT

(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons) Wind and sunlight are the most common sources of renewable energy, powering turbines and solar panels worldwide. Japan and other countries are now tapping a subtler source: footsteps on piezoelectric sidewalks to ge...(read more)

Japan is Working on Three Surprising Hydrogen Projects

Catwell — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 20:09:20 GMT

Rendering of the co-firing hydrogen engine built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. (Image Credit: Kawasaki) Kawasaki Heavy Industries constructed the first-ever 8MW KG Series co-firing hydrogen engine, which generates electricity. It operates on natural...(read more)