Blog

Rust And Rainwater Could Be The Future Of Sustainable Energy

CharlesGantt

There is no doubt that sustainable energy sources are the way of the future, but exactly how we generate that sustainable energy is anyone’s guess. While solar, wind and even hydroelectric energy generation is progressing forward every year, that has...
- 4 Nov 2019
New Atomically Thin Heat Shields Could One Day Protect Sensitive Electronics At The Microscopic Scale

CharlesGantt

Overheating electrical components is one of the main causes of failure in electronic hardware, and is quickly becoming one of the leading causes of failure in modern mobile devices. While some of the overheating issues are caused by faulty components...
- 4 Nov 2019
MIT Researchers Working to Develop Nanoscale Batteries Powered by Hydrogen

CharlesGantt

I wrote a piece several years ago that touched on the topic of batteries being the one piece of technology that has not improved at the same rate as other parts of technology such as the microprocessor, and despite all of the advancements in lithium-...
- 28 Oct 2019
Another Take On Stretchable Lithium-ion Batteries

CharlesGantt

While my previous article on flexible Lithium-ion batteries focused on wearables as a driving force in flexible battery development, this article is focused on a new type of flexible Lithium-ion battery technology being developed at the Georgia Insti...
- 28 Oct 2019
Stretchable Batteries Are The Future For Wearable Tech

CharlesGantt

One of the major problems plaguing wearable technology today is the lack of batteries that can safely and reliably flex with the movement of clothing without breaking and leaking harmful electrolyte, or even bursting into flames altogether. That’s no...
- 28 Oct 2019
Spintronics Takes an Unusual Turn to Harvest Energy at Room Temperature

Catwell

Spintronics, when combined with thermodynamics, creates an electric generator that utilizes the electron spin to harvest energy at room temperature. (Image credit: Martin Bowen) Scientists from the CRNS, the University of Strasbourg, the Univers...
- 21 Oct 2019
Behind California Rolling Blackouts Aimed at Curbing Wildfires

Catwell

PG&E provides electric service for approximately 16-million people in northern and central California. (Image credit: PG&E) Several days ago, California’s electric utility provider PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) announced it would ...
- 14 Oct 2019
Hunstable Electric Turbine - electric vehicles in the future

Catwell

Hunstable Electric Turbine claims the same range on smaller batteries! (Image credit: HET) Linear Labs, a family-founded company, run by father-and-son, Fred Hunstable and Brad Hunstable, have developed “a new class of electric motor” called the...
- 11 Oct 2019
Rediscovered Material Produces Rare Lazarus Superconductivity

Catwell

Researchers discovered uranium ditelluride exhibits a rare phenomenon known as re-entrant superconductivity, making it a promising material for use in quantum computers. (Image credit: University of Maryland) Researchers from the University of ...
- 10 Oct 2019
The Difference Between a Linear Supply and a Switched Mode Power Supply

rscasny

There are two broad types of DC Power supplies: linear and switched-mode. Both designs use different techniques to achieve the same result: convert AC power to DC power. Depending on the application, each power supply type enjoys a few advantages. Th...
- 9 Oct 2019
Researchers Bend the Rules of Chemistry Creating Impossible Superconductor

Catwell

The researchers were able to synthesize a forbidden compound of cerium and hydrogen (CeH9), which demonstrates superconductivity at low pressures. (Image credit: MIPT) Researchers from the US, Russia, and China have seemingly done the impossibl...
- 4 Oct 2019
Could A Worldwide Nickel Shortage Limit Electric Vehicle Production Before Lithium Shortages?

CharlesGantt

When most people think about the composition of batteries used in modern electric vehicles such as those produced by Tesla, or the batteries that keep our smartphones powered up, the word Lithium comes to mind. In fact, these batteries are so prevale...
- 1 Oct 2019
New perovskite solar cell efficiency record reached by ANU researchers

Catwell

Researchers from Australia National University (ANU) have set a new record for solar cell efficiency, reaching a rate of 21.6%, the highest amount ever recorded for a perovskite solar cell measuring 1cm². This means that 21.6% of sunlight converts in...
- 19 Sep 2019
A new office building in Norway is the most ‘energy-positive’ building in the world

Catwell

The Powerhouse Brattørkaia has an eye-catching design. (Image credit: Ivar Kvaal/courtesy Snøhetta) A new landmark building recently opened in Trondheim, Norway and it may be a leap forward in renewable energy. Snøhetta’s Powerhouse Brattørkaia ...
- 16 Sep 2019
Tesla’s new battery could power vehicles for up to a million miles

Catwell

Typically, car batteries can last for up to five to six years, which would then need to be replaced, but sometimes sooner, if they get worn out quickly and easily. Engineers working for Tesla are aiming to change that. They claim to have developed ba...
- 13 Sep 2019
MIT Researchers Develop New Electrolyte That Will Improve Supercapacitor Performance

CharlesGantt

It’s often said that supercapacitors are the future of energy storage, but for that statement to become reality, supercapacitor performance needs to increase greatly, and that is just what researchers at MIT have been working on. In a newly released ...
- 19 Aug 2019
Batteries could power grids by 2050

Catwell

By 2050, nearly half of the world’s electricity will be supplied by solar and wind, effectively putting an end to energy created by coal and gas. Owners of EVs will also be able to hook up their automobile to a power grid, transferring energy back an...
- 13 Aug 2019
Largest offshore wind project in the US to be complete by 2024

Catwell

On July 18th, New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo granted contracts for two offshore wind projects based off Long Island, expecting to reach 1,200 megawatts in capacity. The deal is the largest for offshore wind power in U.S. history, and it’s a vital ...
- 26 Jul 2019
Renewable energy on the rise, everything else down

Catwell

A new study shows the rise of renewable energy and how close it is to dethroning nuclear energy. Renewable energy is growing at a fast pace. Will it be the main source of energy in the future? (Image credit: gong hangxu/iStock) As concerns about...
- 16 Jul 2019
The world’s largest solar power plant is now fully operational in UAE

Catwell

As an engineer, I expect about 10% of everything will fail. Imagining having to fix 320,000 solar panels sounds rough... On June 29th, the world’s largest solar plant project with 3.2 million solar panels installed across an 8-kilometer site, th...
- 8 Jul 2019
Tesla to manufacture its own battery cells for electric vehicles

Catwell

Tesla’s secret lab in Freemont, California is currently in the process of developing battery cells. Present and former employees of Tesla have made reports on recent developments, with plans to manufacture them into their own electric vehicles. The c...
- 2 Jul 2019
Scottish Power to install large lithium-ion battery - Tesla V3 Supercharging

Catwell

Scottish Power has announced plans to undergo a massive power project in Europe to harness UK’s wind and solar farms. The company will be connecting a massive battery, half the size of a soccer field, to the Whitelee onshore windfarm in early 2020 to...
- 12 Jun 2019
The Exploding Demand: Electric Vehicle Infrastructure and New EV Charging Cable Connectors

Catwell

The demand for electric vehicles has exploded, but supporting infrastructure still has a long way to go to realize the vision of a fossil-fuel-free world. When is the last time you’ve seen an electric vehicle charging station? If you’re ...
- 13 May 2019
Tesla's installation of its Powerpack units is the largest yet

Catwell

The Powerpack units allow trains cutbacks on energy consumption and can be used as a backup power generator if an outage occurs. (Image Credit: Tesla) Tesla's latest installation of their Powerpack units in Osaka, Japan invites backup power ...
- 29 Mar 2019
Hydrogen from Seawater

Catwell

Researchers from Stanford University have figured out a way to create hydrogen fuel by using solar power, electrodes and saltwater from the San Francisco Bay. As reported on March 18th in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, separating hy...
- 26 Mar 2019