Energy and the Environment News

June 25, 2025

Top Headlines

Hydrogen Fuel at Half the Cost? Scientists Reveal a Game-Changing Catalyst

June 20, 2025 — Researchers in South Korea have developed a powerful and affordable new material for producing hydrogen, a clean energy source key to fighting climate change. By fine-tuning boron-doping and phosphorus levels in cobalt phosphide nanosheets, the team ...

Collaboration Can Unlock Australia's Energy Transition Without Sacrificing Natural Capital

June 3, 2025 — Australia can reach net-zero emissions and still protect its natural treasures but only if everyone works together. New research from Princeton and The University of Queensland shows that the country ...

Predicting Underwater Landslides Before They Strike

May 30, 2025 — A new method for predicting underwater landslides may improve the resilience of offshore ...

An Iron Oxide 'Oxygen Sponge' for Efficient Thermochemical Hydrogen Production

May 29, 2025 — As the world shifts toward sustainable energy sources, 'green hydrogen' - hydrogen produced without emitting carbon - has emerged as a leading candidate for clean power. Scientists have now developed ...

Cryogenic Hydrogen Storage and Delivery System for Next-Generation Aircraft

May 28, 2025 — Researchers have designed a liquid hydrogen storage and delivery system that could help make zero-emission aviation a reality. Their work outlines a scalable, integrated system that addresses several engineering challenges at once by enabling ...

A New Approach Could Fractionate Crude Oil Using Much Less Energy

May 22, 2025 — Engineers developed a membrane that filters the components of crude oil by their molecular size, an advance that could dramatically reduce the amount of energy needed for crude oil ...

Personal Space Chemistry Suppressed by Perfume and Body Lotion Indoors

May 21, 2025 — In 2022 a team discovered that high levels of OH radicals can be generated indoors, simply due to the presence of people and ozone. This means: People generate their own oxidation field and change the indoor air chemistry around them within their ...

Does Renewable Energy Reduce Fossil Fuel Production in the US?

May 20, 2025 — Increasing renewable energy may not reduce the use of fossil fuels in the United States, according to a new study ...

Investment Risk for Energy Infrastructure Construction Is Highest for Nuclear Power Plants, Lowest for Solar

May 20, 2025 — The average energy project costs 40% more than expected for construction and takes almost two years longer than planned, finds a new global study. One key insight: The investment risk is highest for ...

Engineers Tackle Sunlight Intermittency in Solar Desalination

May 15, 2025 — A team of engineers has developed a system that could transform desalination practices, making the process more adaptable, resilient and cheaper. The new system is powered by sunlight and uses a creative approach to heat recovery for extended water ...

Scientists Define the Ingredients for Finding Natural Clean Hydrogen

May 14, 2025 — Researchers have detailed the geological ingredients required to find clean sources of natural hydrogen beneath our feet. The work details the requirements for natural hydrogen, produced by the Earth itself over geological time, to accumulate in the ...

Green Nickel for Sustainable Electrification

May 9, 2025 — Scientists have developed a carbon-free, energy-saving method to extract nickel for batteries and stainless ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:19pm EDT

Bacterium Produces 'Organic Dishwashing Liquid' to Degrade Oil

May 9, 2025 — The marine bacterium Alcanivorax borkumensis feeds on oil, multiplying rapidly in the wake of oil spills, and thereby accelerating the elimination of the pollution, in many cases. It does this by ...

Urine, Not Water for Efficient Production of Green Hydrogen

May 9, 2025 — Researchers have developed two unique energy-efficient and cost-effective systems that use urea found in urine and wastewater to generate hydrogen. The unique systems reveal new pathways to ...

Researchers Develop Practical Solution to Reduce Emissions and Improve Air Quality from Brick Manufacturing in Bangladesh

May 8, 2025 — A new study analyzes the results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that showed that brick kiln owners in Bangladesh are willing and able to ...

Scientists Discover Key to Taming Unrest at Italy's Campi Flegrei

May 4, 2025 — New research shows that elevation changes and earthquakes in Italy's Campi Flegrei volcanic area are caused by rising pressure in a geothermal reservoir -- not magma or its gases, as commonly ...

Greasing the Wheels of the Energy Transition to Address Climate Change and Fossil Fuels Phase out

May 1, 2025 — The global energy system may be faced with an inescapable trade-off between urgently addressing climate change versus avoiding an energy shortfall, ...

Breakthrough Extends Fuel Cell Lifespan Beyond 200,000 Hours, Paving the Way for Clean Long-Haul Trucking

Apr. 29, 2025 — Researchers have developed a new catalyst design capable of pushing the projected fuel cell catalyst lifespans to 200,000 hours. The research marks a ...

Nature Accounting in Colombia Makes Sound Economic Case for Protecting Native Ecosystems

Apr. 23, 2025 — Paper shares innovative natural capital accounting approach to valuing the benefits of ecosystems in Colombia's Upper Sin Basin to key economic ...

Oil Cleanup Agents Do Not Impede Natural Biodegradation

Apr. 22, 2025 — Biodegradation is an important natural process during oil spill cleanup. A new study revealed that using spill treating agents does not negatively impact naturally occurring ...

A Step Toward Harnessing Clean Energy from Falling Rainwater

Apr. 16, 2025 — When two materials come into contact, charged entities on their surfaces get a little nudge. This is how rubbing a balloon on the skin creates static electricity. Likewise, water flowing over some ...

Scientists Find Evidence That Overturns Theories of the Origin of Water on Earth

Apr. 16, 2025 — Researchers have helped overturn the popular theory that water on Earth originated from asteroids bombarding its surface; Scientists have analyzed a ...

Colombia's Peatlands Could Be a Crucial Tool to Fight Climate Change: But First We Have to Find Them

Apr. 15, 2025 — Researchers conducted three years of extensive fieldwork to develop the first data-driven map of both newly documented and predicted peatlands across Colombia's eastern ...

Global EV Adoption Fails to Cut CO2

Apr. 10, 2025 — The transition to electric vehicles won't reduce carbon emissions unless countries clean up their electricity ...

Bio-Oils for Greener Industrial Applications

Apr. 9, 2025 — New technology could enable more sustainable and cheaper production of bio-oils to replace petroleum-based products in electronic, construction and automotive applications. The technology, known as ...

Potable Water Happy Byproduct of Low-Cost Green Hydrogen Technology

Apr. 9, 2025 — Engineers have hit the trifecta of sustainability technology: A group has developed a low-cost method to produce carbon-free 'green' hydrogen via solar-powered electrolysis of seawater. A ...

Decarbonization Improves Energy Security for Most Countries

Apr. 9, 2025 — Researchers analyzed trade-related risks to energy security across 1,092 scenarios for cutting carbon emissions by 2060. They found that swapping out dependence on imported fossil fuels for increased ...

Serendipitous Discovery Could Lead to More Efficient Catalysts

Apr. 9, 2025 — Preparing catalysts by sending hot, steamy car exhaust over them could improve their efficiency and reduce the amount of rare and expensive metals required in vehicle catalytic converters and many ...

Researchers Recycle Wind Turbine Blade Materials to Make Improved Plastics

Apr. 3, 2025 — A new method to recycle wind turbine blades without using harsh chemicals resulted in the recovery of high-strength glass fibers and resins that allowed researchers to re-purpose the materials to ...

An Answer to Green Energy in Hydrogen-Generating Marine Microbes

Apr. 3, 2025 — A genomic study of hydrogen-producing bacteria has revealed entirely new gene clusters capable of producing large volumes of ...

Researchers Explore Using Soil for Heat Storage

Apr. 2, 2025 — When spring arrives and the heating season comes to an end, keeping warm becomes less of an issue. However, scientists remind us that it is not just a seasonal necessity -- heat is also a valuable ...

Human Urine, a Valuable Resource as Fertilizer for Sustainable Urban Agriculture, Study Concludes

Mar. 27, 2025 — The reuse of human urine would allow for the production of sustainable fertilizers for urban agriculture, with significant environmental benefits, a new study concludes. The research evaluates the ...

Technology Makes Pesticides Stick to Plant Leaves

Mar. 25, 2025 — Technology makes pesticides stick to plant leaves. With the system, farmers could significantly cut their use of pesticides and fertilizers, saving money and reducing ...

Household Electricity Three Times More Expensive Than Upcoming 'Eco-Friendly' Aviation E-Fuels, Study Reveals

Mar. 23, 2025 — Existing tax policies during the energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources will lead to major energy injustices and skewed priorities, new research ...

Recycled Cements Drive Down Emissions Without Slacking on Strength

Mar. 20, 2025 — Engineers have developed an approach for recycling cement waste into a sustainable, low-carbon alternative that is comparable in performance to the industry ...

New Carbon-Negative Material Could Make Concrete and Cement More Sustainable

Mar. 19, 2025 — Researchers injected CO2 gas into seawater while applying an electrical current. The process transformed dissolved ions, minerals in seawater into clusters of solid particles. The clusters hold over ...

EPA Regulations Cut Power Sector Emissions but Miss Opportunities for Deeper Reductions

Mar. 19, 2025 — Regulations finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2024 could cut emissions from the power sector by 51% over 2022 levels, compared to only 26% without the rules, according to a new ...

Reusing Old Oil and Gas Wells May Offer Green Energy Storage Solution

Mar. 18, 2025 — Moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources like wind and solar will require better ways to store energy for use when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing. A new study by ...

Eco-Friendly Method to Efficiently Convert Methane to Ethanol

Mar. 18, 2025 — In advancing sustainable energy solutions, an international collaborative team of scientists has achieved a significant milestone in low-carbon chemical conversion. In their recent publication in ...

Top Locations for Ocean Energy Production Worldwide Revealed

Mar. 17, 2025 — Until now, a global evaluation of ocean current energy with actual data was lacking. Using 30 years of NOAA's Global Drifter Program data, a study shows that ocean currents off Florida's ...

Without Oxygen: How Primordial Microbes Breathed

Mar. 17, 2025 — A team of scientists have elucidated an ancient mechanism of cellular respiration. To that end, they studied bacteria that feed on the gases carbon dioxide and hydrogen, and turn them into acetic ...

Scientists Develop Solar-Powered Method to Convert Sewage Sludge Into Green Hydrogen and Animal Feed

Mar. 12, 2025 — Scientists have developed an innovative solar-powered method to transform sewage sludge -- a by-product of wastewater treatment -- into green hydrogen for clean energy and single-cell protein for ...