Energy and the Environment News

March 2, 2025

Top Headlines

Scientists Design Battery That Runs on Atomic Waste

Feb. 25, 2025 — Researchers have developed a battery that can convert nuclear energy into electricity via light emission, a study ...

Scientists Crack the Code to Longer-Lasting Perovskite Solar Technology

Feb. 27, 2025 — Perovskite solar cells could last ten times longer thanks to new research, which suggests alumina nanoparticles significantly enhance the lifespan and stability of these high-efficiency energy ...

New Insights Into Efficient Water Splitting

Feb. 25, 2025 — A new study has revealed key factors limiting the efficiency of photoelectrochemical water splitting using a titanium dioxide photoanode for clean hydrogen production. Researchers combined intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy with the ...

Perovskite Solar Cells: Thermal Stresses Are the Key to Long-Term Stability

Feb. 21, 2025 — Perovskite solar cells are highly efficient and low cost in production. However, they still lack stability over the decades under real weather conditions. An international research collaboration has now explored the effects of multiple thermal ...

Latest Headlines

updated 8:20pm EST

Student Refines 100-Year-Old Math Problem, Expanding Wind Energy Possibilities

Feb. 26, 2025 — An engineering student refined a century-old math problem into a simpler, more elegant form, making it easier to use and explore. Divya Tyagi's work ...

Rooftop Panels, EV Chargers, and Smart Thermostats Could Chip in to Boost Power Grid Resilience

Feb. 20, 2025 — After a cyber attack or natural disaster, a backup network of decentralized devices -- like residential solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, ...

A Breakthrough in Hydrogen Catalysis: Electronic Fine-Tuning Unlocks Superior Performance

Feb. 19, 2025 — In a breakthrough for hydrogen technology, researchers have introduced an innovative electronic fine-tuning approach that enhances the interaction ...

A Catalytic Two-Step: Transforming Industrial CO2 Into a Renewable Fuel

Feb. 19, 2025 — Scientists have taken a critical next step in creating a scalable process to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and 'recirculate' it as a renewable fuel. Chemists now describe their latest ...

Selective Combustion Provides Energy-Efficient Alternative to Remove Pollutants from Industrial Processes

Feb. 18, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a new method by which a catalyst can be used to selectively burn one molecule in a mixture of hydrocarbons -- compounds ...

Solar-Powered Device Captures Carbon Dioxide from Air to Make Sustainable Fuel

Feb. 13, 2025 — Researchers have developed a reactor that pulls carbon dioxide directly from the air and converts it into sustainable fuel, using sunlight as the ...

The 'Hydrogen Economy' May Be Relatively Small, but Critical

Feb. 13, 2025 — Researchers have quantified the role of the 'hydrogen economy' in making our society more sustainable. They present the results of extensive modelling of pathways to decarbonizing the European ...

The Next-Generation Solar Cell Is Fully Recyclable

Feb. 12, 2025 — Researchers developed a method to recycle all parts of a solar cell repeatedly without environmentally hazardous solvents. The recycled solar cell has the same efficiency as the original one. The ...

Turning Car and Helicopter Exhaust Into Thermoelectric Energy

Feb. 11, 2025 — Combustion engines, the engines in gas-powered cars, only use a quarter of the fuel's potential energy while the rest is lost as heat through exhaust. Now, a study demonstrates how to convert exhaust ...

Nanoscale Tin Catalyst Discovery Paves the Way for Sustainable CO2 Conversion

Feb. 10, 2025 — Researchers have developed a sustainable catalyst that increases its activity during use while converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable ...

New Autonomous System to Monitor Arctic's Melting Ice

Feb. 10, 2025 — Researchers have designed an alternative, autonomous observational method to monitor the Arctic's melting ice, which holds promise for improving the autonomy of marine vehicles, aiding in ...

Solar and Electric-Powered Homes Feel the Effects of Power Outages Differently

Feb. 7, 2025 — An expert in energy technologies uses AI tools to investigate the impact of extreme weather on solar-powered and electrified homes and uncover their unique vulnerabilities and develop insights on how ...

Rethinking Energy Demand Can Foster Sustainable Development and Reduce Emissions from Buildings and Transport

Feb. 6, 2025 — In a new study, scientists show that a mix of policy measures, including both technological solutions and behavioral changes, can significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy use ...

Coal Emissions Cost India Millions in Crop Damages

Feb. 4, 2025 — New research shows grain yields critical to India's food security are dragged down 10% or more in many parts of the country by nitrogen dioxide pollution from power stations that run on coal. ...

New Record for CIGS Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells

Feb. 4, 2025 — Combining two semiconductor thin films into a tandem solar cell can achieve high efficiencies with a minimal environmental footprint. Teams have now presented a CIGS-perovskite tandem cell that sets ...

Electricity Prices Across Europe to Stabilize If 2030 Targets for Renewable Energy Are Met, Study Suggests

Feb. 3, 2025 — National targets for solar and wind power will see reliance on natural gas plummet, reducing electricity price volatility across Europe, with major beneficiaries including the UK and Ireland, the ...

Tiny Copper 'Flowers' Bloom on Artificial Leaves for Clean Fuel Production

Feb. 3, 2025 — Tiny copper 'nano-flowers' have been attached to an artificial leaf to produce clean fuels and chemicals that are the backbone of modern energy and ...

Recycling Lithium-Ion Batteries Cuts Emissions and Strengthens Supply Chain

Jan. 31, 2025 — Researchers compared the environmental impacts of lithium-ion battery recycling to mining for new materials and found that recycling significantly outperforms mining in terms of greenhouse gas ...

How Does the Atmosphere Affect Ocean Weather?

Jan. 31, 2025 — A new study of satellite imagery and high-resolution climate model data upends previous assumptions and provides insight about how the atmosphere and ocean weather patterns interact. The new research ...

Role of Barrier Films in Maintaining the Stability of Perovskite Solar Cells

Jan. 30, 2025 — Flexible perovskite solar cells are promising for lightweight and versatile applications but their sensitivity to humidity and temperature poses a challenge to long-term durability. To address this, ...

Researcher on Energy Revolution: Sustainability Is Still a Work in Process

Jan. 30, 2025 — The world is experiencing more frequent and intense heat waves, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires due to rising greenhouse gas emissions. The energy sector is one of the largest contributors to ...

Chemical Looping Turns Environmental Waste Into Fuel

Jan. 29, 2025 — Turning environmental waste into useful chemical resources could solve many of the inevitable challenges of our growing amounts of discarded plastics, paper and food waste, according to new ...

Performance-Improvement Mechanisms of Tin-Based Perovskite Solar Cells

Jan. 29, 2025 — Researchers have used electron spin resonance technology to observe the state and movement of the charge inside Ruddlesden-Popper tin -based perovskite solar cells, an emerging technology for ...

New Study Improves the Trustworthiness of Wind Power Forecasts

Jan. 29, 2025 — By applying techniques from explainable artificial intelligence, engineers can improve users' confidence in forecasts generated by artificial intelligence models. This approach was recently ...

Plant-Based Substitute for Fossil Fuels Developed for Plastic Foams

Jan. 28, 2025 — An environmentally-friendly preparation of plant material from pine could serve as a substitute for petroleum-based chemicals in polyurethane foams. The innovation could lead to more environmentally ...

Floating Solar Increases Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Small Ponds

Jan. 27, 2025 — While floating solar -- the emerging practice of putting solar panels on bodies of water -- is promising in its efficiency and its potential to spare agricultural and conservation lands, a new ...

Researchers Discover New Way to Store Hydrogen Using Lignin Jet Fuel

Jan. 27, 2025 — An international team of scientists has discovered a way to store and release volatile hydrogen using lignin-based jet fuel that could open new pathways for sustainable energy production. In a new ...

Finding Better Photovoltaic Materials Faster With AI

Jan. 23, 2025 — Perovskite solar cells are a flexible and sustainable alternative to conventional silicon-based solar cells. Researchers were able to find -- within only a few weeks -- new organic molecules that ...

Biodegradable Nylon Precursor Produced Through Artificial Photosynthesis

Jan. 22, 2025 — Scientists have developed an artificial photosynthesis technology that produces precursors of biodegradable nylon from biomass-derived compounds and ...

Researchers Unlock New Insights Into Tin-Based Catalysts for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

Jan. 22, 2025 — A group of researchers have analyzed thousands of reports from the past decade, identifying a tin-based catalyst that aids the production of formic acid, an indispensable chemical in various ...