Energy Technology News

April 17, 2025

Top Headlines

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 surfaces can gain or lose charge. Now, researchers ...

A Compact, Mid-Infrared Pulse Generator

Apr. 16, 2025 — Physicists have created a compact laser that emits extremely bright, short pulses of light in a useful but difficult-to-achieve wavelength range, packing the performance of larger photonic devices onto a single ...

Study Finds Dramatic Boost in Air Quality from Electrifying Railways

Apr. 16, 2025 — Switching from diesel to electric trains dramatically improved the air quality aboard the San Francisco Bay Area's Caltrain commuter rail line, reducing riders' exposure to the carcinogen black carbon by an average of 89%, finds a new study. The ...

Making Desalination More Eco-Friendly: New Membranes Could Help Eliminate Brine Waste

Apr. 15, 2025 — Desalination plants, a major and growing source of freshwater in dry regions, could produce less harmful waste using electricity and new ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:34am EDT

Corn Leads to Improved Performance in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Apr. 15, 2025 — Researchers have demonstrated a way to use corn protein to improve the performance of lithium-sulfur batteries, a finding that holds promise for expanding the use of the high-energy, lighter-weight ...

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 ...

Government Urged to Tackle Inequality in 'Low-Carbon Tech' Like Solar Panels and Electric Cars

Apr. 11, 2025 — The UK government needs to go beyond offering subsidies for low-carbon technologies (LCTs) like electric cars and solar panels for energy and ...

Cooler Faster Better: Engineers Uncover a New Way to Stop Electronics from Overheating

Apr. 14, 2025 — Engineers discovered a way to move heat ultrafast using crystal waves, offering a breakthrough in cooling advanced ...

New, Non-Toxic Synthesis Method for 'Miracle Material' MXene

Apr. 14, 2025 — MXenes are materials with almost miraculous properties: they can be used for electromagnetic shielding, for energy storage or for novel sensors. It was recently found that they are also amazingly ...

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 ...

Simultaneously Burying Broadband and Electricity Could Be Worth Millions to People in MA Towns

Apr. 8, 2025 — When it comes to upgrading electrical and broadband infrastructure, new research shows that a 'dig once' approach is nearly 40% more cost effective ...

Researchers Watch a Single Catalytic Grain Do Work in Real Time

Apr. 8, 2025 — A new way to watch catalytic reactions happen at the molecular level in real time could lead to better fundamental understanding and planning of the important reactions used in countless ...

Mechanistic Understanding Could Enable Better Fast-Charging Batteries

Apr. 4, 2025 — An innovative new computational model developed by an engineer could lead to fast-charging lithium-ion batteries that are safer and ...

Carbon Capture Technology to Produce Clean Fuel from Air

Apr. 3, 2025 — A unique carbon capture technology could offer a more cost-effective way to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and turn it into clean, synthetic ...

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 ...

Electrochemical Process Separates Valuable Industrial Chemicals from Animal Waste

Apr. 2, 2025 — A collaboration between chemical engineers and animal scientists has created a system for recovering valuable industrial chemicals from animal waste, representing a major step towards circularity and ...

Diagnosing a Dud May Lead to a Better Battery

Apr. 1, 2025 — A team of chemists found a way to see into battery interfaces -- tight, tricky spots buried deep inside the cell have long frustrated battery ...

Physicists Use Quantum Entanglement to Crack Mystery of Strange Metals

Mar. 28, 2025 — Scientists have long sought to unravel the mysteries of strange metals -- materials that defy conventional rules of electricity and magnetism. Now, a team of physicists has made a breakthrough in ...

A Safe Nuclear Battery That Could Last a Lifetime

Mar. 26, 2025 — Lithium-ion batteries, used in consumer devices and electric vehicles, typically last hours or days between charges. However, with repeated use, they degrade and need to be charged more frequently. ...

3D Nanotech Blankets Offer New Path to Clean Drinking Water

Mar. 24, 2025 — Researchers have developed a new material that, by harnessing the power of sunlight, can clear water of dangerous ...

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 ...

Researchers Capture First Laser-Driven, High-Resolution CT Scans of Dense Objects

Mar. 20, 2025 — A research team has achieved a new milestone in 3D X-ray imaging technology. The scientists have captured high-resolution CT scans of the interior of a large, dense object -- a gas turbine blade -- ...

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 ...

Good Vibrations: Scientists Discover a Groundbreaking Method for Exciting Phonon-Polaritons

Mar. 19, 2025 — Newly published research demonstrates a novel way of generating phonon-polaritons by making electrons collide with crystal lattice structures. The discovery paves the way for cheaper, smaller ...

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 ...

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 ...

Breakthrough Nano-Spring Technology Boosts Battery Durability and Energy Density

Mar. 13, 2025 — Scientists improved battery durability and energy density with a nano-spring ...

A Path to Safer, High-Energy Electric Vehicle Batteries

Mar. 12, 2025 — Researchers have published a new study that dives deep into nickel-based cathodes, one of the two electrodes that facilitate energy storage in ...

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 ...

Scientists Discover Smart Way to Generate Energy With Tiny Beads

Mar. 11, 2025 — Researchers have discovered a new method to generate electricity using small plastic beads. By placing these beads close together and bringing them into contact, they generate more electricity than ...

Amino Acid Assists in Recycling Rechargeable Batteries

Mar. 11, 2025 — A new strategy for recycling spent lithium-ion batteries is based on a hydrometallurgical process in neutral solution. This allows for the extraction of lithium and other valuable metals in an ...

Water Movement on Surfaces Makes More Electric Charge Than Expected

Mar. 11, 2025 — Researchers have discovered that water generates an electrical charge up to 10 times greater than previously understood when it moves across a surface. The team observed when a water droplet became ...

Clothes Dryers and the Bottom Line: Switching to Air Drying Can Save Hundreds

Mar. 10, 2025 — By replacing clothes dyers with line drying, households in the U.S. could save upwards of $2,100 and avoid 3 tons of carbon dioxide emissions over the lifetime of a dryer. The exact impacts, however, ...