Energy
Humankind has an insatiable appetite for energy that has put the planet in a very precarious position environmentally, but is also one of the main drivers of prosperity and improved living standards. New Atlas keeps you up to date with the latest breakthroughs in the energy sector, from the expanding field of renewable energy production to the exponential rise of battery technology and the slow march towards cold fusion.
Latest News
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One thing holding back perovskite solar cells is an intrinsic instability and a vulnerability to the elements. Scientists believe they may have found a solution to this hiding in hair swept up from the floor of a local barbershop. -
Scientists have now demonstrated a new type of artificial photosynthesis technology that can not only produce clean hydrogen fuel, but undergo morphological changes during use that makes it become more efficient over time.
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A team from Cornell University has put forward a compelling example of what cheap, environmentally friendly energy storage can look like, fashioning a 3D electrode out of low-cost aluminum for a battery with a very long cycle life.
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For nearly a century, scientists have been tantalized by the prospect of attaining an inexhaustible source of energy through nuclear fusion. Achieving this goal is not so easy, as it turns out, but that doesn't mean exciting advances aren't being made.
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An MIT team has developed an electrolyte solution that can accommodate high-capacity lithium-metal battery chemistry, paving the way for electric cars and mobile devices that could last far longer on each charge.
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A team from Georgia Tech has just announced a world-first: a 3D-printed rectifying antenna the size of a playing card that can harvest electromagnetic energy from 5G signals and use it to power devices, turning 5G networks into wireless power grids.
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Mining giant Rio Tinto has announced plans to install a pilot version of Heliogen's high-temperature "solar refinery" at a Californian boron mine, supplying clean energy as well as heat for industrial processes, with operations set to start in 2022.
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Nova Innovation has announced the installation of the first electric vehicle charge point powered by tidal energy, which is located on the island of Yell in the Shetlands.
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Enegix Energy is moving forward with plans to build a huge clean hydrogen plant on the North-East coast of Brazil. The US$5.4-billion Base One project would transform solar and wind power into more than 600 million kg of green hydrogen annually.
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Scientists at Chalmers University of Technology have been exploring alternative energy storage solutions and are now demonstrating a type of "massless" battery that could work as a power source and structural component of a vehicle at the same time.
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There are energy sources all over the place, if you know where to look. Researchers at CUHK have now designed new modular nanogenerators that can harvest energy from various different types of motion, such as ocean waves or a person's body movements.
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Would transparent solar cells installed in greenhouse roofs deprive plants of vital sunlight? To find out, researchers at North Carolina State University grew lettuce under various wavelengths of light, and found that the plants did just fine.
