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.

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Real-world-ready artificial leaf can pluck carbon dioxide out of thin air

Michael Irving February 13, 2019

Over the last few years humans have tried to mimic nature with artificial leaves, but they’re never quite up to scratch. Now, researchers have designed a new version that could work under real-world conditions, sucking carbon dioxide out of the air and creating oxygen and synthetic fuels.

Researchers have developed a new design of artificial leaf that's able to pull carbon dioxide out ...

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Simpler, cheaper renewable energy system uses waves to inflate rubber

Ben Coxworth February 13, 2019

Although we've seen a number of experimental wave-power systems in recent years, a new one is claimed to be less expensive and to incorporate fewer moving parts, while still remaining durable in rough seas. It's known as a Dielectric Elastomer Generator, or DEG for short.

A prototype DEG (left), at the University of Edinburgh's FloWave Facility

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Researchers create flags that harvest energy from solar and wind

Paul Ridden February 12, 2019

Scientists at the University of Manchester in the UK have developed flags that are reckoned to be the first to harvest solar and wind at the same time. Not enough to power a house, or even a gadget such as a smartphone, but could be enough for set it and forget it remote sensors.

The inverted flags are made using piezoelectric strips that harvest energy as the device flaps around ...

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Carbon capture system turns CO2 into electricity and hydrogen fuel

Michael Irving January 21, 2019

Inspired by the ocean’s role as a natural carbon sink, researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) and Georgia Tech have developed a new system that absorbs CO2 and produces electricity and useable hydrogen fuel.

Scientists have developed a new device that can absorb CO2 and produce electricity and hydrogen fuel

Energy

The most innovative battery designs of the year

Nick Lavars December 28, 2018

How we store that energy is a constant work in progress, and while scientists are making important but incremental advances with inventive new materials, others are out to entirely reinvent what we think of as a battery. Here are five of the most innovative examples from 2018.

Energy

Stanford's DeepSolar AI maps solar installations right across the US

Nick Lavars December 19, 2018

Though broad strokes paint a useful overall picture of rates of solar uptake in the US, there’s a lot to be learned from drilling into the finer details. Stanford scientists have built a new machine learning tool specifically to do the job, and it goes by the name of DeepSolar.

A machine learning program developed at Stanford University has shed new light on levels of solar ...

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Largest ever continuous oil and gas resource found in the United States

David Szondy December 9, 2018

The US Department of the Interior has announced the discovery of the largest continuous oil and gas field ever found, estimated to contain 46.3 billion barrels of oil, 281 trillion ft³ of natural gas, and 20 billion barrels of natural gas liquids.

Some 46.3 billion barrels of oil, 281 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 20 billion ...

Energy

Fluoride-based battery challenges lithium for stability and stamina

Michael Irving December 6, 2018

A new study shows how fluoride might be put to work in better batteries. Researchers at Caltech, JPL, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Honda Research Institute have developed fluoride-based batteries that could potentially last much longer than existing lithium-ion-based devices.

A fluoride ion (pink) floating in a liquid BTFE electrolyte

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MIT's conceptual "sun-in-a-box" energy storage system plugs into molten silicon

Michael Irving December 6, 2018

Lithium-ion batteries aren't necessarily the best choice for grid-scale energy storage. Researchers at MIT have outlined a new system they call a “sun in a box,” which stores energy as heat in molten silicon and harvests it by tapping into the bright light it emits.

A render of MIT's new grid-scale energy storage system

Energy Audio available

Wendelstein 7-X fusion reactor keeps its cool en route to record-breaking results

Nick Lavars November 26, 2018

Scientists working on the cutting edge Wendelstein 7-X nuclear fusion reactor are reporting the experimental device has achieved its highest energy density and the longest plasma discharge times for device of this type, marking another step forward in the quest for clean fusion power.

Inside the contorted chamber of the Wendelstein 7-X nuclear reactor