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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Researchers have developed a new electrode component for vanadium redox flow batteries that is said to outperform current solutions, thanks to the inclusion of an ingredient found in shrimp shells called chitin. -
Using silicon as the anode could significantly increase the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, but maintaining that capacity has proven a problem. Now scientists in Korea have come up with a solution by "pre-loading" the electrode.
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Scientists at Brown University are reporting a new material that overcomes some of the key hurdles of solid-state batteries, using a delicate mix of ceramics and the wonder material graphene to produce the toughest solid electrolyte to date.
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Solar-to-hydrogen cells can convert solar energy directly into hydrogen without needing an external electrolyzer, and an exciting new design out of the Australian National University has achieved record efficiency levels using low-cost materials.
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Scientists in Australia are claiming to have developed a new technique that converts waste carbon dioxide into simple chemical building blocks that they liken to Lego, which can then be turned into useful products such as synthetic fuels and plastics.
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An international team of scientists has found antimony crystals spontaneously hollow out during charge-discharge cycling, which could enable lithium ion batteries to hold far more energy without sacrificing battery lifetime.
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Using electrical storms as a jumping off point, scientists at Israel’s Tel Aviv University believe they may have uncovered a new source of renewable energy, generating a small voltage using only water and metal.
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Perovskites are synthetic compounds that – in some ways – are a better alternative to the silicon semiconductors currently utilized in solar cells. And while there are still some hurdles to be crossed, a new application process could soon help them enter widespread use.
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Scientists at Washington State University have come up with a new design for a sodium-ion battery that offers comparable energy capacity and cycling ability to some lithium-ion batteries already on the market.
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The wheels have begun to turn on an interesting new form of wind turbine in Sweden, with the country’s first wooden power-generation tower now complete. It's hoped the tower will be a harbinger of cheaper and greener solutions for renewable energy.
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German company Sinn Power has proposed a hybrid offshore power generation platform that combines wind turbines, solar panels and wave energy harvesters to generate off-grid electricity for people living close to the coast.
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When it comes to regular photovoltaic panels, the fewer shadows that are cast upon them, the better. An experimental new device, however, actually generates electricity via the contrast between shadows and light on its surface.
