Energy
Humankind's insatiable appetite for energy has put the planet in a very precarious position environmentally, but it also drives 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 nuclear fusion.
Latest News
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Multi-layer "liquid window" tech could help buildings save energy
February 02, 2023There are already "smart" windows that can be electronically switched between either letting sunlight through or blocking it. A new multi-layered one, however, can be set to several energy-saving light filtration modes. -
Acid coating converts regular electrolyzers to split seawater
February 02, 2023Green hydrogen is going to demand a lot of water for electrolysis – nine liters of pure water for every kilogram of hydrogen. Researchers say they've found a simple way to use seawater in standard electrolyzers, and that's big news for clean energy. -
Report: Japan's "hydrogen society" policy is a "complete failure"
January 25, 2023In 2017, Japan created a pioneering national hydrogen strategy, envisaging a carbon-neutral "hydrogen society." But a Renewable Energy Institute report slams the policy as catastrophically misguided, with 70% of its 10-year budget "spent on bad ideas." -
Fur-lined double-barrel generator harvests energy from slow waves
January 19, 2023Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed an unusual way to harvest wave power, with a gently rolling cylinder designed around the triboelectric effect that causes static shocks after you walk on certain carpets. -
Dung-powered tractor drives down agricultural emissions
January 16, 2023New Holland Agriculture has announced a new tractor designed to run on fuel created on-site using cow manure. The T7 Methane Power LNG offers the same power and torque as a diesel tractor, but it's part of a system that can greatly reduce emissions. -
Wind turbine as tall as a 70-story building announced in China
January 15, 2023Extreme engineering is becoming the norm as offshore wind continues to scale up. Sweeping the area of 12.3 standard NFL fields each rotation, with gargantuan 140-meter (459-ft) blades, the MySE 18.X-28X will be the largest wind turbine ever built. -
Scientists propose turning abandoned mines into gravity batteries
January 12, 2023Once a mine has been exhausted of its ore, there's really no use for it anymore – it just becomes an abandoned hole in the ground. According to a new study, however, the shafts of such mines could serve in energy-storing gravity batteries. -
Concentrated photosynthesis device promises cheap green hydrogen
January 11, 2023UMich researchers have demonstrated an artificial photosynthesis device 10 times more efficient and one hundredth the size of previous devices of its kind. This green hydrogen production method also improves over time, and can split seawater. -
World's new largest wind turbine sweeps 10 football fields per spin
January 09, 2023The China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) is upping the ante on offshore wind, announcing it's building the largest and most powerful wind turbine ever, making a peak 18 megawatts with an enormous 260-m (853-ft) diameter on its three-bladed rotor. -
Form Energy's ultra-cheap iron-air batteries to get $760M factory
January 09, 2023One of the most exciting companies in grid-level renewable energy storage is Form Energy, whose innovative iron-air technology promises to outperform lithium "big battery" projects at 10% of the cost. It's preparing to scale up with its first factory. -
Rapid-deployment solar arrays cut energy cost up to 20%, says 5B
December 20, 2022Australian company 5B has developed a hinged, folding solar array for ridiculously quick and easy installation at industrial scale. In May, 5B showed just how quick: a team of 10 covered the area of a soccer field with a 1.1-MW array in a single day. -
Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cell advance breaks efficiency record
December 19, 2022Perovskite and silicon are proving to be a formidable duo in the world of solar cells, and now they’ve hit a new record efficiency. A team at Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB) have developed solar cells with an efficiency of over 32%. -
Minimum two-year setback for TerraPower's advanced nuclear demonstrator
December 19, 2022Russia is the only country that sells the HALEU fuel that some next-generation nuclear plants will rely on, and with sanctions now in place due to the war in Ukraine, TerraPower has now conceded its demo timeline will blow out by at least two years. -
Clever device efficiently splits hydrogen and lithium out of seawater
December 15, 2022Chinese researchers say they've demonstrated a seawater electrolyzer that works as efficiently as a commercial freshwater electrolyzer for months on end without corroding itself to death. It also looks like these machines could harvest lithium, too. -
Magnetically stirred electrolyte puts high-density batteries in the mix
December 15, 2022The excellent energy density of lithium metal could enable batteries to power smartphones for days, and by designing a new electrolyte that can be controlled via magnetic fields, scientists have now edged this technology a little closer to reality.
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