Alternative Energy

A Duke University study suggests that serpentinized rocks underneath the ocean floor may hold the key to finding an abundant and free hydrogen resource.

Using modified B2 vitamin molecules, researchers at Harvard University have created a rechargeable flow battery that could help revolutionize large-scale electricity storage from intermittent energy sources, such as solar and wind, with its low-cost, high-capacity capabilities

Researchers at Oxford University claim computer simulations have demonstrated it is possible that microscopic wind farms could be built and powered by bacteria to provide a steady, albeit small, source of power.

Solar-concentrating thermal technology is being used to power the air-conditioning system of an entire shopping center in Australia solely from the rays of the sun. It is expected that this technology will help drastically reduce commercial building energy use.

Researchers at Cambridge have discovered that hybrid lead halide perovskites can actually recycle photons from light, which could lead to solar cells that are orders of magnitude more efficient than anything currently in use.

A team of scientists led by McGill University are studying the combustion characteristics of metal powders to determine whether such powders could provide a more viable alternative to fossil fuels.

Using "fools gold" nanocrystals to form part of a larger sodium-magnesium battery, scientists have created a storage cell that not only uses cheap and abundant materials but has the potential to be scaled up to store many terawatt-hours of energy.

An Israeli-Palestinian NGO is using solar and wind energy to transform the lives of a marginalized community of Palestinian famers and shepherds. Comet-ME​ has helped develop small off-grid systems across 20 communities.​

A team of engineering students and faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have devised several systems that harness power from railway tracks. They could be used to illuminate warning lights at rural railway crossings.

Although wave energy-harvesting systems are often just presented as concepts, one was recently deployed in Hawaii to provide power to the municipal grid. Built by Northwest Energy Innovations, the Azura device will remain in operation for a 12-month assessment period.

Kepler Energy has announced plans for a 30 MW tidal energy fence to be built in the Bristol Channel somewhere between Aberthaw and Minehead. If it gets the nod, the fence could be operational by 2021.

A new bladeless wind-driven generator prototype, called the Vortex, is claimed to produce electricity with very few moving parts, on a very small footprint, and in almost complete silence. It's also designed to be very much less aurally and visually intrusive than traditional wind-driven turbines.