Sean O’Connell is a jewelry designer and artist with an interest in the interactions between energy and matter. His spark experiments, currently being exhibited as part of the National Gallery of Victoria Triennial event, are amazing examinations into how electricity flows though materials.
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As useful as solar energy is, it still has one major Kryptonite: gloomy weather. Now, a team of Chinese engineers has developed a hybrid solar cell that can produce electricity come rain or shine, using the triboelectric effect to harvest energy from the movement of raindrops on its surface.
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Energy is all around us – we just need to work out how to tap into it. Now a team from MIT has developed a device called a thermal resonator, which could essentially pull electricity out of thin air by taking advantage of gradual ambient temperature changes over the course of the day.
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Researchers have developed a triboelectric nanogenerator in the form of a small metallic tab that can generate electricity from simple body movements, such as the bending of a finger.
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Tesla is again partnering with the South Australian government, this time on the world’s largest “virtual power plant.” By installing solar panels and Tesla Powerwall batteries on thousands of houses, the system would allow homes to generate their own electricity and feed excess power to the grid.
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With their ability to generate electricity from mechanical stress, piezoelectric systems made from synthetic materials are great and all, but you know what might be even better? Piezoelectric systems made from natural materials.
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Toyota has announced it will build the world's first megawatt-scale carbonate fuel cell power generation plant with a hydrogen fueling station in California. This 'Tri-Gen" facility will use locally-sourced agricultural bio-waste to generate huge amounts of power, lots of hydrogen, and clean water.
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Hydrogen-powered vehicles are slowly hitting the streets, but mass producing, distributing and storing hydrogen is still a major roadblock. But new work out of UCLA could help lower the barrier to entry for consumers, with a device that uses sunlight to produce both hydrogen and electricity.
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In March, Elon Musk promised to have a proposed battery storage system at the Hornsdale Wind Farm up and running within 100 days, or he'd foot the bill. The project clock started ticking in September and South Australia's Premier has today confirmed that it's built and ready to "be energized."
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Using principles similar to those deployed in large hydroelectric power plants, a team of Chinese researchers has developed a tiny nanogenerator that can potentially sit inside a vein and generate electricity from blood rushing through it.
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