Energy

Steam turbines still produce most of the world's power, but supercritical CO2 promises to be much cheaper, and 10% more efficient as a medium than water, using 10X smaller turbines. A US$155-million pilot plant is now complete in San Antonio.

There are numerous situations in which a robot doesn't need to move quickly, but it does need to cover long distances without having to recharge its batteries. The minuscule energy-harvesting MilliMobile robot was designed for just such scenarios.

China's extremely rapid adoption of EVs has forced oil giant Sinopec to adjust its forecasts, saying peak domestic gasoline demand has already passed and it's all downhill from here. The repercussions will be global.

UK company RheEnergise is quietly rolling out an interesting new approach to pumped hydro energy storage, aiming for a capacity of at least 100 MW by 2030. It works with small hills instead of mountains, making it relevant in many more areas.

They say that 'small is beautiful,' and the Westinghouse Electric Company seems to have embraced this with the unveiling of its AP300 Small Nuclear Reactor (SMR), which combines Gen III+ reactor technology with a more compact, economical size.

Tokamak Energy has released the first images of what its commercial fusion power plant, which it says would safely generate enough electricity to power 50,000 homes in the 2030s, would look like.

Energy prices around the world have been rising alarmingly since 2021. While some have shared advice on how to heat the person rather than the home, researchers at KTH are working on a building material that could help regulate indoor temperatures.

Scientists at the University of Rochester claim to have created a material that acts as a superconductor at room temperature and lower pressures than ever before. If confirmed, this “reddmatter,” as they call it, could mark a major breakthrough.

Solar farms and agriculture are competing for land. UCLA Scientists have now tested a way to combine the two by placing semi-transparent solar cells on the glass roofs of greenhouses, finding that they actually improve the growth of plants inside.

Researchers have used a novel 3D printing technique to create a new superalloy with "previously unobtainable combinations of high strength, low weight and high-temperature resiliency" – and they say the implications in aerospace and energy are huge.

A team of researchers has looked to the microbiome to understand what role gut bacteria may play in weight gain. The findings suggest some bacteria may be more efficient at extracting energy from food, and this could lead to weight gain.

Fitting regular walks into your daily routine can be a great way to get some active minutes into your day, but what if you make that walk as inefficient as possible? A new study has explored this idea via gaits exhibited in a Monty Python sketch.