Energy

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.

Having achieved a self-heating “burning plasma” in the quest for producing clean, limitless energy using nuclear fusion, on closer inspection of that plasma researchers have discovered strange, unexplained behavior of ions within it.

Batteries that make use of sodium as an electrode material are showing exciting promise by some key measures when it comes to next-generation energy storage solutions, and new research has now edged them closer to mainstream use.

After the summer so many of us have just sweltered through, we need better ways to cool buildings. Researchers have now spruced up the humble window with hydrogel-glass, which can selectively block heat from the Sun without blocking its light.

In less than 18 months, Energy Dome has opened the first of its remarkable grid-level energy storage plants. These "CO2 batteries" store renewable energy over long periods and release it quickly, at less than half the cost of big lithium batteries.

As the number of electronic devices grows, we have to get creative with our energy sources. Cambridge researchers have now demonstrated how an algae energy harvester can use sunlight to power a microprocessor for over a year without any intervention.

Researchers in Japan have shown that a common material is excellent at storing and releasing heat, which could be useful for recycling industrial waste heat. The material exchanges water with the air, allowing it to quickly absorb or release heat.

Quaise's ultra-deep geothermal power plan is one of the most exciting and fascinating green energy projects we've seen, and it's generated some excellent – and terrible – questions from our readers. We gave the company the chance to answer you.

Scientists have developed a new type of supercapacitor with the kind of flexibility and durability needed to feature in footwear and clothing, along with other devices making up the Internet of Things.

As important as face masks are in our current pandemic-riddled world, they have a major environmental impact. Now scientists have demonstrated a novel method for disposing of old masks by using them to make low-cost, flexible and efficient batteries.

Heating and cooling buildings is a major consumer of energy, especially older ones that weren’t built with modern energy efficiencies in mind. Now Fraunhofer engineers have developed a modular solar-powered facade that can heat or cool rooms.

Berkeley Lab engineers have developed a roof coating that can keep a building warmer or cooler, depending on the weather. When it’s warm out the material will reflect sunlight and heat, but it switches itself off in winter, reducing energy use.