Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

​Could renewable sources meet 100 percent of our energy demand? Yes, according to new research which scrutinises the arguments against. “There are no roadblocks on the way to a 100-percent renewable future,” the research finds.

​At any mass-casualty incident, triage is of the utmost importance – prioritizing which victims are treated first, based on the severity of their injuries. Developed by scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the RescueWave system is designed to make the process much more efficient.

​If you're using the sun to power a mobile device, it only makes sense to put the solar cells on something you're wearing that will be receiving a lot of sunlight. With that in mind, researchers have created a pair of sunglasses that generate electricity via solar cells that double as their lenses.

​The 3D-printing of glass objects has been achieved before – we've seen it done by extruding molten glass, and even via a modern take on an ancient Egyptian technique. A new process, however, is claimed to produce complex glass items of a higher quality than has ever previously been possible.

Considering taxpayers are footing the bill, it pays to improve the efficiency of the more than 300 million streetlights around the globe. A team in Germany has now developed an array of low-power LEDs that are more efficient, safer, cooler, and easier on the eyes.

A transportable chemical reactor​ developed at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and spinoff company Ineratec that uses solar power to convert CO2 from the air and regenerative hydrogen from electrolysis into liquid fuels will be tested in a pilot plant.

​When an oil spill occurs on water, one way of cleaning up that spill involves the use of materials which soak up the oil. Those won't be very effective, however, if they absorb both oil and water. That's why scientists have turned to nature, resulting in a fern-inspired material known as Nanofur. ​

Realizing that plants do a pretty good job at converting the sun's energy to useable fuel, a team of scientists lifted an imprint off rose petals and created a film that significantly boosted the efficiency of solar cells.

Researchers have used defective apples to produce a cheap and high-performance electrode for a sodium-ion battery, with applications including grid storage, portable electronics and electric cars.

KIT scientists have created what they claim is the world's smallest lattice. Formed with struts and braces measuring less than 10 micrometers in length, the 3D lattice has a total size of less than 10 micrometers, but boasts a higher specific strength than most solids.

We've already seen a number of systems designed to alert blind users to objects in their path, using cues such as audio tones or vibrations. The "Proximity Hat," however, applies pressure to the wearer's head, in the direction of the obstacle.​

A team of researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences have developed hybrid sensors that detect gases given off by overheated plastic cables before too much damage can occur or a fire begins.