Water splitting into hydrogen on a metal wire and oxygen on the catalyst.
Source: Yale Entrepreneurial Institute

New research out of Yale University, led by Ph.D. student Staff Sheehan, recently unveiled a new catalyst to aid in the generation of renewable fuels.

Sheehan’s main area of research has been water splitting. In his recently published paper, he takes the theories and processes involved in water splitting and uses a specific iridium species as a water oxidation catalyst. This has led to new breakthroughs in artificial photosynthesis to develop renewable fuels.

“Artificial photosynthesis has been widely researched,” Sheehan says, “but water oxidation is the bottleneck—it’s usually the most difficult reaction to perform in generating fuel from sunlight.”

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Annual U.S. solar PV installations saw a 30 percent increase in 2014 alone. (Click to enlarge.)
Source: GTM Research/SEIA

If you’re not excited about the promising potential of solar yet, you’re about to be.

According to a new report by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), solar is growing faster than all other sources of energy in the United States.

In the report U.S. Solar Market Insight 2014 Year in Review, GTM and SEIA were able to establish that solar is continuing its upward trend in the U.S. with an increase of 30 percent more photovoltaic installations than in 2013.

Not convinced yet? The analysts also paired solar against also forms of energy in their report. When compared to other non-renewable energy sources such as coal and natural gas, it showed equally impressive results.

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Rodney Borup of the Los Alamos National Laboratory will be awarded the 2015 Energy Technology Division Research Award for his pioneering work in energy conversion and storage, specifically related to sustainability and fuel cells.

The prestigious award was established in 1992 to encourage excellence in energy related research.

Dr. Borup is widely recognized for his work in fuel cell transportation with such corporate and academic organizations such as General Motors and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). He joined LANL in 1994 as a post-doctoral researcher, where he would eventually move on to become the Program Manager for the Fuel Cells and Vehicle Technologies Program and Team Leader for Fuel Cells Program —titles which he currently holds.

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The tire can generate energy from friction and heat. However, Goodyear has yet to describe the materials to be used.
Image: YouTube/Goodyear

There’s no question that engineers and manufacturers around the world are moving away from the fuel-based car to the electric vehicle. In order to make these cars possible, they must improve in efficiency. Now, one company is looking outside the box for the answer to electric car sustainability.

Goodyear has just announced the concept of their new tire, which will harvest heat in a variety of ways to help power electric vehicles. The new BH-03 tire is poised to be able to absorb heat while static due to the ultra-black texture of the tire, as well as take advantage of the natural occurrence of friction as the tire moves.

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The integration of silk into the lithium-ion battery allowed the battery to work for over 10,000 cycles with only a nine percent loss in stability.
Image: ACS Nano

The words “lithium-ion” and “battery” have become almost synonymous recently. While the li-ion battery is used in a multitude of applications, it still does not have a long life without a recharge.

Now, researchers have developed an environmentally friendly way to boost the performance of the li-ion battery by focusing on a material derived from silk.

In the li-ion battery, carbon is the key component for storage. In most situations, graphite takes that role – but it has limited energy capacity. In order to improve the performance of the li-ion battery, researchers looked to replace graphite with a material developed using a sustainable source.

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The results from this research show promise in the area of solar and biomass energy conversion.
Image: UW-Madison Chemistry Department

Two researchers are thinking outside of traditional research standards to develop a new approach to solar energy and biomass conversion.

Kyoung-Shin Choi, a professor of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his postdoctoral researcher Hyun Gil Cha are looking for a whole new way to harness natural energy, and their technique is showing promise for future endeavors.

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Synthesizing the material as a thin film instead of as a bulk powder opens up new possibilities for fuel cell technology.
Image: A. Gutiérrez-Llorente/Cornell University

Researchers from Cornell University have developed a way to synthesize a new thin-film catalyst to improve efficiency and effectiveness in fuel cells.

For the first time ever, researchers were able to explain the epitaxial thin-film growth of a fundamental electrode component of the fuel cell, which could result in a more effective cathode.

“Up to now, research on oxygen catalysts in thin film form for clean-energy applications has been focused on the perovskite-structured oxides and their structural derivatives,” said lead researcher Araceli Gutierrez-Llorente. “The much less studied cubic pyrochlore structure is an appealing alternative to perovskites for such applications as fuel cell cathodes.”

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This affordable form of pee-power has the potential to light camps in disaster zones.
Image: YouTube/University of West England

Researchers, social scientists, and advocates are constantly examining the issue of the global lack of adequate sanitation in hopes to find an economic and sustainable solution. From Britain’s poo-powered bio-bus to the Gates Foundation’s effort to turn waste into drinking water – you can see the innovative answers popping up almost everywhere.

ECS has also joined the fight with our first Science for Solving Society’s Problems Challenge by awarding $210,000 of seed funding to innovative research projects addressing critical technology gaps in water and sanitation.

Now, researchers out of the University of West England are turning the focus from poop to pee with their new development in what they have termed urine-tricity.

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ATHENA burned through the truck engine in a matter of seconds from more than a mile away.
Image: Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin has been making headlines recently in light of their development of novel compact fusion reactors. Now, the company is back in the spotlight due to their new high-powered laser.

They’re calling the laser ATHENA (Advanced Test High Energy Asset). In a recent test, the direct energy weapson was able to burn through a truck’s engine from a mile away in less than one minute.

“Fiber-optic lasers are revolutionizing directed energy systems,” said Keoki Jackson, Lockheed Martin chief technology officer. “We are investing in every component of the system – from the optics and beam control to the laser itself – to drive size, weight and power efficiencies. This test represents the next step to providing lightweight and rugged laser weapon systems for military aircraft, helicopters, ships and trucks.”

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A new breakthrough in energy harvesting could potentially power life on other habitable planets.

The new development out of Northumbria University incorporates an innovative technique to harvest energy from carbon dioxide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAMNDdOho8E

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