Jun
7
Astonishing New Solid Sulfur Lithium Battery
June 7, 2013 | 3 Comments
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed and tested an all-solid lithium-sulfur battery with approximately four times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion technologies that power today’s electronics. That would be four times the energy or power at the same weight. Chengdu Liang, lead author on the ORNL study said, […]
Jun
6
A Graphene Catalyst to Replace Platinum in Fuel Cells
June 6, 2013 | 2 Comments
Researchers have discovered an inexpensive and easily produced catalyst that performs better than platinum in oxygen-reduction reactions used in fuel cells. The team from South Korea, Case Western Reserve University and University of North Texas published their findings yesterday in Nature’s Scientific Reports that is open for readers, saying the new catalyst is a step […]
Jun
5
The Secrets of Roman Concrete Found
June 5, 2013 | 4 Comments
An international team of researchers led by Paulo Monteiro of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley has found the chemical ancient secrets of Roman concrete. That may not strike one as an energy and fuel topic, but […]
Jun
4
Innovating With Fungus to Get Cheaper Biofuel
June 4, 2013 | Leave a Comment
There’s a lot of “junk” biomass with way too much lignocellulosic material. It’s a big resource. Vienna University of Technology (VUT) scientists are looking at lignocellulosic waste such as sawdust or straw that can be used to produce biofuel – but only if the long cellulose and xylan chains can be successfully broken down into […]
Jun
3
The Grid Gets a Very Big Lithium Ion Battery
June 3, 2013 | 4 Comments
A very large new Lithium-ion battery was unveiled Saturday in Oregon to help make the Northwest’s and the nation’s electric system more efficient, officials said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Portland General Electric’s 5-megawatt, lithium-ion energy storage system was open to the public at the utility’s Salem Smart Power Center in South Salem, Ore. The energy […]