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Researchers at TU Graz have found a way to convert the aromatic substance vanillin into a redox-active electrolyte material for liquid batteries. The technology is an important step towards ecologically sustainable energy storage.

It is ground-breaking in the field of sustainable energy storage technology,” says Stefan Spirk from the Institute of Bioproducts and Paper Technology at Graz University of Technology. He and his team have succeeded in making redox-flow batteries more environmentally friendly by replacing their core element, the liquid electrolyte, which are mostly made up of ecologically harmful heavy metals or rare earths – with vanillin, an important ingredient of Austrian vanilla croissants.

GE unveils its largest wind turbine prototype yet, a 13MW behemoth that stands 248 metres tall and destined for use in offshore wind farms.

Wind turbine manufacturer GE Renewable Energy has unveiled latest wind turbine prototype, an optimised version of its Halifax-X offshore wind turbine design that can deliver a massive 13MW of output.

It is the largest turbine that GE has produced, standing 248 metres tall, with 107 metre long blades and offers around double the generation capacity of most wind turbines currently deployed around the world.

Continue reading “GE starts testing world’s biggest 13MW offshore wind turbine” »

Featured image: TransAlta / Twitter One of Tesla’s main goals is the deployment of energy generation and storage systems. These microgrids can provide electricity to homes, relieving our dependence on a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy. Tesla currently has over 120 operational microgrids around the world, which is an excellent confirmation of the company’s success in achieving its goals.

Scientists have created a super white paint that is the yin to Vantablack’s yang.

While ultra black materials can today absorb more than 99.96 percent of sunlight, this new super white coat can reflect 95.5 percent of all the photons that hit it.

Instead of warming up under direct light, objects painted with this new acrylic material can remain cooler than their surrounding temperature even under the Sun, which could allow for a new energy-efficient way to control temperature inside buildings.

Just a matter of time.

In a new report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says solar is now the cheapest form of electricity for utility companies to build. That’s thanks to risk-reducing financial policies around the world, the agency says, and it applies to locations with both the most favorable policies and the easiest access to financing. The report underlines how important these policies are to encouraging development of renewables and other environmentally forward technologies.

☀️ You love renewable energy. So do we. Let’s nerd out over it together.

Didn’t Popeye always say to eat your spinach?

You may want to add it to your fuel cells too!

Spinach-based catalysts could power fuel cells more efficiently than traditional platinum ones.

Continue reading “Spinach Gives Fuel Cells a Power Up” »

Rooftop solar, Covid and more large scale renewables push Australia’s main grid to record low levels of demand and emissions intensity, and the lowest prices in years.

The combined impact of growing rooftop solar and the Covid-19 pandemic – along with the continued influx of large scale wind and solar – has create a suite of new records in Australia’s electricity grids in the September quarter, sending demand, emissions and prices to new lows.

The latest Quarterly Energy Dynamics for the September quarter, compiled by the Australian Energy Market Operator, also noted record highs for wind and solar output, which along with falling gas prices and cut-price bidding by coal generators trying to stay competitive led to the lowest wholesale prices in more than five years, and in some cases, record low prices.

Continue reading “Solar and Covid lead change as grid demand, prices and emissions tumble to record lows” »

Australia seems to be leading the way in terms of wind power as well. 😃

It was a big week for South Australia last week. First, as we wrote at the time, the state reached 100 per cent solar power (of state demand) for the first time on Sunday, October 11.

Then, just a few days later, the state reached 100 per cent wind power (of state demand), on Thursday, October 15.

Continue reading “Twin peaks: South Australia reaches 100 pct solar, and then 100 pct wind power in same week” »

“They always have the advantage of having information that we don’t have access to.” Now that will change.