Lifeboat Foundation

WASHINGTON — A startup led by a founder of a financial services company is taking a new approach to space-based solar power intended to be more scalable and affordable than previous concepts.

Aetherflux announced Oct. 9 plans to develop and ultimately deploy a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit that will collect solar power and beam it to Earth using infrared lasers. The company is planning to demonstrate this technology with a small satellite launching by early 2026.

The concept is a departure from many previous concepts for space-based solar power (SBSP), which have involved large arrays in geostationary orbit. Those systems would transmit their power using microwaves to large rectennas on the ground. Such concepts have been studied for more than half a century but have not advanced beyond the drawing board.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and other international institutions have for the first time achieved atomic-scale observations of grain rotation in polycrystalline materials. Widely used in electronic devices, aerospace technologies, automotive applications and solar energy systems, these substances have long been studied for their unique properties and structural dynamics.

A new solar panel technology has been developed that creates energy out of nothing using lasers and the sun.

Scientists have invented an artificial plant that can simultaneously clean indoor air while generating enough electricity to power a smartphone.

A team from Binghamton University in New York created an artificial leaf “for fun” using five biological solar cells and their photosynthetic bacteria, before realising that the device could be used for practical applications.

A proof-of-concept plant with five artificial leaves was capable of generating electricity and oxygen, while removing CO₂ at a far more efficient rate than natural plants.

The next generation of handheld devices requires a novel solution. Spintronics, or spin electronics, is a revolutionary new field in condensed-matter physics that can increase the memory and logic processing capability of nano-electronic devices while reducing power consumption and production costs. This is accomplished by using inexpensive materials and the magnetic properties of an electron’s spin to perform memory and logic functions instead of using the flow of electron charge used in typical electronics.

New work by Florida State University scientists is propelling spintronics research forward.

Professors Biwu Ma in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Peng Xiong in the Department of Physics work with low-dimensional organic metal halide hybrids, a new class of hybrid materials that can power optoelectronic devices like solar cells, light-emitting diodes, or LEDs and photodetectors.

NoviOcean’s innovative Hybrid Energy Converter combines wave, wind, and solar power, generating double the energy of wind alone.

In a new study, astronomers report novel evidence regarding the limits of planet formation, finding that after a certain point, planets larger than Earth have difficulty forming near low-metallicity stars.

Using the sun as a baseline, astronomers can measure when a star formed by determining its metallicity, or the level of heavy elements present within it. Metal-rich stars or nebulas formed relatively recently, while metal-poor objects were likely present during the early universe.

Previous studies found a weak connection between metallicity rates and planet formation, noting that as a star’s metallicity goes down, so, too, does planet formation for certain planet populations, like sub-Saturns or sub-Neptunes.

Its abundance of sunlight and heavy investment in solar cell technology has positioned Saudi Arabia well in its transition to becoming a leading exporter of renewable energy. Indeed, solar energy currently makes up more than 80% of the Kingdom’s green energy capacity. However, these cells bring a twisted irony, as their operation exposes them to overheating risks. Cooling systems are therefore necessary, but many depend on electricity.

An international research team led by KAUST Professor Qiaoqiang Gan has designed a potential solution. Their device needs no electricity, as it extracts water from the air using nothing more than gravity and relies on cheap, readily available materials.

Along with keeping the solar cells and other semiconductor technologies cool, the water can be repurposed for irrigation, washing, cooling buildings on which the solar cells are placed, and other applications.

You might’ve heard comments about how western powers have been falling behind in the solar game. This chart shows how very real the Chinese dominance in that field is! Source:

The supply chain is key for the renewable energy revolution, and this chart visualizes where the world’s solar panels are manufactured.