The development of next-generation solar power technology that has potential to be used as a flexible ‘skin’ over hard surfaces has moved a step closer, thanks to a significant breakthrough at The University of Queensland.
UQ researchers set a world record for the conversion of solar energy to electricity via the use of tiny nanoparticles called ‘quantum dots’, which pass electrons between one another and generate electrical current when exposed to solar energy in a solar cell device.
The development represents a significant step towards making the technology commercially-viable and supporting global renewable energy targets.
Australian scientists have for the first time produced a new generation of experimental solar energy cells that pass strict International Electrotechnical Commission testing standards for heat and humidity.
The research findings, an important step towards commercial viability of perovskite solar cells, are published today in the journal Science.
Solar energy systems are now widespread in both industry and domestic housing. Most current systems rely on silicon to convert sunlight into useful energy.
We read about different innovations in clean technology almost on a daily basis. A small Massachusetts-based start-up, FloDesign Wind Turbine, has created a wind turbine design based on jet engine technology. This revolutionary wind turbine can generate much more electricity at half the cost than today’s traditional wind turbines. It has also won two clean-energy competitions for its amazing innovation.
A traditional wind turbine can extract just 50% of the available wind energy in the given area it occupies. However, the Wind Jet by FloDesign uses blades covered in shrouds to direct the air through the turbine blades. This results in increased flow of air. As the airflow through the blades increases, the higher the speed of the turbines and ultimately the more power that is generated. The energy generated by this new wind turbine matches that of a traditional turbine with blades that are half the size.
FloDesign boasts that its turbines are 3–4 times more efficient than traditional open-fan turbines and they can be placed much closer together than conventional wind turbines while aligning themselves with the wind like a kite on a string. Not only that, FloDesign wind turbines require much smaller blades which occupy less space, are much easier to manufacture, and easier to ship.
Novel quantum dot solar cells developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory match the efficiency of existing quantum-dot based devices, but without lead or other toxic elements that most solar cells of this type rely on.
“This quantum-dot approach shows great promise for a new type of toxic-element-free, inexpensive solar cells that exhibit remarkable defect tolerance,” said Victor Klimov, a physicist specializing in semiconductor nanocrystals at Los Alamos and lead author of the report featured on the cover of the journal Nature Energy.
Not only did the researchers demonstrate highly efficient devices, they also revealed the mechanism underlying their remarkable defect tolerance. Instead of impeding photovoltaic performance, the defect states in copper indium selenide quantum dots actually assist the photoconversion process.
While NASA astronauts heading to their rockets on the day of a launch have traditionally traveled to their launchpads in a retro-style “Astrovan,” Demo-2 astronauts Doug Hurley (left) and Bob Behnken will be rolling up to their Falcon 9 rocket in shiny Tesla Model X sports cars. This comes as no surprise to SpaceX fans; Elon Musk, the founder of both SpaceX and Tesla, famously launched a cherry-red Tesla Roadster into space on a Falcon Heavy rocket in 2018.
The patent revealed by the user machstang at MachEClub.com shows that Ford thinks the roof is too small for solar charging. With that in mind, Ford engineers conceived this inflatable cocoon that expands the solar charging surface available.
Experts from the University of Surrey believe their dream of clean energy storage is a step closer after they unveiled their ground-breaking super-capacitor technology that is able to store and deliver electricity at high power rates, particularly for mobile applications.
In a paper published by the journal Energy and Environmental Materials, researchers from Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) revealed their new technology which has the potential to revolutionize energy use in electric vehicles and reduce renewable based energy loss in the national grid. The team also believe their technology can help push forward the advancement of wind, wave, and solar energy by smoothing out the intermittent nature of the energy sources.
The ATI’s super-capacitor technology is based on a material called Polyaniline (PANI), which stores energy through a mechanism known as “pseudocapacitance.” This cheap polymer material is conductive and can be used as the electrode in a super-capacitor device. The electrode stores charge by trapping ions within the electrode. It does this by exchanging electrons with the ion, which “dopes” the material.
Electric car maker Tesla Inc plans to introduce a new low-cost, long-life battery in its Model 3 sedan in China later this year or early next that it expects will bring the cost of electric vehicles in line with gasoline models, and allow EV batteries to have second and third lives in the electric power grid.
For months, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has been teasing investors, and rivals, with promises to reveal significant advances in battery technology during a “Battery Day” in late May.
New, low-cost batteries designed to last for a million miles of use and enable electric Teslas to sell profitably for the same price or less than a gasoline vehicle are just part of Musk’s agenda, people familiar with the plans told Reuters.
