MyNMB

Research led by University of Queensland (UQ) and including the University of Göttingen analysed the effects of decarbonisation strategies by linking global resource inventories with demographic systems to generate a matrix showing the risks and benefits. The research suggests that increased demand for energy transition metals (ETMs) could be more disruptive to some communities than …

Intensive agriculture is possible only if the soil is fertilised with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. While phosphorus and potassium can be mined as salts, nitrogen fertiliser has to be produced laboriously from nitrogen in the air and from hydrogen. And, the production of hydrogen is extremely energy-intensive, currently requiring large quantities of natural gas or …

Though plants can serve as a source of food, oxygen and décor, they’re not often considered to be a good source of electricity. But by collecting electrons naturally transported within plant cells, scientists can generate electricity as part of a “green,” biological solar cell. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces have, for …

Clean, sustainable energy solutions are essential to meet the ever-increasing energy demands of the human population. High efficiency solar cells are promising candidates to reduce carbon emissions and achieve carbon neutrality. In this regard, solution-processed copper indium gallium sulfur diselenide solar cells (CIGSSe) solar cells have generated significant interest owing to their excellent photovoltaic properties, …

Nearly 10 percent of today’s electricity in the United States comes from wind power. The renewable energy source benefits climate, air quality, and public health by displacing emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants that would otherwise be produced by fossil-fuel-based power plants. A new MIT study finds that the health benefits associated with wind …

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has developed a potential breakthrough in green aviation: a recipe for a net-zero fuel for planes that will pull carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air. The research, which used sophisticated computational modeling and analysis, was recently published in the journal Fuel. Led by Jagan …

A bright, sunny, cloudless day might seem like the optimal setting for solar cells. But too much sun, and too much heat, can actually reduce the efficiency of photovoltaics. As operating temperature rises by 1 degree Celsius, traditional silicon-based solar cells will lose about 0.5% efficiency. In a typical photovoltaic plant, where modules operate nearly …

Rice University researchers have engineered a key light-activated nanomaterial for the hydrogen economy. Using only inexpensive raw materials, a team from Rice’s Laboratory for Nanophotonics, Syzygy Plasmonics Inc. and Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment created a scalable catalyst that needs only the power of light to convert ammonia into clean-burning hydrogen …

First, the bad news: Nothing is free. Moving the world energy system away from fossil fuels and into renewable sources will generate carbon emissions by itself, as construction of wind turbines, solar panels and other new infrastructure consumes energy — some of it necessarily coming from the fossil fuels we are trying to get rid …

Study one of the first to address nuclear waste production of small modular reactors. Nuclear energy is a key component of decarbonizing our economy, but large nuclear reactors are often complicated and expensive to build. To make nuclear energy more available and attractive, developers have put forward multiple designs of small modular reactors (SMRs) that …

Organic solar cells are an emerging technology with a lot of promise. Unlike the ubiquitous silicon solar panel, they have the potential to be lightweight, flexible, and present a variety of colors, making them particularly attractive for urban or façade applications. However, continued advancements in device performance have been sluggish as researchers work to understand …

The development of offshore wind energy is expanding globally, with the potential to be an important source of clean renewable energy. Yet offshore wind farms pose significant risks to seabirds and other marine wildlife. A new study led by scientists at UC Santa Cruz outlines a framework for addressing the impacts of offshore wind farms …

Every green leaf is able to convert solar energy into chemical energy, storing it in chemical compounds. However, an important sub-process of photosynthesis can already be technically imitated — solar hydrogen production: Sunlight generates a current in a so-called photoelectrode that can be used to split water molecules. This produces hydrogen, a versatile fuel that …

How can we remove carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from fossil-fuel power plant exhaust before it ever reaches the atmosphere? New findings suggest a promising answer lies in a simple, economical and potentially reusable material analyzed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where scientists from several institutions have determined why this material …

An increase in the efficiency of solar panels may be on the horizon, as research from The Australian National University (ANU) reduces their current limitations. ANU researchers have found a way to improve the performance of silicon photovoltaic (PV) or solar cells. This is done through the addition of ‘passivating contacts’ between the metal and …