MyNMB

Delivery of the Zoe was almost perfect In mid April, I was rescued, not by the RAC, AA or any other breakdown service but by Onto. Strange statement yes, but completely accurate. For a few months now I had been aiming to change my car and I wanted to remain full EV. The options were …

Although photovoltaic systems constitute a promising way of harnessing solar energy, power grid managers need to accurately predict their power output to schedule generation and maintenance operations efficiently. Scientists from Incheon National University, Korea, have developed a machine learning-based approach that can more accurately estimate the output of photovoltaic systems than similar algorithms, paving the …

For decades, researchers around the world have searched for ways to use solar power to generate the key reaction for producing hydrogen as a clean energy source — splitting water molecules to form hydrogen and oxygen. However, such efforts have mostly failed because doing it well was too costly, and trying to do it at …

A collaborative research team, led by the University of Liverpool, has discovered a new inorganic material with the lowest thermal conductivity ever reported. This discovery paves the way for the development of new thermoelectric materials that will be critical for a sustainable society. Reported in the journal Science, this discovery represents a breakthrough in the …

Urea is a critical element found in everything from fertilizers to skin care products. Large-scale production of urea, which is naturally a product of human urine, is a massive undertaking, making up about 2% of global energy use and emissions today. For decades, scientists and engineers have sought to make this process more energy efficient …

Climate change mitigation efforts have led to shifts from fossil-fuel dependence to large-scale renewable energy. However, renewable energy sources require significant land and could come at a cost to ecosystems. A new study led by Ryan McManamay, Ph.D., assistant professor of environmental science at Baylor University, evaluates potential conflicts between alternative energy strategies and biodiversity …

The expected decline in the number of landfills across the United States coupled with bans on disposing large amounts of organic waste in landfills that have been enacted in multiple states has prompted researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to examine other ways to grapple with the issue …

Batteries are potentially a game-changing technology as we decarbonize our economy, and their benefits are even greater when shared across communities, a University of Otago-led study has found. Co-author Associate Professor Michael Jack, Director of the Energy Programme in the Department of Physics, says reducing costs are seeing rapid deployment of batteries for household use, …

By 2050, faster adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and faster generation of renewable energy will result in 99% less fossil fuel consumed and 93% less CO2 emissions from passenger and freight vehicles on Oahu. That’s under the most ambitious scenario in an article published in World Electric Vehicle Journal, by University of Hawaii at Manoa …

When environmental physicist Kira Rehfeld, from Heidelberg University, visited Antarctica for her research, she was struck by the intense light there. “It’s always light in summer. This solar radiation could actually be used to supply the research infrastructure with energy,” she observes. However, generators, engines, and heaters in these remote regions have mostly been powered …

Rutgers researchers have developed a machine learning model using a physics-based simulator and real-world meteorological data to better predict offshore wind power. The findings appear in the journal Applied Energy. Offshore wind is rapidly maturing into a major source of renewable energy worldwide and is projected to grow by 13% in the next two decades …

Location, location, location — when it comes to the placement of wind turbines, the old real estate adage applies, according to new research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Carnegie’s Enrico Antonini and Ken Caldeira. Turbines convert the wind’s kinetic energy into electrical energy as they turn. However, the very act …

For someone who rambles into a camera for a living, I am surprisingly rubbish at talking about myself. Always have been. Ask me about the customisable LED matrix headlights on the new Audi Q4 e-tron and I can wax lyrical until the cows come home. But speak the dreaded words “Tell me a little about …

Boosting production of biofuels such as ethanol could be an important step toward reducing global consumption of fossil fuels. However, ethanol production is limited in large part by its reliance on corn, which isn’t grown in large enough quantities to make up a significant portion of U.S. fuel needs. To try to expand biofuels’ potential …

What do pipes and anchors have to do with storing energy? More than you might think! A new IIASA-led study explored the potential of a lesser known, but promising sustainable energy storage system called Buoyancy Energy Storage. There is general consensus that renewable energy sources will play an important role in ensuring a healthier and …

Solar cells, which convert sunlight to electricity, have long been part of the global vision for renewable energy. Although individual cells are very small, when upscaled to modules, they can be used to charge batteries and power lights. If laid side-by-side, they could, one day, be the primary energy source for buildings. But the solar …

Researchers at the University of Bristol have discovered a method which will allow for faster communication systems and better energy saving electronics. The breakthrough was made by establishing how to remotely measure the electric field inside a semiconductor device for the first time. A semiconductor is a material, such as Silicon, which can be used …

It’s been quite some time since Robert or I wrote a blog, and to be brutally honest it’s been a tough time, not least in terms of what we have and have not been able to film. And of course we’ve really, really missed your positivity at our LIVE events! Thankfully, things are opening up …

For the first time, the boundary of the heliosphere has been mapped, giving scientists a better understanding of how solar and interstellar winds interact. “Physics models have theorized this boundary for years,” said Dan Reisenfeld, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and lead author on the paper, which was published in the Astrophysical Journal …

In a world-first, Monash University scientists have developed a new, environmentally friendly process that could drive the future production of green ammonia. Ammonia (NH3) is a globally important commodity for fertiliser production to help sustain food production. It is currently produced via a metal catalysed reaction between nitrogen gas and hydrogen from natural gas, using …

Many countries promote the expansion of wind farms. However, if these offshore wind farms are set up close to each other, wind energy and hence electricity yield is reduced. A study shows that the losses with increasing offshore wind energy production will be considerable and detectable as large scale pattern of reduced wind speed around …

With a global impetus toward utilizing more renewable energy sources, wind presents a promising, increasingly tapped resource. Despite the many technological advancements made in upgrading wind-powered systems, a systematic and reliable way to assess competing technologies has been a challenge. In a new case study, researchers at Texas A&M University, in collaboration with international energy …

As the Clean Energy Transformation Act drives Washington state toward carbon-free electricity, a new energy landscape is taking shape. Alongside renewable energy sources, a new report finds small modular reactors are poised to play an integral role in the state’s emerging clean energy future. The technology could help fill a power source gap soon to …

The energy available from sunlight is 10,000 times more than what is needed to supply the world’s energy demands. Sunlight has two main properties that are useful in the design of renewable energy systems. The first is the amount power falling on a fixed area, like the ground or a person’s roof. This quantity varies …

When one of the largest modern earthquakes struck Japan on March 11, 2011, the nuclear reactors at Fukushima-Daiichi automatically shut down, as designed. The emergency systems, which would have helped maintain the necessary cooling of the core, were destroyed by the subsequent tsunami. Because the reactor could no longer cool itself, the core overheated, resulting …

A global effort to reduce sulfur and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships has researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and other Department of Energy facilities investigating the potential use of marine biofuels. “Biofuels turned out to be very good options because they have zero or very, very low sulfur compared to fossil …