In a new study, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have calculated that silicon photovoltaic modules manufactured in the European Union produce 40 percent less CO2 than modules manufactured in China. Using a life cycle analysis (LCA), the research team compared the CO2 footprint of monocrystalline solar modules manufactured in Germany, Europe and China. In the process, they also found that glass-glass modules enable an additional emissions reduction ranging between 7.5 to 12.5 percent compared to…
Skoltech researchers and their colleagues have synthesized a new conjugated polymer for organic electronics using two different chemical reactions and shown the impact of the two methods on its performance in organic and perovskite solar cells. The paper was published in the journal Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics. As the world tries to transition to clean and renewable energy, such as solar power, scientists are working on making solar cells more efficient at producing electricity. Among the promising approaches are two rapidly developing photovoltaic technologies…
Scientists reveal at an atomic scale how chlorine stabilizes next-gen solar cells. Cutting-edge imaging techniques settle a long-standing puzzle in the solar tech research community over the role and presence of chlorine. Scientists have imaged atoms on the surface layer of perovskite – a revolutionary crystal material that harvests light in next-gen solar cells The study reveals how chlorine, a dopant that boosts the stability of the perovskite layer, is incorporated into the perovskite crystal structure The researchers observed dark…
Anyone using a cellphone, laptop or electric vehicle depends on lithium. The element is in tremendous demand. And although the supply of lithium around the world is plentiful, getting access to it and extracting it remains a challenging and inefficient process. An interdisciplinary team of engineers and scientists is developing a way to extract lithium from contaminated water. New research, published this week in Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, could simplify the process of extracting lithium from aqueous brines,…
Soft valve paves the way for fully soft robots. Soft robots driven by pressurized fluids could explore new frontiers and interact with delicate objects in ways that traditional rigid robots can’t. But building entirely soft robots remains a challenge because many of the components required to power these devices are, themselves, rigid. Now, researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed electrically-driven soft valves to control hydraulic soft actuators. These valves could…
A new efficiency record of 21.4% for flexible CIGS solar cell on polymer film has been achieved by scientists at Empa. Solar cells of this type are especially suited for applications on roofs, transport vehicles or mobile devices. A group of scientists at Empa has pushed the efficiency of flexible solar cells to a new limit. Independent measurements revealed an efficiency of 21.4 percent when these types of solar cells convert light into electricity. For comparison: the best efficiency of…
The findings confirm theoretical predictions that certain metallic specimens could support an electron-phonon liquid phase. A team of researchers from Boston College has created a new metallic specimen where the motion of electrons flows in the same way water flows in a pipe — fundamentally changing from particle-like to fluid-like dynamics, the team reports in Nature Communications. Working with colleagues from the University of Texas at Dallas and Florida State University, Boston College Assistant Professor of Physics Fazel Tafti found…
There’s nothing like the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the morning. But how does one measure that smell? There’s no energy in a smell to help estimate how potent the coffee might be. Instead, it’s the gases emitted from brewed coffee that contribute to the invigorating scent. The human nose captures those gases in a way that Nosang Vincent Myung, the Bernard Keating Crawford Professor of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, is working to duplicate in a device with sensors….
High-voltage direct current cables which can efficiently transport electricity over long distances play a vital role in our electricity supply. Optimising their performance is therefore an important challenge. With that aim in mind, scientists from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, present a new insulation material up to three times less conductive, offering significant improvements to the properties and performance of such cables. If we are to transition to a world powered by renewable energy, efficient long-distance transport of electricity is…
The sale of electric vehicles (EV’s) has grown exponentially in the past few years as is the need for renewable energy sources to power them, such as solar and wind. There were nearly 1.8 million registered electric vehicles in the U.S. as of 2020, which is more than three times as many in 2016, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Electric vehicles require power to be available anywhere and anytime without delay to recharge, but solar and wind are intermittent energy…
Despite the COVID-19 crisis, Fraunhofer IZM and its 17 partners on the PLC 2.0 consortium have achieved excellent results within the first year. All partners met in a virtual meeting for two days. The time difference for such world-wide meetings is a challenge, therefore several sessions have taken place over the whole day to have easy access form Asia, Europe and the US. In 2016, Fraunhofer IZM teamed up with a group of industry leaders from Europe, the US, and…
Jülich researchers, together with Italian and German colleagues, have developed a particularly cost-effective infrared detector that can be easily integrated into existing camera chips and smartphones. The new sensor can make two technically important ranges of infrared radiation visible, which previously were not covered by conventional photodiodes. The findings were published in the journal ACS Photonics. The world looks much clearer in shortwave infrared, or SWIR: Cameras operating in this range of the spectrum produce images in greyscale that are…
Tandem solar cells with world-record efficiency of 29.52% could help rapidly scale up solar energy. Many countries around the world are committed to reducing emissions or reaching net-zero emissions to meet the United Nations’ climate goals of maintaining temperature increases below 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050. Renewable energy technologies, particularly solar energy panels, will play a significant role in achieving these goals. To fully harness the potential of sunlight — the world’s most abundant energy resource — scientists have been…
Researchers have developed prototype technology that can double the power harvested from ocean waves, in an advance that could finally make wave energy a viable renewable alternative. The untapped potential of ocean wave energy is vast – it has been estimated that the power of coastal waves around the world each year is equivalent to annual global electricity production. But the challenges of developing technologies that can efficiently extract that natural power and withstand the harsh ocean environment have kept…
Expanding the possibilities with silver nanowires. Scientists improve the longevity of silver nanowires to enhance capabilities in electronic devices. Today’s nanoscale technologies are sophisticated enough to be applied in an endless number of useful devices, from sensors in touch screen devices and household appliances to wearable biosensors that can monitor chemical levels in our blood, muscle movement, breathing and pulse rate. In addition, there are technologies for precision devices such as high-resolution scanning probe microscopes which enable one to visualize…
A new project at Landshut University of Applied Sciences deals with the development of a self-learning method for the production of batteries and thereby aims to strengthen Germany in terms of the global competition Batteries are considered to be a key technology for electric cars, mobile phones and energy storage systems. We need them to achieve the necessary energy turnaround, to fight climate change and to drive digitalisation. The demand for batteries and their production is therefore increasing all the…
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