Batteries undercut their theoretical capacity in practice, sometimes significantly. In a lithium iron phosphate cathode, researchers at TU Graz have now been able to observe exactly where the capacity loss occurs. High-resolution image of lithium-rich (bottom right) and lithium-poor (top left) areas of the sample material. For easier comparison, both areas are also shown in images of simulations. (c) FELMI – TU Graz Lithium iron phosphate is one of the most important materials for batteries in electric cars, stationary energy…
These zinc-air batteries, smaller than a grain of sand, could help miniscule robots sense and respond to their environment. A tiny battery designed by MIT engineers could enable the deployment of cell-sized, autonomous robots for drug delivery within in the human body, as well as other applications such as locating leaks in gas pipelines. The new battery, which is 0.1 millimeters long and 0.002 millimeters thick — roughly the thickness of a human hair — can capture oxygen from air and…
Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have analysed which regions of the world could produce hydrogen most cost-effectively in order to build an economy based on this alternative energy carrier rather than fossil-fuel based alternatives. One of their findings is that simply replacing fossil fuels by electricity and hydrogen will not put an end to greenhouse gas emissions. The study is being published today in the journal Nature Communications. Switzerland aims to become climate-neutral by 2050. This means that…
– at ISAT of Coburg University of Applied Sciences. Shadow mask lithography can be used to create tiny patterns on surfaces. The Institute of Sensor and Actuator Technology (ISAT) at Coburg University of Applied Sciences announces the first successful fabrication of plasmonic nanostructure by shadow mask lithography – and this has big potential for the development of highly sensitive sensors. Nano comes from the Greek, meaning dwarf, and nanotechnology is the science and technology of tiny nanoparticles. There are so-called…
Researchers have demonstrated a technique for printing thin metal oxide films at room temperature, and have used the technique to create transparent, flexible circuits that are both robust and able to function at high temperatures. “Creating metal oxides that are useful for electronics has traditionally required making use of specialized equipment that is slow, expensive, and operates at high temperatures,” says Michael Dickey, co-corresponding author of a paper on the work and the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemical…
More efficient and longer-lasting fuel cells are essential for fuel cell-powered heavy-duty hydrogen vehicles to be an alternative to combustion fuelled counterparts. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have developed an innovative method to study and understand how parts of fuel cells degrade over time. This is an important step towards the improved performance of fuel cells and them becoming commercially successful. Hydrogen is a fuel alternative that is becoming increasingly interesting for heavy-duty vehicles. Hydrogen-powered vehicles only emit…
AlYN promises more energy-efficient and powerful electronics. Researchers at Fraunhofer IAF have made a breakthrough in the field of semiconductor materials: With aluminum yttrium nitride (AlYN), they have succeeded in fabricating and characterizing a new and promising semiconductor material using the MOCVD process. Due to its excellent material properties and its adaptability to gallium nitride (GaN), AlYN has enormous potential for use in energy-efficient high-frequency and high-performance electronics for information and communications technology. Aluminum Yttrium Nitride (AlYN) has attracted the…
… advances understanding of processes applicable to brain-like computing. Charge density waves have applications in next-generation and energy-efficient computing. Today’s supercomputers consume vast amounts of energy, equivalent to the power usage of thousands of homes. In response, researchers are developing a more energy-efficient form of next-generation supercomputing that leverages artificial neural networks. These networks mimic the processes of neurons, the basic unit in the human brain. This mimicry could be achieved through the charge density waves that occur in certain materials. Charge density…
Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS have significantly increased the transparency of OLED microdisplays. For the first time, a microdisplay of this kind will be presented at booth No. 38 at the “International Meeting on Information Display” (IMID) 2024 in Jeju, South Korea. Transparent electronics are already providing reliable services in some applications. For instance, they can be found as ultra-thin layers for touch displays or as transparent films with printed antennas for mobile communications. However, OLED…
The digital transformation means that more and more devices such as X-ray and ultrasound machines are being connected to networks in hospital settings, for example. These kinds of equipment have to be movable as needed. In the LINCNET project, Fraunhofer researchers are using light to transmit data to machines and robots in clinical settings and industrial production environments. Combining electrical networks with the ultra-fast 5G mobile network creates powerful and low-cost wireless networks for buildings. When deployed in hospitals, this…
…with high precision and reliability. A cornerstone of the energy transition, offshore wind energy supplies millions of consumers with green electricity. Export cables connect offshore wind farms to the grid onshore. The cable routes need to be surveyed regularly to ensure that the cable positions are precisely known — but the acoustic and magnetic methods that are currently used to do this are time-consuming, incur high costs and lack reliability. For this reason, researchers at the Fraunhofer IWES are working…
Strategically planting perennial grass throughout corn and soybean fields helps address the unintended environmental consequences of growing the dominant row crops, including soil erosion, fertilizer runoff and greenhouse gas emissions. But converting portions of farmland back to prairie has to make financial sense for farmers, which is why a research team led by Iowa State University landscape ecologist Lisa Schulte Moore has spent the past six years studying how to efficiently turn harvested grass into lucrative renewable natural gas. “We’re…
Improving the resilience of energy systems in the Global South. What criteria should we use to better plan for resilient energy systems? How do socio-economic, technical and climate change related challenges affect sustainable energy systems planning worldwide? What does the situation look like in a region outside the European industrialized perspective? With these questions in mind, four years ago, the research project Energy Modeling for the Real World Transforming Modeling Approaches for Sustainable and Resilient Energy Planning (MEASURES) embarked on…
PNNL research team to support technology analysis of hydrogen’s role in the Pacific Northwest energy landscape. The Pacific Northwest is set to begin work building out a clean hydrogen economy with today’s announcement of a Phase 1 funding award from the Department of Energy. The $27.5 million award to the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Association (PNWH2), a multi-state nonprofit organization, will be matched by industry partners up to $125 million in Phase 1 of the project. DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory…
LZH develops multi-laser beam welding process for maritime manufacturing. Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH) is researching ways to make welding thick plates in shipbuilding more reliable. The scientists are developing a multi-laser beam welding process with customized beam shaping and a “Digital Twin”-based integrated quality assurance system. In the DIGIMAR project, researchers are combining three laser beam sources to create a root and a filler layer welding process with customized beam shaping. Photo: LZH Welding in the thick sheet metal…
A living passivator for perovskite solar cell stability has been developed by City University of Hong Kong researchers. The progress of solar energy technology took a step forward recently with the development of a groundbreaking living passivator at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) that can substantially enhance the stability and efficiency of perovskite solar cells. This newly developed passivator is a type of corrosion inhibitor that appreciably changes the potential of a metal. The CityUHK technology leverages dynamic covalent…
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