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…
With partners from industry and research institutions, the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is to make battery-powered trucks viable for long-distance cargo transport. Megawatt charging represents an important step towards this goal. The first prototypes were presented to the public on Friday at an event on the Plattling Technology Campus with the Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs Hubert Aiwanger in attendance. With the new charging post and truck, it will now be possible for the first time to charge the…
TU Wien (Vienna) has patented a completely new method of dampening vibrations. This is an important step for precision devices such as high-performance astronomical telescopes. When everything shakes, precision is usually impossible – everybody who has ever tried to take a photo with shaky hands or make handwritten notes on a bumpy bus journey knows that. With technical precision measurements, even much smaller vibrations are a major problem, for example with high-performance microscopes or precisely aligned telescope mirrors. Even the…
Start-up Kinexon enables more precise refereeing decisions. Kinexon, a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has equipped the European Championship soccer balls with high-precision sensors. The technology helps referees make difficult decisions. Kinexon specializes in the analysis and control of moving objects – whether in sport or in production. The technology is also used to analyze and automate the processes of entire factories. When the final of the European Football Championship will be played on Sunday, the referee…
A new study reveals a four-fold increase in cycle life for electric aircraft batteries thanks to a novel electrolyte solution discovered using a bioscience technique. When it comes to figuring out why electric aircraft batteries lose power over time, one typically wouldn’t think to turn to a decades-old approach biologists use to study the structure and function of components in living organisms. However, it turns out that omics, a field that helped scientists unravel the secrets of the human genome,…
Library of operating data enables analysis of complex electric grid. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have opened a new virtual library where visitors can check out waveforms instead of books. The Grid Event Signature Library is an open-access online collection of datasets containing waveforms, which are visual representations of behaviors of the electric grid. Utilities and research institutions contributed anonymized data including voltage, current and frequency information collected by operating equipment. So far, more than 350 users worldwide have utilized…
Researchers at the Vehicle Safety Institute will team up with national and international partners to make batteries safer, extend their service life and make them more sustainable. The FFG, the provinces Styria and Upper Austria as well as companies are investing about 19 million euros in total. Jörg Moser (left) and Christian Ellersdorfer from the Vehicle Safety Institute at TU Graz at a test bench of the Battery Safety Center Graz. Foto: Helmut Lunghammer / TU Graz It is a…
– new project SUPREMAS has started. The EU funded SUPREMAS project has officially started in May 2024. The project’s kick-off meeting took place at the headquarters of the consultancy company RINA-C, the project coordinator, in Genoa, Italy, on 16th May 2024. Steinbeis Europa Zentrum is one of the project partners and supports the market analysis and stakeholder mapping. Many EU countries are net importers of oil and gas (in 2022 the EU’s natural gas import dependency rate was 97 %),…
Project MesSi develops silicon-based photodiodes for the near-infrared range. Image sensors and their core component, the photodiode, are indispensable in numerous applications, whether in process, measurement, automotive or safety technology. In the near-infrared range, which is important for many analytical applications, silicon-based photodiodes do not yet offer sufficient sensitivity. Therefore, other materials are used, but they are expensive and partly harmful to the environment. In a new project at the Fraunhofer IPMS, sensitive silicon-based photodiodes, which are more cost-efficient in…
From smart electric meters to tachometers, wherever consumption or mileage is read out electronically, the data transmitted should not be open to manipulation. That is especially true for verification of payment transfers made via credit card. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS have developed a solution that makes it possible to configure the functions of security elements to address this issue after manufacturing, reliably and cost-effectively providing them with multidimensional protection. From payment transfers to smart electric…
Würzburg researchers from the Bavarian initiative Solar Technologies Go Hybrid are reporting progress on the road to more efficient utilisation of solar energy: they have developed an innovative light-harvesting system. In order to convert sunlight into electricity or other forms of energy as efficiently as possible, the very first step is an efficient light-harvesting system. Ideally, this should be panchromatic, i.e. absorb the entire spectrum of visible light. The light-collecting antennae of plants and bacteria are a model for this….
Radial or axial fans that are currently frequently used to cool electronic devices are often too large and too loud. The University of Stuttgart has now developed a membrane fan that is small and quiet. The newly developed mini membrane fan is energy-saving and can be manufactured without the use of environmentally harmful materials. TLB GmbH has been commissioned with the commercialisation of this pioneering technology and offers manufacturers opportunities for licensing or project cooperation. Computers, cell phones, and other…
New instrument for operando battery research with KIT light source. Synchrotrons are particle accelerators that emit electromagnetic radiation such as soft X-rays. Synchrotron radiation enables insights into the internal structure and workings of materials, so it plays an important role in the development of advanced technologies. Soft X-rays (with wavelengths around one to two nanometers) are ideal for research on electrochemical storage systems for the energy transition – but their use has been limited so far: they require a vacuum…
Developers of thin-film gas sensors benefit from heated substrate platform. The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS develops and manufactures individual heatable test chips for the characterization of new gas sensor materials. Deposited sensing layers and their application-specific parameters, such as sensitivity and selectivity, can thus be specifically evaluated. Customized chip designs allow the optimal and highly accurate characterization of these thin films. Example thermal image of a heated test substrate held by a vacuum suction cup from Fraunhofer IPMS….
As part of the Fraunhofer Center for Sensor Intelligence ZSI, the intelligent and flexible ultrasonic sensor system “SonoOne” was developed according to the modular principle. “SonoOne” can serve the rapidly developing ultrasound market, especially in the field of portable systems, with innovative and highly flexible products. On the hardware side, “SonoOne” consists of cost-effective, matchbox-sized modules that can be easily combined and configured into a complete system for a wide variety of applications and, thanks to the modular concept, can…
Innovate UK has awarded funding to further optimise a unique and flexible floating offshore wind platform for applications in the Celtic Sea, a collaboration involving Swansea University. The funding will help establish the Launchpad project to ensure that, where possible, a local supply chain will support the fabrication, manufacture, and deployment of the platform, known as PelaFlex. Led by Marine Power Systems, Swansea University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering will be working with Ledwood Mechanical Engineering, Tata Steel UK, ABP (Associated…
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