Clean Energy
Why pumping water back into hydro dams beats batteries for renewable power
The U.S. has thousands of reservoirs that could be paired for pumped hydro storage without the need for rivers.
Clean offshore charging buoys can save city air
Shipping giant Maersk is building custom charging buoys that provide electricity to ships moored overnight. The first is set to launch this year at an offshore wind farm.
Toyota is building a “Lunar Cruiser” for Japan
Toyota's pressurized moon rover, the “Lunar Cruiser,” could help astronauts live on the moon — and help us combat climate change on Earth.
These solar panels are thinner than a piece of paper
Stanford University researchers announced they had achieved record efficiencies in a promising class of new materials for solar cells — which can be thinner than a piece of paper.
Earthships: The sustainable buildings made from trash
Interest in Earthships, a type of off-the-grid home built from old tires, is picking up as people look for ways to live more sustainably.
This battery may solve renewables’ energy storage problem
Flow batteries are a type of liquid battery that has the potential for large-scale, long-term energy storage. Researchers have found a new material for flow batteries and it looks a lot like molasses.
Batteries of the future could be made from trees
To improve battery life and safety, while maintaining ionic conductivity, researchers aim to replace the liquids commonly used in batteries with a solid material made from trees.
How buildings can adapt to the seasons
Scientists have invented an all-season smart-roof covering that keeps homes warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It uses a phase-shifting material that doesn’t require additional electricity.
These supergrids are uniting the world’s clean energy supplies
Europe is creating a supergrid across regions, countries, and oceans to smooth out the fluctuations in energy suppliers — and hopefully build more resilient power systems.
There's a ton of wind power in the deep sea. Let's go get it.
The most powerful winds can be found over the deep, open ocean. Floating wind turbines could tap into this and 100x our wind energy.