Lifeboat Foundation

A research team led by Professor Jong-min Choi of the Department of Energy Engineering has developed a technology that can significantly improve the efficiency of quantum dot photovoltaic cells by introducing organic solvent dispersible MXene.

The findings were published in Advanced Energy Materials (“Organic solvent dispersible MXene integrated colloidal quantum dot photovoltaics”).

Comparison of the dispersibility of quantum dot solar cell ink organic solvent according to surface modification of MXene. (Image: DGIST)

Immigration to and living on Mars have often been themes in science fiction. Before these dreams can become reality, humanity faces significant challenges, such as the scarcity of vital resources like oxygen needed for long-term survival on the Red Planet. Yet, recent discoveries of water activity on Mars have sparked new hope for overcoming these obstacles.

Scientists are now exploring the possibility of decomposing water to produce oxygen through electrochemical water oxidation driven by solar power with the help of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts. The challenge is to find a way to synthesize these catalysts in situ using materials on Mars, instead of transporting them from the Earth, which is of high cost.

Developed at NTU Singapore, a new device can quickly rejuvenate and extend the life of old and new solar panels using heat and light.

Through an innovative use of heat and light, a new device developed at NTU Singapore can restore and extend the life of old and new solar panels.

Scientists may have found a more efficient water to desalinate water using solar power, according to new research, offering a solution for global water scarcity through the use of renewable energy.

Researchers at Nankai University in Tianjin, China, developed the concept of a solar-powered desalination system that produces fresh water by using smart DNA hydrogels that does not consume additional energy, compared to conventional desalination strategies currently in use, such as reverse osmosis, which use copious amounts of energy, according to a paper published in the journal Science Advances on Thursday.

The same process can be used simultaneously to extract uranium from seawater or treat uranyl containing nuclear wastewater, the researchers said.

Much like the humans that created them, computers find physics hard, but quantum mechanics even harder. But a new technique created by three University of Chicago scientists allows computers to simulate certain challenging quantum mechanical effects in complex electronic materials with far less effort.

By making these simulations more accurate and efficient, the scientists hope the technique could help discover new molecules and materials, such as new types of solar cells or quantum computers.

“This advance holds immense potential for furthering our understanding of molecular phenomena, with significant implications for chemistry, material science, and related fields,” said scientist Daniel Gibney, a University of Chicago Ph.D. student in chemistry and first author on the paper, published Dec. 14 in Physical Review Letters.

Fourth Power says its ultra-high temperature “sun in a box” energy storage tech is more than 10X cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, and vastly more powerful and efficient than any other thermal battery. It’s hoping to prove it with a 1-MWh prototype.

As a grid-level energy storage solution, Fourth aims to compete with big lithium battery arrays in the short-duration 5–10 hour range – basically storing excess solar energy during the heat of the day for use in the evening and at night when generation drops off. But the company says it’s also relevant up to the 100-hour stage, which would cover the “several days of bad weather and poor renewable generation” case.

This is one of a number of thermal energy storage companies coming up out of Massachusetts and backed by Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund. You might remember Antora Energy from a few months ago, with its ultra-hot carbon block batteries and high-efficiency thermophotovoltaic energy converters, for example.

Tony Seba just made this insane solar prediction that is blowing my mind.

If you want to improve the output of solar energy systems, why not also run them at night? That’s the question researchers in Qatar and Jordan addressed as they successfully devised a system that promises to more than double energy output of current solar power stations.

By combining two concepts—a solar updraft system and a cooling downdraft structure—researchers designed a model that could generate 753 MWh of energy annually. That’s enough to power roughly 753 homes for about five weeks or 1,500 60-watt light bulbs nonstop for a year.

The origins of the system, referred to as Solar Tower Power Plant, go back to 1982 when Spanish engineers constructed a chimney-like tower with a mechanical turbine at its base. Air within the tower was warmed by absorbing solar radiation, similar to a greenhouse. As the air heated, it created an updraft that rose and activated wind turbines that in turn generated electricity.

NASA has awarded Blue Origin a $35 million contract to further develop a technology that creates solar cells out of lunar regolith — the dust and crushed rock blanketing the moon’s surface.

“[W]e’re inspired and humbled to receive this investment from NASA to advance our innovation,” said Pat Remias, VP of Blue Origin’s Capabilities Directorate. “First we return humans to the moon, then we start to ‘live off the land.’”

Moon or bust: NASA plans to send astronauts to the moon again as soon as 2025, with the goal of establishing a long-term presence on the lunar surface soon after. For that to work, it’s going to need a way to provide astronauts with a steady supply of everything they need to survive and thrive, from food and water to oxygen and electricity.