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Category: sustainability

Modified perovskite solar cells harvest energy from indoor fluorescent lighting

When you think of solar panels, you usually picture giant cells mounted to face the sun. But what if “solar” cells could be charged using fluorescent lights?

Perovskite solar cells (PeSCs) have emerged as a lower-cost, higher-efficiency alternative to traditional silicon solar cells due to their material structure and physical flexibility. Their large power conversion efficiency rate (PCE), which is the amount of energy created from the amount of energy hitting the cell, makes PeSCs well suited to converting lower light sources into energy.

In APL Energy, researchers from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan created that effectively convert indoor lighting into .

Sustainable cooling film could slash building energy use by 20% amid rising global temperatures

An international team of scientists has developed a biodegradable material that could slash global energy consumption without using any electricity, according to a new study published today.

The bioplastic metafilm—that can be applied to buildings, equipment and other surfaces—passively cools temperatures by as much as 9.2°C during peak sunlight and reflects almost 99% of the sun’s rays.

Developed by researchers from Zhengzhou University in China and the University of South Australia (UniSA), the new film is a sustainable and long-lasting material that could reduce building energy consumption by up to 20% a year in some of the world’s hottest cities.

Scientists develop stable all-perovskite tandem solar cells

A research group led by Prof. Ge Ziyi from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed an innovative strategy to alleviate NiOx corrosion, enabling more efficient and stable all-perovskite tandem solar cells (TSCs).

Light-as-a-feather nanomaterial extracts drinking water from air

An international scientific collaboration has developed a novel nanomaterial to efficiently harvest clean drinking water from water vapor in the air. The nanomaterial can hold more than three times its weight in water and can achieve this far quicker than existing commercial technologies, features that enable its potential in direct applications for producing potable water from the air.

The collaboration is led by the Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for Carbon Science and Innovation (ARC COE-CSI) UNSW Associate Professor Rakesh Joshi and Nobel Laureate Professor Sir Kostya Novoselov. Prof Joshi is based at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW). Prof Novoselov is based at the National University of Singapore.

A United Nations report estimates that 2.2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water.

How Colonizing Space Benefits Earth — The Ground Level Gains of a Galactic Future

Space colonization isn’t about abandoning Earth—it’s about transforming it. Discover how expanding into space can drive innovation, sustainability, and prosperity right here on the ground.

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Credits:
How Colonizing Space Benefits Earth: The Ground-Level Gains of a Galactic Future.
Episode 726.1; June 22, 2025
Written, Produced & Narrated by: Isaac Arthur.
Graphics: Bryan Versteeg, Jeremy Jozwik, Sergio Botero.
Select imagery/video supplied by Getty Images.
Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound http://epidemicsound.com/creator.

0:00 Intro — What Space Isn’t.
3:59 The Limits of Exploration.
6:58 Real Reasons Space Helps Earth.
15:50 The Earthly Feedback Loop.
20:58 A Better Earth, Among the Stars.

MIT’s Window-Sized Device Pulls Drinking Water From Thin Air, Even in the Desert

Today, 2.2 billion people around the world do not have access to safe drinking water. In the United States, over 46 million people face water insecurity, living without running water or relying on supplies that are unsafe to drink. As demand for clean water grows, traditional sources like rivers, lakes, and reservoirs are being pushed to their limits.

To help address this challenge, MIT engineers are exploring an alternative source: the air. Earth’s atmosphere holds trillions of gallons of water in the form of vapor. If this vapor can be captured and condensed efficiently, it could provide clean drinking water in areas where traditional supplies are unavailable.

Working toward that goal, the MIT team has developed and tested a new atmospheric water harvester that successfully captures vapor and produces safe drinking water across a range of humidity levels, including extremely dry desert air.

MXene-polymer composite enables printed, eco-friendly device for energy harvesting and motion sensing

Researchers at Boise State University have developed a novel, environmentally friendly triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that is fully printed and capable of harvesting biomechanical and environmental energy while also functioning as a real-time motion sensor. The innovation leverages a composite of Poly (vinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate) (PVBVA) and MXene (Ti3C2Tx) nanosheets, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional TENGs that often rely on fluorinated polymers and complex fabrication.