Wind Power Surge: China’s Bold Leap Towards a Green Future

A recent study introduces a novel methodology for evaluating the economic viability and competitive edge of onshore wind energy against traditional power sources. This approach underscores the potential of wind power to reach grid parity, where its cost becomes comparable or lower than conventional electricity sources. The research marks a significant step in understanding the dynamics of renewable energy markets and highlights the role of wind power in China’s ambitious environmental goals.

Haran and Saif elected to the National Academy of Engineering

Kiruba Haran, who is a professor of electrical and computer engineering and the Grainger Endowed Director’s Chair in Electric Machinery and Electromechanics, and Taher Saif, the Edward William and Jane Marr Gutgsell Professor in mechanical science and engineering, were elected to the National Academy of Engineering

Media Tip: Argonne tool helps map out where to develop clean energy infrastructure

The Geospatial Energy Mapper (GEM) from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory is an interactive online mapping tool with an extensive catalog of mapping data for energy planning.

ORNL to lead new center to create sustainable chemical industry processes

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been selected to lead an Energy Earthshot Research Center, or EERC, focused on developing chemical processes that use sustainable methods instead of burning fossil fuels to radically reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions to stem climate change and limit the crisis of a rapidly warming planet.

California Group Exploring Viability of a Community-Centered Direct Air Capture Hub

Researchers from Berkeley Lab are co-leading a project to explore the creation of a direct air capture facility that uses cutting-edge technologies to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in California’s Southern San Joaquin Valley.

A FORCE to be reckoned with: Computer modeling for optimal energy partnerships

Integrating nuclear power into broader energy systems, including renewable energy sources and heat-intensive industries, could improve flexibility and unlock revenue streams for nuclear power producers.

Call for Papers and Participants: The 16th Eurasia Conference on Chemical Science 2023 (EuAsC2S–16) – Frontiers in Chemical Sciences for Sustainability

The Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, together with the Chemical Society of Thailand will co-organize “the 16th Eurasia Conference on Chemical Science 2023 (EuAsC2S–16)” under the theme “Frontiers in Chemical Sciences for Sustainability”, from December 13-15, 2023 at the Berkeley Hotel Pratunam, Bangkok.

DOE Announces $72 Million For Small Business Research and Development Grants

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $72 million in funding for small businesses to pursue scientific, clean energy, and climate research, development, and demonstration projects. The funding will support 296 projects across 44 states and addresses multiple topic areas, such as renewable energy, nuclear energy, cybersecurity, advanced materials and manufacturing, microelectronics, and artificial intelligence. Today’s announcement underscores the Biden-Harris Administration’s deep commitment to advancing innovative climate solutions and strengthening America’s global scientific leadership, which are critical to achieving the President’s goal of a carbon-free grid by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050.

ESF Researchers Receive NSF Funding for Eco-manufacturing of Renewable Lignin-derived Products using Sustainable Energy

Researchers at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to further its research on carbon-neutral alternative sources for value-added chemicals currently sourced from petroleum and other fossil fuels.

Chemists Unravel Reaction Mechanism for Clean Energy Catalyst

Chemists at the University of Kansas and Brookhaven National Laboratory have unraveled the entire reaction mechanism for a key class of water-splitting catalysts. Their work could help pure hydrogen be produced from renewable energy sources such as solar power.

GW Expert Available: Lawmakers vote to repeal President Biden’s suspension of solar tariffs

On Wednesday, Senate lawmakers voted to overturn President Joe Biden’s two-year suspension of tariffs on solar imports from countries in Southeast Asia, according to The Hill. The measure has already been approved by the House. The White House has said President Biden…

Argonne points the way to a sustainable circular economy for plastics

Argonne scientists are studying the environmental and economic impact of plastic bottles using mechanical, chemical and upcycling recycling approaches.

GW Experts Available: EPA Proposes Historic Auto Pollution Limits That Would Boost EV Sales

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday plans that would ensure two-thirds of new passenger cars and a quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the United States are all-electric by 2032. According to The New York Times, “if the two rules…

Underground Water Could be the Solution to Green Heating and Cooling

About 12% of the total global energy demand comes from heating and cooling homes and businesses. A new study suggests that using underground water to maintain comfortable temperatures could reduce consumption of natural gas and electricity in this sector by 40% in the U.S. The approach, called aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), could also help prevent blackouts caused by high power demand during extreme weather events.

Nanoparticles Self-Assemble to Harvest Solar Energy

In APL Photonics, researchers design a solar harvester with enhanced energy conversion capabilities. The device employs a quasiperiodic nanoscale pattern, meaning most of it is an alternating and consistent pattern, while the remaining portion contains random defects that do not affect its performance. The fabrication process makes use of self-assembling nanoparticles, which form an organized material structure based on their interactions with nearby particles without any external instructions. Thermal energy harvested by the device can be transformed to electricity using thermoelectric materials.

5 Ways Argonne is driving auto innovation

Spotlighting Argonne innovations in electric vehicles during the Chicago Auto Show.

‘Green’ energy patents more focused on ‘clean’ conventional energy instead of renewables

A new study by world leaders in patent data has revealed some unusual trends in energy tech R&D, questioning whether companies are more committed to extracting fossil fuels or in pursuing genuinely ‘green’, renewable energy technologies.

Researchers Create Smaller, Cheaper Flow Batteries for Clean Energy

Flow batteries offer a solution. Electrolytes flow through electrochemical cells from storage tanks in this rechargeable battery. The existing flow battery technologies cost more than $200/kilowatt hour and are too expensive for practical application, but Liu’s lab in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) developed a more compact flow battery cell configuration that reduces the size of the cell by 75%, and correspondingly reduces the size and cost of the entire flow battery. The work could revolutionize how everything from major commercial buildings to residential homes are powered.

WashU Expert: 2023 will be the year of the battery

Major advances in battery technologies will bring us a big step closer this year to large-scale renewable energy goals, international energy independence and a big reduction in greenhouse gases, according to an expert from Washington University in St. Louis. “One of the major challenges to a fully renewable-energy future of wind and solar power is energy storage,” said Michael Wysession, a professor of earth and planetary sciences in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St.

Scientists enhance stability of new material for solar cells

Scientists at the University of Missouri used Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source to identify the structure of a perovskite material grown using chemical vapor deposition, potentially representing a breakthrough for solar cells.

Argonne awarded $6 million to develop technologies for recycling nuclear fuel

Recycling used nuclear fuel makes the most of nuclear power’s carbon-free energy potential. Argonne has received major funding to develop technologies that may result in a sustainable fuel stock and a reduction in U.S. dependency on fossil fuels.