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The quest for cheaper flow batteries goes on
Flow batteries promise longer-lasting and safer grid energy storage than their lithium-ion counterparts. But, while they don’t need lithium, commercial examples still currently need metals to work,...
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A blueprint for phasing out coal power stations in Asia
Countries in the Asia-Pacific region account for 76% of the world’s thermal coal power generation, and many of these plants will need to retire early to meet global emissions targets. But according to...
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Device provides air conditioning without conditioning air
Researchers have made a cooling device that they say can chill environments with 50% of the energy used by conventional air conditioning. They are using the physics of radiative cooling. The...
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Imaging the inside of a flow battery
Researchers have developed an X-ray scan (of a sort) for flow batteries that will make them more efficient. The international team of scientists has published the technique in Nature Communications....
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Methane emissions at their highest yet, but not in Australia
Global methane emissions are rising at record levels, according to a new report. Methane emissions have risen 20% in the past 20 years. The findings come from the Global Methane Budget 2024, which is...
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Lithium-sulphur battery still works after it’s cut in half
A team of Chinese researchers have made a lithium-sulphur battery that can provide power even after being folded or cut in half. The researchers, who have published their findings in ACS Energy...
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Contrail avoidance is probably better for climate
It’s referred to as “contrail avoidance” and it has nothing to do with debunked conspiracy theories about secret chemicals added to airplane exhausts. But it’s likely to reduce the environmental...
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Cheap zinc-ion batteries can be made at a desk
Australian researchers have constructed a safe, cheap zinc battery – using an office laminator! They say their “aqueous zinc-ion batteries” could be recyclable, easy-to-make power sources for small...
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The leaderboards of solar power
Credit: J Studios / Getty Images Music charts, bestseller lists and sport ladders are well-established measures of success. Fans will anxiously watch their favourites climbing the charts, crowing with...
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Spanish nuclear fusion reactor takes a new approach
An international collaboration is trying to solve the world’s energy crisis by building a unique kind of fusion reactor. SMART (SMall Aspect Ratio Tokamak) is a fusion device being put together at the...
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Hydrogen vehicles get cleaner with pollutant scrubber
Hydrogen vehicles emit no carbon: their combustion engines rely on H2 alone. This has made them a promising option for zero-emissions heavy vehicles. But, like petrol cars, current hydrogen engines...
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Electric vehicles as grid storage? It’s right around the (model house) corner
Credit: Raja Islam / Getty Images Many Australians now sell solar power generated on their rooftops into the grid on sunny days. In a handful of years, it may be possible to do the same thing when...
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Better than nature: electro-ag could transform food
It might sound like science fiction, but bioengineers want to bypass photosynthesis and grow crops in tall, dark towers surrounded by solar panels. They estimate that their new strategy for...
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These pink crystals use magnets to super-cool hydrogen
Crystals of the magnetocaloric material. Credit: University of Groningen / Blake lab Researchers have made a material capable of cooling substances down to -253°C – enough to liquefy hydrogen – using...
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Soaring private jet use fuels rise in greenhouse gas emissions
Map of the 4.3 million direct city-to-city flights recorded in 2023 and assessed in the study. Credit: Stefan Gössling et al. Private jets are emitting millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide each year –...
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New Zealand enters race for nuclear fusion with unique approach
A New Zealand company has become the first in the nation’s history to turn on a fusion machine. OpenStar technologies reached a crucial milestone in the development of nuclear fusion-first plasma....
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This stretchy lithium-ion battery is self-healing
Stretchy, self-healing lithium-ion batteries could be a viable power source for wearable mobile phones, soft robotics, and electronic skin, according to a new study. The researchers have made small,...
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The solar thermal tech that might power industry
Concentrated solar thermal mirrors. Credit: CSIRO Concentrated solar thermal has long promised to roll both solar power and energy storage into one technology. Another feature is being dangled by a...
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A ‘game-changing’ design for green hydrogen reactor
Scientists from Japan have developed new materials and methods to increase the efficiency and safety of a proof-of-concept green hydrogen reactor. The 100m2 reactor operated successfully outdoors,...
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One step closer to an eco-friendly, high-performance organic battery
Researchers at the University of New South Wales have made progress in developing their proton battery, which they believe will be cheaper than lithium-ion and safer for the environment. The research,...
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Sneak peak at GenCost shows renewables still winning
An Australian solar farm. Credit: Thurtell / Getty Images Renewables look likely to be the cheapest energy source in Australia again next year, according to a draft of the new Gencost report from the...
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Expert verdict on Gencost: renewables still cheaper than nuclear
Electricity lines in the La Trobe Valley, Victoria. Credit: Bloomberg Creative / Getty Images Independent energy experts largely – although not universally – agree with an economic analysis that finds...
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EV battery lifetime is longer in the real world, not the lab
Credit: Alexander Spatari / Getty Images Electric vehicle (EV) batteries may last longer in the real world than manufacturing lab tests predict, according to a new study. The researchers...
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Making zinc-sulphur batteries more stable
Zinc-sulphur batteries are a promising way to ease the strain on lithium: they have very high energy density, but are made of more sustainable materials. But for now, while researchers have been able...
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Upping solar efficiency by dancing with the wind
Fine-tuning their programming could help panels on solar farms perform better while resisting damage, according to a new study. The study, published in Physics of Fluids, outlines a way for panels to...
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The future of energy: 5 charged battery stories of 2024
Batteries are surging ahead in storage, speed, and efficiency. Here are 5 of our favourite battery science stories of the year. Can a thumb-sized nuclear battery last 50 years? The race to build a...
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The big movers in nuclear fusion and quantum tech in 2024
With every year that goes by, various revolutionary technologies in the worlds of quantum mechanics and nuclear fusion appear a step closer to reality. 2024 was no different. Several projects around...
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Water-based zinc-iodine batteries a step closer
Zinc-ion batteries, which use abundant zinc in their electrodes, promise to be safer, cheaper, and more sustainable alternatives to modern batteries. This is particularly the case for aqueous zinc-ion...
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Quiet, adaptable vertical wind turbine spins into action
A prototype wind turbine is about to be installed just south of Adelaide. At a mere 6kW, it’s not going to make any difference to our energy grid – yet. But its shape means that it could end up making...
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SMART nuclear fusion reactor a step closer with first plasma
The experimental nuclear fusion device known as SMART, has successfully generated its first tokamak plasma, bringing the global quest for sustainable, virtually limitless energy a step closer. First...
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As EVs grow, questions are being asked about their climate impact
Electric vehicles (EVs) are going down in price, and up in size. But as EVs get bigger, so does the amount of resource needed to make them. An electric SUV is a less “sustainable” vehicle than a...
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Detector on sea floor spots highest energy neutrino
A detector sitting on the sea floor off the coast of Italy has made a remarkable discovery: the first observation of an ultra-high energy neutrino. The kilometre cubic neutrino telescope (KM3NeT)...
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Lithium and nickel — the road to longer-lasting batteries
After decades, Lithium Nickel Oxide (LiNiO2) battery problems may have been solved. Degradation on repeated recharging has meant that these batteries, which offer higher energy density, and could...
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BYD and Tesla — who does a better battery?
EV batteries are not all the same. Researchers took apart batteries from two leading electric vehicle brands — BYD and Tesla — to try to work out which one had the best battery. Electric vehicles...
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The water droplets on your car window are building electrical charge
We’ve all watched water droplets dance across a car window, stopping and starting, sometimes with a rush. The droplets are building up an electrical charge, and physicists say it is 10 times greater...
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Nanoplastics make more efficient streetlights if you turn them upside down
Scientists in Saudi Arabia have developed a new coating for streetlights which they believe will reduce energy lost as heat, making the lamps more efficient. The research is published in the Springer...
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Game changing new method to increase production of nuclear fusion fuel
Electrochemical lithium-6 isotope enrichment. The image shows a lithium-6 ions (green) being integrated into zeta-vanadium oxide (orange/red). Credit: Harris Kohl and Andrew Ezazi If scientists could...
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A sensor that can stop lithium-ion batteries from exploding
Lithium-ion batteries are widely used because they are efficient and long lasting. But they can be disastrous when something goes wrong, and the battery catches fire or explodes. Mobile phone battery...
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Experts warn sustainable aviation fuel’s on a long haul flightpath
New research has shown how carbon-neutral aviation fuel can be made more efficiently. The development has been welcomed as attempts are being made to reduce the carbon emissions of the aviation...
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Experts issue “urgent warning” on burning of fossil fuels
A review of research into the fossil fuel industry has led an interdisciplinary group of scientists to warn that the environment, future liveability and people’s health are at risk if urgent action is...
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