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Category: energy – Page 152

Facile and scalable production of a fuel-cell nanocatalyst for the hydrogen economy

A fuel cell is an electric power generator that is capable of producing electricity from hydrogen gas while discharging only water as a waste product. It is hoped that this highly efficient clean energy system will play a key role in the adoption of the hydrogen economy, replacing the combustion engines and batteries in automobiles and trucks, as well as power plants.

However, the cost of platinum, which can be up to ~30,000 USD per kg, has been a major limitation, making catalysts prohibitively expensive. The production methods of highly-performing catalysts have also been complicated and largely limited. Accordingly, the development of a facile and scalable production method for platinum-based fuel cell catalysts is an urgent challenge, together with enhancing catalytic performance and stability while using a minimum amount of platinum.

To tackle this issue, a research team led by Prof. Sung Yung-Eun and Prof. Hyeon Taeghwan at the Center for Nanoparticle Research (CNR) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), South Korea has discovered a novel method for the production of nanocatalysts.

Supramolecular assembly assists the synthesis of highly active carbon-nitrogen-based photo/electrocatalysts

In a paper published in the journal National Science Open, the morphology and structure regulation methods of supramolecular assembly are summarized. Then, recent progresses of supramolecular assembly derived carbon-nitrogen-based materials for photo/electrocatalysis are discussed. Furthermore, the developments and challenges in future are prospected.

The sustainable energy storage and conversion technologies based on redox reactions are promising pathway to solve . However, there is still lack of low-cost, ecofriendly and highly active photo/electrocatalysts, which play a crucial role in the .

In this review, the author first summarized the effects of temperature, solvent type, pH value and monomer on the morphology and structure of the supramolecular assembly. Then, the effects of morphology and structure regulation on the physicochemical properties of supramolecular assembly-derived carbon-nitrogen-based materials were discussed, which determined the essential properties of catalysts for a specific photo/electrocatalytic reaction.

This Arkansas school turned solar savings into better teacher pay

The project that resulted has helped slash the district’s annual energy consumption by 1.6 million kilowatts and in three years generated enough savings to transform the district’s $250,000 budget deficit into a $1.8 million surplus.

Just as Hester envisioned at the outset, a major chunk of the money is going toward teachers’ salaries — fueling pay raises that average between $2,000 and $3,000 per educator per month.

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System provides cooling with no electricity

The new system is described today in a paper in the journal Science Advances, by MIT graduate student Arny Leroy, professor of mechanical engineering and department head Evelyn Wang, and seven others at MIT and at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

Such a system could be used, for example, as a way to keep vegetables and fruit from spoiling, potentially doubling the time the produce could remain fresh, in remote places where reliable power for refrigeration is not available, Leroy explains.

2022 story:

https://news.mit.edu/2022/passive-cooling-off-grid-0920

Imagine a device that can sit outside under blazing sunlight on a clear day, and without using any power cool things down by more than 23 degrees Fahrenheit (13 degrees Celsius). It almost sounds like magic, but a new system designed by researchers at MIT and in Chile can do exactly that.

The device, which has no moving parts, works by a process called radiative cooling. It blocks incoming sunlight to keep from heating it up, and at the same time efficiently radiates infrared light — which is essentially heat — that passes straight out into the sky and into space, cooling the device significantly below the ambient air temperature.

Continue reading “System provides cooling with no electricity” | >

We’ve Just Seen an ‘Exceptional’ Once-in-a-Millennium Space Explosion

A record-breaking gamma-ray burst detected in October 2022 has now been described as a one-in-a-thousand years event.

It’s called GRB 221009A, and with up to 18 teraelectronvolts of energy packed in its emissions of light, it’s considered the most powerful gamma-ray burst on record.

We’ve been waiting to learn more about this incredible explosion, and now the analyses have started to arrive on preprint server arXiv, with a trio of papers submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

US startup introduces DC-to-DC solar EV charger

With most EV chargers, which are AC-to-DC, there is lost energy and a longer charging time. But with DC to DC, according to Enteligent, the DC-to-DC charging results in up to 25% energy savings because the power does not have to be converted.

From pv magazine USA

Enteligent unveiled its DC-to-DC-solar hybrid bi-directional EV charger this week at Intersolar North America. Powered by the sun, the EV charger can supply 25 kW of fast DC charging, charging three times faster than AC Level 2 EV chargers, the company reports.

Electric buses are driving a silent revolution in Nairobi

Electric buses could help solve the problem. Today Bhattacharya is the CEO and co-founder of BasiGo, a mobility startup racing to electrify the city’s buses. The company is not alone. Swedish-Kenyan electric vehicle manufacturer Roam also has its eyes set on Nairobi’s mass transport sector. Both are rolling out fleets of buses this year that could mark the start of a new chapter for city’s famous matatu culture.

During the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in Nairobi, Kenya, something improbable happened: a mountain appeared. To curb the transmission of the virus, authorities called on the city’s thousands of private bus operators to cease trading. “Within three days, the air completely cleared,” recalls entrepreneur Jit Bhattacharya. “You could see Mount Kenya … crystal clear,” some 90 miles away.

Bhattacharya also saw an opportunity. Kenya produces 90% of its electricity from renewable sources – mostly geothermal and hydropower – and has surplus grid capacity, yet it imports nearly all its petroleum fuels. What if clean energy could be channeled into the transport sector? Maybe it could help the city clean up its act. Maybe Mount Kenya could become a permanent feature for Nairobi once more.

The Kenyan capital is home to over five million people, and matatus, privately owned minibuses and shared taxis, “are critical to the way people in Nairobi get around,” explains Christopher Kost, Africa program director at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. “In the city, we have 40% of trips on public transport.”

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