Among Many Uses Gold Nanoparticles Could Help Dye Sensitized Solar Cells
Gold nanoparticles could be used to make better Graetzel solar cells, among others, as a Queensland University of Technology scientist claims to have discovered.
Paper-Printed Solar Cells Invented in MIT's New Solar Research Center
For the first time in history, scientists at the MIT have coated paper with a solar cell at the newly opened Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Research Center. The coating technique is similar to that of an inkjet printer - the big difference is that the coating is this time a semiconductor, not ink.
Purple Bacteria Natural Self-Arrangement Process Can Make Solar Cells Become More Efficient
The purple bacteria are very flexible when it comes to the intensity of light, arranging themselves in different patterns. "Our study develops a mathematical model to describe the designs it adopts and why, which could help direct design of future photoelectric devices," says Johnson, who collaborated on his study with colleagues from the Universidad de los Andes in Colombia.
Bladeless Wind Turbine Built by Solar Aero, Inspired by Nikola Tesla's Invention
Remember that Tesla turbine we wrote about two years ago? Or the Tesla turbine made out of a hard drive? Nikola Tesla patented these turbines back in 1913, but he wasn't able to build them properly because the metals he could use at that time didn't have the right thickness and quality.
Photoprotein Found in Marine Bacteria Could Improve Solar Cells
The open-access journal PLos Biology presented a novel finding by a team of researchers from the Univeristy of Linnaeus, in Sweden, and colleagues from Spain, explaining how oceanic bacteria harvests light energy from sunlight by using a unique photoprotein.
New Metal Catalyst 70 Times Cheaper Than Platinum Splits Water Efficiently
A team of researchers from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, has discovered a catalyst metal 70 times cheaper than platinum for use in electrolysis systems, to generate hydrogen from water.
Efficient Concentrated Solar Cell Technology Given $129 Million Credit for Development
Amonix, a CA-based startup company, is developing ultra-efficient solar cells based on concentrated photovoltaic technology, combining cheap yet powerful lenses, a Sun-tracking system and efficient silicon solar cells, but in smaller quantities than if spread on a panel without lenses.
Efficiency Record for Silicon Ink Solar Cells Broken by Innovalight
Innovalight has a proprietary platform, named Cougar, which can adapt existing solar cell manufacturing processes that companies now own, to their cheaper silicon ink solar cells production line. There is only one step that needs to be added to current manufacturing lines, with -they say- huge profits.
Electrode Surface Texture: Key to Using Less Platinum in Methanol Fuel Cells
MIT researchers, along with their colleagues from the Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Japan Institute of Science and Technology have found a method of decreasing the amount of platinum used in DMFCs by increasing the efficiency of the fuel cell's electrodes. Others have tried to replace the platinum on the cathode with a liquid regenerating catalyst system (catholyte solution).
Siemens Introduces New Type of Direct Drive Systems for Wind Turbines to Replace Faulty...
Because they are bulky and cause a lot of troubles, wind turbine gearboxes are to be shunned out of the wind power industry slowly but surely, being replaced with direct drive systems. These are indeed bigger, but the nacelle's overall weight is lower, and the chances of breaking up are also reduced, because of the reduced complexity.
