Tag: energy
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Univ. Start-Up Developing High-Energy Light for Microchips
Engineers in a University of Washington fusion-energy lab have started a new company that aims to apply their discoveries to the semiconductor industry. Uri Shumlak, an aeronautics and astronautics professor, and research associate professor Brian Nelson are applying their research on high-energy plasma light from fusion reactors to meet a high-priority need of microchip developers.…
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Researchers Develop Battery Components as Painted Layers
Materials scientists and chemists at Rice University in Houston, with colleagues in Belgium, have created a battery that can be applied as spray-painted layers. Their findings appear in the online journal Scientific Reports. The team led by materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan devised a method for applying five components of a lithium-ion battery — two current collectors,…
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Energy Dept. to Fund $102M for Small Business Research
The U.S. Department of Energy says it will fund research projects by 104 small businesses in the U.S. to develop energy-related technologies for market. The grants, made under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, total $102 million. The projects cover technologies applying to energy efficiency, particularly for industrial…
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National Lab Opens Battery Manufacturing R&D Center
Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, part of U.S. Department of Energy, has opened a research and development center for battery manufacturing. The lab says the facility is designed for open collaboration among participating companies, although the lab did not disclose which companies are taking part. The facility, which the lab says costs $3 million,…
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Nanotech Window Glass Developer Lands $55M in Venture Funds
Soladigm, a developer of energy-efficient office building window glass in Milpitas, California, secured $55 million in series D venture funding, the fourth financing cycle after initial start-up. The funding round, led by Reinet Investments and NanoDimension, join current investors DBL Investors, GE, Khosla Ventures, Navitas Capital, Sigma Partners, and The Westly Group. Soladigm’s lead product,…
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Nanotech Method Devised for Capturing Firefly Light
Researchers at Syracuse University in New York and Connecticut College in New London have found a new process using nanotechnology for efficiently harnessing bioluminescence, the natural light emitted by fireflies. The findings of the team led by Syracuse chemistry professor Matthew Maye, which offer the potential for a natural non-fossil fuel light source, appear online…
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New Data Encoding Method Cuts Energy for Memory Cards
Engineers and computer scientists at Rice University in Houston and University of California in Los Angeles have discovered a way to write data on computer memory cards that cuts the energy needed for the task by 30 percent. The team from Rice’s Adaptive Computing and Embedded Systems Laboratory, led by Ph.D. student Azalia Mirhoseini (pictured…
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High-Energy Infrared Beams Adapted for Tabletop X-Ray Device
Physicists from University of Colorado at Boulder, with colleagues from the U.S., Austria, and Spain, have developed an X-ray system that captures concentrated infrared beams, in a compact device that can fit on a lab table. The team led by Colorado researchers Henry Kapteyn and Margaret Murnane published their findings in the 8 June issue…
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Universities Awarded Clean Coal Research Grants
The U.S. Department of Energy says 10 universities will receive grants for research on the development of clean coal technologies. Each grant of about $300,000 will be supplemented with additional funds from the schools, for a total research budget of $3.1 million. The grants are expected to support research on high-pressure corrosion-resistant alloys, protective coatings,…
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Cellulosic Biofuel Process Close to Cost-Competitive
Chemical engineers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana have devised a process for producing biofuels from non-food feedstocks they say is nearly cost-competitive with fossil fuels. An economic analysis of the process developed in the lab of Purdue’s Rakesh Agrawal is described in the journal Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery (paid subscription required). This method,…