Science and Enterprise

Tag: solar

  • Nanotech Process Devised for Graphene Semiconductors

    Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim developed a process to make semiconductors by growing nanoscale wires on a graphene substrate. Helge Weman (pictured left), a professor of electronics, led the research team that published its findings last month in the journal Nano Letters; paid subscription required. Weman also co-founded a…

  • Renewable Power Storage, Management Modules in Development

    Systems that integrate renewable power sources with battery storage and management modules are being developed for pilot testing at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. The first of the modular systems, with a 50 kilowatt capacity, will be constructed on the Karlsruhe campus by the end of the year. The modular energy systems are being…

  • MIT Start-Up Building Solar Thermal Systems for Clinics

    A not-for-profit company established by students and alumni at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is testing a solar energy system that generates electric power and hot water for isolated health clinics in Africa. The team led by Matthew Orosz, a recent Ph.D. recipient in mechanical engineering, will describe its work in an upcoming issue of the…

  • New Quantum Dot Material Boosts Solar Cell Efficiency

    Engineers at University of Toronto in Canada and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia developed a film made of nanoscale semiconductors called quantum dots for inexpensive and more efficient solar cells. The team led by Toronto engineering professor Ted Sargent published its findings in a letter to the journal Nature…

  • Highly Transparent Solar Cells Developed for Window Glass

    Researchers at University of California in Los Angeles have developed solar cells with greater transparency that can be made to fit over windows and generate electric power. The findings from a team of UCLA engineers, materials scientists, and chemists appeared earlier this month in the journal ACS Nano (paid subscription required). The team developed a…

  • 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…

  • Solar Developer Secures $70 Million in Venture Financing

    Nanosolar Inc. in San Jose, California says it has raised $70 million in new capital for further research and development and to expand production. This later-stage investment round includes current and new investors OnPoint Technologies, Inc., Mohr Davidow Ventures, Ohana Holdings LLC, and Family Offices. In February, the company secured $20 million in venture financing…

  • Company, University Lab Design Thermal Solar Collector

    An engineering company in Madrid, Spain, working with a research group at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), has designed a new central receiver for a solar thermal energy plant recently installed in Spain. Sun to Market is an engineering and IT services company in the solar energy sector that collaborated with UC3M’s Energy Systems…

  • Bay Area Consortium to Fund Large-Scale Solar R&D

    The Bay Area Photovoltaic Consortium (BAPVC) unveiled its first research grants aimed at making utility-scale solar power cost-competitive by the end of the decade. The new funds from the consortium — an industry-backed venture led by Stanford University and the University of California-Berkeley — total $7.5 million. The grants will support 18 projects at BAPVC…

  • Glare-Free Water-Resistant Nanotech Glass Developed

    Engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a new type of glass that eliminates almost all reflection and causes water to bounce off. The team of MIT graduate students, faculty, and former postdoc — now at North Carolina State University — published their findings earlier this month in the journal ACS Nano (paid subscription…