Tag: energy
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Energy Dept. Funding Solar Manufacturing Development
The Department of Energy has awarded three sets of grants to promote development of advanced solar photovoltaic (PV)-related manufacturing processes in the U.S. The $112.5 million awards over five years are part of the department’s SunShot Initiative that aims to make large-scale solar energy systems cost competitive without subsidies by the end of the decade.…
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Universities Form Appalachian Enviro. Research Initiative
Seven universities in the Appalachian region of the U.S. have formed a consortium to study environmental impacts of the production and use Appalachia’s energy resources, particularly coal. Virginia Tech in Blacksburg will house the new Appalachian Research Initiative for Environmental Science (ARIES). ARIES is expected to involve researchers representing a range of disciplines from Virginia…
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Solar Developer, Energy Lab Sign R&D Deal
New Energy Technologies Inc. in Columbia, Maryland has signed a research and development agreement with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado to advance the company’s technology for generating solar electric power through window glass. NREL is a division of the U.S. Department of Energy. New Energy’s system, marketed under the trade name SolarWindow,…
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Energy Dept. Cuts Fees, Procedures on Nat’l. Lab Patents
The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has cut licensing fees to $1,000 and reduced paperwork for start up companies on 15,000 patents held by national laboratories. The initiative aims to double the number of start up companies coming out of the department’s 17 national labs. Any of the 15,000 unlicensed patents and patent applications held…
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Molycorp, Ames Lab to Partner on Rare Earth Magnets
Molycorp Inc. in Greenwood Village, Colorado and Ames National Laboratory have signed a research and development agreement to devise new methods to create commercial-grade rare-earth permanent magnets. Ames Lab in Ames, Iowa is a division of the U.S. Department of Energy. Rare-earth elements are key components in modern electronic technologies, such as televisions, fluorescent light…
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Electrolyte Nanocrystals Increase Efficiency of Fuel Cells
Researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands found that adding small crystals to solid electrolyte material can raise the efficiency of fuel cells. The TU Delft team published its findings, the second recent article on this subject, in the journal Advanced Functional Materials (paid subscription required). Fuel cells are devices that…
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Kansas Winds Could Help Avoid Widespread Power Outages
A graduate student at Kansas State University in Manhattan is conducting research that shows how distributed energy sources like wind power can help reduce widespread power outages. Engineering doctoral student Sakshi Pahwa presented her findings earlier this year at the Capitol Graduate Research Summit in Topeka, Kansas. The research looks into distributed energy sources as…
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Finance Friday: 18 March 2011
Here are recent angel and venture finance transactions for science- and engineering-based companies, as reported by Xconomy and Venture Capital Reporter. Biomedical/Life Sciences Advanced Animal Diagnostics in Durham, North Carolina raised $11 million in equity funding with Intersouth Partners and Novartis Venture Funds, the venture capital arm of Novartis Pharmaceuticals, and others. Chronix Biomedical in San Jose,…
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Engineers Research Grid Upgrades to Handle More DC Power
Engineers at University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania have begun research on upgrades needed in the U.S. electrical grid to better integrate direct current (DC) power in an infrastructure designed for alternating current (AC). Funding for the project includes a recent $600,000 support grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, as well…
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Univ. Bioenergy Lab to Develop Low Carbon Technologies
Aston University in Birmingham, U.K. plans to build new £16.5 million ($26.7 million) engineering laboratories to develop and demonstrate renewable low carbon technologies including a biomass fueled power plant. The facility (artist’s drawing pictured right) is scheduled to open on the Aston campus in October 2012. The labs include photo-bioreactors harnessing algae, and a 0.4MW…