Science and Enterprise

Tag: solar

  • Patent Filed for Nanocomposite Polymer-Based Film

    A materials scientist at University of Cincinnati has developed a transparent and electrically conductive polymer-based film with potential solar and fuel cell applications. Jude Iroh (pictured right), who is also an engineering professor at UC, recently filed a provisional patent for the discovery. The nanocomposite film is transparent and electrically conductive, says Iroh, as well…

  • European Project to Advance Organic Solar Cells

    The Belgian research institute Imec will lead a consortium of 17 European organizations and companies to develop a more commercially-viable organic photovoltaic technology. The X10D project, funded by the European Commission, aims to improve the efficiency of organic solar cells while retaining their low manufacturing costs. Organic solar cells are made from low-cost polymers that…

  • Low-Cost Tablet Gets Hands-On Tests in Indian Schools

    Researchers have tested in India an electronic tablet device designed in the U.S. and Singapore for widespread use in Indian schools. The I-slate is being developed at the Institute for Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (ISAID), a joint program of Rice University in Houston, Texas and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. The device, still a…

  • GE, Nissan Partner on E-Car Power Infrastructure R&D

    Nissan Motor Company and General Electric have signed a two-year research collaboration to speed up development of a smart charging infrastructure to promote mass market adoption of electric cars. Nissan is the maker of the Leaf, one of the first electric vehicles on the market in the U.S. The companies have identified two key topics…

  • DoE Science Review Boosts Transport, Grid, Quicker Payoffs

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) today released its first Quadrennial Technology Review report, an assessment of the Department’s technology research and development portfolios. The report urges the department to focus its R&D more on transportation than stationary energy production, grid modernization, and technologies closer to fruition than is now often the case. The report…

  • Copper Nanofilm Can Replace Rare Earth in Digital Displays

    Research chemists at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina have developed a film made of copper nanowires that could replace expensive rare earths now used in digital displays. The discovery by Duke chemistry professor Ben Wiley and grad student Aaron Rathmell appears online in the journal Advanced Materials (paid subscription required). Wiley has also started…

  • Corp/Univ Project to Research Green Energy for Data Centers

    Chip maker AMD says it will take part with HP, Clarkson University, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in a project researching the challenge of channeling renewable energy to data centers. Because wind and solar energy are intermittent power sources, the study will also seek ways to automatically shift a…

  • DuPont Acquires Nanotech Solar Materials Developer

    The global chemical company DuPont says it has acquired Innovalight Inc. in Sunnyvale, California that develops silicon inks and process technologies to increase the efficiency of crystalline silicon solar cells.  Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Innovalight’s silicon ink is made of silicon nano-particles dispersed in an environmentally friendly blend of chemicals, according…

  • Navy Develops Lightweight Power for Explosive Disposal Teams

    The U.S. Office of Naval Research has developed a lightweight power system to cut the 50 pounds of battery devices hauled by the Navy’s explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams. Protonex Technology Corp. in Southborough, Massachusetts partnered with the Navy to build the system, called the Power Management Kit (PMK), and shipped five units to the…

  • Grad Student Improves Solar Collector, Starts Company

    A masters degree candidate at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands developed a new type of hybrid solar collector with higher efficiency and longer lifespan than the current hybrid systems. Stefan Roest, who recently completed his degree in sustainable energy technology at Delft, also helped start Eternal Sun, a company to bring solar test…