Energy

Energy Complacence Or Energy Panic- Living A Deja Vu Life

As a futurist I speak and write about trends and the future. I am often asked questions about the future of one thing or another. In most cases I speak to general trends, not specific outcomes. In some areas I can be somewhat specific as I have taken the t ...

Article - David Houle - Apr 27 2008 - 7:35pm

Biofuels May Be Doomed- But A Fungus Approach Is Worth A Look

The genome analysis of a champion biomass-degrading fungus has revealed a surprisingly minimal repertoire of genes that it employs to break down plant cell walls, highlighting opportunities for further improvements in enzymes customized for biofuels produc ...

Article - News Staff - May 4 2008 - 8:01pm

Carbon Capture And Storage: Hope Or Hype In The Global Warming Debate?

One consistent feature of human progress throughout history has been that science will come up with creative answers to current problems. When ancient people living in small tribes were running out of game to hunt, some leaders thought rationing and mitiga ...

Article - Hank Campbell - May 10 2008 - 3:08pm

Practical Hydrogen Storage For Cars Makes Some Progress- With Less Ammonia

Hydrogen is touted as replacing carbon-based fuels for transportation in the future, but researchers first must develop a method to store and release large amounts of the highly flammable, odorless invisible gas economically and safely. There are materials ...

Article - News Staff - May 17 2008 - 10:59am

Rochester's Omega Laser Goes Petawatt- Another Step Toward Sustainable Fusion

The University of Rochester will mark another important step in the effort toward attaining sustainable fusion, the ultimate source of clean energy, Friday, May 16. University President Joel Seligman, along with special guests, will dedicate the new Omega ...

Article - News Staff - May 19 2008 - 12:36am

The World's First Verified Sustainable Ethanol Introduced

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, May 26 /PRNewswire/-- Swedish SEKAB today announced that it is the first company in the world to supply verified sustainable ethanol. This ethanol from Brazilian sugarcane is quality assured from environmental, climate and social persp ...

Article - News Staff - May 26 2008 - 2:09pm

Using The Avalanche Effect In Electrons Could Mean High Output Solar Cells

Solar cells provide great opportunities for future large-scale electricity generation. However, there are currently significant limitations, such as the relatively low output of most solar cells (typically fifteen percent) and high manufacturing costs. One ...

Article - News Staff - May 26 2008 - 1:02pm

TEGs- Using Car Exhaust To Lower Emissions

Saving energy is big business these days and automobiles are a prime target for savings because two-thirds of the energy from fuel is wasted in the form of heat- about 30 percent through the engine block and a further 30 to 35 percent as exhaust fumes. Res ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 3 2008 - 11:18pm

Mini Unmanned Helicopter Is A Test Case For An Advanced Ultra-Light Fuel Cell

A chronic issue with fuel cells is that, in order to deliver a high enough power output, a lot of them have to be connected in series. Traditionally that has meant stacking the fuel cells – creating a structure consisting of several metal plates, each cont ...

Article - News Staff - Jun 7 2008 - 10:46am

Introduction

Energizing the Future is designed to cover recent breakthroughs and my own personal thoughts on energy storage and generation. As my primary focus in research is batteries, I will start the blog off with an overview of battery technologies, starting with ...

Blog Post - Navarre Bartz - Feb 25 2009 - 12:08am