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EPFL solar hydrogen system co-generates heat and oxygen

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EPFL researchers have built a pilot-scale solar reactor that produces usable heat and oxygen, in addition to generating hydrogen with unprecedented efficiency for its size. This is the first system-level demonstration of solar hydrogen generation. Resources Holmes-Gentle, I., Tembhurne, S.,

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Study finds anthropogenic PM and dust undercutting global solar energy production

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According to a new study led by a team at Duke University, airborne particulate matter and dust are cutting solar photovoltaic energy output by more than 25% in certain parts of the world, with roughly equal contributions from ambient PM and PM deposited on photovoltaic surfaces. Credit: ACS, Bergin et al. Click to enlarge.

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U-M solar car team wins Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge

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The University of Michigan Solar Car squad took top spot in the inaugural Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge. Overall, Quantum—a legacy car (the current University of Michigan Solar Car is Generation 2013, Quantum’s successor)—finished roughly two-and-a-half minutes ahead of the second place team, Petroleum Institute.

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DOE soliciting ideas for H-Prize topics

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The US Department of Energy (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Program (FCT) is soliciting ( DE-FOA-0000680 ) ideas for H-Prize topics ( earlier post ) and criteria for advancements that would help to enable the widespread commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies.

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Testing solar radiation management as a geoengineering technique

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Solar radiation management (SRM) is one of the geoengineering techniques proposed as a potential means of offsetting some of the anthropogenic radiative forcing of climate as a means to reduce climate change. The size of the scale and the intricacies of the many atmospheric and climate processes make testing these ideas difficult.

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Metallic nanostructures with strong light confinement can triple the efficiency of solar-based hydrogen generation

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The authors designed these to achieve broadband strong light confinement at the metal interface across the entire solar spectrum. Recently, nanostructured metals that convert solar electrons into intense, wave-like plasmon resonances have attracted interest for hydrogen production. µmol h −1  cm −2 that exceeds, by a factor of 3.2,

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The Complex Calculus of Clean Energy and Zero Emissions

Cars That Think

Congress has provided hundreds of billions of dollars to speed the deployment of clean-energy technologies. As legislation worked its way through Congress, Jenkins’s team provided elected officials, staffers, and stakeholders with a running tally of the possible trade-offs and payoffs in emissions, jobs, and economic growth.

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