• Cobalt-Free Batteries Could Power Cars of the Future

    Many electric vehicles are powered by batteries that contain cobalt — a metal that carries high financial, environmental, and social costs. MIT chemists developed a battery cathode based on organic materials, which could reduce the EV industry’s reliance on scarce metals.

  • Argonne National Laboratory to Work Closely with Companies on Nuclear Innovation Projects

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) awarded seven new vouchers to companies and national laboratories working to develop and commercialize clean nuclear energy projects. Nuclear energy is considered central to efforts to minimize carbon emissions and still reliably meet rising demand for electricity. Argonne received four vouchers to work closely with companies on nuclear innovation projects.

  • Previously Unknown Pathway to Batteries with High Energy, Low cost and Long Life

    The road from breakthrough in the lab to practical technology can be a long and bumpy one. The lithium-sulfur battery is an example. It has notable advantages over current lithium-ion batteries powering vehicles. But it has yet to dent the market despite intense development over many years. That situation could change in the future, as scientists discover surprising pathway to better lithium-sulfur batteries by visualizing reactions at the atomic scale.

  • Shipping Oil Through Troubled Waters

    Attacks on shipping in the Red Sea have had almost no impact on the oil price, despite the volume of oil shipped through the waterway surging 80% over the last two years because of the war in the Ukraine. Markets are more worried about a soft global economy and rising US and Brazilian oil production than by the prospect of interrupted oil flows, having already seen the global oil market adjust to the massive disruption caused by Russia’s invasion of its neighbor.

  • A Huge Battery Has Replaced Hawaii’s Last Coal Plant

    Plus Power’s Kapolei battery is officially online. The pioneering project is a leading example of how to shift crucial grid functions from fossil-fueled plants to clean energy.

  • Texas Regulators Limit Oil and Gas Disposal Wells in Bid to Reduce Earthquakes in West Texas

    Injecting saltwater back into the ground “is likely contributing to recent seismic activity,” the Railroad Commission of Texas has said.

  • Texas Regulators Limit Oil and Gas Disposal Wells in Bid to Reduce Earthquakes in West Texas

    Injecting saltwater back into the ground “is likely contributing to recent seismic activity,” the Railroad Commission of Texas has said.

  • Is Nuclear Energy the Way to Achieve Climate Goals?

    After decades out of fashion, a declaration to triple nuclear capacity at UN climate talks suggests a revival. Some say it’s necessary to help curb emissions, others call it a needless distraction.

  • “Energy Droughts” in Wind and Solar Can Last Nearly a Week, Research Shows

    Understanding the risk of compound energy droughts—times when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow—will help grid planners understand where energy storage is needed most.

  • Innovative Long-Duration Energy Storage Project

    Argonne and Idaho National Laboratories have been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for a project to validate CMBlu Energy’s battery technology for microgrid resilience and electric vehicle charging. U.S. Department of Energy selects national labs to validate the company’s battery technology for microgrid resilience and electric vehicle charging.

  • Seaworthy Solution Yields Green Energy, Fresh Water

    Engineers have refined a model that not only cultivates green energy, but also desalinates ocean water for large, drought-stricken coastal populations.By pumping seawater to a mountaintop reservoir and then employing gravity to send the salty water down to a co-located hydropower plant and a reverse osmosis desalination facility, science can satisfy the energy and hydration needs of coastal cities with one system.

  • Modeling Geothermal Systems’ Viability

    Geothermal power has a lot of promise as a renewable energy source that is not dependent on the sun shining or the wind blowing, but it has some obstacles to wide adoption. One challenge is that a limited number of locations in the U.S. naturally have the right conditions: hot rock relatively close to the surface and with plentiful groundwater to heat up. Web tool looks belowground for an economically viable renewable energy source.

  • Non-powered Dams Offer Opportunity for Clean Energy

    The era of building big dams may be over in the United States, but hydroelectricity still has a significant and untapped role to play in the nation’s energy future. Trouble is, 97 percent of U.S. dams don’t make electricity. A new tool could help tap that resource.

  • A First: For Six Days in a Row, Portugal Ran on 100% Renewables

    For nearly a week, the country of 10 million met customer needs with wind, hydro and solar — a test run for operating the grid without fossil fuels.

  • New Battery Tech from Sweden Offers Alternative to Critical Materials from China

    New sodium-ion battery is safer and more cost-effective and sustainable than conventional nickel, manganese, and cobalt (NMC) or iron phosphate (LFP) chemistries, and is produced with minerals such as iron and sodium that are abundant on global markets.