• Solar energy conversion breakthrough

    Scientists say that sunlight falling on only 9 percent of California’s Mojave Desert could power all of the U.S. electricity needs — if the energy could be efficiently harvested; this is a big “if,” since current-generation solar cell technologies are too expensive and inefficient for wide-scale commercial applications; Northwestern University researchers show a way to increase solar cell efficiency

  • DOE, partners test commercial geothermal technology in Nevada

    Geothermal energy attracts more and more attention, and for good reason: One cubic kilometer of hot granite at 250 degrees centigrade has the stored energy equivalent of 40 million barrels of oil

  • Bacteria and nanofilters -- the future of clean water technology

    University of Nottingham researchers combine contaminant-eating bacteria with nanoscale filtration membranes to purify fouled water; additional side benefit: The waste products created by purifying water have a very high calorific value, and can be used as fuel

  • TSA lab's new concept in airport security: Tunnel of Truth

    Futuristic vision of airport security would see passengers stand on a conveyor belt moving under an archway as different sensors scan them for weapons, bombs, and other prohibited items; no need to take the shoes off; by the time they step out of the tunnel, they have been thoroughly checked out

  • Cleaner water through nanotechnology

    As global warming causes more and more countries to have less and less fresh water for human consumption and irrigation, the purification and re-use of contaminated water becomes more urgent; Aussie researchers offer a nanotechnology-based method to purify water which is more effective and cheaper than conventional water purification methods

  • Utility plans first U.S. coal-fired plant to capture CO2

    Tenaska proposes a new 600-megawatt, coal-fired power plant in Texas which would be the first to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions underground

  • Blinding flashlight developed as new law enforcement tool

    California company, working with DHS funds, develops a blinding flash light which may well replace taser guns, pepper spray, and rubber bullets as law enforcement’s non-lethal weapon of choice

  • U.K. energy company to demonstrate its oxyfuel technology

    Oxyfuel combustion is the process of firing a fossil-fueled power plant with an oxygen-enriched gas mix instead of air; oxyfuel combustion produces a CO2-rich flue gas ready for sequestration

  • Graduate student invents gravity lamp

    Virginia Tech engineering student wins second place in a Greener Gadgets Conference competition for inventing a floor lamp powered by gravity; lamp can last 200 years

  • Protecting against cosmic radiation effects on aviation microelectronics

    Cosmic radiation has a deleterious effect on aviation microelectronics — the effect on circuitry is 300 times greater at high altitude than at ground level, creating a potential risk to civil and military aircraft; U.K. scientists accelerate the effects of cosmic radiation so they can replicate the effect of thousands of hours of flying time in just a few minutes

  • MRAP modifications for BAE

    BAE Systems wins two modifications contracts, worth $21.3 million, for the U.S. mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP); with these two contracts, the company’s MRAP-related contracts have reached $1.3 billion

  • King coal, III: DOE makes case for FutureGen restructuring

    The Department of Energy restructures its approach to FutureGen — the ambitious plan to develop clean coal technology which produces hydrogen and electricity and mitigates greenhouse gas emissions

  • Nano-bristle clothes to generate power from body motions

    Yellow Jackets researcher develops energy-generating fiber: If clothes are made from this piezoelectric fabric, the wearer’s body motions would produce useful amounts of power

  • Submersible car to be unveiled

    James Bond-inspired underwater car to be unveiled at Geneva show 6 March; vehicle promises to be able to drive on land, float on the surface of the water, and also dive to a depth of 10 meters

  • King coal, II: Administration restructures approach to clean coal funding

    DOE restructures FutureGen approach; under the new plan, DOE’s investment would provide funding for no more than the carbon capture and storage (CCS) component of the power plant — not the entire plant construction; the original 2003 FutureGen concept called for the federal government to cover 74 percent of the cost of the entire project; DOE requests $648 million in FY2009 budget for coal research, development, and deployment