Scientists from the University of Illinois at Chicago have synthesized a catalyst that improves their system for converting waste carbon dioxide into syngas, a precursor of gasoline and other energy-rich products, bringing the process closer to commercial viability

Associate professor looking to commercialize Innovative pendulum-dynamo for converting tidal energy into electrical power.

Partnership will allow university to further refine and enhance its cutting-edge technology which converts natural gas to clean synthetic fuels.

Treating cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar cell materials with cadmium-chloride improves their efficiency, but researchers have not fully understood why. Now, an atomic-scale examination of the thin-film solar cells led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has answered this decades-long debate about the materials’ photovoltaic efficiency increase after treatment.

Renewable energy today is predominantly derived from wood, corn, wind, and water. The majority of these first-generation biofuels are burned, which causes greenhouse gases to be released and adds to carbon emissions. 

Lab success doesn’t always translate to real-world success. A team of Michigan State University scientists, however, has invented a new technology that increases the odds of helping algae-based biofuels cross that gap and come closer to reality.

The viability of the bioenergy crops industry could be strengthened by regulatory efforts to address nonpoint source pollution from agricultural sources. That, in turn, means that the industry should be strategic in developing metrics that measure the ability to enact positive changes in agricultural landscapes, particularly through second-generation perennial crops, according to a paper by a University of Illinois expert in bioenergy law.

Deployment project builds on earlier study’s optimistic results.

Used plastic shopping bags can be converted into petroleum products that serve a multitude of purposes.

In today’s search for renewable energy sources, researchers are turning to the hi-tech, from solar and hydrogen fuel cells, and the very low-tech.