NASA plans to send crewed missions to Mars over the next decade – but the 140 million-mile (225 million-kilometer) journey to the red planet could take several months to years round trip. This relatively long transit time is a result of the use of traditional chemical rocket fuel. An alternative technology to the chemically propelled […]
A team of researchers has invented a more efficient way to extract lithium from waste liquids leached from mining sites, oil fields and used batteries. They demonstrated that a common mineral can adsorb at least five times more lithium than can be collected using previously developed adsorbent materials. The new low-cost high-lithium-uptake process presents the […]
Computer science • Energy • Mathematics • Mechanical Engineering
Floating offshore wind (FOW) is one of the most rapidly growing forms of green power. As of 2021 though, there were only 113 MW in operation in Europe, although this figure is predicted to triple by the end of 2024, and escalate up to 10 GW by 2030 and 150 GW by 2050. The current […]
Digital technologies have gained an essential role in societies’ development, by generating a global transformation in economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Digitalization does not just bring comfort and effectiveness in daily life but also contributes to equity and opportunities generation. However, this digital transformation is raising a fierce debate on how to ensure a positive […]
roof Concrete sidewalks, black asphalt streets, traffic, brick and steel buildings. These common city elements can retain heat and increase temperatures in a phenomenon called the urban heat island effect. With increasingly warming temperatures during the summer months, urban cities like Chicago need to arm decision makers and communities with information about strategies to help […]
Energy • Materials • Nanotechnology • Physics
Researchers have made significant progress in understanding the fundamental microscopic mechanisms that can be used to customize materials for heat insulation. This breakthrough represents a significant step forward in the continuous endeavour to understand heat transport, improve energy efficiency and promote sustainability. Heat transport plays a vital role in numerous scientific and industrial fields, including […]
Electrifying long-haul cargo-carrying trucks was deemed financially unviable. However, recent findings from researchers at Chalmers University of Technology demonstrate that operating electric heavy goods vehicles can be more cost-effective than using diesel. The shift from fossil fuel-powered to electric vehicle fleets has primarily been noticeable in lighter vehicles like private cars and delivery vans. However […]
Even if we firmly go down the path of the low-carbon economy, the energy transition to renewables is only just beginning. We live now in a world that is still very much fossil fuel-based and the landscape of a fully renewable-powered future has not yet been shaped (and we might have to wait a few […]
“ Eat all your food, it can’t be wasted”. How many times have you heard that phrase from your parents? We did not know it, but they were right. Nowadays, a third of the food we generate is wasted. This generates both economic losses (~ $940 billion USD per year) and environmental problems (4.4 Gt […]
Renewable energy sources are crucial to react to the continuous increase of energy consumption and pollution by carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. Biofuels, where the energy content is derived from a biological source, are one of the alternatives to oil and natural gas. Still, some biofuels are controversial, like biodiesel, because they imply cultivating certain crops […]