New Solutions for Clean Energy

How National Security Depends on Better Lithium Batteries

ARPA-e funds potential breakthrough work to make energy-dense batteries that enable long distance travel

China Syndrome: Going Nuclear to Cut Down on Coal Burning

China pauses its plans to build the most new nuclear reactors in the world in the wake of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi in Japan--but will not halt them

Designs for Newest U.S. Nuclear Plants Aim to Balance Safety and Costs

The next generation of reactors in the U.S., up for review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, are meant to provide cooling even in the absence of power

What is the smart grid anyway? [Video]

Predicting the Future of Oil

And what does that mean for the U.S. economy and environment? David Biello reports

New Buildings Aim to Produce Energy, Not Consume It

Although it is still loosely defined, net-zero usually means a building that produces as much energy as is consumed

Smokestash Industry: ARPA-E Seeks Breakthroughs in Carbon Capture Technology

Humans can capture and release CO2 efficiently, so why can't power plants?

Shift happens: Will artificial photosynthesis power the world?

One drinking-water bottle could provide enough energy for an entire household in the developing world if Dan Nocera has his way. A chemist from M.I.T.

Reverse Combustion: Can CO2 Be Turned Back into Fuel? [Video]

Various efforts are underway to find a cheap, efficient and scalable way to recycle the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide back into the hydrocarbons that fuel civilization

Storing megawatts: Liquid-metal batteries and electricity

Making aluminum requires a lot of electricity. That's because the metal bonds tightly to oxygen and it takes a lot of energy to break that bond. In essence, the process of making aluminum is a giant battery with the silvery metal being reduced to purity at the cathode while oxygen bonds with the carbon anode to make, you guessed it, CO2.

Building a Better Biofuel: A New Carbon-Neutral Approach Turns Carbohydrates into Hydrocarbons

Turning plant sugars into gasoline with heat, pressure and catalysts

A need for new nukes? "Modular reactors" for energy attract interest

The entire budget of the U.S. Department of Energy branch that covers today's energy mix—from cleaning up energy generation's environmental aftermath to energy efficiency programs and renewable energy development—is $10 billion.

Sunshine is free, so can photovoltaics be cheap?

Here's how to make a solar cell from silicon: take one solid block of doped silicon, saw it into thin wafers, layer said semiconductors beneath a panel of transparent glass, connect them to a metal electrode that can channel away the electrons knocked loose by incoming photons and turn it into a photovoltaic device.

Can solid-oxide fuel cells like the Bloom box remake the energy landscape?

The fuel cell has a long history. Various types of fuel cells have been part of the NASA space program, and the basic science of how fuel cells work—an energy carrier comes in, creates a flow of charge in the anode, which migrates to the cathode creating a current, and separated by some form of electrolyte—has been known for more than a century.

"Energy Star" Cities Make Gains

EPA list of cities with the most energy-efficient buildings shows dramatic growth

New Structure Allows Lithium Ion Batteries to Get a Quicker Charge

A new technology could create a much more rapid charging time for lithium ion batteries

Is the U.S. Falling Behind in the Clean Energy Race?

A new report outlines a strategy for the federal government to encourage clean energy technology

Can the U.S. build a clean, green economic machine?

Can Mexico Lead the Way in Proving Carbon Cuts?

New efforts to track and quantify greenhouse gas emission reductions could prove a model for global efforts.

Is ARPA-E Enough to Keep the U.S. on the Cutting-Edge of a Clean Energy Revolution?

ARPA-E, the U.S.'s energy transformation agency, is doling out funds for greener power, but is it too conservative?