New Solutions for Clean Energy
As the world continues to grapple with energy-related pollution and poverty, can innovation help?
SunShot: Lowering the Price of Electricity from the Sun
The U.S. Department of Energy aims to make electricity from the sun cheaper than that from burning coal or natural gas
Inventing the Future of Energy: A Q&A with ARPA-e's Arun Majumdar
How can a small federal agency help reinvent how the U.S. produces and uses energy?
U.S. Military Links Alternative Energy Research to Lives--and Dollars--Saved
Inventing the future of energy may be key to improving U.S. national security, economic prosperity and health
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]](/public/resources/icon__SA-logo-placeholder--rect-3166a74694258e68c9c9fd6e14c45ff6.jpg){kind=icon}
What is the smart grid anyway? [Video]
The smart grid. Sounds good, right? But what exactly is it? And does that mean we have a dumb grid now?"The grid, it is smart today," Laura Ipsen, a senior vice president at Cisco, told the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-e) conference on March 2.
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]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/DFAB4D63-6A65-4862-A686B20B79C47090_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
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 cleaner sources of energy not only power our economy but also drive a recovery from the Great Recession? That's the question confronted by policymakers across the U.S.—and by debaters in the Intelligence Squared series held March 8 at New York University.
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?
