It's Just Technology
Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory are trying to build the perfect battery.
Lithium-ion batteries are the gold standard, but there is much progress to be made. For example, one improvement would be to create solid-state batteries in order to eliminate the need for the flammable electrolyte that is inside lithium-ion batteries.
Solid-state batteries also could have three times the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, which might allow things like electric flight.
America is building nuclear power again, but it’s been a long time coming.
Putin has practically cut off all gas to Europe: this condemns Europe to recession, prohibitive energy prices and gas rationing. Even in many European cities, such as Prague, mass protests have been held against NATO, support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
However, the European Union has already moved quickly to find alternatives to Russian gas. And many of these measures are already working. Against all odds, Europe has already filled natural gas tanks to more than 80%. In addition, new ways of getting liquefied natural gas (LNG) to areas where it seemed impossible before are emerging.
Meanwhile, Russia is not in as comfortable a situation as it seems: they have lost their main energy customer and are losing important positions in Ukraine.
What has Europe done to get natural gas without depending on Russia? How is it possible that Germany is buying liquefied natural gas? What is happening in Russia? In this video we tell you about it.
The Sondors Metacycle is a $5000 electric motorcycle. It’s a funky highway-capable commuter and the ideal use of electric power. But can the motorbike live up to its own spec sheet?
We’re always chasing better performing and more efficient solar panels to help power our renewable energy future, but no matter how efficient a panel is there are location-based impacts to performance. Solutions like solar trackers can help to overcome some of these issues, but they’re usually not worth it in most cases. Instead of creating more efficient solar cells or tracking the sun, a research team at Stanford has boosted photovoltaic efficiency, even on cloudy days, by concentrating the light that reaches the solar cells without any moving parts. Is improving solar generation really that simple? Let’s see if we can come to a decision on this.
We talk a lot about energy storage, but usually in the form of electricity storage. But a large percentage of the energy used around the world is for heating and cooling. And while storing energy in batteries, to then use to heat your home, has proved valuable, what if we just stored the heat directly? That’s what this Finnish company believes they’ve done with their groundbreaking sand battery! Breakthrough Tech Heats Homes Cheaper Than Natural Gas!
In the past, power generating plants were only able to serve their local areas. As power plants grew larger and further away from populated areas, the need for ways to efficiently move electricity over long distances has become more and more important. Stringing power lines across the landscape to connect cities to power plants may seem as simple as connecting an extension cord to an outlet, but the engineering behind these electric superhighways is more complicated and fascinating than you might think.
Electrical generator basics. Learn the basic operation of an electrical generator, learn how magnets are used to generate electricity in a coil of wire. We then cover 3 phase three phase electricity and briefly the star configuration in this video on how electricity is generated.
As you know, efficient energy storage systems are the conundrum of making the most out of intermittent renewable energy. Unless you’ve had your head in the sand, it’s a glaring problem we have to solve, which is why so many different battery technologies are being explored and developed. To the point that some of them are now coming out of the sand … that’s what recently happened in Finland where the world’s first commercial sand battery technology went live this past July. How does it work and is it a viable path for storing energy? Let’s see if we can come to a decision on this.
The global energy crisis is starting to really hurt, and the prospects for winter fuel prices are starting to look pretty bleak for millions of people in the Northern hemisphere. So how do we get ourselves off our hopeless dependence on fossil fuels? And if the alternative is intermittent renewables then how are we going to keep our homes constantly warm during the colder months? Perhaps our friends in Scandinavia can provide some answers…