Material & Energy

A Scientist Just Accidentally Developed A Battery That Could Last A Lifetime

A nanowire compared to a human hair.Poor battery life is the number one issue when it comes to smartphones and laptops. As a wireless society, having to secure ourselves to power up our gadgets seems more and more a nuisance. Furthermore, while scientists are looking into wireless charging, we would have to worry less...

Climate Change: ‘Sand Battery’ Can Fix Environment-Friendly Energy’s Significant Problem

The sand battery has been installed and is functioning well according to the power companyFinnish scientists have set up the globe's first completely working "sand battery," which can save environment-friendly power for months at once.The designers claim this can resolve the trouble of year-round supply, a significant issue for eco-friendly power.Using low-grade sand, the...

New Iron Catalyst Can Make Hydrogen Fuel Cells Affordable

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public DomainFor decades, scientists have been seeking a catalyst that dramatically lowers the price of fabricating hydrogen fuel cells.Such an advance could trigger a green power transformation, with everything from laptops to locomotives running on a fuel whose merely byproduct is water.A new study led by the University at Buffalo indicates that...

Nano-Sensor Detects Pesticides on Fruit in Minutes

Flame nanoparticle deposition was utilized to make robust nano-sensors that can spot pesticide residues on apple surfaces within minutes. Credit: Georgios A Sotiriou and Haipeng Li.Researchers in Sweden at Karolinska Institutet have developed a tiny sensor for spotting fruit pesticides in just a few minutes. The method, referred as a proof-of-concept in a paper...

Paving the Way for Quicker Computers, Longer-Lasting Batteries

University of Queensland researchers have cracked an issue that's frustrated chemists and physicists for many years, potentially causing a new age of effective, efficient, and environmentally friendly technologiesUtilizing quantum mechanics, Professor Ben Powell from UQ's School of Mathematics and Physics has discovered a recipe that enables molecular switches to function at room temperature."Switches are...

Fund Manager Takes Stakes in South African Solar Trio

Credit: BII.Fund manager African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), with its Ideas Managed Fund, has obtained majority stakes in 3 brand-new solar energy plants in South Africa, totaling 30MW.The projects, which got to a financial close in May, are anticipated to achieve commercial operation in March and April 2023.They will connect through a mixture of...

Carbon Capture: A Risky Solution that Shifts Climate Burden to Future Generations

Credit: EWG.As the most current report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) explains, the 2020s have to be a decade of change. This is necessary to attain the goals of the Paris Agreement.Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is foreseed to play a vital role to cut carbon emissions. Depending on...

Carbon Capture & Storage: Chevron Buying Into U.S. Gulf of Mexico Joint Venture

United state oil companies Chevron and Talos and carbon capture & storage project development & finance firm Carbonvert have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). This allowed for a broadened joint venture to design the Bayou Bend CCS offshore carbon capture and sequestration hub presently held by Talos and Carbonvert.In 2021, a joint venture...

Canadian Natural Resources Profits Double in First Quarter

Caterpillar 797 dump trucks working at the CNRL (Canadian Natural Resources Limited) Horizon oil sands mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta. They are the world's largest and carry 400 ton loads of oil sands ore. The Canadian Press Images/Larry MacDougal.Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.'s earnings more than doubled from a year ago in the first quarter....

Oil Supply Steady Threatened as EU Plans Russian Sanctions

The sun is seen behind a crude oil pump jack in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S., November 22, 2019. Credit: The Economics Times.Oil Supplies settled at the highest in almost three weeks after an unstable session that saw the market ultimately pivot back to supply issues coming from a European Union's...