The clean energy transition is already underway, but how do we make sure it happens in a manner that is affordable, sustainable, and fair for everyone? That was the overarching question at this year’s MIT Energy Conference, which took place March 11 and 12 in Boston and was titled “Short and Long: A Balanced Approach […]
Read MoreTag: Solar
Power when the sun doesn’t shine
In 2016, at the huge Houston energy conference CERAWeek, MIT materials scientist Yet-Ming Chiang found himself talking to a Tesla executive about a thorny problem: how to store the output of solar panels and wind turbines for long durations. Chiang, the Kyocera Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Mateo Jaramillo, a […]
Read MoreStudy unlocks nanoscale secrets for designing next-generation solar cells
Perovskites, a broad class of compounds with a particular kind of crystal structure, have long been seen as a promising alternative or supplement to today’s silicon or cadmium telluride solar panels. They could be far more lightweight and inexpensive, and could be coated onto virtually any substrate, including paper or flexible plastic that could be […]
Read MoreAnushree Chaudhuri: Involving local communities in renewable energy planning
Anushree Chaudhuri has a history of making bold decisions. In fifth grade, she biked across her home state of California with little prior experience. In her first year at MIT, she advocated for student recommendations in the preparation of the Institute’s Climate Action Plan for the Decade. And recently, she led a field research project […]
Read MorePat McAtamney: Empowering student-led engineering teams
At the Open House for the Edgerton Center Clubs and team this past fall, MIT Technical Instructor Pat McAtamney cheerfully grilled hundreds of hot dogs and burgers for a long line of hungry students outside his shop in Building N51. “They ate every single burger. I didn’t even get one,” he laughs. His continuous smile throughout […]
Read MoreAccelerated climate action needed to sharply reduce current risks to life and life-support systems
Hottest day on record. Hottest month on record. Extreme marine heatwaves. Record-low Antarctic sea-ice. While El Niño is a short-term factor in this year’s record-breaking heat, human-caused climate change is the long-term driver. And as global warming edges closer to 1.5 degrees Celsius — the aspirational upper limit set in the Paris Agreement in 2015 […]
Read MoreChemists create organic molecules in a rainbow of colors
Chains of fused carbon-containing rings have unique optoelectronic properties that make them useful as semiconductors. These chains, known as acenes, can also be tuned to emit different colors of light, which makes them good candidates for use in organic light-emitting diodes. The color of light emitted by an acene is determined by its length, but […]
Read MoreDesigning cleaner vehicles
Adi Mehrotra knew that his time at MIT wasn’t up yet when he finished his undergraduate degree in 2022. During his first four years at the Institute, he was a critical member of the Solar Electric Vehicle Team (SEVT) and eventually led the group to victory in a five-day, 900-mile race. Later, he translated the […]
Read MoreWorld’s First Off-Road Solar Car Triumphs On Sahara Journey
A group of 22 students from Eindhoven University of Technology, known as Solar Team Eindhoven, has achieved a significant milestone by successfully driving the world’s first off-road solar car, Stella Terra, on a challenging 1,000-kilometer journey from Northern Morocco to the Sahara. This solar-powered vehicle, characterized by its green exterior inspired by nature, demonstrated its […]
Read MoreMIT design would harness 40 percent of the sun’s heat to produce clean hydrogen fuel
MIT engineers aim to produce totally green, carbon-free hydrogen fuel with a new, train-like system of reactors that is driven solely by the sun. In a study appearing today in Solar Energy Journal, the engineers lay out the conceptual design for a system that can efficiently produce “solar thermochemical hydrogen.” The system harnesses the sun’s […]
Read MoreTracking US progress on the path to a decarbonized economy
Investments in new technologies and infrastucture that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions — everything from electric vehicles to heat pumps — are growing rapidly in the United States. Now, a new database enables these investments to be comprehensively monitored in real-time, thereby helping to assess the efficacy of policies designed to spur clean investments and […]
Read MoreAiper Surfer S1: Cordless Pool Skimmer with Integrated Solar Panel
At IFA 2023, Aiper unveiled its Surfer S1, the company’s first-ever cordless robotic pool skimmer. One of the standout features of this innovative device is its integrated solar panel, which power the robot and make it energy efficient. Aiper claims the Surfer S1 is a “smart water surface cleaning robot powered by a solar panel […]
Read MoreAiper Surfer S1: Cordless Pool Skimmer with Integrated Solar Panel
At IFA 2023, Aiper unveiled its Surfer S1, the company’s first-ever cordless robotic pool skimmer. One of the standout features of this innovative device is its integrated solar panel, which power the robot and make it energy efficient. Aiper claims the Surfer S1 is a “smart water surface cleaning robot powered by a solar panel […]
Read MoreAlumnus’ thermal battery helps industry eliminate fossil fuels
The explosion of renewable energy projects around the globe is leading to a saturation problem. As more renewable power contributes to the grid, the value of electricity is plummeting during the times of day when wind and solar hit peak productivity. The problem is limiting renewable energy investments in some of the sunniest and windiest […]
Read MoreTo improve solar and other clean energy tech, look beyond hardware
To continue reducing the costs of solar energy and other clean energy technologies, scientists and engineers will likely need to focus, at least in part, on improving technology features that are not based on hardware, according to MIT researchers. They describe this finding and the mechanisms behind it today in Nature Energy. While the cost of […]
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