Energy

At ARPA-E, energy meets innovation

The ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit is a showcase for startups and research organizations that have made advances in the path to cleaner energy. Speakers include Bill Gates, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, and former President Bill Clinton.

Five things we learned at the ARPA-E Summit Scientific research and entrepreneurship in clean energy is alive and well at the ARPA-E Summit. (Posted in Cutting Edge by Martin LaMonica) February 29, 2012 7:05 AM PT

Bill Gates: U.S. energy research underfunded Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates laments the state of funding for energy research and development in the … Read more

Gates on energy: IT revolution has warped our minds

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.--Even with the exciting work being done on energy at countless labs and startups, Bill Gates isn't counting on a repeat of what happened with info tech.

Speaking at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit here today, Gates argued that the amount of government funding for energy research and development should be doubled to speed the pace of innovation.

Even with a massive increase in research and other policy mechanisms, such as a tax on carbon emissions, Gates said energy moves slowly just by its nature. Unlike IT, the energy industry is capital-intensive and heavily regulated, and … Read more

Steven Chu puts clean energy on faster learning curve

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.-- Steven Chu is on the hunt for technology breakthroughs that will make renewable energy affordable and thus improve the long-term economic health of the U.S.

During a keynote talk at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit here today, the Department of Energy secretary used the history of aviation and automobiles to demonstrate how innovations in science, often funded by government, have changed how we live and brought prosperity to the U.S.

Looking ahead, he said rapid advances in renewable energy and storage mean that electricity can be delivered without transmission lines in remote areas of … Read more

Tobacco farms--a vehicle for growing fuel?

What if tobacco could grow fuel in its leaves?

As far-fetched as that sounds, a group of scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab is testing the limits of genetic engineering to make the widely grown tobacco plant a carrier for hydrocarbons.

Scientists will be at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit this week to discuss the project, which received a $4.8 million grant over three years. The grant fits ARPA-E's mission of funding research that is high-risk but with a potential for a breakthrough.

Biofuels or biochemicals are typically made by growing plants and then converting that biomass into … Read more

Startup Envia battery promises to slash EV costs

With the auto industry pining for a battery breakthrough to lower electric vehicle costs, Envia Systems has some interesting performance data to share.

The five-year-old company today is expected to disclose technical details of its batteries which executives say could lead to cutting EV battery pack prices in half in three or four years. Envia Systems' batteries are being evaluated by a number of automakers, including its largest investor General Motors, according to CEO Atul Kapadia.

The lithium ion batteries in cars, such as the Chevy Volt or Nissan Leaf, provide ample power to accelerate a car, but the cost … Read more

IBM snaps an image of electric charge on the move

IBM researchers have created a subatomic snapshot of the electric charge within a molecule, an advance that could have applications in ever-smaller transistors or in solar power.

Scientists from IBM Research in Zurich, Switzerland, published a paper in Nature Nanotechnology today that describes a technique for measuring how electrons move when forming molecular bonds. This method allows them to create images of how the electric charge is distributed within molecules, giving science a better picture of chemistry at the molecular level, said Fabian Mohn, who coauthored the paper.

Having a picture of the electric charge distribution could be useful tool … Read more

Floating solar concentrator keeps its cool

An engineering company in Italy has thought of a way to boost solar panels' production with concentrators while not taking up valuable land: put them on rafts.

Scienza Industria Tecnologia (SIT) this week detailed the solar generating system called Floating Tracking Cooling Concentrator, which is being tested in Italy and South Korea. The research company's hope is that these solar concentrators will be used on small lakes or artificial reservoirs on farms and quarries.

There are already solar arrays put on ponds, including a winery in California. But SIT is trying to use the water as an advantage for … Read more

Power Felt could one day run iPod from body heat

Materials scientists have spun together carbon nanotubes into a fabric that promises a versatile and inexpensive way to transform heat into usable electricity.

Researchers at Wake Forest's Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials announced yesterday the creation of a thermoelectric device they say could open up new energy-harvesting applications.

The university is seeking to find investors to commercialize the technology, called Power Felt. If successfully developed further, it has the potential to use body heat from clothing to power an iPod or cell phone or power medical monitoring equipment from a wound wrap. Its makers also hope Power Felt … Read more

Tesla downplays danger of 'bricked' battery

If you've invested over $100,000 into a Tesla Roadster, you might want to sign up for an alert to avoid your battery dying.

Electric-car blogs have been buzzing today over a report about a potential problem with Tesla Motors' electric cars that could turn an expensive battery pack into a "brick."

The Understatement blog said that five Roadster owners had their battery charges go to zero and that the only recourse was to replace the $40,000 battery pack. In the one case cited, the batteries died after six weeks of being idle and in another … Read more