Energy

Scientists Turn Packing Peanuts Into Battery Components

Chemical engineers at Purdue University have found a surprising way to repurpose the foam pieces

Electric vehicles, such as the ones sold by Tesla, could help to reduce city temperatures.

Electric Cars Can Make Cities Cooler

It's not just the flash and style, either—electric engines emit less heat than gas ones and could combat the urban heat island effect

Bust some ghosts in this board game based on the 1984 classic.

A Ghostbusters Board Game, Lights That Respond to Music and Other Wild Ideas That Just Got Funded

Also, a sensor that uses thermal technology to track the amount of gas left in a tank

Solar Panels in the Screens of Smartphones Could Power the Devices

Kyocera unveils a prototype for a phone with a layer of transparent crystals in its screen that helps to charge it both indoors and outside

One of two newly installed wind turbines at the Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower Gets a Green Upgrade

The landmark now has two wind turbines above its second level

This Dutch Wind Wheel Is Part Green Tech Showcase, Part Architectural Attraction

A giant structure proposed in Rotterdam puts cutting-edge energy tech inside a rotating observation wheel, with room for a hotel and apartments

Solar Power Provides About As Many Jobs As the Coal Industry in the U.S.

Estimates might even give solar and edge in the jobs department, but is that a good thing?

A startup called Roost is developing a WiFi-enabled battery that listens for an alarm and sends a message to your phone when your smoke detector blares.

This Smart Battery Sends a Message to Your Phone When Your Smoke Detector Sounds

It also alerts you weeks in advance of dying—sparing you from that annoying chirp

Gogoro is releasing an electric Smartscooter, a lithium-ion battery pack and a charging station at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas.

Will Electric Scooters Take Over the World’s Mega Cities?

A well-funded startup called Gogoro unveils its e-scooter and a plan to install ATM-like battery stations in urban areas

(Clockwise from top left) Katrin Macmillan, Ashutosh Saxena, Richard Lunt and Horace Luke are hard at work on exciting new projects.

Eight Innovators to Watch in 2015

From food science and robotics to solar tech and sustainable architecture, these folks are poised to do big things

Tesla's New Car Can Go From Boston to Baltimore on a Single Charge

One charge can carry the Tesla Roadster up to 400 miles

Live Happier (And More Energy Efficiently) by Sleeping More And Inviting Your Friends Over

Increasing your well being in the new year can also be good for the planet

Just add water. The Zephyr has an electrolyzer on board that uses nine liters of water to produce hydrogen to inflate.

A Photovoltaic Balloon Could Bring Electricity to Disaster Zones

Moored to a base with batteries, the Zephyr collects enough solar energy to power 15 relief tents and a telecommunications network

NASA is using nighttime pictures of Earth to track energy use during cultural holidays.

NASA Can See Your Holiday Lights From Space

Scientists can use holiday lights during Christmas and Rammadan as a proxy for overall energy use in urban areas

For years now, the U.S. Navy has been looking for a way to fuel fighter jets aboard aircraft carriers out in the open ocean without having to rely on refueling ships.

Fuel from Seawater? What's the Catch?

Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory recently flew a model plane using a liquid hydrocarbon fuel they sourced from the ocean

Call it eco-friendly synergy: Scientists have found a cheaper, greener way to make biodegradable plastic from a common waste product of biodiesel production. (Photo: Bo Cheng / ETH Zurich)

Swiss Researchers Create Eco-Friendly Plastic From Biofuel Waste

A new method for making biodegradable plastic could mean more free farmland for food

This airport shuttle can make a round-trip run on the waste produced by a single person in one year.

This Commuter Bus Runs On Poop

A U.K.-based biogas plant has developed a 40-seater than runs on converted sewage and food waste

One hour of walk time with a pair of EnSoles, designed by Hahna Alexander (inset), provides 2.5 hours of talk time on a smartphone.

Generating Power One Step At a Time

The Pittsburgh-based startup SolePower is developing an insole that collects kinetic energy as you walk to power your mobile phone

A natural gas storage tank at the Cenex oil refinery in Montana.

The Fracking Boom Could Burn Out Decades Before It's Supposed To

Overenthusiastic shale gas estimates may be setting the world up for a fracking crash

A full-size Boeing 757 tail equipped with sweeping jets was tested in a wind tunnel at the Ames Research Center.

Designing a Smaller, Lighter Airplane Tail

With engineers from Caltech, Boeing and NASA, Israel Wygnanski is ushering in a new era of fuel-efficient airplane design

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