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Category: sustainability – Page 7

Prototype sodium-air fuel cell could power electric planes and trains

Batteries are nearing their limits in terms of how much power they can store for a given weight. That’s a serious obstacle for energy innovation and the search for new ways to power airplanes, trains, and ships. Now, researchers at MIT and elsewhere have come up with a solution that could help electrify these transportation systems.

Instead of a battery, the new concept is a kind of fuel cell which is similar to a battery but can be quickly refueled rather than recharged. In this case, the fuel is liquid sodium metal, an inexpensive and widely available commodity.

The other side of the cell is just ordinary air, which serves as a source of oxygen atoms. In between, a layer of solid ceramic material serves as the electrolyte, allowing sodium ions to pass freely through, and a porous air-facing electrode helps the sodium to chemically react with oxygen and produce electricity.

Geopolymer technology turns recycled glass and construction waste into a durable and green construction material

With global population growth accelerating urban expansion, construction activity has reached unprecedented levels—placing immense pressure on both natural resources as well as the environment. A cornerstone of modern-day infrastructure, Ordinary Portland Cement remains the most effective and commonly used soil solidifier despite contributing substantially to global carbon emissions.

At the same time, continues to accumulate in landfills. Addressing both the environmental burden of cement use and the inefficiencies of industrial waste disposal has become an urgent priority.

To tackle these interconnected challenges, scientists from Japan, led by Professor Shinya Inazumi, from the College of Engineering, Shibaura Institute of Technology (SIT), Japan, present a sustainable alternative: a high-performance geopolymer-based soil solidifier developed from Siding Cut Powder (SCP), a construction waste byproduct, and earth silica (ES), sourced from recycled glass.

Self-stirring nanoreactors enhance reaction efficiency for chemical synthesis

Recent technological advances have opened new possibilities for the efficient and sustainable synthesis of various valuable chemicals. Some of these advances rely on nanotechnologies, systems or techniques designed to design and study materials or devices at the nanometer scale.

Nanoreactors are nanotechnologies designed to host and control within confined spaces. These small structures serve as tiny “reaction vessels” that enable the precise manipulation of the reactants, catalysts and conditions to elicit desired chemical reactions.

Researchers at Inner Mongolia University, Fudan University and Julin University in China recently developed a new paddle-like mesoporous silica nanoreactor that can stir itself when exposed to a rotating magnetic field. This nanoreactor, outlined in a paper published in Nature Nanotechnology, can mix chemicals at a , enhancing the efficiency of reactions and thus potentially enhancing the synthesis of various compounds.

Neural circuit mechanism may explain why people have different fear levels

In a study published in Neuron, a research team led by Prof. Wang Liping from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed the neural circuit underlying individual differences in visual escape habituation.

Emotional responses, such as fear behaviors, are evolutionarily conserved mechanisms that enable organisms to detect and avoid danger, ensuring survival. Since Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species” (1859) proposed that individual differences drive natural selection, understanding behavioral adaptation has become essential for unraveling biodiversity and survival strategies.

Repeated exposure to predators can elicit divergent coping strategies—habituation or sensitization—that are dependent on , internal physiological states, and prior experiences. However, the neural circuits underlying individual variability in the regulation of internal states and habituation to repeated threats remain poorly understood.

Breakthrough could pave the way for green flying that soaks up CO2

A groundbreaking fuel cell could be the key to unlocking electric planes, according to a new study.

The researchers suggest that these devices could hold three times as much energy per kg compared to today’s top-performing EV batteries, providing a lightweight solution for powering not just planes, but lorries and ships too.

Sierra Space Awarded Lunar Logistics Contract by NASA

Notably in April, Sierra Space announced the completion of successful hypervelocity impact trials conducted at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to optimize the structural integrity of Sierra Space’s LIFE habitat space station technology. This included the use of NASA’s .50 caliber two-stage light gas gun to replicate micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) impacts to LIFE’s outer shield, to prepare the space station of use in orbit.

About Sierra Space.

Sierra Space is a leading commercial space company and emerging defense tech prime that is building an end-to-end business and technology platform in space to benefit and protect life on Earth. With more than 30 years and 500 missions of space flight heritage, the company is reinventing both space transportation with Dream Chaser®, the world’s only commercial spaceplane, and the future of space destinations with the company’s expandable space station technology. Using commercial business models, the company is also delivering orbital services to commercial, DoD and national security organizations, expanding production capacity to meet the needs of constellation programs. In addition, Sierra Space builds a host of systems and subsystems across solar power, mechanics and motion control, environmental control, life support, propulsion and thermal control, offering myriad space-as-a-service solutions for the new space economy.

Crystal-modifying agent piracetam provides scalable strategy for high-efficiency all-perovskite tandem solar cells

All-perovskite tandem solar cells (TSCs) are a class of solar cells comprised of two or more sub-cells that absorb light with different wavelengths, all of which are made of perovskites (i.e., materials with a characteristic crystal structure known to efficiently absorb light). These solar cells have been found to be highly promising energy solutions, as they could convert sunlight into electricity more efficiently than existing silicon-based solar cells.

Despite their potential, most all-perovskite TSCs developed to date only perform well when they are small and their performance rapidly declines as their size increases. This has ultimately prevented them from being manufactured and deployed on a large-scale.

Researchers at Wuhan University and other institutes in China recently introduced a new strategy for enhancing the performance of all-perovskite TSCs irrespective of their size, which could in turn contribute to their future commercialization. Their proposed approach for fabricating these cells, outlined in a paper published in Nature Nanotechnology, entails the use of piracetam, a chemical additive that can help to control the initial phase of crystal formation (i.e., nucleation) in wide-bandgap perovskites.

Exploring the seas with self-powered jellyfish cyborgs

Unlike fish, jellyfish lack bones and possess a sole rudimentary nerve net, yet they can travel considerable distances with minimal energy expenditure. A jellyfish’s seemingly effortless glide through the water is thanks to a ring of muscle within its soft belly, which creates a simple jet that propels it forward. Scientists refer to this intrinsic capability as “embodied intelligence,” which suggests that the organism’s physical structure plays a role in problem-solving.

When harnessed, this locomotion provides an efficient means to monitor , track , and observe climate trends. “Jellyfish cyborgs” require minimal power and operate without engines, limiting the environmental impact associated with current methods of studying the vast expanse of the ocean.

In a new study, a research team, led by Dai Owaki, an associate professor in the Department of Robotics at Tohoku University’s Graduate School of Engineering, successfully modulated the swimming behavior of using gentle electric pulses. Moreover, they utilized a lightweight artificial intelligence (AI) model to predict the swimming speed of each jellyfish.

Rooftop solar and EV batteries could supply 85% of Japan’s electricity needs

A new study led by Tohoku University has revealed that rooftop solar panels, when combined with electric vehicles (EVs) as batteries, could supply 85% of Japan’s electricity demand and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 87%. The research provides a promising pathway for Japan’s local governments to achieve carbon neutrality by taking advantage of existing infrastructure—rooftops and vehicles—rather than relying solely on large-scale energy systems.