New Solar Cell Efficiency From Old Blu-Ray Discs
A team from Northwestern University has figured out how Harrison Ford can improve your solar cell efficiency and lower your manufacturing costs, too.
Northwestern University
Carbon Nanotube Solar Cells Get Boost — Efficiency Doubled, Up To Over 3%
Carbon nanotube solar cells have long been viewed as being a photovoltaic technology that possesses considerable potential for wide-scale commercial use — thanks to their very light, flexible, and relatively cheap nature. And now, thanks to new research from the McCormick School of Engineering, that potential is much closer to … [continued]
Perovskites: The Future of PV?
By Sam Stranks A new material has entered the emerging low-cost photovoltaics arena and is threatening to blow much of the existing competition away. Power conversion efficiencies (how efficiently incident sunlight is converted to electrical power) in perovskite-based solar cells have increased from a starting point of 3.8% in 2009 to a staggering … [continued]
New Plastic Solar Cell Design Promises Bright Future
With the world’s population is growing so quickly, how will we all be supplied with electricity sustainably? Reserves of all the major fossil fuels are dwindling more and more rapidly due to demand increases. As these supplies diminish, they become impractically expensive for more and more people. Plus, there is … [continued]
Moving To The Cloud Could Save 23 Billion Kilowatt-hours Of Electricity
A study conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Northwestern University and funded by Google has found that moving common software applications used by US workers to the cloud could save 23 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, approximately enough energy to power all the homes, businesses, and industry of Los Angeles … [continued]
Turning Gold ‘Green’ — Non-Toxic Method For Mining Gold Developed
The gold-mining industry is one of the most environmentally destructive industries in the world. While there are a variety of reasons for this, one of the most prominent is the wide-scale use of cyanide as a means to extract gold from crude sources. But now, new research from Northwestern University … [continued]
Graphene Silicon Nanoplatelets Increase Lithium-Ion Battery Capacity 4 Fold
This article first appeared on the Hephaestus Project – Energy blog. By David Fuchs Six months ago, Northwestern University professor Harold Kung theorized that, using a graphene–silicon mixture, there was a way to extend a new lithium-ion battery’s charge by 10 times and increase its lifespan by a factor of 10. The technology theorized by Harold … [continued]
Organic Solar Cells Receiving Big Boost In Efficiency Thanks To ‘Evolution-Inspired’ Algorithm
In a potentially breakthrough discovery, researchers at Northwestern University have designed a new type of organic solar cell that will very likely lead to much higher efficiency and cheaper solar power. The new cell design is based around a new geometrical pattern to be used in the ‘scattering layer’ of … [continued]
Computing Efficiency Could Increase by 1 Million
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new logic circuit family that takes advantage of the magnetic properties associated with electron spin, and could, within the next decade, result in a computer 1 million times more power efficient than those currently being sold on the market today. Modern-day computers … [continued]
New Inexpensive and More Environmentally Friendly Solar Cell
Researchers from Northwestern University have devised a new design of a solar cell that minimizes the flaws in conventional solar cells — relatively high production costs, low operating efficiency and durability, and reliance upon toxic and scarce materials.
