Google says it has wiped out its carbon footprint

Having become carbon-neutral in 2007, the company claims it has now offset its entire carbon legacy

All hands on deck: the shipping industry’s mission to become more sustainable

Getting the shipping industry to reduce its environmental impact presents a huge challenge. Fortunately, a number of collaborative initiatives have been launched in the hope of creating a greener future

The UAE unveils its first floating solar power plant

The island of Nurai in Abu Dhabi has recently installed a floating solar power plant that is set to have a capacity of 80 kilowatts

False climate solutions are benefitting no one

Governments within the developed world must re-evaluate their current economic systems in order to drastically cut carbon emissions at the source

Search for new battery continues

Researchers are pioneering new ways of storing energy in batteries for longer, while keeping them safer

How to create safer and longer-lasting batteries that can power technology, from personal gadgets to industrial sized machinery has been a continuous area of research for many years. Engineers believe that reducing the price and improving efficiency could lead to a world reliant solely on renewable energy.

According to recent studies, researchers are close to making some breakthroughs. An article in this week’s Economist highlights The Joint Centre for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), a collaboration between universities and laboratories from across the US, which has received a $120m grant from the US Department of Energy. They have developed a white powder that they hope will act as an electrolyte and create much greater energy storage.

Elsewhere, scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed an electrolyte that could allow lithium-ion batteries to store up to ten times more energy than existing batteries. The nanostructured solid electrolyte could create batteries which are believed to be much safer than flammable liquid electrolytes, as found in Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner planes which caught fire recently.

The ORNLK’s Chengdu Liang, told the Journal of American Chemical Society: “To make a safer, lightweight battery, we need a design at the beginning to have safety in mind. WE started with a conventional material that is highly stable in a battery system – in particular one that is compatible with a lithium metal anode.”

Both sets of research are in the early stages of development, but if serious breakthroughs can be made then we could be set to far greater energy efficiency in all areas of life, and without the problems that have hurt companies like Boeing.

Supplements