Hydrogen Energy
Carbon 'grapevine' may store hydrogen
June 13, 2011 7:35 am | News | CommentsA nanoscale grapevine with hydrogen grapes could someday provide your car's preferred vintage of fuel. Rice Univ. researchers have determined that a lattice of calcium-decorated carbyne has the potential to store hydrogen at levels that easily exceed Department of Energy (DOE) goals for use as a "green" alternative fuel for vehicles.
‘Artificial leaf’ moves closer to reality
June 9, 2011 7:16 am | News | CommentsIt doesn’t look like a leaf, but the photosynthesis imitator being developed by teams at MIT would do much the same thing. Right now, it consists of a glass container full of water, with a catalyst-equipped solar cell inside on a divider between two sections. When exposed to the sun, the electrified catalysts produce two streams of bubbles — hydrogen on one side, oxygen on the other. When recombined these two elements create electricity; MIT is still working on the hydrogen side.
Aldrich Materials finds collaborator on hydrogen storage R & D
June 8, 2011 12:21 pm | News | CommentsAldrich Materials Science, a strategic technology initiative of Sigma-Aldrich Corp., today announced it has signed an agreement to collaborate on the scale-up and commercialization of next-generation boron hydride hydrogen-storage materials with Ilika, a UK-based advanced cleantech materials discovery company.
Teaching algae to make fuel
May 24, 2011 4:15 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsMany kinds of algae and cyanobacteria are capable of using energy from sunlight to split water molecules and release hydrogen, which holds promise as a clean and carbon-free fuel for the future. One reason this approach hasn’t yet been harnessed for fuel production is that under ordinary circumstances, hydrogen production takes a back seat to the production of compounds that the organisms use to support their own growth. However, a team of researchers have found a way to use bioengineered proteins to flip this preference, allowing more hydrogen to be produced.
Splitting water to create renewable energy
May 16, 2011 5:57 am | News | CommentsAn international team of scientists, led by a team at Monash Univ., has found the key to the hydrogen economy could come from a very simple mineral, commonly seen as a black stain on rocks.
Method projected to meet DOE cost targets for hydrogen fuel production
May 13, 2011 3:24 am | News | CommentsA report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy has concluded that a Univ. of Colorado Boulder method of producing hydrogen fuel from sunlight is the only approach among eight competing technologies that is projected to meet future cost targets set by the federal agency.
Collaboration puts Sandia hydrogen program on global track
May 5, 2011 9:10 am | News | CommentsA new hydrogen research initiative based in Japan will leverage Department of Energy (DOE)-funded hydrogen research at Sandia National Laboratories' California site and will likely become the first research effort to be rolled into a broader laboratory research umbrella aimed at increasing the laboratories’ hydrogen partnerships domestically and abroad.
Hydrogen fuel tech dispenses with platinum
May 2, 2011 7:09 am | News | CommentsResearchers in Denmark and at Stanford’s National Accelerator Lab have created a device to harvest the energy from part of the solar spectrum and have it to power the conversion of single hydrogen ions into hydrogen gas. They were able to do so without the use of expensive platinum catalysts, instead finding a way to use molybdenum sulfide in conjunction with a chemical solar cell.
Team develops portable power using hydrogen fuel pellets
March 22, 2011 5:56 am | News | CommentsPurdue Univ. researchers have collaborated with scientists at General Atomics to create safe and efficient pellets to power hydrogen fuel cells that can run an array of portable electronic devices.
Researchers make advances in rechargeable solid hydrogen fuel storage tanks
March 22, 2011 5:01 am | News | CommentsResearchers have revealed a new single-stage method for recharging the hydrogen storage compound ammonia borane. The breakthrough makes hydrogen a more attractive fuel for vehicles and other transportation modes.
Mimicking photosynthesis: The key to cheap hydrogen for fuel?
February 23, 2011 4:44 am | News | CommentsThe production of inexpensive hydrogen for automotive or jet fuel may be possible by mimicking photosynthesis, according to a Penn State materials chemist, but a number of problems need to be solved first.
Hydrogen cartridges fuel laptops and phones
February 18, 2011 3:01 am | News | CommentsHow does a Michigan State Univ. scientist fuel his enthusiasm for chemistry after 60 years? By discovering a new energy source, of course. SiGNa Chemistry Inc. unveiled its new hydrogen cartridges, which provide energy to fuel cells designed to recharge cell phones, laptops, and GPS units. The green power source is geared toward outdoor enthusiasts as well as residents of the Third World, where electricity in homes is considered a luxury.
Nanonets: A promising platform for clean energy applications
February 10, 2011 3:21 am | News | CommentsCoating a lattice of tiny wires called Nanonets with iron oxide creates an economical and efficient platform for the process of water splitting, an emerging clean fuel science that harvests hydrogen from water, Boston College researchers report.
Key hydrogen storage molecule unraveled
February 7, 2011 4:39 am | News | CommentsFor nearly a century, nobody knew how the little molecule that’s in the middle of many of today’s hydrogen storage and release concepts was organized. Through a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance and neutron diffraction techniques, researchers at two DOE laboratories have deciphered the deceptively simple crystal structure.
Neutron analysis confirms 'tall order' sunlight-to-hydrogen system works
February 4, 2011 3:27 am | News | CommentsResearchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a biohybrid photoconversion system—based on the interaction of photosynthetic plant proteins with synthetic polymers—that can convert visible light into hydrogen fuel.
A little disorder yields a very efficient photocatalyst
January 31, 2011 3:11 am | News | CommentsA little disorder goes a long way, especially when it comes to harnessing the sun’s energy. Scientists from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory jumbled the atomic structure of the surface layer of titanium dioxide nanocrystals, creating a catalyst that is both long lasting and more efficient than most materials in using the sun’s energy to extract hydrogen from water.
Tailoring fungi-based biofuels to meet the needs of combustion engines
January 20, 2011 8:46 am | News | CommentsEngine experts and biofuels researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are working on a project that aims to modify an endophytic fungus so that it will produce fuel-type hydrocarbons for transportation purposes.
Scientists make hydrocarbon breakthrough using gold catalyst
January 17, 2011 4:22 am | News | CommentsResearchers from the Cardiff Univ. School of Chemistry are opening up a new way of using hydrocarbon feedstocks to make a range of valuable products.
