Energy Technologies
Air conditioning by evaporation
August 15, 2012 7:55 am | Award WinnersDEVAP: Desiccant-Enhanced Evaporative Air-Conditioning, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, AIL Research, and Synapse Product Development LLC, uses an advanced indirect evaporative cooling method to greatly increase its effectiveness in all types of climates.
Flexible Fresnel lens concentrates light
August 15, 2012 7:20 am | Award WinnersUsing a flexible Fresnel lens technology originally developed to power spacecraft, the SolarVolt module from NASA Glenn Research Center and Entech Solar Inc. offers high-efficiency concentrating photovoltaics for grid-scale deployment on Earth.
High-performance tokamak exhaust
August 15, 2012 7:08 am | Award WinnersRecent work at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Center for Research in Plasma Physics, and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has produced the Snowflake Divertor for Nuclear Fusion Reactors, a technology that solves the exhaust power load problem on tokamak fusion reactors.
Less platinum, better fuel cells
August 15, 2012 6:55 am | Award WinnersOxygen reduction is a performance-limiting process in a fuel cell, prompting Brookhaven National Laboratory and N.E. Chemcat Corp. to design Platinum Monolayer Electrocatalysts for Fuel Cell Cathodes that greatly speed up this process.
A new angle on solar
August 15, 2012 6:48 am | Award WinnersSideLighter Optical microstructure-based concentrator photovoltaic technology from the Industrial Technology Research Institute helps reduce solar panel cost by reducing the size of the panel and increasing its efficiency.
Most efficient PV to date
August 15, 2012 6:26 am | Award WinnersWith the development the SJ3 Solar Cell, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Solar Junction have produced an efficient multijunction concentrator solar cell that has achieved a maximum solar conversion of 43.5%.
Photovoltaics that fit
August 15, 2012 6:17 am | Award WinnersMicrosystems Enabled Photovoltaics (MEPV) from Sandia National Laboratories represent a move toward miniaturized crystalline silicon and crystalline gallium-arsenide (GaAs) solar cells that can fit within the intricate shapes and contours of various objects.
Layered coating, cool roof
August 15, 2012 6:08 am | Award WinnersLandmark Solaris Platinum solar reflective roofing shingles from CertainTeed Roofing are produced with a new coating process that takes advantage of more of the solar spectrum to produce a solar reflectance of 40%.
High-energy cathode material
August 15, 2012 5:59 am | Award WinnersThe High-Energy Concentration-Gradient Cathode Material for Plug-in Hybrids and All-Electric Vehicles, developed by Argonne National Laboratory, Hanyang University, and ECOPRO Co. Ltd., provides higher energy and longer life than any other currently manufactured lithium-ion cathode technology.
Heat pump saves with gas
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersTypical heat pumps are powered from the electrical grid, but the NextAire Packaged Gas Heat Pump from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and partners uses natural gas as its primary fuel, allowing users to avoid high kilowatt demands and time-of-use rates.
Rocks at heart of renewable methane
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersArgonne National Laboratory and Eurisko Scientific LLC have introduced an Enhanced Renewable Methane Production System for anaerobic digesters that improves methane quality and sequesters carbon dioxide, improving on efficiencies of current technologies.
Silicon ink boosts solar efficiency
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersWith Innovalight Silicon Ink for High-Efficiency Solar Cells, scientists at Innovalight Inc. and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have invented a liquid form of silicon that can be added to solar cells to markedly increase conversion efficiency.
Long-awaited battery innovation
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersLead-acid batteries are still the first choice for starting engines. A123 Systems Inc. hopes to a replace this old technology with its lighter, longer-lasting lithium-ion-based Nanophosphate Engine Start Battery.
Non-flow sets fuel cell free
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersThe Non-Flow-Through Fuel Cell Power System is a light-weight, gravity-independent, hydrogen-oxygen non-flow-through fuel cell power system that does not require atmospheric oxygen for reactions or the presence of air for removing wastewater.
Price is right for better nuclear fuel
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersA new chemical thorium extraction process from Los Alamos National Laboratory circumvents hazardous chemicals and high prices normally associated with the production of this highly efficient nuclear fuel.
The true nature of batteries
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersA battery test invention from Idaho National Laboratory called the Impedance Measurement Box (IMB) provides two key but previously ignored metrics regarding battery performance: pulse resistance and power capability.
Fluid additive prevents oil-well blowouts
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersWhen added to spacer drilling fluid in the casings of deepwater oil wells, the TAPSS: Trapped Annular Pressure Shrinking Spacer product causes the fluids underground to shrink, counteracting the potentially devastating effects of thermal expansion.
Autonomous vehicles, fossil-fuel free
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersThe Cryo-Force Power-Cell System is an integrated, closed-loop liquid oxygen-liquid hydrogen fuel cell system that transitions unmanned underwater vehicles away from large-battery and fossil fuel technologies.
Inverter reverses unreliability of PV
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersIn an effort to improve power intermittancy issues in the photovoltaic sector, Princeton Power Systems Inc. has developed a device, the Demand Response Inverter (DRI), that is intended to improve throughput for solar-based renewable energy solutions.
Photons serve double duty
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersThe Optical Cavity Furnace uses light enclosed within a highly reflective, ceramic-lined chamber to achieve a level of temperature uniformity far beyond what is available with a conventional furnace.
Coating keeps fuel cells vital
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersExperts from the National Energy Technology Laboratory have developed a manganese-cobalt (Mn-Co) spinel coating specifically tailored for solid oxide fuel cell interconnects that prevent chromium poisoning of the cathode.
Parallel acquisition speeds PV testing
August 14, 2011 8:00 pm | Award WinnersThe Flash Quantum Efficiency System for Solar Cells uses a parallel approach to acquire quantum efficiency (QE) spectrum plots at a rate of one second per cell, more than 1,000 times faster than conventional QE systems.
Big power from micro energy harvester
August 12, 2010 12:04 pm | Award WinnersLithium-ion batteries and solar cells are by now familiar technologies. But Sandia National Laboratories and partners have combined the technologies into the Micro Power Source, a rechargeable ultra-small power source.
Prefab solar collector achieves 25% efficiency
August 12, 2010 11:27 am | Award WinnersThe Amonix 7700 Solar Power Generator, developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Amonix Inc. can supply 40% more energy than conventional fixed PV panels through the use of high-efficiency solar cells, concentrator Fresnel lenses, and smart controller and tracker technology.
Temporary storage for clean power
August 12, 2010 11:18 am | Award WinnersXtreme Power, Kyle, Texas, has developed the Dynamic Power Resource, a comprehensive, cost-effective, and portable solution for utilities that need short-term power.
