In the COCOBIN project, coordinated by the University of Oulu, coating materials are being developed from suberin, a natural compound found, for example, in birch bark. In plants, suberin acts as a protective layer and prevents the loss of water. Up to 1,500 meters of a bio-based coating material prototype have been produced at semi-pilot scale.

The transition to electric vehicles in Brazil and Mexico has been driven by domestic politics and global pressures, a new study says. Decisions have been made in both countries shaped by factors beyond emissions, costs or efficiency.

The elevator display reads "433", the number of meters below ground. The doors slide open, revealing the entrance to what is expected to be the world's first permanent repository for radioactive spent nuclear fuel.

Most smartphones, portable computers and other devices on the market today are powered by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. While these rechargeable batteries perform remarkably well, they are based on lithium, which is not as abundant as other materials and is not evenly distributed across different countries worldwide.

Battery electrolytes aren't just one chemical, but a complex mixture of salts, solvents, and additives interacting and reacting with each other. Artificial intelligence has made great headway in helping select ideal materials to go into that chemical soup. But a team from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) is using AI to generate the entire formulation, balancing the complicated tradeoffs and interactions that go into the electrolytes that make batteries possible.

Modern power systems are rapidly evolving into highly digitized smart grids, increasing their complexity at an unprecedented pace. Renewables, batteries, electric vehicles, power electronics, sensors and real-time control systems are all expanding rapidly, and this is making electricity grids significantly harder to simulate, optimize, secure and operate.

Repurposing old oil and gas wells for geothermal power could significantly reduce environmental harm and unlock cleaner energy from existing infrastructure, but new research shows the approach will need targeted support to become economically viable.

The U.S. may not have enough water to support its lithium ambitions, a new Northwestern University study has found. An essential ingredient for electric vehicle (EV) batteries and other clean energy technologies, lithium is largely mined in Australia and Chile and then processed and refined in China. In recent years, however, the U.S. has pushed to develop its own lithium industry to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.

The growing demand for sustainable and energy-efficient technologies has increased interest in smart materials that can perform more than one function at the same time. In his doctoral dissertation, MSc Sachin Kochrekar developed materials that can both change color and store electrical energy. In the future, this technology could be used, for example, in energy-storing, self-tinting smart windows.

No matter how you look at it, Norway's future electricity needs will grow. At the same time, the planet is warming at an unprecedented rate. One important way to help halt this trend is electrification, powered by renewable energy. But renewable energy isn't without its costs. Hydropower plants, wind farms, solar installations and even transmission lines all share one common need: land.