Building a Better Battery

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.11/battery.html

By John Hockenberry
They run out of juice – or burst into flames – at exactly the wrong time. Can't anyone make a battery that doesn't suck?
Issue 14.11 - November 2006

How Gene Silencing May Provide Cures

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17652&ch=biotech

By Katherine Bourzac

RNA interference was first discovered by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello through their work on C. elegans worms, shown above. (Credit: James King-Holmes / Science Photo Library)

Recent Nobel laureate Andrew Fire talks about the evolving understanding of RNA interference's natural roles in development and disease.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

3M's Safer, Lithium-Ion Batteries

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17653&ch=energy

By Kevin Bullis

New electrodes and electrolytes could mean higher energy and less danger from lithium-ion batteries. 

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

A Practical Fuel-Cell Power Plant

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17644&ch=energy

By David Talbot



GE's advance allows for a solid-oxide fuel cell to use coal-based fuels at costs approaching that of conventional power plants.

Monday, October 23, 2006

Printing Fuel Cells

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17626&ch=energy

By Kevin Bullis 

A new printing process could cheaply make complex fuel-cell reformers, and other microscale devices.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Safer, Higher-Capacity Batteries

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17603&ch=energy

By Kevin Bullis 

Silver-zinc battery chemistry could replace lithium ion in laptops and other electronics--if such batteries can be made cheaply enough.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Assessing GM's Fuel Cell Strategy

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17586&ch=energy

By Kevin Bullis

The automaker plans to begin rolling out a test fleet of fuel-cell cars, but some experts say it's a mistake.

Friday, October 06, 2006

Will Silicon Light Illuminate the Future?

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17588&ch=energy

By Tyler Hamilton

A startup says it can make silicon-based lighting that will compete with conventional incandescent bulbs and existing LED-based lighting. 

Friday, October 06, 2006

More Efficient Solar Cells

 http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17577&ch=energy

By Prachi Patel-Predd

A semiconductor material with three energy bands uses more sunlight, by trapping low-energy photons.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Powerful Batteries That Assemble Themselves

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17553&ch=energy

By Kevin Bullis

MIT researchers are developing low-cost manufacturing methods based on the rapid reproduction of viruses. Angela Belcher explains.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Virus-Assembled Batteries

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=16673&ch=biztech&sc=&pg=1

By Kevin Bullis

A biological template ramps up electrode performance and scales down size.

Images courtesy of Angela Belcher, MIT.Copyright Technology Review 2006

Recipe for using viruses to make an electrode:

Dip a polymer electrolyte in a solution of genetically engineered viruses.

These form a uniform coating on the electrolyte.

Dip the coated polymer into a solution of battery materials.

The viruses coat themselves with the battery material, transforming into nanowires with a regular crystal structure good for high-energy batteries.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Special Report: Facing Global Warming

http://www.technologyreview.com/special/oil/index.aspx









Readily available energy technologies could be put in use today to forestall global warming. Technology Review examines some of these technologies and argues that they require not further refinement but a considered, long-term deployment strategy.

BMW's Hydrogen Hopes

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17526&ch=energy

By David Talbot

Hydrogen may never be feasible as a fuel for vehicles, but BMW is pushing ahead anyway with an advanced hydrogen-gas combustion hybrid.

The internal combustion engine in BMW’s new hydrogen-gasoline hybrid engine can switch seamlessly between the two fuels. And control systems optimize the concentrations of hydrogen being burned, which can minimize or eliminate one of the downsides of hydrogen combustion: the formation of nitrogen oxides. While BMW hopes its new model will help drive the adoption of hydrogen in vehicles, experts are skeptical. (Credit: BMW)

Friday, September 22, 2006