A report from the MIT Energy Initiative recommends that U.S. policymakers change their approach to solar technology, reports Erik Sherman for CBS News. “Unless a substantial price is put on carbon dioxide emissions, expanding solar output to levels needed to fight climate change will be cost prohibitive without major change in government policy,” Sherman writes.
Professor Richard Schmalensee speaks with Ben Johnson of Marketplace about a new report by the MIT Energy Initiative on the state of solar technology. “Federal R&D policy needs to look toward transformative new technologies not just marginal improvements on the stuff we have today,” says Schmalensee.
A new MITEI report outlines actions the U.S. government could take to facilitate large-scale deployment of solar energy, reports Yeganeh Torbati for Reuters. "Ideally ... rather than subsidize investment, we would subsidize production," says Francis O’Sullivan, an author of the report.
Prof. Emeritus Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Energy Secretary, speaks with Marco Werman of PRI about his work on the Iran nuclear deal. Moniz explains that he and his Iranian counterpart in negotiations, an MIT alumnus, applied “the MIT problem solving approach…to march through quite a few issues.”
Mark Shanahan writes for The Boston Globe that the organizers of HUBweek, an innovation-themed festival designed to showcase Boston’s leadership in education, medicine, technology and the arts, gathered at a launch party last week. As part of HUBweek, MIT will host “Solve,” an event designed to bring together leaders in a variety of areas to tackle global challenges.
By combining two kinds of photovoltaic material, MIT researchers have developed a more effective solar cell, reports Umair Irfan for Scientific American. Irfan explains that combining the two materials, “generates a higher voltage than either of the layers could do by themselves.”
Martin LaMonica writes for The Boston Globe about how MIT researchers are creating a commercial prototype of a carbon capture device. Graduate student Aly Eltayeb explains that carbon capture could be useful in cutting carbon emissions, “especially if you can do something with that CO2 and stop treating it as a waste — and treat it as a valuable product.”
New research by Professor Daniel Rothman and postdoctoral associate Yossi Cohen has raised questions about the feasibility of carbon capture, reports Ken Silverstein for Forbes. The researchers found that “only a ‘small fraction’ of the carbon dioxide solidifies and turns into rock after it is injected 7,000 feet below the earth’s surface,” explains Silverstein.
MIT researchers have found that carbon sequestration may not be as effective at storing greenhouse gas emissions as originally thought, reports Christopher Martin for Bloomberg News. The researchers found that “much of the carbon dioxide will remain in its gaseous state, and may eventually escape into the atmosphere.”
Professors Joel Schindall and John Kassakian are developing technology designed to replace the traditional battery with a new device that relies on ultracapacitors, reports Erik Sherman for CBS News. Ultracapacitors “can store large amounts of electricity and release them in single bursts,” Sherman explains.
Jon Chesto writes for The Boston Globe about a new battery technology from Professor Don Sadoway’s company, Ambri, that allows for more efficient grid-level power storage: “The goal is to allow electric utilities or big industrial plants to store power so it can be released at times of high usage.”
According to The Economist, a battery design “being developed by Donald Sadoway of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology would use two sorts of liquid metal, separated by a liquid electrolyte.” Using metals of varying densities, Sadoway’s design would allow the substances to float as separate layers in a container.
Professor Jeremy England appears on WGBH television’s Greater Boston to discuss his work examining the origins of life. England explains his theory that, from the perspective of physics, energy played a role in the formation of life.
Curt Nickisch of WBUR reports that MIT, Harvard, MGH and The Boston Globe are joining forces for HUBweek, a weeklong festival focused on innovation to be held in the fall of 2015. “MIT plans to host a huge gathering called SOLVE to tackle with some of the world’s most perplexing problems,” reports Nickisch.
Matt Murphy writes for WBUR about Solve, an event MIT will host next fall as part of the HUBweek innovation festival. The event will focus on “research and problem-solving exercises” aimed at four areas: education, health care, manufacturing, and environmental sustainability and energy.