Energy

Jane Porter writes for Fortune about WiTricity, an MIT spinout focused on the development of wireless power-transfer technology. By using vibrational frequencies, electricity can be transferred over distances of up to four feet.

“A new technology creates steam by harnessing solar energy, using a relatively cheap sponge-like material, and it does it with greater efficiency that ever previously achieved,” writes Douglas Main in a piece for Popular Science about a new solar sponge created by MIT scientists. 

Kristine Wong reports for Takepart, a division of Participant Media, that "MIT scientists have invented a simple but ingenious device" to generate steam. Gang Chen, who heads MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering, explains what makes it work: "First, it’s black in color, so it absorbs the light very effectively. Secondly, it’s porous to allow water to come in. Third, it’s insulating, so it absorbs sunlight and turns it into heat."

Writing for DNews, Tracy Staedter highlights a new spongelike structure developed by MIT's Gang Chen and Hadi Ghasemi to turn sunlight into steam. "The advance could one day lead to an efficient, inexpensive and emission-free way for creating steam that could be used to not only generate steam for energy but also for desalination and sterilization," reports Staedter.

Reporting for Science Nation, Miles O’Brien examines new work from Professor Richard Schrock to develop cleaner, cheaper diesel fuel. With his colleagues, Schrock is developing new catalysts that work together to turn carbon sourced material into high-grade diesel fuel. 

Wired reporter Katie Collins writes about how a team of MIT scientists has discovered that the electricity produced by bouncing water droplets could be used to charge smart phones. 

“Instead of trying to balance output at the panel level, the students looked to balance at the individual cell level,” writes Sami Grover of The Huffington Post about a team of MIT students who developed an integrated chip to solve the problem caused by shade on solar panels. “The result was both better performance and considerably lower cost.”

"Now researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Michigan have devised a way in which graphene can be grown directly onto an insulator like glass or silicon,” writes Dexter Johnson of IEEE Spectrum. The method could be used to manufacture interactive screens, said Professor A. John Hart.

Writing for Scientific American, Melissa Lott reports on how a team from MIT has developed an integrated circuit design that doubles the capacity of existing solar arrays.  

In an article for Forbes, Chip Register writes about innovative technologies that could revolutionize energy production, highlighting developments from Professors Donald Sadoway and Alexander Slocum. 

Writing for Forbes, Neil Kane writes about new technology developed by MIT researchers that allows for solar energy to be captured when the sun is shining and stored for later use.

The Economist reports on how MIT researchers have designed a new plan for floating nuclear reactors that would be moored offshore. Moving nuclear reactors offshore would have both economic and safety benefits, The Economist explains. 

“The floating plant design is very much setup like an offshore oil rig in that it has sections going deep underwater,” writes Liat Clark of Wired on research by Professor Jacopo Buongiorno that suggests building offshore nuclear power plants.

Sean Buckley of Engadget reports on a new design concept proposed by Professor Jacopo Buongiorno that calls for the construction of floating nuclear power plants to be placed several miles off shore. These facilities, anchored in deep water, would be virtually immune to natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes.

Atlantic reporter Todd Woody writes about how MIT researchers have developed a way to store solar energy in molecules. The energy inside the molecules can be stored forever and endlessly re-used so that solar power can be accessed even when the sun is not shining, Woody explains.