New way to grow microwires
Researchers find simple, inexpensive method to produce silicon wires for sensors, batteries and solar cells.
Graphene electrodes for organic solar cells
Researchers identify technique that could make a new kind of solar photovoltaic panel practical.
Solar leader sees bright future
Founder of Chinese company that is world’s leading maker of silicon photovoltaic panels says the technology is close to grid parity.
Fine-tuning photosynthesis
MIT analysis shows how synthetic systems for capturing the sun’s energy could be made more efficient.
Power to the people
Entrepreneurs at MIT’s Legatum Center are trying to bring clean-energy solutions to developing countries.
Catching the sun’s heat
Storing thermal energy in chemical form has the potential to make it indefinitely storable and transportable.
Solar funnel
New antenna made of carbon nanotubes could make photovoltaic cells more efficient by concentrating solar energy.
Solar cell, heal thyself
New self-assembling photovoltaic technology can keep repairing itself to avoid any loss in performance.
Silicon can be made to melt in reverse
Material that shows melting while cooling might someday lead to applications in solar cells and other devices
Explained: Phonons
When trying to control the way heat moves through solids, it is often useful to think of it as a flow of particles.
New water-splitting catalyst found
Research by MIT’s Dan Nocera expands the list of potential electrode materials that could be used to store energy.
New solar research center inaugurated
Eni-MIT Solar Frontiers Center, funded by Italian oil company, will support research by 21 MIT faculty members
Viruses harnessed to split water
MIT team’s biologically based system taps the power of sunlight directly, with the aim of turning water into hydrogen fuel.
Personalized Energy for One (x 6 Billion)
Lecture, with professor Daniel Nocera, presented by the Knight Science Journalism Fellowship