The New Energy Dome: CO₂ To The Rescue!

The Energy Dome

Though combating carbon dioxide emissions is a key concern in the fight against climate change, one Italian start-up has found a way to turn CO₂ into a weapon against global warming. On Wednesday, Energy Dome launched its first CO₂ battery facility in Sardinia and entered the commercial scaling phase.

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The company has been developing an emission-free storage method that stores power generated from the sun and wind. CO₂ plays a useful role in the process as it has properties that can help to store electricity from renewable energy sources when it is converted from gas to liquid.

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This method of storing energy has never been used before. It uses pressure and heat to store CO₂ gas in a big sealed dome. When energy is fed into the system, the gas is compressed into a liquid. The heat from this compression is captured and stored. When it is time to release the energy, the stored heat is used to evaporate the liquid CO₂. The expansion of the CO₂ as it turns into gas drives a turbine that generates energy.

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Image Credit: Mignogna Andrea

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The Best 100% Solar-Powered RV: How To Live Off The Grid

The Route Del Sol vehicle

Joel Gregory Hayes is continuing his journey to prove that 100% solar-powered vehicles are feasible, despite a setback. He plans to spark conversation about climate and the future of technology with his journey.

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After extensive research, Hayes decided to work with Solarolla Electric Vehicles to convert a 2010 International EStar electric delivery truck. This truck now has 120KWHs of battery power and can be charged on solar-only power for a range of up to 200 miles.

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The 24,330W rooftop solar array can be tilted up to 45° to track the sun, using winches. The main roof of the van protects the array while driving, and the array slides out when parked. Two satellite panels on the rear of the van can be detached and maneuvered to track the sun.

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Image Credit: Route Del Sol

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Breakthrough Solar Cell Innovation Generates 1000x More Power Than Traditional Cells

Most solar cells are currently silicon based; however, their efficiency is limited.

The research team at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) has discovered that the photovoltaic effect of ferroelectric crystals can be increased by a factor of 1,000 if three different materials are arranged periodically in a lattice.

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By creating crystalline layers of barium titanate, strontium titanate and calcium titanate and alternately placing them on top of one another, the team was able to achieve this increase in efficiency. These findings, which could have a significant impact on solar cell technology, were published in the journal "Science Advances". Researchers are looking into new materials for solar cells, such as ferroelectrics like barium titanate.

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This mixed oxide is made of barium and titanium and is called a ferroelectric because it has spatially separated positive and negative charges. This charge separation leads to an asymmetric structure that enables electricity to be generated from light. Ferroelectric crystals don't require a PN junction to create the photovoltaic effect, so it's much easier to produce solar panels with them.

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