Mine hunting bees tracked with Lidar help farmers boost crop yields
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Bees help pollinate nearly 75 percent of our crops, this new system can track their progress and predict deadly colony collapses before they happen. You might expect to hear an angry buzzing when honeybees have been disturbed. But some apiarists reckon they can also...
Collapsing bee colonies prompt researchers to build robotic bees to replace them
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF We rely on bees to pollinate nearly 75 percent of our crops, but as colonies continue to collapse researchers are looking for new alternatives to pollinate crops. Food security continues to come under the spotlight which is why we’ve recently seen research that uses...
California is replacing three coal fired power stations with battery systems
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Grid scale energy storage is now a viable economic alternative to coal fired power stations designed to top up the grid during peak demands. Grid scale energy storage is going to get a big boost after California officials, who also recently announced that Los...
Scientists produce smart windows that generate their own electricity
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The use of glass is increasing around the world and scientists are trying to find new ways to enhance its properties. Recently we saw new research that lets windows turn into mirrors at the flick of a switch, and now researchers from the Institute...
Renewable energy smashes a major installation milestone, hits 1 Trillion watts
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The rise of renewable energy is on a tear, and it’s now looking unstoppable. Global wind and solar developers took 40 years to install their first trillion watts of power generation capacity, and, as electric vehicles get ready to take off, and as renewables...
Solar panels made from cyborg bacteria promise even cheaper energy
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Cyborg bacteria could be used to replace today’s silicon solar panels with higher efficiency, lower cost panels that help accelerate the renewable energy revolution. Although most life on Earth relies upon photosynthesis as its sole source of energy, the process has a weak link...
Scientists printed a flexible battery that could revolutionise wearable computers
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Ultra thin and ultra flexible batteries made from Graphene could make new types of wearable computing platforms a reality. Researchers in the UK who were motivated by the problem of how to power the growing number of wearables that are now hitting the market...
A solar panel the size of a book could soon power your entire home
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF A three fold increase in the energy efficiency of solar panels could revolutionise almost every industry on Earth. In our efforts to make solar panels even more efficient a team of scientists in the UK have found a way of funnelling the Sun’s power...
New battery technology triples the ranges of electric vehicles
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As the world starts to move away from fossil fuels we need to find new ways to squeeze more power from our batteries, and innovations like this one help us achieve that. In the latest battery breakthrough claim researchers from the University of Waterloo...
A scientist captured an impossible photo of a single atom
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As our optical technologies improve we’re increasingly able to see the universes building blocks in ever more minute detail. If you paid attention in science class you know that atoms make up everything. They’re the smallest unit of matter, and everything you’ve ever touched,...
Perfectly transparent solar concentrator turns every window into a solar panel
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As more materials become capable of producing and storing their own energy companies will be able to wean themselves off fossil fuels faster, and develop innovative new products. Transparent solar cells and films that can be applied to any type of surface, even windows,...
Russian scientists show off their prototype nuclear battery
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Nuclear batteries last for thousands of years without ever needing to be recharged, and they have applications in aerospace and healthcare. Imagine only having to replace the batteries in a device once a decade, or even once a century, or more… Nuclear batteries could...
It’s raining cash, US startup edges closer to creating solid state “Jesus” battery
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Solid state batteries charge faster, , don’t catch fire, last longer and and are cheaper to make than their liquid Lithium Ion cousins, making them a game changer. Recently technology giants like Dyson, Samsung and Total have collectively invested $65 million in Ionic Materials, a company...
Mystery car company partners with WiTricity to bring wirelessly charged EV’s to market
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As governments and organisations around the world race to install new plug in electric vehicle charging stations, manufacturers, are already thinking ahead and they’ll be bringing wirelessly charged cars to the market sooner than anyone thinks. A new electric car that uses wireless charging...
China starts geo-engineering its atmosphere on a massive scale
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Asides from being able to make it rain in places where rain traditionally doesn’t fall there are a lot of questions about the broader impact geo-engineering has on other parts of the globe. Last year China announced plans to spend hundreds of millions of...
Infographic: The Future of AI in the Energy Sector
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As AI’s capabilities improve it will revolutionise how we generate, transmit, sell and consume energy. It shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have a significant impact on the energy sector, and at all stages of its lifecycle. Whether...
One in a billion enzyme that breaks down plastic found in Japanese dump
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF When they were developed plastics were a wonder material, but their environmental legacy is proving devastating, now a fluke discovery is giving people hope that today’s plastic scourge can efficiently be broken down and recycled. We’re increasingly being told that plastic is a horrible,...
Decentralised energy grids and renewables get a boost from Centrica
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Renewable energy, and decentralised micro and tied-storage grids, are transforming the way energy is produced, transmitted and sold, so Centrica is testing the waters to see whether or not blockchain could play a vital role in the future of energy. Blockchain is increasingly being...
Vertical farms edge closer to disrupting traditional agriculture
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today’s modern agricultural practises favour countries with fertile land and the food they produce has a dramatic impact on the environment, but tomorrows farms could be stationed in deserts, or at sea, right next to their consumers, producing high quality, organic food at knock down...
Google reportedly mulls investing in a hypersonic tunnelling boring company
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF There is a race on to increase the speed of boring tunnels by at least ten fold, and if it can be achieved it will change the economics of energy generation and transportation. Google announced recently, quietly, very quietly, that it’s carrying out research...
