Energy Science

Engineers Make World's Fastest Organic Transistor, Heralding New Generation of See-through Electronics

Teams from Stanford, SLAC and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln collaborate to make thin, transparent semiconductors that could become the foundation for cheap, high-performance displays.

SLAC Researchers Team Up on Potential Fuel Cell Advance

A discovery by SLAC researchers into how chemical reactions take place on a platinum catalyst could lead to more efficient, less costly fuel cells.

User Spotlight: Giving Smart Materials an IQ Test at SSRL

Anna Llordes from Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry uses SSRL's Beam Line 11-3 for clues about where the smart films her group creates for windows get their high energy IQ.

Scientists Invent Self-healing Battery Electrode

Researchers have made the first battery electrode that heals itself, opening a new and potentially commercially viable path for making the next generation of lithium ion batteries for electric cars, cell phones and other devices. The secret is a stretchy polymer that coats the electrode, binds it together and spontaneously heals tiny cracks that develop during battery operation, said the team from Stanford University and the Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Designer Glue Improves Lithium-ion Battery Life

When it comes to improving the performance of lithium-ion batteries, no part should be overlooked – not even the glue that binds materials together in the cathode, researchers at SLAC and Stanford have found.

New Battery Design Could Help Solar and Wind Energy Power the Grid

Menlo Park, Calif. — Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University have designed a low-cost, long-life battery that could enable solar and wind energy to become major suppliers to the electrical grid.

Egg-cellent World-record Battery Performance

SLAC and Stanford scientists have set a world record for energy storage, using a clever “yolk-shell” design to store five times more energy in the sulfur cathode of a rechargeable lithium-ion battery than is possible with today’s commercial technology. The cathode also maintained a high level of performance after 1,000 charge/discharge cycles, paving the way for new generations of lighter, longer-lasting batteries for use in portable electronics and electric vehicles.

Building a Better Battery for Renewable Energy Storage

Solar, wind and other renewable energy sources reduce consumption of fossil fuels but also pose challenges to the electrical grid because their power generation fluctuates, heightening the need for better battery technology to store their energy until it's needed to feed the grid.

Stanford-SLAC Team Uses X-ray Imaging to Observe Running Batteries in Real Time

Most electric cars, from the Tesla Model S to the Nissan Leaf, run on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries – a pricey technology that accounts for more than half of the vehicle's total cost. One promising alternative is the lithium-sulfur battery, which can theoretically store five times more energy at a much lower cost.

Postdoc Eric Verploegen Energized by Experiences, Mentoring at SLAC

If the excitement and enthusiasm of young scientists like Eric Verploegen could be pumped directly into the power grid, the world's energy problems could be solved tomorrow.

It can't, though. So Verploegen has made it his goal to channel his energy into looking for solutions the old-fashioned way – hard work, and lots of it.

Energy Science

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