An international team of researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas and Hanyang University in South Korea have developed a type of yarn called Twistron that is made from carbon nanotubes and can generate electricity when coiled or stretched. Possible applications of Twistron might enable harvesting energy from the motion of ocean waves or “temperature fluctuations.” Learn More
Researchers at the Columbia University School of Engineering—together with with Columbia’s Department of Chemistry and Stanford University—have developed a new “dip-and-dry” method for developing selective solar absorbers (SSA), the surface components of solar-thermal converters that trap and convert sunlight to heat. This heat can be used as energy to heat residential buildings and water, as well as to generate steam. Learn More
Australian company Mineral Carbonation International (MCi) has unveiled a semi-continuous research pilot plant where its team plans to work on further developing a technology that uses the process of mineral carbonation to make building products “such as concrete and plasterboard to create green construction materials.” Learn More
Courtesy Timo Ikonen/UEF
Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) have discovered that replacing the graphite in lithium-ion batteries with electrochemically produced nanoporous silicon will significantly increase the battery’s energy storage capacity. As silicon is the second most abundant element found in the Earth’s crust (the first being oxygen), this method could be a sustainable solution to expand the energy storage capacity of the widely used lithium-ion battery. Learn More
Courtesy Nendo/Akihiro Yoshida
ICYMI: Japanese design studio Nendo has collaborated with flexible circuit manufacturer AgIC and paper distributor Takeo to create a flashlight called Paper-Torch. Learn More
Estonian technology company SprayPrinter—known for its eponymous product that launched last year—has developed a new prototype robot that can scale a building to print large murals. Recently, the team used the new SprayPrinter to paint a mural by Estonian artist Maari Soekov, onto the façade of a 295-foot chimney in Tartu, Estonia. Learn More
