Scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) have succeeded in unlocking the potential of carbon dioxide – a common greenhouse gas – by converting it into a more useful product. Using organocatalysts, the IBN researchers activated carbon dioxide in a mild and non-toxic process to produce methanol, a widely used industrial feedstock and [...]

The design of efficient systems for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, driven by sunlight is among the most important challenges facing science today, underpinning the long term potential of hydrogen as a clean, sustainable fuel. But man-made systems that exist today are very inefficient and often require additional use of sacrificial chemical agents. In [...]

Material could store hydrogen for cars or pull carbon dioxide from air A crystal riddled with tiny pores has the highest surface area of any material in the world, according to the University of Michigan chemists who created the material, which is detailed in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. [...]

One of the main aims in the field of hydrogen car research is the development of a good fueling system, ie. a system that would allow travelers to fill their vehicles’ fuel cells in less than 5 minutes, and then drive some 300 miles with a single charge. Making this happen is not as easy [...]

It might sound like something out of a science fiction film, but researchers at MIT reckon they have developed a way of making batteries from genetically engineered viruses that promises to reduce the cost and environmental impact of a wide range of battery technologies, including those used in electric cars. One of the main criticisms [...]

Find a reference to duckweed dated earlier than last year, and you’re likely to be seeing complaints about the tiny aquatic plant. Like invasive water hyacinth and other floating plant species, duckweed is capable of quickly carpeting ponds and slow-moving water streams. However, now it’s being pushed as yet another biofuel savior. Scientists from the [...]

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will increase production of its planned electric vehicle after orders for its first 2,000 cars were quickly filled, a spokesman said Friday. Japan’s No. 4 automaker aims to roll out the “i MiEV” zero-emissions car for leasing in Japan by July. The first year’s planned production of 2,000 units has already sold [...]