By Oliver Nelson-Dummett At the UN Climate Action Roundtable last month, Boris Johnson declared that he was a “complete evangelist” for the technology known as carbon capture and storage (CCS). The broad idea is to remove carbon dioxide emissions from large sources, such as power plants, and deposit it securely underground. CCS proponents claim that [...]
By Oliver Nelson-Drummett Fired bricks are one of the original construction materials, dating back 5000 years to Neolithic China. Their distinctive red colouring comes from a small amount of haematite – a common form of iron ore – in the bricks. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, USA have exploited this iron content to [...]
By Oliver Nelson-Dummett The latest step towards an all-renewables grid is beginning construction near Manchester, UK. Excess energy will be used to compress and cool air into a liquid for long term storage. When demand spikes, the air will be reheated and directed through a turbine to generate electricity. The process is called liquid air [...]
By Oliver Nelson-Drummett Vibrations are everywhere. From traffic rumbling over a bridge to footfalls on a pavement, the modern world is filled with ambient energy that can be harvested by materials that exhibit the “piezoelectric effect”. Deforming these materials causes a small charge displacement across them, leading to a build-up of voltage. If such a [...]
By Oliver Nelson-Dummett Batteries are the ever-present power sources that the modern world relies on. From single-use button cells to rechargeable car batteries, these devices can be tailored to meet seemingly any energy demand. As intermittent renewable energy generation becomes more prevalent, large battery reserves could help to smooth the electricity supply. They have extremely [...]