Energy

Xiulin Ruan, a Purdue University professor of mechanical engineering, holds up his lab’s sample of the whitest paint on record.

Innovation for Good

This Ultra-White Paint May Someday Replace Air Conditioning

Developed by researchers at Purdue University, the paint reflects 98.1 percent of sunlight

Regenerative farming, which centers on building soil health, is one promising pathway for decreasing agriculture’s carbon footprint.

To Meet Ambitious Emissions Goals, Large Food Companies Are Looking to Lock Carbon in Soil

But the logistics of moving farmers in their supply chains to regenerative agriculture practices can be complicated

Grōv Technologies’ vertical farm is designed to minimize land and water use of conventional feed production.

Could Indoor Vertical Farms Feed Livestock?

The people at Grōv Technologies think farmers can produce wheatgrass for their herds with less land and water using the method

The Norwegian Joy is one of several cruise ships equipped with air lubrication technology.

Tiny Bubbles Under a Ship May Be the Secret to Reducing Fuel Consumption

A technology called air lubrication offers a way to make large ships more efficient

Let your off-grid home take shape in whatever form best fits your new, adventurous lifestyle.

How to Set Up an Off-the-Grid Getaway

Need a change of scenery? A quiet spot away from crowds? Here are some tips for rigging a remote escape with the bare necessities

Jason Hayman, managing director of Sustainable Marine Energy, checks out Plat-I, the company’s primary project.

Planet Positive

The Push for Tidal Power Faces Its Biggest Challenge Yet

The renewable energy source has never quite lived up to its potential, but a new experiment in Nova Scotia could flip the script

Isle au Haut thoroughfare

A Tiny Island Off the Coast of Maine Could Be a Renewable Energy Model for the Rest of the World

Remote Isle au Haut is integrating time-tested technology with emerging innovations to create its own microgrid

(Clockwise from left) Michela Puddu, Elias Sime, Richard Yim and Miranda Wang

Eight Innovators to Watch in 2020

From plastic recycling pioneers to landmine foes, these dreamers have big plans for the coming year

Lucy Hughes holds a piece of MarinaTex.

This Bioplastic Made From Fish Scales Just Won the James Dyson Award

British product designer Lucy Hughes has invented a biodegradable plastic made from fish offcuts

For last-mile delivery, robots of the future may use a new MIT algorithm to beat a path to your front door.

Helping Delivery Robots Find Your Front Door

With a new navigation system from MIT, robots can decipher common landscape features, even in an unfamiliar environment

Visitors to CopenHill can ski or snowboard on four artificial slopes, a slalom course and a freestyle park.

You Can Hike, Fish and Even Ski at These Visitor-Friendly Power Plants

Copenhagen's new green power plant with a ski slope is just the latest energy facility with tourist attractions

Klein Ileleji stands next to a dehydrator he invented.

This Solar-Powered Dehydrator Could Help Small Farmers Reduce Food Waste

An Indiana startup hopes to help farmers in lower income countries keep their crops safe using a cheap, portable dehydrator system

Starlit Stratus rendering, by Sunggi Park

Art Meets Science

These Wild Sculptures Could Bring Sustainable Energy to the Desert

Winners of this year's Land Art Generator Initiative competition proposed beautiful, power-generating works of public art for Abu Dhabi

In July 2016, a solar-powered airplane flying over the desert region of Andalusia in Spain photographed breathtaking images of the Gemasolar concentrated solar power plant.

How Engineers of New Energy Technology Are Taking Cues From Nature

From sunflower spirals to schooling fish, renewable energy innovators are uncovering ideas for improving efficiency and output in natural phenomena

Rust film could be used to cover buoys to generate power for scientific equipment at sea, or on bridges to create electricity for nearby structures.

Could a Rusty Bridge Generate Electricity?

New research shows that water flowing over thin layers of rust can generate power

Ruthie Mundell stands among new and vintage chandeliers—all salvaged and ready to find a new home.

How Women Are Leading the Charge to Recycle Whole Houses

From lobbying for changes to city laws to running reuse centers for building supplies, women are dominating the deconstruction industry

The robot is a bit slow moving at about 1.5 body lengths per minute. But the new design shows promise for future hybrid systems.

Engineers Built a Robotic Lionfish With an Energetic Bloodstream

The robo-fish pumps energy-packed liquid through vein-like tubes to move its fins and swim for hours

Scientists bioengineer living plants to emit light.

These Glowing Plants Could One Day Light Our Homes

The Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum gives us a glimpse into a world where we read by a natural greenish glow

Alon Gorodetsky, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Irvine, and Erica Leung, a graduate student in that department, have invented a new material that can trap or release heat as desired.

How a Squid's Color-Changing Skin Inspired a New Material That Can Trap or Release Heat

The stretchy 'thermocomfort material' has potential energy-saving applications in buildings and wearables

Solar has had an average annual growth rate of 50 percent in the last 10 years.

A Brief History of Solar Panels

Inventors have been advancing solar technology for more than a century and a half, and improvements in efficiency and aesthetics keep on coming

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