Today's Tech News: Notable or Not?

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-wood-solar-power-sun.html "strip wood of lignin to increase porosity/ prevent light reflection, coat internal channels with: black phosphorene for light absorption/ conductivity)/ silver nanoparticles to amplify solar interaction... fill with stearic acid/ hydrocarbon chains storing sunlight as heat during day... 91.2% conversion efficiency into heat, nearly 4X more efficient than raw wood... heat after dark convert heat into electricity... 0.65 V/ cycle, comparable to traditional solar cells... consistent performance over 100 cycles, fires self-extinguished"

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-03-harvesting-electricity-sun.html "Fresnel lens, sealed cavity containing water... above dew point water remains vapor creating high refractive contrast focusing sunlight sharply onto small, high-efficiency PV cell, maximizing electricity production for air conditioning... below dew point water condenses into thin liquid film blunting lens's focusing power, sunlight bypasses PV cell/ enters building with 90% solar-to-heat conversion efficiency... scalable, could be integrated into smart windows/ building facades... future: wide-angle for more hours"

https://renewableaffairs.com/news/the-future-of-solar-two-tiny-technologies-that-could-redefine-clean-energy/ "replaces silicon inverters which work more slowly/ create more heat... used with gallium nitride making electricity flow faster, with less waste, helps inverters run smaller, cooler, more reliably... Enphase microinverter works with each solar panel separately, so if 1 panel shaded/ not working well, others still perform normally... remote monitoring shuts down system quickly upon detecting fault, lowering maintenance costs... also: sunlight absorbing glass sending to hidden solar cells at edges of windows" Related: A new 3D-printed solar cell that’s transparent and color-tunable https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1111932

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1096912 "rooftop flat-plate collectors warm data center’s eco-friendly coolant stream before it reaches organic Rankine cycle compact power system... recovers 60-80% more electricity annually, >8% higher efficiency during sunny peak hours along with increased annual average efficiency, 5.5 to 16.5% cheaper electricity... off-the-shelf technology... behind-the-meter generator that gets stronger when the sun is out, right when cooling loads are highest” Related: Earth needs more energy: Atlanta's Super Soaker creator may have a solution https://techxplore.com/news/2025-12-earth-energy-atlanta-super-soaker.html

https://bioengineer.org/15x-boost-in-solar-thermoelectric-power-via-laser-engineering/ "fs-laser pulses sculpt micro/ nanostructures on thermoelectric surface... common materials, reduced manufacturing/ maintenance costs, complexity... optimizes absorption spectrum to match solar irradiance while minimizing reflective losses, traps converts broader range of sunlight frequencies... even scattered sunlight usable... future: optimizing laser patterns' geometric parameters, semiconductor/ plasmonic nanoparticle nanocomposites for enhanced light trapping, integrating intelligent thermal regulation" See also: Black metal could give a heavy boost to solar power generation https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1094469 Bill commented by email regarding whether same sunlight footprint can be used for this device and traditional solar cells simultaneously: My background reading says such a thermal-electric device uses IR photons. These are of a different energy than the photons...

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1086716 "low-energy light molecules upconverted into single high-energy particle... excited state quickly hops around 3 anthracene molecules arranged like antennas in 3 different directions around central boron atom, letting it sample larger space/ multiple configurations without losing energy... low-viscous medium/ orientation favorable for triplet-triplet annihilation enables 20% faster energy fusion rate... sensors, cancer therapy/ diagnostics using harmless low-energy light/ in-situ upconversion, better solar power harnessing"

https://scitechdaily.com/new-light-trick-in-carbon-nanotubes-could-boost-solar-power/ "up-conversion photoluminescence... exciton receives an energy boost from the material by interacting with vibrations in it known as phonons... occurs with high efficiency even in defect-free single-walled carbon nanotubes, higher temperature produced stronger effect... optoelectronic/ photonic devices, solar power, laser-cooling, biological imaging... future: cooling nanotube using laser illumination to remove thermal energy"

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/11/21/balloon-integrated-pv-system-for-emergency-power-needs-at-low-altitude/ "components: customized balloon, 19%-efficient thin-film cadmium telluride solar cells, exhaust valve, control, storage modules, fixed ropes, cord reel, upper hemisphere, lower arc surface... significantly reduces shading... utilized during high solar radiation months... helium/ air filled balloon... transparent upper hemisphere harvests solar in all directions, light-concentrating refraction... lower arc surface reduces thin-film solar cell installation area without affecting effective light harvesting... environmental benefits" Related: First-ever photovoltaic balloon takes flight and outperforms solar panels https://www.ecoticias.com/en/balloon-beats-solar-panels-first-ever/23670/

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1063065 "stores solar energy for several weeks/ months as chemical bonds (photoswitches)... overcomes trade-off between energy storage capacity and efficient absorption of solar light... indirect light harvesting incorporating a sensitizer, absorbs light/ transfers energy to photoswitch, which cannot be directly excited... increased solar energy storage efficiency > 1 order magnitude... each absorbed photon can trigger a chemical bond formation process... household heating up to large-scale energy storage"

https://www.curtin.edu.au/news/media-release/let-there-be-light-bright-future-for-solar-panels-tv-screens-and-more/ "'flatter, more even (nanoplatelet) zinc sulfide nanocrystals allow more ligands to attach to them more tightly, making various optoelectronics more efficient: brighter TV screens and LED lights, more detailed medical imaging, more efficient solar panels, photodetectors that sense light and convert it into an electrical signal, such as in cameras and sensors, plus laser diodes used in fibre-optic communication that convert electrical signals into light for data transmission"

https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-generation-solar-panels.html "based on leaves of Macodes petola jewel orchid thriving in low-light conditions...  have dome-like cells capturing >3X as much light as those of ordinary plants, and share that light with neighboring cells... silk-protein-based biomaterial flexible solar panels... domes spread light over leaf surface allowing also for non-directly illuminated cells to benefit with overall higher photoconversion efficiency... also mimics the curves and floppiness of the leaves, for greater access to light and ability to distribute light across the leaf" Related: Leaf-like solar concentrators promise major boost in solar efficiency https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-leaf-solar-major-boost-efficiency.html

https://phys.org/news/2024-07-giant-clams-solar-energy-efficient.html "photosymbiotic, with vertical cylinders of algae growing on their surface, absorbing sunlight after light scattering by iridocytes cell layer... light wraps uniformly around each vertical algae cylinder... 42% quantum efficiency... clams stretch themselves in reaction to changes in sunlight moves vertical columns farther apart, making them shorter and wider, increasing quantum efficiency to 67% (for leaves it is only about 14%)... solar panels that grow algae, or inexpensive plastic solar panels that are made out of a stretchy material"

https://techxplore.com/news/2024-06-solar-technology-harvesting.html "band structure similar to inorganic semiconductors, absorbing entire visible light spectrum using high absorption coefficients of organic dyes.... light-harvesting antenna: 4 different merocyanine dyes (UV, red, purple, blue) folded/ stacked closely together, enabling ultra-fast, efficient energy transport within antenna... 38% of irradiated light energy over broad spectral range converted into fluorescence"

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1044028 "boost solar receivers' efficiency attaching synthetic semitransparent quartz rod to energy absorbing opaque silicon disk as an energy absorber exposed to 136 suns energy flux... (unshielded) receiver has efficiency of 40% at 1,200°C, with concentration of 500 suns... receiver shielded with 300 mm of quartz achieves 70% efficiency at same temperature and concentration... glass, steel, cement, ceramics"

https://electrek.co/2024/05/08/dc-to-dc-solar-powered-ev-charger/ "TLCEV T1: up to 12.5 kW of DC charging 2X as fast... 20% energy savings, bypasses EV’s internal conversion electronics... integrates EV charging directly into solar canopies and carports, can be connected to existing home PV string inverter but not microinverter... doesn’t rely on grid, so no lengthy permitting... provides NACS and CCS-1 options, 25' cable... early-bird price $2,249... does system work as grid-tie inverter as well?" Related: DC to DC charging. One more step to off grid living! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDJFFEXqKAU Israeli Startup Partners With California Mobility Center On EV Power https://nocamels.com/2024/08/israeli-startup-partners-with-california-mobility-center-on-ev-power/ Lenovo’s new concept laptop can be charged by the sun https://www.theverge.com/news/621693/lenovo-laptop-concept-yoga-solar-power-mwc

https://news.mit.edu/2024/optigon-seizing-bright-solar-future-0506 "enhancing silicon’s and/ or perovskite's solar conversion capacity... identifying missing/ defective optical, electrical, dimensional properties in nano-sized crystal structures, optimization... instant non-contact optical measurements using different types of light sources/ detectors in football-sized device providing holistic, cross-sectional view as material flows underneath... increase PV, battery, fuel cell production yields, reducing materials/ energy (and their costs) wasted in conventional optimization" Related: Real-time measuring method extends lifespan and enhances safety of batteries https://techxplore.com/news/2025-08-real-method-lifespan-safety-batteries.html

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240422640698/en/ "fit 40-foot shipping container, scalable... stores heat instead of electricity... heat engine enables electricity 24 hours/ day... electricity as low as $0.01/ kWh or less... deployable rapidly and cost-effectively – and it's available this year,... Exowatt is built to respond quickly to the escalating energy demands of the modern world, especially those spurred by the rapid growth of AI... backlog >500 MW for data centers" Related: World's most efficient engine becomes a colossal clean energy generator https://newatlas.com/technology/wartsila-hydrogen-generator/

https://phys.org/news/2024-04-hydrocarbon-molecule-supplier-energy-storage.html "at least 30% of original converted energy lost using battery storage... new type of organic solar modules either convert sunlight into electricity or long term chemical storage... norbornadiene 2 molecule rings hydrocarbon isomer exposed to UV partially reorganizing atomic bonds, converting to similarly structured but more highly strained quadricyclane... enables recovery from storage as electricity (not just heat)... energy density comparable to lithium-ion battery... future: not just UV but wide sunlight spectrum"

https://theconversation.com/reflectors-in-space-could-make-solar-farms-on-earth-work-for-longer-every-day-220554 "illuminate 10 km area orbiting 900 km high... each pass extends energy generation 15 - 20 min around dawn or dusk when demand greatest... high enough servicing multiple solar farms on same orbit... hexagonal reflectors, sides 250 m, 3 tonnes, currently cost few thousand dollars/ kg to launch (if reduced to few hundred dollars/ kilo, reflectors viable within few years)... operate for 20 to 30 years... illumination levels would last only few minutes per reflector and not exceed overcast day level"

https://phys.org/news/2024-01-glass-transparent-energy-harvester.html "exposing tellurite glass to femtosecond laser light may one day turn windows into single material light-harvesting and sensing devices... exposing simple line pattern on surface of tellurite glass 1 cm diameter to UV and visible light generates current reliably for months... turning glass into semiconductor using light"