Today's Tech News: Notable or Not?

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-4d-method-lighter-faster-turbine.html "eliminates need for expensive, specialized structural manufacturing molds... works backwards from desired blade geometry calculating ideal carbon/ epoxy layer orientation... match standard commercial aluminum options' precise shape while weighing approximately 80% less... small turbines outfitted with these lightweight composite blades rotate faster, signaling a major boost in aerodynamic efficiency and a cheaper path forward for urban renewable energy systems" Related: Bioinspired strategy creates complex 3D curved structures via programmed shrinkage https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bioinspired-strategy-complex-3d-shrinkage.html

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1127883 "difficult to diffuse performance-boosting elements into thick magnets' core, overcome inserting light rare earth alloy between layered magnet slices initiating diffusion from inside out... significantly increases coercivity throughout entire structure without relying on expensive/ scarce heavy rare earth elements like dysprosium... simultaneously creates high-resistivity internal structure suppressing efficiency degrading heat generating eddy currents... smaller, powerful, efficient motors: electric vehicles, ships, wind turbines" Related: Pressurized experiments could help wind farms generate more power https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1145757

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-02-overlooked-electrostatic-motor-future.html "apply voltage to metal tracks attached to printed circuit board creating interaction between rotor/ stator generating motion (instead of copper coils/ magnets creating motion through magnetic fields)... uses >90% less copper, up to 80% lighter), lower cost... significantly lower current so generates almost no heat/ requires no active cooling, direct drive capable/ high torque at low speeds... dielectric fluids boost field strength)... EVs (extend range up to 25%), solar drones, electric aviation, large-scale industrial pumps" Related: 100kW fully superconducting aviation motor developed for electrical aircraft https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-100kw-fully-superconducting-aviation-motor.html

https://techxplore.com/news/2024-04-machine-enables-viability-vertical-axis.html "sensor technology and machine learning... 2 optimal pitch profiles for VAWT blades achieving 200% turbine efficiency increase, 77% structure-threatening vibration reduction... overcomes resistance to gusts by mounting sensors onto actuating blade shaft measuring air forces... generated pitch profiles by pitching blade back and forth at different angles, speeds, and amplitudes, performing >3,500 experimental iterations, selected most efficient and robust... use dynamic stall to redirect blade pitch forward producing power" Related: How We Solved The Home Wind Turbine Problem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQKHJm7vd4E&list=PLaop3Octc30MF67QaGwgLsm-C9789gxiK&index=1 ONESTONE HOLDINGS Achieves Breakthrough in Green Hydrogen Production at Sea With Vertical Wind Turbines https://www.victoriaadvocate.com/ap/state/onestone-holdings-achieves-breakthrough-in-green-hydrogen-production-at-sea-wi...

https://newatlas.com/energy/touchwind-floating-wind-turbine/ "no fancy active pitch controls... sitting on end of pole draped over big barrel with large floating buoy hanging beneath... blade costs 30% less... rated for speeds up to 157 mph... blade fixed to mast slight upward angle. At low wind speeds mast tilts right over, as wind speeds pick up develops lift begins pulling mast upright.... At higher wind speeds big blade pulls tower upright exposing smaller section to wind... easy manufacture 12-MW turbine" Related: Stochastics help wind turbines mitigate sudden swings in power output https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1001981 Active control of wind turbine speed can lead to fewer bird strikes https://techxplore.com/news/2023-09-turbine-bird.html Painting Wind Turbine Blades Black Help Birds Avoid Deadly Collisions https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/black-wind-turbine-blades-help-birds-avoid-deadly-collisions-180975668/ Droplet-based ‘wind farms’ harvest low-s...

https://electrek.co/2023/02/08/wind-turbine-recycle-blades/ "a novel process that can chemically break down epoxy resin into virgin-grade materials from legacy blade material currently sitting in landfill as well as blade material in active wind farms... newly established value chain, supported by Nordic recycling firm Stena Recycling and Olin... The four industry and academic partners formed a coalition called the CETEC project – Circular Economy for Thermosets Epoxy Composites" Related: The Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center at Aarhus University: Circularity solution to end landfill for turbine blades https://inano.au.dk/about/news-events/news/show/artikel/circularity-solution-to-end-landfill-for-turbine-blades The CETEC project – Circular Economy for Thermosets Epoxy Composites official website: https://www.project-cetec.dk/uk/ Vestas unveils circularity solution to end landfill for turbine blades News release from Vestas Wind Systems A/S, Aarhus, 8 February 202...

https://electrek.co/2023/02/21/heres-why-the-first-commercial-spiral-welded-wind-turbine-tower-is-a-game-changer/ "installed 292 ft. tower under a GE 2.8-127 wind turbine... meters-wide steel plates curled into cylinder... one machine produces towers up to twice as tall and 10X faster... tapered towers with variable wall thickness... joining, rolling, fit-up, welding, and severing of tower section results in continuous production steel tower shells... lightest, lowest-cost, and most structurally optimized... 40-year lifetime... developing mobile factories at turbine sites" Related: First electron beam welding of wind turbine monopile achieves “dramatic results” https://envirotecmagazine.com/2023/05/12/first-electron-beam-welding-of-wind-turbine-monopile-achieves-dramatic-results/ The world’s tallest wooden wind turbine is nearly complete — and its creators say it makes wind power way more efficient  https://news.yahoo.com/world-tallest-wooden-wind-turbine-130000...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc0rF58pP3c "40 meters per second 35 to 40% efficient but wind is less turbulent after passes through and can be installed closer together... VAWT Ocean Hydro Omni generate funnel-like wake... stretches like contrail... doesn't produce electricity directly from wind uses wind to lift heavy mass weight then dropped powering generator... wider range of wind speeds adjusts to wind demand storing or generating can operate during wind speeds of between 4 and 40 meters per second generate four times the energy" Related: Oscar Garcia and Ali El Zaher Buendia's 3D-Printable Vertical Wind Turbine Generates Up to 100W  https://www.hackster.io/news/oscar-garcia-and-ali-el-zaher-buendia-s-3d-printable-vertical-wind-turbine-generates-up-to-100w-20a10692bb3d  See also: Bi-Generator Vertical Wind Turbine Device https://www.instructables.com/Bi-Generator-Vertical-Wind-Turbine-Device/ Norway just greenlit this vertical-axis floating wind turbine https:/...

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-09-rotary-electrical-contact-reliance-rare-earth.html "sliding contact and electrical arcing... limiting factors reduce performance rotary electrical contacts and lead to short operating lifetimes and high maintenance... Twistact... operating over the full 30-year service time of a multimegawatt turbine without maintenance or replacement. Other potential applications for the technology include synchronous motors and generators, electrified railways and radar towers. Twistact could also be used in replacing brush or slip rings in existing applications" Related: Powerful permanent magnets — without the rare-earth elements https://www.chemengonline.com/powerful-permanent-magnets-without-the-rare-earth-elements/?printmode=1 Breakthrough coating technology enables Nd-Fe-B magnets to thrive in harsh environments https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1083464

https://worldwidewind.no/ "Two counter-rotating turbines... Tilted with wind similar to sail boats... Simple design; no nacelle, gear, cooling, yaw... Generator part of floater and ballast... Scalable to 40MW and 400m height... Reduced wake effect and increased turbine density... blades/turbine, shaft and mast, generator... Generator in bottom as stabilizer and counterweight. Rotor and stator counter-rotating. Blades/ rotor: 3-dimensional trajectory (swept area as cone). Struts add to wind energy capture and capture efficiency. Direct drive; no gear" Related: T-Omega re-thinks floating offshore wind turbines for huge cost savings https://newatlas.com/energy/t-omega-floating-wind/ Study seeks to revolutionize wind turbine design https://techxplore.com/news/2023-03-revolutionize-turbine.html Next-generation drivetrain technologies for offshore wind turbines https://techxplore.com/news/2023-08-next-generation-drivetrain-technologies-offshore-turbines.html Tech Company Develops P...

https://boingboing.net/2022/05/02/a-portable-wind-turbine-that-weighs-3-pounds-and-has-its-own-battery.html "Canadians Cat Adalay and Rachel Carr created the $325 Shine portable wind turbine, which is about the size of a one-liter water bottle. The crowdfunded effort received $400,000, according to Core 77. Once set up on its tripod, the 3-pound, 40-watt device automatically rotates towards the wind and starts charging its 5V, 12,000 mAh battery. (Alternatively it can charge your device directly via USB.) The company says that in peak conditions, the Shine Turbine can generate enough juice to charge a smartphone in just 20 minutes" Related: A lightweight with a heavyweight’s strength: Customized filtration solutions support weight reduction in wind turbine gearboxes https://www.windpowerengineering.com/a-lightweight-with-a-heavyweights-strength-customized-filtration-solutions-support-weight-reduction-in-wind-turbine-gearboxes/ NTU Singapore scientists develop inexpensive devi...

https://techxplore.com/news/2022-03-bionic-wing-energy-efficiency.html "imitates... words, wings and feathers... feathers on the top of a bird's wings will pop out, creating a natural flap... increase lift and delay the onset of stalling at high angles of attack... simulated the use of the combined flow control accessory in a variety of situations, including high and low angle of attack and pre- and post-stall scenarios. They compared their computational simulations to experimental results for an aircraft wing undergoing a dynamic stall" Related: Feathered robotic wing paves way for flapping drones https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-feathered-robotic-wing-paves-drones.html

https://cleantechnica.com/2021/12/02/landmark-demonstration-shows-how-common-wind-turbine-can-provide-fundamental-grid-stability/   "Type-3 turbines are an especially complex case for developing grid-forming controls. These turbines use a generator that is directly connected to the grid, with the turbines’ electricity output modulated by power electronics components. To fully understand this complexity, NREL developed a full-detail model of the turbine’s electrodynamics, aided by a custom toolkit developed by the NREL research team"

https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/435372-longer-lasting-power-cables-make-for-greener-wind-power "makes them suited to the constant wave- and current-induced motion of dynamic installations. Thanks to their conical shape, bend stiffeners – as their name suggests – gradually increase the overall stiffness of a pipe or cable, preventing overbending at the termination point"

https://medium.com/kitekraft/kitekraft-succeeds-with-autonomous-all-phase-flight-of-new-kite-demonstrator-f13b12690d55 "major milestone in our development towards our first 100kW product with a successful flight in all phases... getting the software for autonomous flight control in place... we [achieved] this in just two years of Kitekraft’s existence" Company website:   https://www.kitekraft.de/airborne-wind-energy "harvest up to 3 times more energy per area in wind park arrangements than conventional turbines... need 10x less building materials compared to conventional wind turbines of the same power rating... provide utility-level low-cost wind power already at small-scale and even lower cost at megawatt-scale... our flying kites are barely visible. This reduces visual obstructions and public opposition...  has the same life span [as] conventional wind turbines... mostly made of aluminum which can easily be recycled... very compact and can be packed...

https://windeurope.org/newsroom/news/windeurope-ceo-visits-german-cement-plant-thats-running-on-blade-waste/ "waste management company Geocycle is pioneering this recovery technology through cement co-processing at the Holcim Lägerdorf plant in Northern Germany... [longer term, the] wind industry is working with the chemicals and composites industries to develop technologies to recycle blade waste, but it’ll be 2030 before they’re fully deployable at scale" Related: How to make roads with recycled waste and pave the way to a circular economy https://techxplore.com/news/2021-11-roads-recycled-pave-circular-economy.html Scientists develop a 'cosmic concrete' that is twice as strong as regular concrete https://techxplore.com/news/2023-03-scientists-cosmic-concrete-strong-regular.html Developing self-sensing metamaterial concrete for smart infrastructure systems https://techxplore.com/news/2023-03-self-sensing-metamaterial-concrete-smart-infrastructure.html Biochar-infuse...

https://www.fastcompany.com/90672135/this-wildly-reinvented-wind-turbine-generates-five-times-more-energy-than-its-competitors "so-called Wind Catcher is articulated in a square grid with over 100 small blades. At 1,000 feet high, the system is over three times as tall as an average wind turbine, and it stands on a floating platform that’s anchored to the ocean floor... up to 400 gigawatt-hours of energy... blades are 50 feet long and can perform more rotations per minute... lifespan of 50 years... prototype will likely be built in the North Sea" Related: Has a San Antonio Inventor Solved a Problem of Small-scale Wind Power? https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/pirate-wind-turbines-inventor/