Fuel

An employee assembles a fuel cell system in the module final assembly at Fuel Cell System Manufacturing LLC, GM and Honda's fuel cell joint venture in Brownstown, Michigan.Courtesy imageBROWNSTOWN, Mich. – General Motors and Honda Motor have begun commercial production of hydrogen fuel cell systems in a step toward offering alternative zero-emissions solutions beyond battery-electric vehicles.The fuel cell systems are produced through a 50-50 joint venture between the automakers at an $85 million facility in suburban…

N6-methyladenosine (6mA) 6mA methylation modifications regulates lipid accumulation in Nannochloropsis oceanica. Credit: QIBEBTMicroalgae—which are major contributors to global photosynthesis and primary productivity—serve as promising chassis cells in synthetic biology.In a study published in Plant Communications, researchers from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have unraveled the distribution pattern and dynamic changes in DNA N6-methyladenine…

A new study led by the University at Buffalo introduces hydrogen in the fabrication of iron-nitrogen-carbon catalysts, resulting in a significant improvement in both durability and efficiency, nearing platinum’s performance in fuel cells.Researchers have discovered that adding hydrogen to iron-nitrogen-carbon catalysts could significantly lower the costs of climate-friendly fuel cells.Researchers have been working tirelessly for many years to find cost-effective alternatives to platinum and other high-priced metals for…

A team at Northwestern University has created a paperback-sized device that can rest within the soil and draw energy from it. The dirt-powered fuel cell is quite unique and can draw almost limitless energy from the soil it is placed within.The device is what scientists call a microbial fuel cell. These nifty inventions have been around for more than 100 years, and they work very similar to a battery. However, instead of relying on the chemicals a battery does, they instead work with the bacteria found in the soil…

Zipping far above Earth, it’s not exactly easy for satellites to find a corner gas station when the fuel gauge gets low. To tackle this cosmic conundrum, a Space Force-funded initiative is working on an innovative solution to refuel distant satellites on-the-fly.Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewOn Wednesday, Space Force awarded Astroscale a $25.5 million contract to design and construct an orbital transfer vehicle, also known as a space tug. The vehicle, dubbed the Astroscale…

A Northwestern University team has demonstrated a remarkable new way to generate electricity, with a paperback-sized device that nestles in soil and harvests power created as microbes break down dirt – for as long as there's carbon in the soil. Microbial fuel cells, as they're called, have been around for more than 100 years. They work a little like a battery, with an anode, cathode and electrolyte – but rather than drawing electricity from chemical sources, they work with bacteria that naturally donate electrons to…

If a new rocket developed by University of Glasgow engineers seems to get smaller as it burns, your eyes aren't playing tricks. It is. The new Ouroborous-3 (sic) rocket engine conserves fuel by eating itself as it burns.In Jules Verne's classic novel Around the World in 80 Days, Phineas Fogg was in danger of losing his globetrotting bet as he crossed the Atlantic Ocean when the ship he's traveling on runs out of coal. His solution was to buy the ship and then have all of its wooden parts burned, leaving the vessel little…

Every year, space junk becomes a bigger problem. We saw the International Space Station dodging debris several times over the past few years, and we’ve seen more and more debris make its way back down through Earth’s atmosphere in uncontrolled descents. Now, scientists have come up with a novel way to cut down on space junk by using self-eating rockets.Now, that sounds a little weird, I’ll admit. How exactly does a rocket eat itself? And what purpose beyond just cleaning up after itself does this actually…

A new rocket is designed for its own destruction, eating itself as it makes its way through Earth’s atmosphere to power its journey.Would Peter Capaldi Return to Doctor Who?A group of researchers from the University of Glasgow has built the first unsupported autophage rocket engine, which uses waste heat from combustion to melt its plastic fuselage and use it as fuel. The design was presented at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech Forum in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, and is based on an idea…

Schematic of experimental setup. Credit: Higher Education Press Exploring advanced combustion mode with high efficiency and low emissions has been the dream of successive generations of researchers. Conventional diesel engines have high compression ratios thus with thermal efficiencies of 35%–45%, but the diffusion combustion characteristics of diesel make NOx and soot emissions high.…