Tiny tubes of rusty glass are surprisingly springy, which could prove useful in powering nanorobotic devices.

Most metals oxidise when left in the air – when this happens in iron, it is called rusting – which can change their properties, such as making them more brittle or less dense.

Yong Yang at City University of Hong Kong and his colleagues found that when they oxidised copper and zirconium nanotubes of metallic glass, which…

A robot boat with a propeller made from liquid magnets could be a safer alternative than solid metal blades, which can damage wildlife.

Jun Shintake at the University of Electro-Communications in Chōfu, Japan, and his colleagues created a prototype aquatic craft with a propeller made from ferrofluid, which consists of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles suspended in oil. It is controlled with electromagnets that switch on and off at high speed.…

It’s possible to build a quantum engine that is powered by a constant shifting in the fundamental quantum nature of the particles it contains. Such devices could one day be used to power other quantum technologies.

All known particles can be categorised as either fermions or bosons, and which category they fall into determines how they behave in large groups. Artur Widera at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau in Germany and his colleagues worked out how to make an engine out of a collection of atoms by forcing them to behave first like bosons, then fermions, then bosons again.

The difference between the two types of particles is most prominent in the quantum realm, particularly at extremely low temperatures, so the researchers built their engine from a few hundred thousand lithium atoms cooled to a temperature within a fraction of a degree of absolute zero.

Under these conditions, they could use carefully tuned magnetic fields to make the lithium atoms behave either like a group of fermions or, after they forced them to form molecule-like pairs, a group of bosons.

Starting with a collection of boson-like paired-up atoms, the team first compressed them, then converted them into a collection of fermions. This increased their collective energy.

Next, Widera and his colleagues let the atoms expand. They also tweaked the magnetic fields to reform the atomic pairs and switch them back to being a collection of bosons – which lowered their overall energy. The energy difference between these steps was effectively the work produced by the ultracold atom engine. In this way, the researchers used the atoms like the “working fluid” in conventional engines, where work is extracted through a repeated cycle of compressing and expanding this fluid.

Currently, the engine has an efficiency of about 25 per cent, but Widera says that it could be tweaked to be made more efficient. “It’s not that we want to drive the next Mercedes Benz with a quantum engine, but we have shown for the first time that you can drive an engine with a purely quantum form of energy,” he says.

Sebastian Deffner at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County points out that the difference between fermions and bosons is a quantum property that is not possible to exploit in conventional machines, which sets the new engine apart from existing devices. This difference is a genuinely quantum resource and it is important to explore whether it can be used in a technologically advantageous way, he says.

If they can be made more practical, quantum engines could eventually be used to charge other quantum devices, like quantum batteries, says Gabriele De Chiara at Queen’s University Belfast in the UK. They could also be used “in reverse”, says De Chiara, to cool down devices like quantum computers which are known to make more errors when warm.

Topics:

• quantum mechanics/
• quantum physics

Loofah sponges – the porous husks left after drying the fruit of luffa plants – can create enough electricity when squeezed to power LEDs. Researchers say their findings could lead to green and cheap power supplies for small devices, but it is unclear if the sponges can create enough energy to be of practical use.

Many electrically insulating materials can create an electric charge when deformed – a phenomenon called piezoelectricity – but the size of that charge is usually vanishingly small. Jianxiang Wang at Peking University in Beijing and his colleagues investigated whether the loofah material often used in the kitchen or shower could do better. They chemically treated the dried sponge to remove lignin and hemicellulose, two of the polymers that make up its structure, leaving behind only a cellulose crystal form.

When a 6-millimetre-thick section of this sponge was squashed by hand, it generated up to 8 nanoamps of electricity. When this was placed into an electrical circuit with capacitors that could store the power of many squashes, it was able to briefly power six LED lights.

Wang says loofah sponges may provide an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way to make small power sources for a range of devices, but it may be that the natural material ends up inspiring an artificial alternative that is easier to produce.

“To charge a mobile phone, we’d need a bigger chunk of luffa sponge, which may not be very practical at present,” he says. “But if someone can make an artificial or man-made loofah by mimicking the microstructure and the chemical properties and the physical properties of loofah, then maybe we can increase [the amount of electricity produced]. It may inspire other designs.”

However, Andrew Bell at the University of Leeds, UK,  is sceptical about the practicality of this approach. He says the ratio of electrical power to mechanical input from squeezing is smaller than with other piezoelectric materials such as lead zirconate titanate, which makes it of limited practical use.

“I feel that its technological impact will be vanishingly small,” he says. “I will not be buying shares in luffa plantations anytime soon.”

Topics:

• electricity/
• materials science

New York City has begun construction work to hook up its power grid with a planned 546-kilometre-long transmission line that will carry electricity from hydropower plants in the Canadian province of Quebec. Once completed, the $6 billion project aims to provide New York City with 1250 megawatts of renewable energy.

The centrepiece of the Champlain Hudson Power Express – known as CHPE, pronounced “chippy” –  is to be a buried high-voltage, direct current transmission line that runs …

Carbon capture systems could become less expensive and more compact by using a mist of electrically charged droplets.

Capturing carbon dioxide from industrial facilities like power plants is seen as an important way to tackle climate change, but carbon capture technology is expensive. Simon Rufer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his colleagues devised a way to slash the price of the technology and make the devices smaller by fundamentally redesigning them.

They envision a system in …

Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. (CHUBU) announced today that it has agreed to invest in NuScale Power (NuScale), a U.S. developer of small modular reactors (SMRs). The investment is subject to regulatory approvals.

NuScale was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The company is developing a modular nuclear reactor design that is smaller and more efficient than traditional nuclear reactors. NuScale’s SMR design has been certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

The investment by CHUBU is a vote of confidence in NuScale’s technology and its potential to play a role in the clean energy transition. CHUBU is a major electric utility in Japan and is committed to reducing its carbon emissions.

“We believe that SMRs have the potential to be a major contributor to decarbonizing the global energy system,” said Hiroki Sato, Division CEO of Global Business Division at CHUBU. “This investment is a way for us to support the development of this important technology.”

NuScale is currently seeking regulatory approval for its first SMR project in the U.S. The project is expected to be located in the state of Wyoming and is scheduled to begin operation in 2029.

The investment by CHUBU is a significant milestone for NuScale and its SMR technology. It is also a sign of the growing interest in SMRs as a clean energy option.

About NuScale Power

NuScale Power is a leading developer of small modular reactors (SMRs). The company’s SMR design is the only one in the world to have been fully certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). NuScale’s SMRs are designed to be safer, more efficient, and more affordable than traditional nuclear reactors.

NuScale’s SMRs are also scalable, which means that they can be built in clusters to meet the needs of different power markets. The company is currently seeking regulatory approval for its first SMR project in the U.S. The project is expected to be located in the state of Wyoming and is scheduled to begin operation in 2029.

About Chubu Electric Power

Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. is a major electric utility in Japan. The company serves over 9 million customers in the Chubu region of Japan. CHUBU is committed to reducing its carbon emissions and is exploring a variety of clean energy options, including SMRs.

Xcel Energy announced today that it has received the necessary approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to extend operations of the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant through 2040.

The approval is a major step toward continuing to provide reliable, carbon-free energy for more than 500,000 customers across the Upper Midwest while meeting the state’s carbon reduction goals.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved Xcel Energy’s application to allow increased storage of spent nuclear fuel at the site, opening the door for at least 10 more years of operation.

“We thank the Commission, Minnesota Department of Commerce and other stakeholders for their careful review and recognition of the importance of the Monticello nuclear plant to our shared clean energy goals,” said Chris Clark, president, Xcel Energy – Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. “Nuclear power is crucial to achieving those goals because of its unique combination of reliability, affordability, and zero emissions.”

Together, the company’s Monticello and Prairie Island nuclear plants provide more than 30% of the electricity that the company’s customers use in the Upper Midwest. In 2022, the two plants together produced nearly 14,700 gigawatt hours of energy, a record for the sites. They’re among the company’s most reliable generating facilities, and key to reaching Minnesota’s goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040.

As part of extending the use of the Monticello plant, Xcel Energy has also filed with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to request an extension of the plant’s operating license. The federal license review and approval process is extensive, and a decision from federal regulators is expected in late 2024.

In addition to the environmental benefits of nuclear power, the Monticello plant also provides a significant economic boost to the local community. The plant is Monticello’s largest employer and local taxpayer, and it supports hundreds of businesses and jobs in the region.

“The Commission’s decision helps ensure many high-quality jobs in our local community for years to come,” said Marcy Anderson, executive director of the Monticello Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “The economic impact is tremendous. Workers live, shop and dine locally, contributing to a thriving Monticello community.”

The approval of the Monticello plant extension is a major victory for Xcel Energy and for the clean energy movement. It shows that nuclear power can be a key part of the solution to climate change, while also providing reliable and affordable energy to communities across the country.

In a significant move towards bolstering energy resilience and sustainability for national security infrastructure, the Defense Logistics Agency Energy has issued a Notice of Intent to Award a contract to Oklo Inc. The advanced energy company has been tapped to power and heat the Eielson Air Force Base through the Air Force’s micro-reactor pilot program.

The announcement sets off the procurement process, potentially culminating in a formal contract award to Oklo. Pending approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Oklo will construct and operate a power plant at the base, delivering both electricity and steam under a long-term power purchase agreement administered by the Defense Logistics Agency Energy.

“We are honored to be at the forefront of increasing resilience and reducing emissions, while driving national security forward,” commented Jacob DeWitte, Co-Founder and CEO of Oklo.

Originating from the mandates of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, the Air Force’s micro-reactor initiative aims to identify military installations where micro-reactors could be sited, constructed, and operated.

Oklo’s technology uses a fast reactor design, a concept backed by a track record of successful operation. Notably, the technology can function autonomously from the main electrical grid, making it a particularly suitable option for military installations that are crucial to national security. This project is seen as a significant step towards modernizing the energy infrastructure that powers the nation’s defense apparatus.

TerraPower revealed Wednesday that it has finalized the acquisition of a parcel of land in Kemmerer, Wyoming, which will serve as the site for the Natrium Reactor Demonstration Project. Chris Levesque, TerraPower’s CEO and President, stated that the acquisition represents a progression in the company’s mission to deliver dependable, clean energy to the grid. He emphasized TerraPower’s commitment to collaboration with both local and statewide parties in Kemmerer.

The property’s former owner was PacifiCorp.

Wyoming, and specifically Kemmerer, are not new to the energy production sector. However, the Natrium technology, which combines advanced nuclear reactor technology with an energy storage system, will be Wyoming’s first foray into commercial nuclear power. Interestingly, the Natrium demonstration site is in close proximity to a coal facility slated for retirement. This makes the plant unique as the sole coal-to-nuclear project currently being developed globally. As projections suggest, the project could generate employment opportunities in western Wyoming for many years, with an anticipated peak of 1,600 construction jobs. Moreover, once operational, the facility is expected to require a workforce of 250 full-time employees.

This month has seen significant developments for the Natrium project. TerraPower recently publicized its inaugural series of supplier contracts in support of the Natrium reactor, a move poised to bolster the advanced nuclear supply chain across North America. Additionally, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was confirmed between TerraPower and Centrus Energy Corp. in July. The MOU aims to guarantee the supply of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for the Natrium reactor, aligning with the target operational date in 2030.

Operating under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), the Natrium reactor demonstration initiative is a joint effort between public and private sectors. The upcoming plant will serve to validate the Natrium technology’s design, construction, and operational attributes. Central to the project is a 345MW sodium-cooled fast reactor, accompanied by a molten salt-based energy storage mechanism.

This energy storage solution has the capacity to augment the system’s output to 500MW as required. This is comparable to the energy demand of roughly 400,000 residential units. Furthermore, the inherent flexibility of the energy storage system facilitates seamless integration with renewable energy sources.