Capturing excess heat to convert it into electricity can help the world become more energy-efficient, but currently technologies are expensive and not efficient enough. Panasonic is hoping to change that in the coming years with a tubular thermoelectric technology it has developed to tap wasted heat from sources such as hot springs and factories and (more…)

NASA has developed a system capable of growing large amounts of algae for biofuel production within a network of floating plastic bags, an innovation its developers say could ultimately produce a new fuel source.

By pumping wastewater and carbon dioxide into four nine-meter plastic bags at a demonstration plant in (more…)

Cyclone Power Technologies, a Pompano Beach, Florida company, focuses on solving our dependence on fossil fuels with its heat regenerative external combustion engines. In a recent press release Cyclone announced that it has received a patent in (more…)

There are so many smart new social innovation technologies coming out to create renewable fuels and power supplies. The latest discovery is that sewage plants are being used to not only treat waste but to also generate electricity. This knowhow is devised by Prof Bruce Logan, an environmental engineer specializing in water systems at Pennsylvania State (more…)

How Waste = Food

Imagine if we could create a super-efficient world where there was no waste… Actually, there’s no need to imagine it: nature is already ahead of us on this one.

In nature, almost all “waste” from one organism can be used as “food” or fuel by another organism—a (more…)

Mexico City has announced plans to close one of the world’s largest open-air garbage dumps as part of an initiative to convert more of the city’s waste into reusable materials or energy.

By the end of the year, garbage trucks will no longer be allowed to drop trash at the Bordo Poniente, a (more…)

A case study in Vermont suggests that it is economically feasible for dairy farms to convert cow manure into electricity using anaerobic methane digestion, provided there is adequate commitment from utilities, farmers, customers, and government agencies.

During a seven-year period, six dairy farms (more…)

Virgin Atlantic Airways has announced plans to fly commercial routes using a waste-based, synthetic gas fuel that produces half the carbon emissions of the typical jet fuel.

Using technologies developed by partners LanzaTech and Swedish Biofuels, Virgin says it will (more…)

A U.S. startup says it has developed a process to convert plastic waste into synthetic crude oil, a system that company officials say will provide a new fuel alternative while also removing massive amounts of industrial and municipal waste from landfills each year. (more…)

While ethanol made from food crops loses its credibility as a green alternative energy option, other methods of ethanol production are being developed as more sustainable alternatives.

One of the companies working to create second generation ethanol out of waste is Easy Energy (more…)