Chemists have developed a way of converting methane gas into a powder form in order to make it more transportable.

Construction of new coal-fired power plants in the United States is in danger of coming to a standstill, partly due to the high cost of the requirement -- whether existing or anticipated -- to capture all emissions of carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas. But an MIT analysis suggests an intermediate step that could get construction moving again, allowing the nation to fend off growing electricity shortages using our most-abundant, least-expensive fuel while reducing emissions.

Engineers in Spain have developed an algorithm that can optimize hybrid electricity generation systems through combined use of renewable energies, such as photovoltaic and wind power, and non-renewables, such as diesel. Their study envisions storing the energy in batteries or hydrogen tanks.

Engineers in Spain have developed an algorithm that can optimize hybrid electricity generation systems through combined use of renewable energies, such as photovoltaic and wind power, and non-renewables, such as diesel. Their study envisions storing the energy in batteries or hydrogen tanks.

Ethanol helped drive two years of record profits for grain farmers, but also will hold income down during a looming recession that has already sliced crop prices in half, an economist says.

A modified method of producing biobutanol could make the fuel more competitive with ethanol as a clean-burning alternative to gasoline.

A modified method of producing biobutanol could make the fuel more competitive with ethanol as a clean-burning alternative to gasoline.

Researchers have shown that an alloy of the metals magnesium, titanium and nickel is excellent at absorbing hydrogen. This light alloy brings us a step closer to the everyday use of hydrogen as a source of fuel for powering vehicles. A hydrogen ‘tank’ using this alloy would have a relative weight that is sixty percent less than a battery pack.

Researchers have shown that an alloy of the metals magnesium, titanium and nickel is excellent at absorbing hydrogen. This light alloy brings us a step closer to the everyday use of hydrogen as a source of fuel for powering vehicles. A hydrogen ‘tank’ using this alloy would have a relative weight that is sixty percent less than a battery pack.

Scientists have found a fungus that produces a new type of diesel fuel. One of the researchers calls it "myco-diesel." The discovery may offer an alternative to fossil fuels, according to a professor of plant sciences and plant pathology involved in the research. The find is even bigger, he said, than his 1993 discovery of fungus that contained the anticancer drug taxol.

As the United States and other nations commit to the path of biofuels production, 23 scientists call for sustainable practices in an industry that will, as one of them says, "reshape the Earth's landscape in a significant way."

If the biofuel known as bioethanol is to make a major contribution to our fuel supplies, then we may well require the assistance of some tiny insect helpers, says an assistant professor of entomology.

Scientists in Italy are reporting that a new process could eliminate key obstacles to expanded use of coal gasification to transform that abundant domestic energy resource into synthetic liquid fuels for cars and trucks. 

Scientists in Italy are reporting that a new process could eliminate key obstacles to expanded use of coal gasification to transform that abundant domestic energy resource into synthetic liquid fuels for cars and trucks. 

As the search for new fuels intensifies, researchers in Texas report that switching to certain alternative fuels to power cars, trucks, and SUVs may require the use of much more water than conventional petroleum-based gasoline and diesel. The findings suggest that producing alternative fuels could strain already limited water supplies in some regions of the country.

Researchers are proposing a new "flexible" approach to producing alternative fuels, hydrogen and electricity from municipal solid wastes, agricultural wastes, forest residues and sewage sludge that could supply up to 20 percent of transportation fuels in the United States annually.