Category: Energy & Environment
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Generative AI uses more energy on non-English text
Models can use up to 15 times more energy to process and generate text in some of the world’s most widely spoken languages, often with lower-quality output.
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Optimizing AI energy consumption throughout its entire lifecycle
Funded with $1.83M from DARPA, University of Michigan Engineering leads a project that aims to cut AI’s energy needs by up to half.
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Small modular reactor potential lies in industry, not grid power
A roadmap for SMR deployment in the U.S. finds high profit margins in hydrogen production for ammonia and refining, but success hinges on a tax credit.
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Meeting EV electricity demand: upgrade grid first, then add V2G chargers
Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) chargers enable utilities to use EVs like a mobile battery network, but when and where they are deployed will determine how cost-effective they are.
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New nuclear requires strong governance to avoid making old mistakes
University of Michigan researchers call for policies to ensure that small modular reactors serve the public interest without creating and worsening familiar problems.
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From waste to asset: Turning ethanol production CO₂ into jet fuel
Manufacturing sustainable aviation fuel with CO₂ byproducts of ethanol production could reduce carbon intensity by more than 80% compared to fossil fuels.
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Nuclear microreactor controller offers autonomous load following
Rooted in physics, not AI, the new control algorithm autonomously adjusts reactor thermal power in high-fidelity simulations with 0.234% error while adhering to safety constraints.
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A dual ion beam tests new steel under fusion energy-producing conditions
Researchers establish long-term helium trapping and swelling by titanium-carbide nanoparticles in a novel RAFM steel.
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Reinforcement learning for nuclear microreactor control
A machine learning approach outcompetes the industry standard for adjusting power generation to meet demand, especially in imperfect conditions.
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U-M and UCR Launch New Alliance to Promote Hydrogen Fuel for Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Vehicles
U.S. lags behind other countries in support of hydrogen technologies.
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$5M to improve testing, durability, and noise levels of wave energy devices and offshore wind
The research could make offshore renewable energy more reliable and a better neighbor to marine life, also enabling laboratory testing of larger prototypes.
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Light, flexible and radiation-resistant: organic solar cells for space
Some carbon-based solar cells already show no drop in performance after three years’ worth of radiation, and the cause of degradation in others could be preventable.