Scientists have used sugar to create a record-breaking battery capable of storing grid-scale energy for more than a year. The breakthrough could help speed up the transition to renewable energy sources, which require vast amounts of battery storage in order to avoid relying on fossil fuels to meet demand when solar or wind output is low. A team from the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) made the latest discovery while researching flow batteries, which use two liquid-filled chambers to produce an electrochemical reaction to store and release energy. Flow batteries have the potential to be scaled up to the size of football fields, capable of storing vast amounts of energy, however current methods for creating them rely on mined minerals that are difficult and costly to obtain. “This is a brand new approach to developing flow battery electrolyte,” said Wei Wang, a battery researcher who led the investigation into the new method. “We showed that you can use a totally different type of catalyst designed to accelerate energy conversion.” The researchers used a dissolved simple sugar called β-cyclodextrin, which is a derivative of starch, in order to boost their flow battery’s longevity and capacity. The system achieved 60 per cent more peak power than current methods, while also being capable of storing and releasing energy for more than a year continuously. The latest advance makes the next-generation battery design “a candidate for scale up”, according to the researchers. “We cannot always dig the Earth for new materials,” said Imre Gyuk, director of energy storage research at DOE’s Office of Electricity. “We need to develop a sustainable approach with chemicals that we can sythesize in large amounts – just like the pharmaceutical and the food industries.” A study detailing the research, titled ‘Proton-regulated alcohol oxidation for high-capacity ketone-based flow battery anolyte’, was published in the scientific journal Joule. Read More How tech could turn our homes into renewable energy power stations ‘Miracle material’ smashes solar panel efficiency threshold Mineral discovery could meet global battery and solar panel demand for next 100 years Why the Battle of the Boyne has made its way into your iPhone Twitter gets strange endorsement from Taliban over rival Threads

Senator Tommy Tuberville acknowledges "white nationalists are racists" after previously disputing the claim.

By Mike Scarcella A U.S. jury in Missouri on Tuesday said the National Association of Realtors and several

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday lashed out at Mike Pence, his former vice president and GOP presidential primary opponent, calling him "delusional" and "not a very good person."

Lily-Rose Depp's "The Idol" got a standing ovation at Cannes, the Nuggets eliminated the Lakers, Tom Brady buys piece of the Raiders and more in the Roundup.

The Internal Revenue Service is weighing whether to build its own free tax filing system and plans to launch a limited pilot program that will be available to some taxpayers next year during the 2024 tax filing season.

The Kentucky Wildcats and Indiana Hoosiers will renew their blue-blood college basketball rivalry, beginning in the 2025-26 season.

Drone footage shows the moment a Russian troop position is completely wiped out by a bomb in a huge explosion seen miles away from the impact. The clip was published by Ukraine’s defence ministry, which did not give any further details of the drone attack, although said it was carried out by the 72nd Mechanized Brigade. Earlier, president Vladimir Putin was accused of committing war crimes “on steroids” in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. US Republican senator Lindsey Graham also warned that the threat of the Kremlin using nuclear weapons was “real”. Speaking at a joint press conference with Democrat senator Richard Blumenthal, he said: “Senator Blumenthal and I want to put everybody in this congress on notice that the threat of a use of a nuclear device by Russia is real and the best way to deter it is to give them clarity as to what happens if they do that - they will be in a war with NATO.” Read More European Union countries agree on a new package of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine Jailed Putin critic Navalny launches anti-Kremlin campaign – as new trial could keep him in prison for decades Britain backs fast-track Nato membership for Ukraine

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MLB Rumors: Reds prospect Andrew Abbott adding name to list of young studsGiven how long the Cincinnati Reds have been in the cellar of the NL Central and MLB standings overall, it's not surprising that they've stockpiled some of the most exciting prospects in baseball. But while the lik...

Leaders of seven of the world’s most powerful democracies will gather this weekend for the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, the location of the world’s first atomic attack at the end of World War II

Europe is bracing for the possible influx of a drug that’s hooked the Middle East as political shifts