Particle Technology Plays Pivotal Role in Energy Transitions

In this article, we will look at the role of Particle Technology in Energy Transition. Technological progress over the past century has driven major advancements in Powder Technology across various fields, including oil, gas, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and chemicals. However, these advancements also bring challenges, such as waste, pollution, and inefficiency. Today, sustainability is essential in both new and legacy technologies. Extracting physical materials—such as fuels, plastics, fabrics, food, and building materials—demands substantial energy, often from fossil fuels. These activities result in pollution during extraction, production, waste handling, and recycling. Companies now turn to sustainable Powder Technology to boost profitability, comply with regulations, and seize emerging market opportunities.

Extracting these materials requires large amounts of energy, often from burning fossil fuels. These activities contribute to pollution across extraction, production, waste handling, and recycling stages. As a result, more companies now explore sustainable Powder Technology in production. This approach helps them increase profitability, comply with regulations, and prepare for future market opportunities.

Particle science plays a crucial role in developing complex, multi-component production and end-user systems. Efficiency is key, as productivity remains essential in today’s rapidly advancing technological era. With a growing focus on greener methods, industries aim to expand sustainably, supporting ecosystems and enhancing human well-being.

Advancements in particle science and technology increasingly prioritize eco-friendly processes. At DSS, we support this shift by helping implement improvements and specialized techniques. These methods are designed to handle particles in more sustainable manufacturing processes.

As a result, many everyday products now carry a reduced carbon footprint. Items like solid-state batteries, microchips, pharmaceuticals, food, and construction materials benefit from these environmentally friendly innovations.

Particle technology focuses on handling and processing particulates, from nanometers to centimeters, to improve sustainability, ease processing, and enhance efficiency. This field supports various industries by optimizing chemical transitions through powder technology and innovation. Particles carry electrical charges that can be positive, negative, or neutral, and when combined, they enable energy transitions. However, factors like substrate quality, particle size, purity, and additives can affect this transition.

With stricter regulations, science must adopt greener practices to meet the United Nations’ 2030 sustainability goals. Delft Solids Solutions supports this effort, partnering with industries to streamline production in a more sustainable direction.

The push for sustainability has gained significant momentum, influencing many industries to adopt greener practices. This shift has led to stricter regulations and improved production standards focused on reducing social and environmental impacts from resource extraction, production, and recycling. These standards require existing and new technologies to follow eco-friendly methods, encouraging particle technology to develop innovative solutions. Delft Solids Solutions specializes in research, testing, and solution development to help industries improve raw material extraction and production processes. By supporting compliance with these regulations, we help companies reduce pollution and move toward sustainable technologies. One example of this shift in energy transition is seen in the electric car battery industry.

Increasing the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries represents a key step toward a more sustainable future. Lithium-ion technology enables electrochemical energy storage and demonstrates the potential for energy transfer in solids.

In its pure form, lithium is highly reactive. By combining it with an alkali metal oxide like carbonate, lithium becomes stable lithium carbonate. This compound is widely used in industries to facilitate electricity transfer within batteries.

Lithium’s high tendency to lose its outer electron generates energy. When this electron is released, lithium discharges electricity from the anode, creating a flow of lithium ions to the cathode. This process enables electron transfer, powering the battery efficiently.

This process has improved over the years, with ongoing advancements in powder and particle technology enhancing efficiency. The goal is to create a more environmentally friendly energy source. For example, Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) facilitates electron transition from the anode to the cathode through an electrolyte. Studying particles’ behavior, size, and positioning is essential for system efficiency.

Laboratory research focuses on improving particle flow by addressing issues like heat buildup, overheating, and particle clumping. Researchers work to improve electron flow by refining medium layers and chemical structures within the substrate. This involves identifying the particle sizes and chemical reactions that best support efficient energy flow, benefiting both system performance and environmental impact in the long term.

Improvements in the macro-scale performance of batteries in electric cars and phones rely on micro and mesoscale reactions. Various techniques now study electrode materials for battery applications, providing particle-level insights at atomic resolution. These methods allow researchers to observe processes in situ, enhancing their understanding of battery material functions.

Collecting data from these reactions reveals lags or energy losses, which, when addressed, improve particle transitions. This data helps identify how particle sizes and their locations on the medium impact the lithium-ion discharge process. Such insights allow manufacturers to optimize energy transitions, enhancing battery efficiency.

Adjusting particles to address issues like overheating or poor distribution further boosts efficiency. These advancements support a more efficient, greener energy transition with extended battery storage, benefiting both technology use and the environment.

Advances in particle technology drive renewable energy improvements, including more efficient solar panels. Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) photovoltaic technology enhances electrical transitions between anodes and cathodes, offering a greener, less toxic alternative to silicon-based panels and cadmium telluride (CdTe).

Efficiency in CIGS photovoltaic cells relies on the electrical and optical qualities of the films. Delft Solids Solutions supports this by designing and testing CIGS films using advanced powder technology. These cells, with a positively charged CIGS layer beneath a cadmium sulfide layer, depend on precise powder design and particle distribution for effective energy transitions.

Like lithium-ion batteries, particle distribution and composition are crucial for solar panel efficiency. Thus, powder technology remains key to advancing sustainable solutions.

Delft Solids Solutions offers powder technology services, consulting, and research to develop new methods and solve industry challenges.