A team of four universities and three national laboratories, led by The University of Texas at Austin, developed a new approach for solid-state batteries, improving their performance while reducing the manufacturing costs. Solid-state batteries are an emerging energy storage technology that could unlock enhanced performance for drones, electronics and electric vehicles.

“The biggest game in town for next-generation batteries is making them all solid-state, allowing for improved safety and higher energy,” said David Mitlin, professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and the lead investigator on the new research published in Nature Materials. “However, much more work is needed before all solid-state batteries may be widely commercialized.”

Today, most lithium-ion batteries use an organic liquid electrolyte, a maple-syrup-like substance that allows lithium ions to reversibly shuttle back and forth inside the battery. Despite being technologically mature, liquid electrolytes are the hydrocarbon “fuel” in the oft-reported battery fires.

Solid, ceramic-based electrolytes reduce fire risks, eliminating the hydrocarbon fuel that sustains battery thermal runaway reactions. However, ceramic electrolytes face their own hurdles, including high costs, challenging quality control during manufacturing and premature failure due to metal filament (termed dendrite)–induced short-circuiting.

Oxide ceramics based on the garnet structure are key materials for all solid-state batteries. Garnet’s unique structure allows lithium ions to move quickly and efficiently, making it ideal for energy storage. But even garnet has struggled to overcome the dendrite problem, which is directly linked to the formation of small cracks inside the electrolyte.

Like a jeweler refining a gemstone, the researchers have polished the garnet to reveal its full potential. Dispersing micro-scale zirconia particles throughout the garnet grains suppresses both the cracking and the dendrites.

This method is based on carbide additives, which exothermically decompose during fabrication, inputting additional heat into the synthesis reaction. This creates an additional benefit of reducing the manufacturing cost by lowering the external temperature needed for processing.

“Zirconia really pulls double duty here,” said Yixian Wang, postdoctoral researcher in Mitlin’s lab, who is the co-lead author. “It helps densify the material while also preventing those pesky lithium dendrites from forming. It’s a win–win for battery performance and safety.”

In tests, the zirconia-modified garnet achieved nearly double the critical current density—the maximum current it can handle before short-circuiting—compared to unmodified garnet. This means batteries using this material can operate at higher power levels without compromising safety.

While battery science is the driving force of this research, the results may be applied to a wide variety of manufacturing sectors for high-quality ceramics, where defect control is essential.

A team of UC Riverside researchers has uncovered a potential breakthrough in solar desalination that could reduce the need for energy-intensive saltwater treatment.

Led by Luat Vuong, an associate professor of mechanical engineering in UCR’s Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering, the team has demonstrated for the first time how the highest frequencies of sunlight—specifically invisible ultraviolet (UV) light—can break the stubborn bonds between salt and water.

“To our knowledge, nobody else has yet articulated this deep UV channel for salt-water separation,” Vuong said. “UV light in the wavelength range of 300–400 nanometers is used for disinfection, but this deep UV channel, around 200 nanometers, is not well known. We may be the first to really think about how you can leverage it for desalination.”

While much work remains before practical applications are developed, the discovery provides a clear path for further research and innovation.

Published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, the study by Vuong and her colleagues details how the team made a wick from aluminum nitride—a hard, white ceramic—to separate salt from water by harnessing specific light wavelengths that interact with salt water without heating the bulk liquid.

Unlike traditional solar desalination methods, which rely on dark materials to absorb heat and boil water, Vuong’s approach could bypass the need for thermal processes altogether.

The experiments involved placing pairs of ceramic wicks in an enclosed chamber, with each allowed to equilibrate or adjust to similar environmental conditions. Under UV light, evaporation rates of salt water increased significantly compared to control samples kept in the dark or exposed to red, yellow, or infrared light.

“Aluminum nitride is well suited for emitting UV light due to its crystalline structure,” Vuong explained.

The material may be triggering a process called “photon upconversion,” in which low-energy photons combine into a single high-energy photon. That upconverted photon delivers a more powerful punch, potentially strong enough to break the salt-water bonds.

If this upconversion process occurs without generating excess heat, which is yet to be determined, the approach could offer a non-photothermal alternative to traditional solar desalination systems that boil or heat salt water to produce vapor, which then condenses into fresh water.

Such solar systems also could reduce the heavy electricity demands of reverse osmosis systems, which use high-pressure pumps to force salt water through membranes. The system could also address the concentrated reverse-osmosis brine waste, which is toxic to marine life when discharged into waterways.

Other potential applications for the wicking approach may be for other waste management processes, harvesting minerals in extreme environments, or replacing “swamp” coolers with salt water evaporation systems.

Still, Vuong emphasized that further research is needed before aluminum nitride-based solar desalination systems can be engineered for widespread use.

“Other materials may be designed to be just as effective, but aluminum nitride is practical. It is inexpensive, widely available, non-toxic, highly hydrophilic, and durable,” Vuong said.

Moving forward, Vuong’s group is designing system architectures, fabrication processes, and spectroscopic tools to better understand and enhance light-driven evaporation.

The Australian Digital Inclusion Index has found almost half of Australians recently used generative AI tools, raising new opportunities and challenges for digital inclusion.

Usage was highest among students, with 79% reporting recent use, while 69% of Aussies aged 18 to 34 have also engaged with GenAI.

Overall, 46% of Australians reported recently using GenAI.

People living in remote areas were twice as likely to use AI chatbots for social connections or conversations than those in metropolitan areas.

Australians who speak a language other than English at home were more likely to use GenAI, 59% compared to 41% of English-only speakers, likely due to advances in AI-powered translation.

About a third of people with disabilities have used GenAI, with strong use of these technologies among this group for entertainment and advice.

The study’s Chief Investigator, Distinguished Professor Julian Thomas from RMIT University, said GenAI was creating new digital divides but also presenting fresh opportunities.

“GenAI has the potential to deliver significant benefits for everyone, but its impact will be greatest if it’s implemented fairly and no one is left behind in the digital transformation,” he said.

“People with lower digital skills may be less likely to benefit from AI, while being more exposed to new risks such as scams, misleading content and invasive data practices.

“As technologies like GenAI and new security tools evolve quickly, people need to keep refreshing their digital skills to stay current.”

The most common uses for GenAI were generating text, creating images and creating programming code.

Access and skills improving but persistent barriers remain

The Australian Digital Inclusion Index measures how Australians access and use digital technologies, factoring in digital skills and affordability.

It’s a collaboration between the ARC Center of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology and Telstra.

Australians’ overall skills and confidence to use digital technologies strengthened, rising 8.7 points between 2023 and 2025 to 73.6.

The largest gains were among people aged 75 and over, whose digital ability increased from 23.3 to 41.5, and among those without secondary education, rising from 38.5 to 54.4.

While the findings suggest digital inclusion is improving, about one in five Australians still struggle to fully access, afford and use technology.

Chief Investigator Professor Anthony McCosker from Swinburne said the report showed major gaps between Australians who can fully participate in the digital economy and those being left behind.

“Digital exclusion remains a big challenge, particularly for older Australians, those in remote communities and people experiencing social and economic disadvantage,” he said.

It’s more than just an inconvenience; digital exclusion cuts people off from vital services and opportunities in education, work and health.

Regional Australia still lags cities in digital inclusion

The most digitally excluded were older people, those facing social or economic disadvantage and First Nations Australians.

Gaps between those in capital cities and the rest of Australia remain significant, with digital inclusion scores trending downward with remoteness.

Access, affordability and digital ability scores were below the national average in Tasmania, South Australia and Queensland, while Northern Territory residents faced significant access challenges.

Telstra Chief Sustainability Officer Justine Rowe said the company would use the evidence in the Index to target support where it can have the greatest impact.

“Closing Australia’s digital divide is a focus for Telstra’s Connected Future 30 strategy and we commit to supporting the digital inclusion of 1 million people by FY2030, with at least 200,000 in the Northern Territory, South Australia or Tasmania where there continue to be significant digital inclusion challenges,” she said.

Across Australia, inner-metropolitan areas had the highest levels of digital inclusion, while remote and very remote local government areas had the lowest scores.

The study found many low-income households were unable to afford a home internet connection, leaving them reliant on pre-paid mobile as their main, and often only, way to get online.

Public housing residents, people without secondary education and people with disability faced the greatest challenges in paying for digital services.

There was a significant affordability gap of 13 points between First Nations people and other Australians.

More data specific to mapping the digital gap for First Nations Australians is expected to be released by the ARC Center of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society in December.