Monday, November 17, 2025

Pioneering clean hydrogen breakthrough: Dr. Muhammad Aziz to unveil multi-scale advances in chemical looping technology

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University

image:
Clean Hydrogen Production Based on Chemical Looping Technology: Micro- to System-Levels Developments
view more
Credit: Muhammad Aziz

A transformative approach to clean hydrogen production is set to take center stage in an upcoming international webinar that bridges molecular innovation with industrial-scale decarbonization.

On Wednesday, November 26, 2025, at 18:00 Beijing Time (CST), Dr. Muhammad Aziz, Associate Professor and Lab Head at the Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, will present his cutting-edge research on chemical looping-based hydrogen production, a technology that simultaneously generates high-purity hydrogen, captures CO₂, and recovers usable heat or power.

Unlike conventional steam methane reforming, which emits large amounts of carbon dioxide, chemical looping uses a closed-loop system of three interconnected reactors (fuel, steam, and air) and specialized oxygen carriers to enable efficient, low-emission hydrogen generation. Dr. Aziz’s work spans from microscopic analysis of oxygen carrier durability and reaction mechanisms to system-level integration across energy and heavy industries, offering a scalable blueprint for a hydrogen-powered future.

This talk will explore:

How advanced oxygen carrier materials ensure stable, long-term reactor performance
The role of process intensification in achieving near-zero-emission hydrogen
Real-world applications in power generation, steelmaking, refineries, and renewable energy storage
The remaining scientific, economic, and policy barriers to widespread adoption

Dr. Aziz is a globally recognized leader in sustainable energy systems, with over 300 peer-reviewed publications, a Google Scholar h-index of 62, and consistent recognition as a Top 2% Scientist worldwide by Stanford University (2021–2024). His Energy and Process Integration Lab at the University of Tokyo pioneers AI-driven optimization, digital twins, and circular energy solutions.

The session will be hosted by Prof. Siming You of the University of Glasgow, UK, a distinguished researcher in sustainable process engineering.

When: November 26, 2025, Beijing Time (CST): 6 pm

• Japan Standard Time (JST): 7 pm

• Greenwich Mean Time (GMT): 10 am

• Eastern Standard Time (EST, US & Canada): 5 am

How to Join:

Registration is free and open to all. Secure your access via: https://forms.gle/NjExknBbPY1EZNH77

Or join directly:

Zoom Meeting ID: 615 672 5359
Passcode: 123456
Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/6156725359?pwd=OGtWRlQ1Rk5uRVFnN2JJQk93SVp6dz09

This event is ideal for researchers, engineers, energy policymakers, graduate students, and sustainability professionals seeking actionable insights into next-generation clean hydrogen technologies.

As global momentum builds toward net-zero targets, chemical looping may well be the missing link between ambition and implementation. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of the field’s foremost innovators.

Let’s engineer a cleaner energy future, one hydrogen molecule at a time.

===

About Carbon Research

The journal Carbon Research is an international multidisciplinary platform for communicating advances in fundamental and applied research on natural and engineered carbonaceous materials that are associated with ecological and environmental functions, energy generation, and global change. It is a fully Open Access (OA) journal and the Article Publishing Charges (APC) are waived until Dec 31, 2025. It is dedicated to serving as an innovative, efficient and professional platform for researchers in the field of carbon functions around the world to deliver findings from this rapidly expanding field of science. The journal is currently indexed by Scopus and Ei Compendex, and as of June 2025, the dynamic CiteScore value is 15.4.

===

About Biochar

Biochar is the first journal dedicated exclusively to biochar research, spanning agronomy, environmental science, and materials science. It publishes original studies on biochar production, processing, and applications—such as bioenergy, environmental remediation, soil enhancement, climate mitigation, water treatment, and sustainability analysis. The journal serves as an innovative and professional platform for global researchers to share advances in this rapidly expanding field.

SwRI turbocharges its hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine

Engine advancements provide more power, torque and efficiency for heavy-duty trucking while providing near-zero emissions

Southwest Research Institute

image:
SwRI has a multidisciplinary team dedicated to Hydrogen Energy Research initiatives to deploy decarbonization technologies across a broad spectrum of industries. In 2022, SwRI began modifying a heavy-duty natural gas-fueled engine to run on 100% hydrogen fuel, successfully demonstrated in 2024. SwRI continues to research, design and innovate on H2-ICE technology. Learn more at *SwRI Hydrogen Energy Research*.
view more
Credit: Southwest Research Institute

SAN ANTONIO — November 17, 2025 — Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has upgraded its hydrogen-powered heavy-duty internal combustion engine (H2-ICE) with a state-of-the-art turbocharger. The upgrades have significantly improved performance across the board, making the engine competitive with current long-haul diesel engines focused on fuel economy while maintaining near-zero tailpipe emissions.

In 2023, SwRI converted a traditional natural gas-fueled internal combustion engine to run solely on hydrogen fuel with minimal modifications. It was integrated into a Class-8 truck as part of the Institute’s H2-ICE project to demonstrate a cost-efficient hydrogen-fueled engine as an option for zero-tailpipe carbon dioxide heavy-duty transportation.

The new turbocharger unit increases the truck’s already solid performance by increasing peak torque from 1,494 to 1,760-foot pounds (lb-ft) and peak power from 370 to 440 horsepower (hp). Modern long-haul heavy-duty engines range from 1,450 to 1,850 lb-ft and range between 400-500 hp.

“Upgrading this driven turbocharger gave us the airflow needed to continue improving the engine’s performance,” said Chris Bitsis, assistant director of SwRI’s Powertrain Systems Engineering Department, who oversees combustion research programs. “For instance, in addition to the torque and horsepower gains, the engine’s peak efficiency has also improved to 44.0%, which is class-leading for a spark-ignited engine. The torque and power ratings are comparable with diesel trucks focused on fuel economy currently on the road with the bonus of near-zero tailpipe emissions.”

Hydrogen engines often struggle to maintain the airflow necessary during fast acceleration to eliminate preignition and minimize NOX emissions. SwRI addressed this challenge by working with a commercial supplier that engineered the new turbocharger to SwRI’s specifications. The turbocharger shaft is mechanically linked to the crankshaft through a variable drive, allowing it to provide the necessary boost pressure on-demand.

“This is a significant milestone in the history of SwRI’s hydrogen combustion engine program and provides further evidence of the technology’s readiness,” Bitsis said. “We are excited to continue pushing this technology forward for a sustainable future.”

The Class 8 demonstration vehicle was developed as part of SwRI’s Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine (H2-ICE) consortium. SwRI continues helping the automotive and transportation industries understand and address technical challenges in developing clean and efficient hydrogen vehicles. The consortium’s completed Class 8 H2-ICE demonstration vehicle offers the long-haul trucking market another zero-greenhouse gas option. Learn more at H2-ICE2.

“I am proud of our team at SwRI for demonstrating that there is a high efficiency, zero-emission transportation solution available to help reduce CO2 and criteria pollutants,” said Daniel Stewart, Vice President of SwRI’s Powertrain Engineering Division. “The U.S. has the engine factories and supply chains necessary to put this technology into production today.”

SwRI has a multidisciplinary team dedicated to Hydrogen Energy Research initiatives to deploy decarbonization technologies across a broad spectrum of industries. Learn more at SwRI Hydrogen Energy Research.

For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/markets/automotive-transportation/automotive/hydrogen-powered-vehicles/hydrogen-internal-combustion-engine-2-h2-ice2-consortium.

Wearable lets users control machines and robots while on the move

University of California - San Diego

motion wearable 1 — image:
Wearable technology uses everyday gestures to reliably control robotic devices even under excessive motion noise, such as when the user is running, riding in a vehicle or in environments with turbulence.
view more
Credit: David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a next-generation wearable system that enables people to control machines using everyday gestures — even while running, riding in a car or floating on turbulent ocean waves.

The system, published on Nov. 17 in Nature Sensors, combines stretchable electronics with artificial intelligence to overcome a long-standing challenge in wearable technology: reliable recognition of gesture signals in real-world environments.

Wearable technologies with gesture sensors work fine when a user is sitting still, but the signals start to fall apart under excessive motion noise, explained study co-first author Xiangjun Chen, a postdoctoral researcher in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering. This limits their practicality in daily life. “Our system overcomes this limitation,” Chen said. “By integrating AI to clean noisy sensor data in real time, the technology enables everyday gestures to reliably control machines even in highly dynamic environments.”

The technology could enable patients in rehabilitation or individuals with limited mobility, for example, to use natural gestures to control robotic aids without relying on fine motor skills. Industrial workers and first responders could potentially use the technology for hands-free control of tools and robots in high-motion or hazardous environments. It could even enable divers and remote operators to command underwater robots despite turbulent conditions. In consumer devices, the system could make gesture-based controls more reliable in everyday settings.

The work was a collaboration between the labs of Sheng Xu and Joseph Wang, both professors in the Aiiso Yufeng Li Family Department of Chemical and Nano Engineering at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering.

To the researchers’ knowledge, this is the first wearable human-machine interface that works reliably across a wide range of motion disturbances. As a result, it can work with the way people actually move.

The device is a soft electronic patch that is glued onto a cloth armband. It integrates motion and muscle sensors, a Bluetooth microcontroller and a stretchable battery into a compact, multilayered system. The system was trained from a composite dataset of real gestures and conditions, from running and shaking to the movement of ocean waves. Signals from the arm are captured and processed by a customized deep-learning framework that strips away interference, interprets the gesture, and transmits a command to control a machine — such as a robotic arm — in real time.

“This advancement brings us closer to intuitive and robust human-machine interfaces that can be deployed in daily life,” Chen said.

The system was tested in multiple dynamic conditions. Subjects used the device to control a robotic arm while running, exposed to high-frequency vibrations, and under a combination of disturbances. The device was also validated under simulated ocean conditions using the Scripps Ocean-Atmosphere Research Simulator at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, which recreated both lab-generated and real sea motion. In all cases, the system delivered accurate, low-latency performance.

Originally, this project was inspired by the idea of helping military divers control underwater robots. But the team soon realized that interference from motion wasn’t just a problem unique to underwater environments. It is a common challenge across the field of wearable technology, one that has long limited the performance of such systems in everyday life.

“This work establishes a new method for noise tolerance in wearable sensors,” Chen said. “It paves the way for next-generation wearable systems that are not only stretchable and wireless, but also capable of learning from complex environments and individual users.”

Full study: “A noise-tolerant human-machine interface based on deep learning-enhanced wearable sensors.” Co-first authors on the study are UC San Diego researchers Xiangjun Chen, Zhiyuan Lou, Xiaoxiang Gao and Lu Yin.

This work was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA, contract number HR001120C0093).

The wearable system glued onto a cloth armband.

Credit

David Baillot/UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering

DOI

10.1038/s44460-025-00001-3

Article Title

A noise-tolerant human–machine interface based on deep learning-enhanced wearable sensors

Article Publication Date

17-Nov-2025

Using robotic testing to spot overlooked sensory deficits in stroke survivors

University of Delaware study could pave the way for more precise rehabilitation

University of Delaware

Detecting hidden sensory loss — image:
Joanna Hoh, a biomechanics and movement science (BIOMS) doctoral student at the University of Delaware, tests Don Lewis’ sensory loss in his arm post-stroke using a KINARM robotic exoskeleton.
view more
Credit: Ashley Barnas Larrimore/ University of Delaware

A decade ago, at age 55, Don Lewis suffered a stroke in his sleep. When he woke up, he couldn’t move his left arm or leg. Lewis’ neighbor realized his truck hadn’t moved in two days and called 911 for a welfare check. When paramedics found him, he was paralyzed on one side.

“At the hospital, they told me an aneurysm caused my stroke,” he said.

He would remain there for two months, and after extensive physical therapy, Lewis regained use of his left leg. His left arm remains paralyzed.

“I feel pain when I hit it or scrape it walking through a doorway, but I can’t control the motion.”

Since then, the cancer survivor has had two more strokes.

Now, Lewis is helping University of Delaware researchers understand one of the most overlooked challenges in stroke recovery – proprioception, the body’s ability to sense movement and position.

“To simplify the concept, in class, I tell my undergraduates to close their eyes and touch their nose; if people can’t do that, it means they likely have impaired proprioception,” said Jennifer Semrau, associate professor of kinesiology and applied physiology, in the College of Health Sciences.

In findings recently published in Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Semrau and doctoral candidate Joanna Hoh suggest it’s possible to identify hidden sensory losses after stroke without requiring patients to move their affected arm. This advance could make assessments more accessible in clinical settings.

Assessing movement

Inside the lab, Lewis is placed in a KINARM robotic exoskeleton that tracks upper limb movement, allowing Semrau to better understand the neural and behavioral mechanisms that contribute to his recovery of sensory and motor function.

Semrau’s lab used several tests, including a new one – the single-arm measurement- to gauge perception-based movement. The test moves Lewis’ stroke-affected arm robotically while he responds with his non-affected arm if he can feel the movement of his stroke-affected arm.

“We’re trying to determine the lowest level someone can detect their arm moving,” Semrau said.

The average person, who hasn’t had a stroke, can feel as little movement as a half centimeter. For people post-stroke, it varies.

“Some can’t tell their arm was moved 10 centimeters, and that could be the difference between touching a hot stove or a knife in the kitchen,” Semrau said.

The communication from the brain to the receptors in the muscles, which are responsible for detecting movement, is disrupted after a stroke.

“When you move, the receptors lengthen or shorten, and if the information isn’t getting from the brain to those muscle receptors, you can’t properly coordinate movement,” Semrau said.

However, someone with a proprioceptive deficit could still feel pain and may not have a touch impairment.

“Pain is part of the somatosensory system and is relayed on a different set of nerves. After a stroke, some may have increased or decreased sensitivity to pain, and it’s the same with touch,” Semrau said. “Every person is a fingerprint--impairments each person has after a stroke are unique and require individualized treatment."

The difficulty Semrau faces: it’s challenging to tease apart sensory deficits from motor deficits because they’re deeply intertwined.

“It’s hard to determine whether the issue is the person’s ability to feel the arm or their ability to move,” she said. “The tasks we’re studying in our lab get to the heart of the matter.”

From clinic to the classroom

Hoh, an occupational therapist, became interested in upper-limb stroke research after working with patients in rehabilitation.

“We often think about movement through motor function,” said Hoh. “I had a blind spot to the sensory system in terms of stroke recovery and realized this is an avenue we don’t consider enough as clinicians.”

That inspired her to pursue her doctorate in biomechanics and movement science at UD. Her dissertation focuses on individuals with sensory issues following a stroke and how these issues affect their daily activity levels.

Semrau hopes their ongoing research will raise awareness of the problem and encourage more clinicians to integrate this kind of precision testing.

“In one of our studies, we found that just 1% of clinicians assess proprioception in people with stroke,” Semrau said. “It’s a newer area, but research also shows that without sensory recovery, a person will not gain full recovery of function after a stroke.”

To develop a personalized medicine approach to treatment, both Semrau and Hoh emphasized the need for a better understanding of post-stroke impairments.

“The onus is on clinicians and researchers to ensure they’re testing for sensory deficits. Just because someone is impaired motorically, it doesn’t mean they will or won’t be impaired sensory-wise,” Hoh said.

Semrau added, “Understanding the connection between motor and sensory impairments that affect function is key to better targeting therapies and tailoring recovery for each individual.”

Journal

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair

DOI

10.1177/15459683251363245

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment