Eco Factor: Bicycle light gets powered by electromagnetic induction.
Designed by industrial designer Kai Malte Roever, the PUYL is a bicycle pump that doubles as a permanent illuminating bicycle light that doesn’t need a battery to operate. The patent-pending device consists of a normal bicycle pump, which in this case charges a built-in battery using electromagnetic induction.
Eco Factor: Carbon neutral lodge gets powered by renewable energy.
The Eco Lodge by Satellite Architects is a zero-carbon, sustainable and off-grid lodge that meets Code for Sustainable Homes Level 5 standards. The off-grid lodge is designed to take advantage of the sun for natural heat and light and relies on surrounding air for ventilation.
Eco Factor: Energy saving system heats or cools interiors according to climate.
In a normal house, heat is either lost or gained through the most thermally weak points, the windows. An Italian company, VentroVentilato, is trying to make windows regulate interior temperature depending on the climate outside by a system of simple double- or triple-glazed windows that are equipped with a sensor-controlled fan.
Eco Factor: Solar-powered system to refine magnesium and use it as a source of fuel.
Oceans contain about 1800 trillion tons of magnesium, which if refined can be used to meet the world’s energy needs for the next 300,000 years. But refining this metallic element requires temperatures in excess of 4000C, which means a lot of money and energy. Future thinking scientist Takashi Yabe at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, believes that he has a system that can run on solar-power to refine magnesium.
Eco Factor: Zero-emission electric aircraft to run on hydrogen fuel cells.
Designers at the University of Stuttgart’s Institute of Aircraft Design have announced that they’ll be building an electric aircraft that will be powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Dubbed Hydrogenius, the aircraft will be equipped with a lithium battery and electric motor, which will use the power from the aircraft’s onboard hydrogen fuel cell system.
Eco Factor: Concept car designed to run on electric engine fueled by solar power.
Pforzheim University graduate Anne Forschner is one auto designer who believes that cars of the future need to harness renewable energy and convert it into usable fuel for a zero-emission ride. Anne has come up with a concept car, designed in collaboration with BMW, that mimics natural forms to harness solar energy.
Eco Factor: Hydrogen-fuel cell powered electric vehicle.
Designed by a student team from Ohio State University, the Buckeye Bullet 2 broke the 300mph barrier at the Bonneville Salt Flats by averaging 300.992mph in the flying kilometer with a top recorded speed of 304mph.
Eco Factor: Cellphone made from surplus wood.
NTT DOCOMO has announced that the company has developed a mobile phone prototype from surplus wood of trees culled during thinning operations to maintain healthy forests. The phone was developed in collaboration with Sharp Corporation, Olympus Corporation and “More Trees,” a reforestation project.
Eco Factor: Residential complex made from 1000 recycled shipping containers.
Designing homes from shipping containers isn’t a new concept, and we have already seen some stunning examples of what shipping container homes can look like. San Francisco-based Group 41 Inc is taking shipping container architecture to a whole new level by designing a residential complex from over 1000 recycled shipping containers.
Eco Factor: Overhanging structure generates solar energy.
The Solar Cloud is an inflatable, overhanging structure that has been designed to provide shade to a large cit space. The structure is designed to be made from lightweight materials that can easily be inflated and erected.
When scientists unveiled the mystery of boiling of fluids in the form of tiny “microchannels” they cracked various formulas and models to keep the high-power electronic gadgets cool. These high power electronics generally are electric and hybrid cars, aircrafts, computers and other devices. Suresh Garimella – the R. Eugene and Susie E. Goodson Professor [...]
Posted in: Electric Cars, Hybrid Cars, Transportation
Gujarat, a state of India, is quite eager to opt for alternative sources of energy. It started out as a small dream. The Gujarat government visualized only 500 MW of solar power generation by 2014. But this humble goal may now be increased to 3,000 MW. The Gujarat Government is undertaking a billion [...]
Posted in: Future Energy, Industry, Solar Power
IMEC (Interuniversity Microelectronics Center) has presented a large-area solar cell with 18.4% conversion efficiency at the ongoing European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (Hamburg, Germany). A world leader in its own right, IMEC is an independent research center working on nanoelectronics and nanotechnology. It is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, and has offices in Belgium, the [...]
Posted in: Industry, PhotoVoltaics, Solar Power
H2 Power Systems, an early development company, thinks it may have found a way to produce hydrogen on-site and on-demand at existing fueling stations. The idea would be to place solar panels atop filling stations and use high temperature cracking of water to create hydrogen and oxygen.
The brains behind the operation are entrepreneur Nils Kongmark plus two physicist colleagues. This thermolysis reaction of breaking up the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen also requires H2 Power System’s selective membrane filters for effective gas separation.
Mr. Kongmark also has a bit of a different idea when it comes to using this process to fuel hydrogen cars. He suggests using both the pure hydrogen and pure oxygen generated by his process to fuel the cars saying that pure oxygen will degrade the fuel cell less than using oxygen from the ambient air, which is how most if not all H2 fuel cell car manufacturers are currently building their vehicles.
Kongmark says there are two benefits to his system. The first benefit is that his H2 system will have a small footprint so that it can be placed in practically any location. The second benefit is that his process takes less energy to crack the water into hydrogen and oxygen than other known systems.
But, the proof is in the pudding as they say for this English company as they are still 6 months away from a working prototype. And after this building a working commercial system will be another hurdle.
The science however does sound promising. If H2 Power Systems can build a solar to hydrogen on-site, on-demand device, this will solve the transportation and distribution issue that is holding back a quick rollout of hydrogen pumps to already existing fueling stations nationwide.
General Motors, while downsizing its company in general, has decided also to downsize its next generation of fuel cell system by 220 pounds. The 5th generation fuel cell stack, GM says will be ready for prime time (production status) by 2015, which is the same time frame several other hydrogen car manufacturers have given for production rollout of their fuel cell vehicles.
GM says the size of the new fuel cell powertrain that is in development will fit underneath the hood and be about the size of a 4-cylinder engine. The current generation of fuel cell stack is only rated for 50,000 miles of use, so presumably, the higher durability of the new gen fuel cell stack will be at least 150,000 miles and hopefully 200,000 miles or higher.
Reducing costs and simplifying the manufacturing process are also top on GM’s agenda in getting the new gen fuel cell powertrain ready for production. Also, presumably many of these 2015 General Motors FCVs will be headed for Germany.
Two weeks ago I had talked about how 8 major companies in Germany (through the H2 Mobility Plan) were gearing up to have 1,000 hydrogen fueling stations installed in that country by 2015. Japan has also decided to quickly scale up its hydrogen highway network of H2 fueling stations as well.
According to GM’s Project Driveway, so far over 1,000,000 miles have been put on the Chevy Equinox FCVs and that number continues to climb. So far, GM says it has invested over .5 billion in fuel cell technology, so if they have to export their vehicles overseas starting 2015 (or perhaps set up production there as well) this is something that GM is quite willing to do.
The Ohio State Buckeye Bullet 2 has hit a new unofficial land speed record for fuel cell vehicles with an exit speed of 304 mph. The land speed record is still unofficial though because it has to be recognized by FIA or ASN.
The last time I had talked about the Buckeye Bullet 2 was in August 16, 2007 when the Ford 999 took the spot light by breaking the 200 mph record and got to join the 200 MPH Club at the Bonneville Salt Flats overshadowing the Buckeye Bullet 2’s 149 mph run.
However, on August 17, 2007, the Buckeye Bullet 2 also was honored to join the 200 MPH Club with its own record of 201.636 mph. The next year, in 2008, the Buckeye Bullet smashed this record at Bonneville.
According to their blog posted August 23, 2008, the Buckeye Bullet 2 achieved a top exit speed of 287 mph and a top instantaneous speed of 297 mph, just missing the 300 mph mark for which they were striving.
In 2009, the newest iteration of the Buckeye Bullet 2 uses a Ballard fuel cell coupled with a 700-horsepower custom built AC induction motor to achieve the 300+ mph. The Buckeye Bullet 2, however is still chasing the Buckeye Bullet 1 (an all electric vehicle) that set a national land speed record of 315 mph.
The Buckeye Bullet 2 isn’t finished however as it has several more runs before they call it a day. Keep your fingers crossed as this fuel cell vehicle is showing it is not only green but very, very powerful as well.
Ontario today launched the province’s long-awaited program of feed-in tariffs in response to its ground-breaking Green Energy Act.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke this week unveiled an accelerated plan for developing standards to transform the U.S. power distribution system into a secure, more efficient and environmentally friendly Smart Grid and create clean-energy jobs.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Energy Secretary Steven Chu this week hosted a group of clean energy developers and manufacturers at the White House to discuss how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) is creating jobs and helping expand the development of clean, renewable domestic energy.
The Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and Clean Edge Inc. announced the introduction of the Nasdaq OMX Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure IndexSM (Nasdaq: QGRD), a new benchmark for the smart grid and electric infrastructure sector. The index is a modified market-capitalization index and includes companies that are primarily involved in electric grid, electric meters, devices and networks, energy storage and management and enabling software used by the smart grid and electric infrastructure sector.
In a strange but interesting demonstration of cynicism, Governor Schwarzenegger recently signed an executive order directing state agencies to develop regulations requiring all utilities to achieve 33 percent renewable energy by 2020 — while at the same time promising to veto a far stronger and smarter mandate in two similar bills finally passed by the Legislature.
Eco Factor: Zero-emission car designed to run on lithium-ion batteries.
First-year students at the University of Sydney have spent the last five months designing and building an all-electric vehicle dubbed ManGo. The hand-built car is designed to be lightweight and features a four-wheel drive with a motor in each wheel, eliminating the need for mechanical brakes.
Eco Factor: Biofuel made from grass clippings and other organic waste.
In Brazil, nine out of ten cars run on sugarcane ethanol and in the US corn-based ethanol is more of a supplement. The rise in the demand of bio-fuel has forced scientists to think of ways to produce fuel which don’t depend on food crops. Scientists at the National Science Foundation think they can produce bio-fuel from leftovers such as grass clipping and other organic waste.
Eco Factor: Hybrid yacht generates solar energy to assist its electric engine.
French luxury brand Hermès and Monaco-based yacht maker Wally have teamed together to create a new company WHY (Wally-Hermès Yachts) and the team is designing a new boat that will offer luxury and sustainability in the same package.
Eco Factor: Fully functional robot made from trash.
While many would believe that the most trash can do is grace your living room if a creative eco-minded artist worked on it, Vu Van Thang, a 19-year-old inventor from Thai Binh province has won one of the five top prizes at the National Creativeness Competition for Children and Youth 2009 for a fully functional robot that has been made from found items.
Eco Factor: Prototype house generates more solar energy than it consumes.
Students from the Boston Architectural College (BAC) and Tufts University have completed their green home for the upcoming Solar Decathlon competition, which will be one of 20 designs competing for the title. Dubbed Curio, the design has been made considering its market viability and the availability of the systems which it uses.
Eco Factor: Car intended to be powered by a zero-emission electric engine.
All those who think that battery-powered cars should be lightweight and streamlined are in for a shocker as Auto Express has learnt that Rolls-Royce might be eyeing an electricity powered Phantom. The news broke as a company spokesman let slip that a battery-powered Phantom is something that the company is considering.
Eco Factor: Alternative heating fuel developed by Purdue University scientists vows to reduce sulfur emissions.
A blend of degummed soybean oil and No. 2 fuel oil can be used as an alternative heating fuel and reduce sulfur emissions, according to a Purdue University scientist. The scientist, Klein Ileleji, tested blends of 20 percent, 50 percent and 100 percent degummed soybean oil – an unrefined and cheaper product to produce than soy methyl esters, commonly known as biodiesel – and found that the 20 percent blend didn’t degrade a home furnace’s parts or heat output.
Eco Factor: Sustainable folding house prototype could help disaster relief operations.
When it comes to prefabricated housing, we envision hi-tech homes that can be transported in a truck and erected anywhere in a short span of time. Designers at MMASA and architect-artist Cipriano Chas have thought about the future prospects of low-cost compact houses and have come up with a prototype house dubbed buBbLe that folds into a box.
Eco Factor: Battery recharger charges dead disposable batteries ten times.
Rechargeable batteries, though expensive are great for the environment because it reduces the amount of batteries that clog the landfill after a single use. Battery Wizard is a unique device that lets you recharge disposable batteries up to 10 times thereby reducing the amount of batteries reaching the landfills by a factor of 10.
