Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) has built its reputation on printers, PCs and other tech gear. Now it's lending a hand to a much different industry: solar.

HP had a recent announcement that it will license technology it co-developed with Oregon State University to solar startup Xtreme Energetics, which hopes to launch its first products in two years. The HP technology will help grab the sun's rays for solar panels in a way that could generate electricity at twice the efficiency and half the cost of traditional solar panels, the companies say.

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General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner announced Tuesday that his board has given the green light to begin manufacturing the Chevy Volt, an extended-range electric vehicle. He pledged to get the Volt into dealerships by late 2010.That would be earlier than the timetable announced by Nissan Motor CEO Carlos Ghosn, who in mid-May said that Nissan would sell large numbers of electric vehicles to U.S. consumers by 2012 and would offer electric cars for corporate fleets in 2010.

Across GE's production line, work is under way to use new battery technologies to help propel tugboats, power delivery trucks and heavy machinery and even support diesel locomotives.

Lithium-ion batteries, which revolutionized consumer electronics, are being developed to power cars. Not only do they store more energy in smaller spaces, but they also lose their charges slowly. Several carmakers and GE are racing to develop new kinds of lithium-ion batteries for autos.

Full report here -Research may yield an electric car

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Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have revealed that they have driven a car 650 miles on one tank of liquid hydrogen. In a recent test, the team installed a super-insulated hydrogen gas tank in a standard Prius hybrid that was able to keep a full load of the liquid without evaporating for six days, setting a new world record.

The 300-pound tank removes a lot of obstacles to the development of hydrogen-powered cars. Current versions, such as the fleet of hydrogen-electric Toyota Prius’s used by various city governments across Southern California, run on compressed hydrogen gas, and have a limited range of around 80 miles between fill-ups. Even a fairly modest three-gallon tank fills the entire trunk of a Prius, but still only allows a range of around 200 miles, not really enough to compete with gasoline-only vehicles. One way to overcome this limitation is by using liquid hydrogen, which takes up around a third of the volume of compressed gas. However, it is much more difficult to handle, mainly because it must be kept at very low temperatures (around -420oF) and extremely high pressure to prevent it from evaporating as the engine heats up.

More from here - Breakthrough Hydrogen Car Gets 650 Miles Per Tank

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Battery company Superlattice Power (until very recently called Hybrid Technologies) has released a new report which makes a few bold claims about its new lithium ion polymer battery.The company claims to have made significant strides through the advent of a new cathode material which uses the “superlattice” structure seen above. The new tech battery will supposedly allow for automotive applications capable of traveling over 200 miles on one charge and operate on the higher than normal voltage range of 4V to 2.3V. If proven to be true those claimed specs would mean a substantial gain over current li-ion batteries which give an effective range of roughly 120 to 140 miles.

Full report here

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Toyota has announced what it claims is a major breakthrough in fuel cell technology, with a new prototype that is capable of more than doubling the range of previous fuel cell vehicles.

The Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle – Advanced (or FCHV-Adv) has a range of 510miles on a single 156-litre tank of Hydrogen – the company’s previous-generation FCHV could only extract 205miles from its 148-litre tank. More important, from the point of view of corporate honour, the FCHV-Adv has double the claim range of the Honda FCX Clarity.

The dramatic extension in range has been achieved by improving the performance of the fuel cell, improving regenerative braking which feeds a battery-hybrid system and reducing the amount of power consumed by auxiliary systems.

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EMTA Holdings, Inc., an energy, fuel and environmental conservation company, announced recently that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality ("TCEQ") has re-evaluated the emissions data and determined that Clean Boost LE Diesel Fuel Treatment does meet the state's stringent low-emission diesel fuel regulations. Clean Boost LE Diesel Fuel Treatment is produced by White Sands, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMTA Holdings.

Tests conducted in the past by the independent nonprofit research institute in San Antonio, Texas, demonstrated that the Clean Boost LE Diesel Fuel Treatment additive reduces nitrous-oxide (NOx) emissions and particulate matter (black smoke) to levels that bring diesel-powered vehicles into compliance with the regulations of the TCEQ -- without impacting fuel economy. The testing was observed and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is considering extending the strict clean air regulations in Texas to the rest of the nation.

Full report from here

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Webasto Product North America, a global leader in heating and cooling solutions for the light and heavy-duty transportation industries, has received California's Air Resources Board (CARB) approval for its BlueCool Truck Bunk Cooler. Out of all CARB approved devices, BlueCool Truck (BCT) is the only engine-off technology that has no emissions when in use.

BlueCool Truck's source of cooling is a high-tech cold storage unit that is charged (frozen) while the truck is running. During times of driver rest, the system utilizes only small amounts of electricity from the existing vehicle batteries (no additional batteries are needed) to circulate super-chilled coolant between the cold storage unit and a heat exchanger installed in the truck sleeper cabin. Once charged, the system uses no diesel fuel and therefore produces no emissions during the cooling operation because it runs independently of the OEM air conditioning system.

The principle behind how BlueCool Truck works is not a new discovery, it is a natural phenomenon called latent heat. It has been known for centuries that ice has poor thermal conductivity and extracting cold storage efficiently and effectively is extremely difficult. This problem has been overcome now by embedding the water/ice in a high-tech graphite matrix, with a resulting thermal conductivity that is 100 times better than a pure water/ice exchange. The design provides a highly efficient, compact and dynamic thermal energy storage system that produces an assured cooling output at a constant temperature.

Full article here - Zero-Emission, Idle-Reducing Cooling Product From Webasto Earns CARB Approval

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If you've ever rushed to save your files before your laptop battery gave out, or scrambled to recharge your iPod, or wished out loud for the resurrection of the electric car ... relief is in sight.

Yet another battery breakthrough is on its way to market, taking its place alongside improved hybrid-electric vehicles, the promise of ultracapacitor systems and even better AA power cells. Next-generation batteries could well last several times as long as current power packs, thanks to nanotechnology.

More from here - A 'Revolution in Batteries'

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One of the most promising new ideas in energy efficiency comes from researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The proposition: get more power and efficiency out of turbocharged motors by injecting ethanol, methanol or E85 (85 percent methanol, 15 percent gasoline) into the engine at times of higher demands for power.

The MIT crowd claims this technology can boost gas mileage by as much as 30 percent, and that it allows a high-compression engine and high-boost turbocharger to operate on regular gasoline. Daniel Cohn, senior research scientist at the MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment, and other MIT professors, have formed a company, Ethanol Boosting Systems, and are testing their concept with Ford Motor.

On another front, Daimler and General Motors are experimenting with motors that run on gasoline but combine features of traditional gasoline engines (fuel ignited by a spark) and diesel technology (fuel ignited by compression of fuel and air).

More from here -Automakers explore gas-saving technology

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Researchers have made a breakthrough in the development of "green gasoline," a liquid identical to standard gasoline in energy contant yet created from sustainable biomass sources like switchgrass and poplar trees. The discovery could transform the renewable fuel economy by eliminating the need to grow corn for ethanol and rescue America from importing expensive and dwindling foreign oil supplies.

The latest pathways to produce green gasoline, green diesel and green jet fuel are found in a report sponsored by NSF, the Department of Energy and the American Chemical Society entitled "Breaking the Chemical and Engineering Barriers to Lignocellulosic Biofuels: Next Generation Hydrocarbon Biorefineries" released April 1 (http://www.ecs.umass.edu/biofuels/). In the report, Huber and a host of leaders from academia, industry and government present a plan for making green gasoline a practical solution for the impending fuel crisis.

Full report from here - Green Gasoline Biofuel Breakthrough

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Sen. Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat will fill up a hydrogen-powered pickup "and hopefully drive off." Dorgan will be a featured dignitary at the dedication of a $2 million wind-to-hydrogen plant near Minot that he worked to fund over the past three years.

"This is really kind of a breakthrough project, using the wind to produce hydrogen," Dorgan said. "It's an exciting conclusion for me to see this project take shape."

Dorgan said the plant, which is about the size of a garage, uses intermittent power from wind turbines to produce and store hydrogen fuel without creating pollution.

The project is a collaboration of Bismarck-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative, the University of North Dakota's Energy and Environmental Research Center, North Dakota State University's North Central Research Center and other partners. Basin spokesman Daryl Hill said the project is a first for North Dakota.

More from here - Wind-to-hydrogen project about to get started

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Enphase Energy, a solar panel start-up which has recently acquired $6.5 million in funding, has introduced a new kind of solar panel system. In conventional solar arrays, inverters are separate entities from the solar panels, usually hung somewhere at a distance. This system by Emphase, however, integrates a "microinverter" onto the solar installation, allowing conversion of direct current to alternating current right on the panels themselves. Doing so will reportedly yield a more efficient system.

More from here - Enphase Energy Intros Solar Panel System with Microinverter

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Renewable energy from the wind, which previously could only be generated in restricted geographic locations – typically off-shore or in remote rural areas – can now be made available almost anywhere, including urban environments, with the introduction of the AeroCam wind turbine. The AeroCam, developed by BroadStar Wind Systems, was designed and patented for commercial applications. With its parallel rotor blades, not only does it look radically different from conventional propeller designs, but also can be manufactured, transported, installed and maintained at lower cost.

“Wind energy now can be made directly available to everyone,” says Stephen Else, president of Dallas-based BroadStar Wind Systems. “By harnessing its power in almost any setting, the AeroCam can now generate energy close to where it’s actually required. This is a new and exciting product with great potential.” Following four years of research and development and the issuance of U.S. patents, the company is currently in the final stages of negotiations to place the product with two Fortune 100 companies.

Full article here

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Pretty soon, though, the biggest contribution we can make as individuals to reducing carbon footprint may not be a Prius in the driveway. Instead, it’ll be a Honda in the basement.

Last year Climate Energy in Medfield ran a demonstration project in sixteen Massachusetts homes, replacing their gas-fired forced-hot-air heating systems with a new high-efficiency “freewatt” system featuring a Honda MCHP (Micro-CHP) unit. CHP stands for “Combined Heat and Power.” The unit is a small generator that takes advantage of heat thrown off generating electricity to provide a second home heating source.

The results were impressive. Using the same amount of gas (or in some cases a bit less), the homeowners were able to both heat their homes and dramatically cut their electrical bills. When home electrical use was low, the owners had the pleasure of actually seeing the electrical meter run backwards.

More from here - A Breakthrough in Home Energy Conservation

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Toyota Motor Corp plans to provide, for the third year in a row, home-use fuel cell cogeneration units as part of a government project to verify the practical use of CO2-reducing stationary fuel cells.

The municipal-gas-fueled 1-kW home-use fuel cell cogeneration units—which generate electricity and capture waste heat for household heating—are to play a role in the continuing Large-Scale Stationary Fuel Cell Demonstration Project of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Twenty-four of the units will be provided to project participant Toho Gas Co., Ltd. (Toho), which will install them in homes in three central-Japan prefectures (Aichi, Gifu and Mie) to collect data toward commercialization. The government project, which was originally scheduled to conclude on March 31, 2008, is now expected to run until the end of March 2009.

Full report here - Home-Use Fuel Cell Cogeneration Project

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Texas instruments announced a new line of microcontrollers today that it claims offers a breakthrough in performance while requiring a miniscule amount of power. The microcontrollers are from the MSP430F5xx family and offer up to 25MHz of performance with as 160 µA/MHz of power needed.

The controllers will enable portable devices to have longer battery life, additional memory, and on-chip peripherals. The peripherals include things like RF, USB, encryption and LCD interfaces. TI says that the microcontroller will be seen in devices like consumer electronics, home automation, and more.

More from here - Texas Instruments Introduces Breakthrough Microcontrollers

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A retired Queensland scientist says he has developed technology that could fast-track the widespread use of electric cars.

Peter Rays - from Stanthorpe - says he has been able to create super-conduction at room temperature, allowing more electrical current to flow through a substance.

He says the discovery has significant uses in computer and microwave technology and could see electric cars recharged in less than five minutes.

More from here - Retired scientist claims electric car breakthrough

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The Tesla Roadster, despite being a 100% electric car, is considered by its makers as a sports car. And yes, the Roadster does have stunning looks that makes it look like a legitimate sports car. But even better is the fact that it is a legitimate sports car. 0-60 mph in just 3.9 and the top speed of a little more than 130 mph. The car is also capable of delivering an amazing 13,000 rpm. All that without burning any fuel.

The car truly gives the best of both worlds. It gives the thrill of speed (its acceleration rate beats the Porsche 911 GT3) without the environmental and monetary side effects of a gas guzzling super car engine. Other benefits include the fact that the Tesla Roadster can travel 220 miles before recharging. The elictrical cost to the owner would be roughly two cents per mile. That is like the equivalent of having a 135 MPG car that can still deliver the way performance oriented sports cars should deliver. It is one truly enticing car.

Full story from here - Tesla Roadster: Electric Car Breakthrough?

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Advances in lithium-ion battery technology will boost the range of electric vehicles to 400 kilometers (248 miles) by 2015, the head of research and development at Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday.

Mitsuhiko Yamashita, Nissan's executive vice president for research and development, said advances in lithium-ion battery technology will dramatically boost the operating range of electric vehicles, potentially broadening their appeal. The breakthrough will come with so-called fourth-generation lithium-ion batteries that will be ready by 2015, he said.

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Physicist Bram Hoex and colleagues at Eindhoven University of Technology, together with the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, have developed a process that improves the energy produced by solar panels by six per cent (in relative terms), a new world record in solar cell efficiency.

By using an ultra-thin aluminium oxide layer at the front of the solar cell, Hoex was able to improve the cell’s conversion of sunlight into energy from 21.9 per cent to 23.2 per cent. The record breaking technology was showcased in the USA at a major solar power convention.

More from here - Solar Panels – World Record Breakthrough in Cell Efficiency

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PermaLink - Solar Panels Energy Efficiency Increased by 6% - Bram Hoex, Eindhoven University   0 Comments

Toyota Motor Corp plans to provide, for the third year in a row, home-use fuel cell cogeneration units as part of a government project to verify the practical use of CO2-reducing stationary fuel cells.

The municipal-gas-fueled 1-kW home-use fuel cell cogeneration units—which generate electricity and capture waste heat for household heating—are to play a role in the continuing Large-Scale Stationary Fuel Cell Demonstration Project of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Twenty-four of the units will be provided to project participant Toho Gas Co., Ltd. (Toho), which will install them in homes in three central-Japan prefectures (Aichi, Gifu and Mie) to collect data toward commercialization. The government project, which was originally scheduled to conclude on March 31, 2008, is now expected to run until the end of March 2009.

More from here - Home-Use Fuel Cell Cogeneration Project

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for up to $130 million over three years, subject to Congressional appropriations, to advance the development and use of fuel cells for automotive, stationary, and portable power applications.

The DOE is also seeking proposals to demonstrate fuel cells in distributed energy systems and to support market transformation that provide real-world operation data. The Department anticipates making up to 50 awards through this competitive funding opportunity, which is open to industry, universities, and national laboratories.

More from here - Advance Fuel Cell Technology Funding

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A group of engineers at MIT has developed a new type of membrane for one type of fuel cell which they claim could improve power output by more than 50 per cent.

The new material is considerably less expensive than its conventional industrial counterpart, and could help fuel cells to find a much broader market, particularly in portable electronics.

"Our goal is to replace traditional fuel-cell membranes with these cost-effective, highly tuneable and better-performing materials," said Paula T. Hammond, Bayer Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, and leader of the research team.

More from here: MIT boffins claim fuel cell breakthrough

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Researchers in Australia have produced highly efficient miniature crystals -- a breakthrough which they claim can soon revolutionise the way people harvest and use solar energy.

Lead researcher Professor Max Lu from the University of Queensland said they were one step closer to the holy grail of cost-effective solar energy with their discovery.

"The beauty of our technique is that it is very simple and cheap to make such materials at mild conditions. Now that the research has elucidated the conditions required, the method is like cooking in an oven and the crystals can be applied like paints," the 'Nature' quoted Lu as saying.

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In a major sustainability milestone for the industry, InEnTec Chemical LLC yesterday announced it successfully completed demonstration of its mobile Plasma Enhanced Melter for four of the world's largest chemical companies to produce ultra clean, hydrogen rich synthesis gas (referred to as "syngas") from chemical residuals that would normally be treated as hazardous waste and incinerated. This follows a recent announcement by Dow Corning to adopt InEnTec Chemical's technology for application at its Midland Michigan plant.

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Using computational methods to guide their experimental work, Australian and Chinese researchers have developed a method of producing titanium oxide crystals with more reactive surfaces, providing a path to commercially available nanotech methods within five years for removing pollution from water and air, within within ten years for solar energy conversion.

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HTC Purenergy announced a new CO2 Capture cost reduction breakthrough - the Thermal Kinetics Optimization process. TKO will be added to the existing base Purenergy CCS CO2 Capture System and will substantially reduce the energy requirements of capturing CO2 from post-combustion coal and natural gas power plants.

The TKO process improves the CO2 Capture System through heat recovery, thermal balancing and optimized process flow. The primary advantage of this newly patented system is that it directly reduces the largest single cost of CO2 capture - the use of power plant steam - to a ratio of below 1 unit steam required to 1 unit CO2 captured.

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Global Solar Energy, a solar industry leader that manufactures highly-efficient thin-film solar cells for glass modules or flexible material products, today announced a major breakthrough for silicon module and Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) manufacturers looking to quickly and efficiently incorporate thin-film technology into their manufacturing processes.

Global Solar’s new PowerFlex Solar Strings provide a pre-connected format to its Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide (CIGS) cells that makes it easy for product designers and module manufactures to quickly and easily benefit from the low cost, high efficiency and flexible nature of CIGS.

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Germany is again making news in the solar field with the announcement of the industry’s first ever Gen 8.5 (5.7 m^2 ) silicon thin film solar PV module at Signet Solar’s new factory near Dresden. The accomplishment at the company's 200,000 square foot production facility and is another step towards lowering the cost of renewable solar energy through thin film technology.

Signet Solar says it has lowered the production cost of photovoltaic (PV) modules by combining silicon thin film technology with very large area manufacturing and an industry standard equipment set. The initial modules from the new manufacturing line met the specification of the product and were confirmed by independent testing by Fraunhofer Institute. Signet will start prototype production in early June and will showcase the Gen 8.5 module product line at the Intersolar Conference in Munich. Commercial production will start in the third quarter of 2008, with capacity expansion to over 100MW at the same site expected by 2009.

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Two Japanese companies, Mitsubishi Chemicals and Sumitomo Chemical, are working on spreadable electronics, an idea that has nothing to do with margarine and everything to do with potentially making electronics that doesn't have to be plugged in.

The molecular soup mixture would have organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and solar cell building blocs that can be spread or even sprayed like paint in an ultra-thin layer that is only 100 nm thick. By combining both technologies, it may be possible to have displays on the market that don't even have to be plugged in but charged using solar panels. The companies even say it could be sprayed onto the back of cell phones to charge up the device.

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Biosolar’s a toddler chronologically just turned two years old in April. But they’re already publicly traded and they could stand tall in the expanding field of photovolataics, making electricity from the sun. The firm is based in Santa Clarita in Southern California, so they know about sunlight. And their CEO/President, Dr. David Lee, knows a bit about the current components of standard photovoltaic panels. And he expects his company to soon begin contributing to better, greener panels.

Biosolar’s goal: to replace all the petroleum-based materials and glass coatings now used in current photovoltaic cells. Dr. Lee explained that up to 25% of the cost of any current solar panel is actually taken up with the coatings, front and back, portions not used to generate electricity. Portions that currently are made from petroleum, or glass, not renewable resources.

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For a long time it has seemed that affordable solar panels were not going to happen in the foreseeable future; however, a breakthrough from the HelioVolt Corporation has raised the possibility that we just might. HelioVolt has managed to produce thin film solar panels with a 12.2% conversion rate.

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As a child, you might have used magnifying lenses to focus sun's rays onto anything you wanted to burn. Even if you haven't, you'd be well aware that it's possible to do so. IBM takes it to a whole new level and used a magnifying glass to significantly improve solar energy output.

According to test results, IBM was able to capture 230 watts of energy on just one centime of solar cell which would then be converted to 70 watts of usable electricity. That is FIVE times the usual output of typical PVs. So, if just a small surface area could generate electricity which could power whole structures, for example, this means there'd be a decrease in the needed quantity of photovoltaics, thereby lessening installation costs.

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Physicist Bram Hoex and colleagues at Eindhoven University of Technology, together with the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, have developed a process that improves the energy produced by solar panels by six per cent (in relative terms), a new world record in solar cell efficiency.

By using an ultra-thin aluminium oxide layer at the front of the solar cell, Hoex was able to improve the cell’s conversion of sunlight into energy from 21.9 per cent to 23.2 per cent. The record breaking technology was showcased in the USA at a major solar power convention.An improvement of more than 1 per cent (in absolute terms) may at first glance appear modest, but it can enable solar cell manufacturers to greatly increase the performance of their products.

The ultra-thin (about 30 nanometers) aluminium oxide film contains unprecedented high levels of built-in negative charges, preventing the significant energy losses that usually escape from the surface of solar cell arrays during the day.

Full report from here

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A new combination of nano and solar technology has made it possible for solar electric generation to be cheaper than burning coal. Nanosolar, Inc. has developed a way to produce a type of ink that absorbs solar radiation and converts into electric current. Photovoltaic (PV) sheets are produced by a machine similar to a printing press, which rolls out the PV ink onto sheets approximately the width of aluminum foil. These PV sheets can be produced at a rate of hundreds of feet per minute.

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Whenone of the world’s mightiest corporations throws everything it’s got at a project, and when it shreds its rule book in the process, the results are likely to be impressive. Still, even for General Motors, the Volt is a reach. If it meets specifications, it will charge up overnight from any standard electrical socket. It will go 40 miles on a charge. Then a small gasoline engine will ignite. The engine’s sole job will be to drive a generator, whose sole job will be to maintain the battery’s charge—not to drive the wheels, which will never see anything but electricity. In generator mode, the car will drive hundreds of miles on a tank of gas, at about 50 miles per gallon. But about three-fourths of Americans commute less than 40 miles a day, so on most days most Volt drivers would use no gas at all.

Because it will have both an electric and a gasoline motor on board, the Volt will be a hybrid. But it will be like no hybrid on the road today. Existing hybrids are gasoline-powered cars, with an electric assist to improve the gas mileage. The Volt will be an electric-powered car, with a gasoline assist to increase the battery’s range.

Source: Electro-Shock Therapy

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The 2-Mode Hybrid system uses a new, electrically variable transmission (EVT) that offers the best of both worlds: fuel economy and real SUV capability. The two modes consist of a continuously variable operation, for low-load driving situations and a fixed-gear operation, for high-load conditions such as towing or highway driving.

Drawing on experience gleaned in the development of hybrid bus propulsion systems, GM designed the two-mode EVT to provide the best combination of city and highway fuel economy; it is used in concert with the 6.0L Gen IV V-8 engine with Active Fuel Management. Furthermore, the EVT is designed to bolt directly to the standard four-wheel-drive transfer case found on the gasoline-only models for true four-wheel-drive capability.

The Escalade Hybrid’s drivetrain is made up of components, each of which works together to provide seamless, economical and comfortable operation that goes virtually unnoticed by the driver ...

Source: 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid

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As ethanol and biodiesel help to allay some of the strain caused by increasing core commodity prices and imported oil nearing $140 a barrel, research conducted on biomass feedstocks such as algae continues to gain traction as a viable means for “closing the loop” on energy sustainability. One company in particular is striving to meet this goal.

San Diego, Calif.-based Sapphire Energy was founded in 2006 on the basis of this principle philosophy when it debuted its “green crude”, a gasoline equivalent refined from algae that comes in light and heavy fractions; the light being gasoline and a heavy being kero-disel (or jet aircraft fuel). Although it won’t divulge its production process specifically, according to Sapphire Chief Executive Officer Jason Pyle, the company is producing 91 octane gasoline built on the platform that uses nothing more than sunlight, carbon dioxide and complex photosynthetic microorganisms.

Source: Sapphire Energy unveils world’s first renewable gasoline

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Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have revealed that they have driven a car 650 miles on one tank of liquid hydrogen. In a recent test, the team installed a super-insulated hydrogen gas tank in a standard Prius hybrid that was able to keep a full load of the liquid without evaporating for six days, setting a new world record.

The 300-pound tank removes a lot of obstacles to the development of hydrogen-powered cars. Current versions, such as the fleet of hydrogen-electric Toyota Prius’s used by various city governments across Southern California, run on compressed hydrogen gas, and have a limited range of around 80 miles between fill-ups. Even a fairly modest three-gallon tank fills the entire trunk of a Prius, but still only allows a range of around 200 miles, not really enough to compete with gasoline-only vehicles. One way to overcome this limitation is by using liquid hydrogen, which takes up around a third of the volume of compressed gas. However, it is much more difficult to handle, mainly because it must be kept at very low temperatures (around -420oF) and extremely high pressure to prevent it from evaporating as the engine heats up.

Source: Breakthrough Hydrogen Car Gets 650 Miles Per Tank

Labels: autos, hydrogen

PermaLink - Hydrogen Car Gets 650 Miles Per Tank   0 Comments

The Savannah Research National Laboratory have created a multipurpose new material, composed of tiny glass bubbles, which behaves both like a fluid and a solid. Researchers at Savannah Research National Laboratory (SRNL) preface the news release for their impactful glass microsphere breakthrough, with a riddle. "What looks like a fertilized egg, flows like water, gets stuffed with catalysts and exotic nanostructures and may have the potential of making the current retail gasoline infrastructure compatible with hydrogen-based vehicles of the future – not to mention also contributing to arenas such as nuclear proliferation and global warming?"The spheres measure a scant 2-100 microns in diameter. This puts them at smaller than the width of a human hair. The key asset of the spheres are tiny pores which adorn their surface. These pores can be controlled by processing to measure from 100 to 3,000 Angstroms and they form full tunnels between the inner and outer wall, through which chemicals of controlled sizes can pass.A major application of the new material is gas streaming filtering. By adjusting the porosity, the material will act as a filter, absorbing one type of gas and letting the others pass.

Most promising yet, the microballoons can have their mechanical properties tweaked to act like a fluid, including flowing along pipes. This means that current gas distribution infrastructures could be modified to transport solid hydrogen, with little change. This in turn would amount in savings of money and effort spent. The hardy little microballoons are also easily recycled and reused, thanks to their strength. Toyota is sponsoring the SRNL to bring the technology to market to help it with its hydrogen vehicles.

Source: Toyota, Medical Schools Back Revolutionary New Microspheres

Labels: energy-distribution, gasoline, hydrogen

PermaLink - SRNL Microspheres Could Impact Fuel, Gasoline, Hydrogen Distribution   0 Comments

News Release, Jun 2008

OriginOil, Inc., the developer of a breakthrough technology to transform algae, the most promising source of renewable oil, into a true competitor to petroleum, today announced Senior research Engineer Steven Shigematsu's instrumental role in the company's recent technical innovations and patent applications.

Mr. Shigematsu spearheaded the development of the company's algae growth, scalability and extraction systems, leading up to recent patent filings for the Helix BioReactor(TM) and the Transportable Modular Photo Bioreactor. These inventions will create a more effective system to industrialize algae production on a large scale. Mr. Shigematsu has over 30 years of electronics and bio-engineering experience. As Chief Systems Engineer at Matterhorn California Inc., Shigematsu helped to pioneer and perfect a stream bank stabilization system still in use today in hundreds of locations throughout Northern California. This innovation became the de facto standard for waterways agencies seeking replacements for aging concrete flood channels.

OriginOil Recognizes Steven Shigematsu as Lead Inventor

Labels: biodiesel

PermaLink - Steven Shigematsu Recognized as Lead Inventor for OriginOil   0 Comments