tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72224595986770281892008-08-08T00:19:29.210-07:00Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comBlogger297125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-31474218627943283492008-06-19T11:24:00.000-07:002008-07-16T05:50:34.645-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-62269349702455725912008-06-19T11:23:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:24:24.756-07:00

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.

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-47877928558302976082008-06-19T11:21:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:23:02.589-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-86183821374686142562008-06-19T11:18:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:20:57.220-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-68682122491262761782008-06-19T11:16:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:18:32.300-07:00

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.

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-53514279059322936932008-06-19T11:13:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:15:39.855-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-41923668498206755582008-06-19T11:10:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:13:28.087-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-30136026694135561872008-06-19T11:08:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:09:44.594-07:00

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.

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-20306105289438483712008-06-19T11:06:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:08:18.494-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-43879357408028440422008-06-19T11:04:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:06:25.256-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-52024574771656220582008-06-19T11:02:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:04:36.025-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-91443631330733915202008-06-19T11:01:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:02:36.364-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-85491912985429515282008-06-19T10:59:00.000-07:002008-06-19T11:01:25.841-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-23611532038897888722008-06-19T10:56:00.000-07:002008-06-19T10:58:39.115-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-62367565323227908422008-06-19T10:54:00.000-07:002008-06-19T10:56:17.912-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-59916611645310030082008-06-19T02:05:00.000-07:002008-06-19T09:37:29.422-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-45777164251660931692008-06-19T02:03:00.000-07:002008-06-19T02:05:15.824-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-12723757763245907962008-06-19T02:02:00.000-07:002008-06-19T02:03:36.541-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-81044166712147157692008-06-19T01:53:00.000-07:002008-06-19T01:54:45.901-07:00

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,

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-22976006376523759972008-06-19T01:42:00.000-07:002008-06-19T01:44:03.040-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-54784016891384045752008-06-19T01:40:00.000-07:002008-06-19T01:41:53.844-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-31351350296395501712008-06-19T01:39:00.000-07:002008-06-19T01:40:24.947-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-5618812159306123992008-06-19T01:36:00.000-07:002008-06-19T01:38:14.079-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-35389640186024270802008-06-19T01:29:00.000-07:002008-06-19T01:31:20.406-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7222459598677028189.post-27735854351752782492008-06-19T01:26:00.001-07:002008-06-19T01:27:48.595-07:00

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

Ecacofonixnoreply@blogger.com