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[Graeme]

An Invention to Save the Planet

Despite government and NGO initiatives for “greener living” and billions of dollars spent in this direction globally, the overall health of our natural environment is still a landslide affair.

Almost every large machine we use runs on a crude oil derivative, the underground supply of which is running out and the burning of which is changing the makeup of our atmosphere for the worse. But all is not lost.

World Wide Carbon Credits Limited (WWCC) is a Hong Kong-based private equity investor that has patented a technology to change the world.

WWCC, in collaboration with a team at Australia’s Flinders University, found the gene in algae responsible for the production of high chain hydrocarbons or in other words, crude oil.

The idea of using algae as a source of fuel is not new. However not all algae are satisfactory for producing biofuel because of their low oil content and/or slow growth. WWCC’s research is however totally unique. Its focus is on creating genetically modified algae that overcomes both these limitations.


WWCC doesn’t plan to hold a press conference on their invention until next year. However, in an exclusive interview with The Epoch Times, however, Tariq Mirza, a spokesperson for WWCC was able to share some of the basics.

“We’re way ahead of the curve” he says excitedly. “They can probably get their first batch of squalene by 2 years time”

ntdtv

[Graeme]

Renewable Natural Gas from CO2, Water, & Sunlight

HyperSolar has filed a patent application for a “breakthrough technology” that creates renewable natural gas from sunlight, water and carbon dioxide.

“This renewable natural gas is a clean, carbon-neutral methane gas that can be used as a direct replacement for traditional natural gas to power the world, without drilling or fracking, while mitigating CO2 emissions,” the company reports.

Well, it certainly sounds good.

Is it legit?

We’ll have to wait to find out, but here’s more from the news release:

“Inspired by the photosynthetic processes that plants use to harness the power of the sun to create energy molecules, HyperSolar is developing a novel solar-powered nanoparticle system that mimics photosynthesis to separate hydrogen from water. The free hydrogen can then be reacted with carbon dioxide to produce methane, the primary component in natural gas.”

The company certainly thinks it’s on the money. “We intend to focus all our energies and resources on commercializing this breakthrough technology,” HyperSolar CEO Tim Young announced.

cleantechnica

[Graeme]

Canadian firm bids to commercialize fusion reactor

In the race against world governments and the wealthiest companies to commercialize a nuclear fusion reactor, a small, innovative Canadian firm is hoping to bottle and sell the sun's energy.

In a laboratory in this Pacific Coast city, General Fusion physicists and engineers in bright red smocks are busy assembling an experimental reactor.

They hope to test a prototype in 2014 and eventually become the first to commercialize the technology, offering a safe, cheap, pollution-free and virtually inexhaustible source of energy.

"What we're trying to do is build the technology that can make the power that drives the sun, make it here on earth," said Michael Delage, General Fusion's vice president.

AFP

[Margarethe]

Biofuels from sugarcane doesn't sound like a very good choice for sustainable resource of energy.

[Graeme]

Beam It Down: A Drive to Launch Space-Based Solar

According to a new report [PDF] by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), space-based solar technologies now in development in the lab will be technically feasible and ready for practical demonstration within the next decade or two.

What's more, based on existing technologies, space-based solar could be an economically viable alternative to today's commercial energy sources within the next 30 years, concludes the report published last month.

In fact, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, is "going forward on their [space-based solar] demo plan, with satellites scheduled to be up by the end of the next decade and a full pilot system by 2030," said Frank E. Little, of the Space Engineering Research Center at Texas A&M University.

According to the IAA report, such flight demonstrations "that validate [solar power satellite, or SPS] systems concepts to a high level of maturity . . . appear to be essential in order to build confidence among engineers, policy makers, and the public and allow space solar power technology maturation and SPS deployment to proceed."


And the University of Surrey's Sweeney is hopeful that as both spaceflight technology and solar efficiency advance, costs will decrease, ultimately making space-based solar widely attractive as an energy source.

"In a space-based approach, the cost is mainly all up front. Once it's up there, it's up there, and ideally the equipment shouldn't require much in the way of maintenance," Sweeney said. And the fuel itself would be free, of course, since no one owns the sun's energy.

Farther down the line, he added, "Once there's a commercial, recyclable method of getting things into orbit at low cost, that's when we can scale it up."

nationalgeographic

[Anvil]

China makes biofuels out of it iron-ore waste.

Top that one.

[Keith_McClary]

IBM Reveals Five Innovations That Will Change Our Lives within Five Years-

Imagine attaching small devices to the spokes on your bicycle wheels that recharge batteries as you pedal along. You will have the satisfaction of not only getting to where you want to go, but at the same time powering some of the lights in your home.

[radon]

Farther down the line, he added, "Once there's a commercial, recyclable method of getting things into orbit at low cost, that's when we can scale it up."

This one is funny. What kind of method he envisages, something like inflatable balloons?

Once there is a commercial method of building a pipeline to the sun at low cost, we will be able to pump plasma directly from its surface, and solve all our energy problems once and for all. No more fusion research would be needed, whether cold or hot.

[Graeme]

Energy-producing 'solar paint' invented

U.S. scientists say they've made a major advance in renewable energy technology with an inexpensive "solar paint" that can produce energy.

A team at Notre Dame University says the paint may someday be applied to homes to generate electricity from light to power the appliances and equipment on the inside.

The paint, dubbed Sun-Believable, uses semiconducting nanoparticles to produce energy from sunlight, a university release said Wednesday.

"We want to do something transformative, to move beyond current silicon-based solar technology," chemistry Professor Prashant Kamat of the university's Center for Nano Science and Technology said.

"By incorporating power-producing nanoparticles, called quantum dots, into a spreadable compound, we've made a one-coat solar paint that can be applied to any conductive surface without special equipment."

UPI

[Claudine47]

£3 million UK Government funding will support seven industry-led projects intended to help create a balanced portfolio of energy technologies in the UK.

The collaborative projects will apply and demonstrate materials technologies for use in energy generation, distribution and storage, from proof-of-concept to small-scale demonstrations and pilots.

The companies leading the projects are: Alstom Grid UK Ltd, C-Tech Innovation Ltd, Cella Energy Ltd, Compound Semiconductor Technologies Global Ltd, Intrinsiq Materials Ltd, Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Ltd and Sharp Laboratories Europe.

The projects will be in areas such as:

Catalyst and membranes to establish hydrogen storage infrastructure;
Fuel cells incorporating nanomaterials;
High-grade waste heat recovery photovoltaic materials;
Composite insulation for power transmission applications.
The funding awards, by the Technology Strategy Board follow successful application by the companies to the Materials for Energy competition for R&D funding. Including match-funding by the participating businesses, the total value of the projects is in excess of £6.5 million.

[Graeme]

4 new ways to solve the energy challenge

The holy grail in the electric-car world is beating range anxiety: the fear you'll run out of juice in the middle of nowhere. Today's electrics, like the Nissan Leaf, have a range of about 100 miles, but scientists at IBM (IBM) are in hot pursuit of a better technology. In the 1990s researchers hypothesized that they could create energy by combining lithium with oxygen, making what is now referred to as a lithium-air battery. (See diagram below.) Today IBM and some 50 other labs globally are working on versions that would let an electric car go 500 miles a charge -- a potential game changer for models like BMW's i3 concept vehicle (above).

The challenges are massive -- recharging the battery is tricky, and durability is an issue. Also, to get the battery to release power quickly enough for passing requires expensive nanotechnology. "It remains a long shot, but we're excited by the potential," says Winfried Wilcke, IBM's lead researcher on the project. Big Blue sees a prototype by 2013 and commercialization as early as decade's end.

fortune

[Shaved Monkey]

Its not new news but it is worrying news.

Rare minerals dearth threatens global renewables industry

China's near-exclusive access to terbium and yttrium sent prices soaring in 2011, potentially hobbling clean energy industry

Terbium, yttrium, dysprosium, europium and neodymium are widely used in the manufacture of wind turbines, solar panels, electric car batteries and energy-efficient lightbulbs. But because these "rare earths" are mined almost exclusively in China, it is becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to source them in the required quantities.

In a survey of some of the largest clean energy manufacturers, 78% told PwC said they were already experiencing instability of supply of rare metals, and most said they did not expect shortages to ease for at least five years. Currently, 95% of the rare earth minerals needed by clean tech industries come from China which has set strict export quotas. Last year China reserved most for its own for its domestic wind, solar and battery industries, shifting costs to the US and Europe which do not mine any of the minerals.
In the US there has been growing concerns that China dominates the supply of the materials considered crucial for the expansion of the US defence, computer and renewable energy sectors.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... intcmp=122

[JRP3]

As I've pointed out before both wind turbines and EV motors can be built quite successfully without using rare earth magnets, with Tesla Motors high power to weight ratio motors being a prime example. Additionally lithium batteries don't need rare earth elements either.

[kublikhan]

I love reading stories like this. A new electric motor was developed that delivers 30 percent more torque and runs 50 percent long per charge.

Light 18-volt batteries have become the standard for cordless power tools, but they often underperform when faced with difficult tasks such as boring large holes into wood or metal. To produce more strength without resorting to a heavier, higher-voltage battery, engineers at Milwaukee redesigned the motor of the new M18 Fuel drill. The result is a tool that generates about 25 percent more torque than the average 18-volt drill and can create big holes faster than any of them.

Most power tools use motors that employ conductive brushes and pieces of copper to generate an alternating magnetic field that drives the rotor. To increase the M18’s torque, engineers replaced brushes with a small electronic circuit board, leaving more room in the motor for rotor-driving magnets. The 4.3-pound tool yields 725 inch-pounds of torque, 30 percent more than its predecessor. All that extra strength doesn’t kill the drill’s battery life, though. The new motor is also more efficient, allowing the drill to run at least 50 percent longer per charge compared with the previous model.

A New Motor Makes For A Stronger 18-volt Drill

[Graeme]

Solar cells that go anywhere win invention prize

Your windows, curtains and wallpaper may soon start harvesting energy from sunlight as it spills into your room thanks to a prize-winning inventor who is putting solar cells on just about any surface.

"The barriers to adoption and installation are reduced if you can really put these anywhere," Miles Barr, who received the $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize on Wednesday, told me.

Traditional solar cells such as those found on rooftops are heavy, built on rigid glass or silicon surfaces, and require specialized installation.

Barr's technology, could, for example, put solar cells on your windows and curtains, which already provide shelter and shade from the sun, turning them into a source of electricity as well.

Today, Barr works full time for the company he co-founded, Ubiquitous Energy, which is focused on deploying these types of emerging solar technologies.

msnbc

Laser fusion nears crucial milestone

This could be the year the National Ignition Facility (NIF) finally lives up to its name. The facility, which boasts the world’s largest laser, is designed to trigger fusion by imploding a target pellet of hydrogen isotopes, thereby releasing more energy than will go into the shot. NIF’s managers think that the end of their two-year campaign for break-even energy, or ‘ignition’, is in sight. “We have all the capability to make it happen in fiscal year 2012,” says Ed Moses, director of the US$3.5-billion facility, at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

But even if the champagne corks do get popped, the method — a form of ‘inertial confinement’ fusion — faces an uncertain future. Would success mean that the US Department of Energy (DOE) will be ready to develop it into an economically viable energy source? And if so, is NIF’s laser-based approach the best one? An interim report released on 7 March by a US National Academies panel concludes that it is still too early to tell, and recommends that fusion scientists explore alternative technologies for imploding the fuel.

nature

[agate]

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[Graeme]

HyperSolar Discloses Development Plan for Breakthrough Renewable Hydrogen and Natural Gas Technology

HyperSolar, Inc. (OTCBB: HYSR), the developer of a breakthrough technology to produce renewable hydrogen and natural gas using water and solar power, today announced specific details of its plan for the development of the world’s first nanotechnology-based, zero-carbon process for the production of renewable hydrogen and natural gas.

“Our research and development to date gives us a high degree of confidence that our innovative process can achieve commercial viability,” said Tim Young, CEO of HyperSolar. “Starting with a negative value feedstock in the form of wastewater and operating in low cost reactors, we believe that our artificial photosynthesis process of extracting hydrogen from water will be cost effective.”

Unlike conventional expensive hydrogen technology that splits water molecules (H20) into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2), HyperSolar is using a low cost nanotechnology approach. By elegantly engineering the reaction kinetics toward H2 generation only with the help of wastewater, the HyperSolar nanoparticles function as one-way machines that detoxify wastewater, and produce clean water and pure hydrogen in the presence of sunlight. No other energy source is required, making this an extremely economical and commercially viable approach for the production of zero-carbon, renewable hydrogen.

businesswire

[Graeme]

Space-Based Solar Power, Electrofuels, and the Top 5 Energy Technologies of the Future

Last month entrepreneurs, investors, corporate executives, and government officials gathered for the third annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit to discuss the future of energy technology. ARPA-E (which stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy) is a new agency within the Department of Energy which funds potentially game changing energy technologies. Among the list of very distinguished speakers at the summit was Bill Gates.

During his remarks Gates spoke to the challenge of innovation in energy: “The problem with using IT and telecommunications as models for innovating in clean energy is that people underestimate the difficulty of the scientific work needed and how much time is needed for innovations to become adopted.”

What kind of breakthrough technologies are Bill Gates and ARPA-E funding? What other game changing energy technologies are on the horizon? There are five energy technology that show tremendous promise for the coming decades including nuclear power from nuclear waste; fuels made from carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight; plants engineered to produce gasoline; batteries that recharge in the air, and solar in space.

policymic

[Graeme]

New catalyst for safe, reversible hydrogen storage

Scientists at the Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators have developed a new catalyst that reversibly converts hydrogen gas and carbon dioxide to a liquid under very mild conditions. The work -- described in a paper published online March 18, 2012, in Nature Chemistry -- could lead to efficient ways to safely store and transport hydrogen for use as an alternative fuel.

Hydrogen is seen as an attractive fuel because it can efficiently be converted to energy without producing toxic products or greenhouse gases. However, the storage and transportation of hydrogen remain more problematic than for liquid hydrocarbon fuels. The new work builds on earlier efforts to combine hydrogen with carbon dioxide to produce a liquid formic acid solution that can be transported using the same kind of infrastructure used to transport gasoline and oil.

“This is not the first catalyst capable of carrying out this reaction, but it is the first to work at room temperature, in an aqueous (water) solution, under atmospheric pressure — and that is capable of running the reaction in forward or reverse directions depending on the acidity of the solution,” said Brookhaven chemist Etsuko Fujita, who oversaw Brookhaven’s contributions to this research.

“When the release of hydrogen is desired for use in fuel cells or other applications, one can simply flip the ‘pH switch’ on the catalyst to run the reaction in reverse,” said Brookhaven chemist James Muckerman, a co-author on the study. He noted that the liquid formic acid might also be used directly in a formic-acid fuel cell.

physorg

[agate]

Biofuels from sugarcane doesn't sound like a very good choice for sustainable resource of energy.

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