Emissions Control
Artificial Photosynthesis provides clean, cheap Hydrogen
An international team of researchers led by Monash University has used manganese, a chemical involved in photosynthesis, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using only sunlight and an electrical potential of 1.2 volts. Scientists claim the process could provide a clean, cheap method of producing hydrogen for fuel cells and energy generation.
Carbon Capture: a bridging technology too far?
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Carbon capture and storage is a climate change mitigation technology characterized by sporadic and unreliable government support and plagued with accusations that it will worsen the environmental disaster it seeks to address. Yet, despite the negative stigma, CCS has been labeled by the IPCC and the Stern Report as an essential measure in reducing the impact of fossil fuels. Gizmag's Kyle Sherer takes a closer look.
Honda’s 100 mph 110cc PGM-FI prototype
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August 8, 2008 Fuel injection arrived on two wheels with the release of Honda’s CX500 Turbo a quarter of a century ago, and Honda has been developing smarter and more intricate computer controlled fuel injection systems for its two wheelers ever since. These days its advanced PGM-FI (Programmed Fuel Injection) technology is fitted across the range from 50cc scooters through its MotoGP race machinery, offering broader and smoother power, better throttle response and vastly reduced fuel consumption and emissions. A prototype being quietly shown around Asia suggests that it might also lead to some lightning fast scooters in the near future.
ECO Pedal to reduce car fuel consumption
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With rising petrol prices and a focus on climate change, the automotive industry is looking to pioneer new methods of fuel consumption, both in terms of developing new propulsion systems and making existing technology more efficient. News on the latter approach comes from Nissan, which has unveiled technology designed to help drivers use less fuel by using an "eco-pedal" system that resists excess pressure being applied to the accelerator.
Elektrobay: EV recharging infrastructure expanding in the UK
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The number of electric and hybrid vehicles on the road is growing rapidly in response to rising petrol prices and climate change awareness. As with any alternative to petroleum based transport, the key issue is infrastructure, or lack of it. Already rolling-put in the UK, Elektromotive's solution for drivers of electric cars and motorcycles is an on-street recharging network called “Elektrobay” that allows you to re-charge while away from home.
Cow Power potential is no bull
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A study published in the Institute of Physics’ Environmental Research Letters section today claims that by converting livestock manure to biogas, the United States could reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and generate up to 108.8 billion kW h – 2.9% of the country’s total electricity requirement.
Geared Turbofan engine cuts emissions and running costs
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July 6, 2008 Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbofan demonstrator engine has been cleared for flight-testing. By incorporating a gearbox system into the engine, aircraft can achieve a 12% reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions, a 50% reduction in NOx emissions, and a 50% reduction in engine noise. The GTF engine has been chosen by Mitsubishi to power the company’s Regional Jet (scheduled to enter service in 2013), and the upcoming Bombardier CSeries.
Pangaea - the world's largest, cleanest expeditionary sailing ship
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The 35-meter two master PANGAEA is the largest and most flexible polar expedition sailboat ever built. It can navigate through tropics and rivers as easily as it can through polar regions, and will travel to five continents, including the North and South Pole.
Gordon Murray's T.25 car reaches halfway development milestone
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Gordon Murray Design’s T.25 concept car has reached the halfway point in development, with the first prototype build scheduled to begin in early 2009. Though Murray, (the brains behind the McLaren F1 road car), has remained tight-lipped about the specifics, he is adamant about delivering a small car that will be more cost-effective at every stage: cheaper to produce, purchase and run.
Tesla to build new all-electric car in California
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Tesla Motors will build the follow up vehicle to the Tesla Roadster in California. The plan to manufacture the 4-door, 5-passenger sedan was announced earlier this week by Ze’ev Drori, CEO of Tesla Motors, and California Governor Schwarzenegger
Greener motoring at the 2008 British Motor Show
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With soaring oil prices hitting hard at the bowser and low-emissions, energy-efficient vehicles evolving rapidly from a fringe sector to a mainstream concern, it's no surprise to learn that this year's British International Motor Show will include a pavilion devoted to the future of greener motoring.
Mazda's plans for a greener future
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June 25, 2008 Mazda has committed to cutting the fuel consumption of its vehicles by an average of 30% by 2015. The company is exploring a combination of fuel-cutting initiatives, including the development of lighter-weight technologies aimed at reducing vehicle weight by 100 kilograms from 2011, carbon neutral bioplastics, an Idle Stop system and an advanced version of the emissions-reducing Three Layer Wet Paint System fist introduced in 2005. Integral to the plan is the renewal of its entire powertrain lineup by 2015, with tests of its hydrogen hybrid system continuing ahead of plans for release in Japan in the coming fiscal year, as well as plans for a new gasoline rotary engine and new diesel engines.
How green are you? PEIR system measures personal environmental impact
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A key starting point to helping the environment is determining what impact we personally have on the planet. To assist in this challenge researchers at UCLA have developed a way to generate online Personal Environmental Impact Reports (PEIR) using location data from cell phones.
Burj Al-Taqa: self-sufficient skyscraper design
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This concept eco-skyscraper from German-based architects Gerber Architekten combines traditional building ventilation techniques with the ability to generate 100% of its energy needs using wind and solar power. And the likely location for the "Burj Al-Taqa" or "Energy Tower” - you guessed it - Dubai.
OrignOil closer to large scale algae oil production
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Los Angeles-based OriginOil has developed breakthrough technology that it believes will enable the transformation of algae oil into a true competitor for petroleum. The company has filed a patent to protect its invention of a scalable system that is critical to achieving high volume algae production required to replace petroleum.
Major auto manufacturers commit to eco-friendly development
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Two separate announcements from the automotive world this week have given further impetus to the growth of energy efficient vehicles. Volkswagen has teamed up with Sanyo to develop high-performance lithium-ion based storage systems for use in its hybrid diesel and electric-drive systems and the ongoing Renault-Nissan Alliance has resulted in the Scenic ZEV H2 - a prototype based on a Renault Grand Scenic which features Nissan’s in-house developed fuel cell stack, high-pressure hydrogen storage tank and compact lithium-ion batteries that will be shown in Barcelona in June.
Tata Motors joins race for $10milion auto X PRIZE
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Making headlines earlier this year for its creation of the world’s cheapest new car, Tata Motors from India is the latest car maker to join the race for the multimillion dollar automotive X PRIZE.
UnoMoto: the electric transport balancing act
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May 27, 2008 A design that is best described as a two-wheeled unicycle, the UnoMoto takes a Yamaha R1 frame, side-by-side wheels and Segway-like gyroscopic technology and wraps it in a custom made body to create a very different kind of electric commuter vehicle. Though perhaps not as slick in the design stakes, the UnoMoto prototype is reminiscent of the radical Bombadier EMBRIO Concept but with even simpler controls. Except for an on/off switch all control is achieved through simply leaning: forward to accelerate, back to brake, and sideways to make a turn. Young Canadian design engineer Ben Gulak deserves our applause on at least three counts: it's compact, its green and it's thoroughly unconventional.
GE and the C-MAR Group unite to design hybrid tugboat
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Hybrid technology is slowly beginning to make its mark on the roadways as manufacturers of cars, buses and trucks embrace it as a cleaner, more efficient alternative. Efforts are also underway to expand this type of technology on the water - Foss Maritime announced plans to build the world's first true hybrid tug boat in early 2007 and now GE and the C-MAR Group hope to demonstrate the feasibility of a hybrid tugboat technology that will both conserve fuel and reduce emissions.
London’s iconic black cabs to go green
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May 23, 2008 While improvements in engine technology have led to a marked improvement in fuel efficiency and carbon emissions in vehicles running on internal combustion engines in recent years, even greater cuts in emissions need to be made to tackle the global environmental problems associated with them. We’ve seen commercial airlines turning to biofuels, trucks running on liquefied natural gas and buses using ethanol engines. One of the most promising solutions for the humble car of the future could is hydrogen fuel cell systems, with a number of car manufacturers investing heavily in development.
World's largest offshore wind farm
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May 15, 2008 Texas based engineering and construction giant Fluor Corporation has been engaged to to design and construct the 500 megawatt (MW) Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm.
Scotland announces $20 million Saltire Prize for clean energy innovation
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April 29, 2008 The Scottish Government has offered the world’s biggest ever cash prize for innovation in the field of renewable marine-based energy. It is hoped that the £10 million (US$20 million) award will not only contribute to the global energy problem, but will help bolster Scotland’s own clean energy sector which already accounts for 16% of the nation’s generated electricity.
H2Origin demonstrator vehicle achieves 300km range
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April 23, 2008 A three year collaborative research project by PSA Peugeot Citroën and fuel cell specialist Intelligent Energy has born fruit in the form of the H2Origin demonstrator vehicle, a battery-electric vehicle that uses a specially designed hydrogen fuel cell to triple its range to an impressive 300km (186 miles). The hydrogen storage system developed for the zero-emission demonstrator vehicle, which is based on the Peugeot Partner Origin van, is compact enough to squeeze under the bonnet and utilizes a swappable storage rack of compressed hydrogen tanks that slide out the rear, by-passing the need for a conventional fuel station and therefore simplifying the infrastructure needed to make hydrogen-powered vehicles a commercial reality.
AeroVironment awarded patents for wind-power system
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April 14, 2008 A name familiar to Gizmag readers through its achievements in the field of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, AeroVironment is also a developer of efficient electric energy systems, an area in which it has been awarded a series of patents relating to its "Architectural Wind® Building-Integrated Energy Generation System" - a system which takes a new approach to harnessing wind power using low-profile turbines designed to maximize electricity generation by taking advantage of the way wind flows over certain types of buildings.
Prototype energy-saving computer delivers significant efficiency boost
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April 14, 2008 Using off the shelf technology researchers have developed a highly energy efficient computer that consumes 70 percent less energy than ENERGY STAR labeled computers. Researchers Peter May-Ostendorp and Nathan Beck of Ecos collaborated with chip makers Intel, AMD and Via Technologies to see how much they could reduce the energy demand of computers operating in today’s business environment by using the hardware makers’ most-efficient computer platforms and adding best-in-class components such as hybrid hard drives and right-sized 80 PLUS power supplies.
Capturing carbon to create greener plastics
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April 10, 2008 Chemists are investigating ways to use carbon dioxide removed from smokestack emissions to make a raw material for the production of DVDs, CD-ROMs, beverage bottles and other products made from polycarbonate plastics.
Philips' energy efficient street lighting cuts city energy consumption
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April 10, 2008 Streetlight systems are expensive for cities to operate and maintain. They also use a lot of energy — representing almost 40 percent of a typical city’s electricity spending. Echelon Corporation announced at the 2008 Light+Building event in Frankfurt that Philips Lighting, one of the world’s leading providers of lighting systems, has built its new Starsense street light telemanagement system using Echelon’s LonWorks platform, which uses Echelon’s power line transceivers to communicate between lighting fixtures and Echelon’s i.LON SmartServer to provide Internet access and local monitoring and control. It is believed Starsense can deliver energy savings of over 40 percent, reducing cities’ energy bills and carbon footprint.
World's first hybrid refuse truck launched in Sweden
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April 8, 2008 Volvo has announced that Swedish refuse collection firms Renova and Ragn-Sells will begin regular daily testing of two of the company's hybrid refuse trucks ahead of a market launch in 2009. Using a 7 liter diesel engine and an electric motor that utilizes regenerative braking, the trucks are capable of delivery fuel (and therefore emissions) savings of 20 percent.
Power Utility launches energy saving software
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South Jersey Gas is now offering its customers the ability to manage their energy consumption, practice energy efficiency and reduce their energy costs using a free web-based service. Developed by Aclara Software, the new service gives customers access to energy information relating to their utility bills.
World's fist commercial scale tidal energy generator nears completion
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Bristol based renewable energy company Marine Current Turbines has completed the first installation phase of the 1.2MW SeaGen Tidal System at Northern Ireland’s Strangford Lough - a site chosen for its combination of fast tidal current and ability to provide shelter from bad weather which may hinder the construction process. It is expected that the breakthrough power plant will be operational around mid-year with its massive 16m diameter twin rotors harnessing the tides to produce the equivalent amount of energy it takes to power 1000 homes. After its final assembly at the Harland & Wolff dockyard in Belfast, the crane barge “Rambiz” positioned the 1000 tonne structure onto the seabed 400m from the shoreline where it will be secured by four pins drilled to a depth of around nine meters.
Unconventional approach produces ultra-pure water
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April 2, 2008 Traditional water-purification techniques such as filtration or distillation attempt to remove the contaminants from water by fluid flow. Reversing this thinking, a new Scandinavian spin-off company is researching a new method of purification that takes the clean water molecules out of the contaminated matter using carbon dioxide gas.
Brazilian traffic lights turn green
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April 1, 2008 Many of us are being encouraged to make the switch from power-hungry incandescent lights to more eco-friendly illumination technologies like LEDs. In proof that this simple process yields big results, a Brazilian project which saw all of the incandescent-based traffic lights in a Sao Paolo suburb replaced with LUXEON LED-based lamps has delivered estimated energy savings of USD$240,000 and reduced municipal energy consumption by 1340 megawatt hours per year.
Britain's Lightning GT electric supercar
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March 27, 2008 It seems a transatlantic battle is brewing in the high-performance electric sportscar market. As America's Tesla moves into the production phase with its 130+mph Roadster, Britain's Lightning GT is hot on its heels, with prototypes expected to hit the road later this year. The Lightning's power figures are very impressive - 700 horsepower, and 4 second 0-60mph times to almost rival the Tesla's 3.7 seconds. But it's the GT's revolutionary battery technology that might give it the upper hand: Nanosafe's Li-ion cells using nano titanate structures instead of traditional graphite give the GT an incredible 250-mile range, a full recharge time of only 10 minutes, and a life expectancy of 12 to 20 years, or 15,000 charge cycles before the battery performance drops significantly.
Prototype completed for new ZAP electric truck
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March 25, 2008 In the latest news from electric vehicle specialists ZAP, a running prototype has been completed for the low-speed, 770 pound payload ZAP XL Truck ahead of expected delivery of the vehicle in Q3 2008. Reservations are also now being accepted for the much anticipated, 100mph, 3-wheeled Alias highway electric car which is expected to hit the market next year at a cost of USD$32,500.
Fully electric, 130+mph Tesla Roadster goes into production
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March 18, 2008 A very significant milestone in zero-emissions motoring has just occurred as Tesla Motors announced yesterday that its groundbreaking electric sportscar has commenced regular production. The 130mph Tesla Roadster is the first production electric car to boast genuine sports performance coupled with a 210+ mile range between battery charges, which make it both exciting and viable for the vast majority of driving purposes. The fact that it's utterly gorgeous, with hints of the Lotus Elise, doesn't hurt either. All of the 2008 models scheduled for production have already been snapped up for just under US$100,000 each - and reservations are now being taken on the 2009 model.
