Emissions Control
SolCool’s solar powered air con: fight global warming while keeping cool
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August 5, 2007 Any renewable energy product that can compete with traditional systems is worth applauding and SolCool’s solar powered, Millennia 4.0 HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) air conditioner falls squarely into this category. The two-ton air conditioning system uses 75 percent less energy compared with equivalent high efficiency conventional systems according to the manufacturers and with a 6 to 18 hour battery bank capability, the Millennia can run 24/7 whilst relying very little on renewable energy to deliver near zero emission climate control. Read More
Xerox develops environmentally progressive High Yield Paper
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August 1, 2007 Xerox has developed a new, lighter business paper optimized for digital printing that saves on mailing costs and significantly reduces the impact on the environment by using half as many trees. The new High Yield Business Paper is made via a mechanical process that uses less water and chemicals and results in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75% according to Xerox. Read More
Dtect’s infra-red people and vehicle counter
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July 31, 2007 Traffic jams, aside from being extremely frustrating, are also extremely costly. The Texas Transport Institute calculated that during 1996 traffic congestion ate up $74 billion in lost hours and petrol – and with congestion only rising since then it’s a sure bet that even more money has gone down the drain while commuters get nowhere. In an effort to combat congestion, many governments are looking towards car-pooling, offering monetary incentives to businesses that encourage it and introducing high occupancy vehicle lanes. However, a potential problem lies in policing them. To that end, Loughborough University has released the Dtect system – an infra red camera and image processing unit that can determine how many occupants a car has in an instant. And unlike a sleepy toll booth operator, or other photography based systems, it won’t be fooled by dressed up mannequins. Read More
New test facility to reduce the cost of solar energy
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July 11, 2007 A new test facility that aims to cut the cost of large-scale solar thermal energy production has been inaugurated at Almería in southern Spain. Research scientists from Europe’s largest solar energy research institute, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, helped to develop the facility which uses a linear Fresnel reflector one hundred meters long to focus sunlight onto a steel absorber tube in which water is heated up to 450 degrees Celsius and used to drive electricity producing turbines. Finding more efficient ways to harness the sun’s rays is a key part of the shift towards renewable energy and solar thermal power, as one of the most efficient methods currently under development, is predicted to provide about 10% of the world's electricity by 2050. Read More
smart set to roll out a full complement of Alternative Drive Systems
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July 10, 2007 Mercedes-owned smart is set to become the first mainstream production vehicle with a full complement of alternative drive systems. It has begun touting four new versions of the smart fortwo, all of which can be expected in production form before the year is out. We’re not sure which is the most exciting as they all offer different solutions depending on your needs. The cleanest of the new smarts is the 30 kW plug-in electric version with a range of 115 kilometres (EUDC), but there’s also a 100 mpg 53 kW diesel hybrid drive, a slightly less economical petrol hybrid for those who don’t want diesel, a 52 kW micro hybrid petrol variant and a diesel-engined fortwo which will become the world’s most economical combustion-engined production car with 85 mpg (3.3 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres - NEDC) and the ability to travel 1000 kilometres without refuelling. The smart fortwo diesel is the world champion in low CO2 emissions at just 88 grams of CO2 per kilometre. This is huge news. Read More
US$15,000 Carbon Fibre Enertia electric motorcycle to hit stores in early 2008
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The era of the electric roadgoing motorcycle is upon us and it’s ironic that it should come from a company that looked set to make its mark in automotive history in the supercar stakes with the Brammo GT, an American-designed and built V12 Supercar. That Craig Bramscher has since become one of the foremost evangelists of light weight performance motoring via the Ariel Atom might have foretold the direction, but the Enertia is a perfect commuter machine built with the same philosophy as the Atom. Using a rigid light weight carbon fibre chassis to contain the battery pack (and most of the weight), a small electric motor is all that’s required to see the Enertia accelerate harder than any automobile to its 50 mph top speed – all that’s needed around town. Most significantly in terms of its credibility as a motorcycle, the Enertia could best be described as an electric motard, and comes with impeccable handling credentials - fat tyres, disk brakes front and rear, quality suspension and a very compact centre of gravity – a trait that we’ve seen before in bikes with exceptional flickability and precise handling such as the Aprilia 250 and Buell. The Enertia’s secret is its weight -at just 275 pounds ready to roll, it’s 100 pounds lighter than the featherweight Aprilia Grand Prix Replica . With the carbon footprint of a few lightglobes, and sports motorcycling capabilities to medium speeds this looks like the first viable electric motorcycle to us –the US$15,000 limited edition "carbon" model will be snapped up as collectors items no doubt because it is a landmark machine in personal transportation. At US$12,000, the standard machine is only pricey until you consider how much it costs to run. You plug this sucker into any powerpoint and it'll be ready to go a few hours later for another 45 miles. If the transport authorities encourage responsible road usage as seems likely, ownership costs could be minimal. The Enertia is a landmark motorcycle and its coming heralds the dawn of a new era of electric motorcycles. Read More
Wind-powered mobile phone charger
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July 5, 2007 The problem of keeping your mobile phone fully charged when miles away from a conventional electricity source is being tackled by UK wind turbine specialists, Gotwind. The Orange wind charger prototype is a small, portable tent mounting mobile phone charger that uses stored kinetic energy to fully charge a mobile phone in up to two hours. Weighing only 150 grams, the wind generator may be a convenient answer for your next camping trip and adds another option to the growing number of ecologically friendly phone accessories such as solar powered phone chargers (which have limited functionality at night and in colder climates) and wind-up units. Read More
High-tech sails to benefit commercial shipping
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July 5, 2007 UPDATED IMAGES For four hundred years majestic tall ships ruled the world’s oceans carrying cargo and migrants to far corners of the globe, but the advent of steam power in the late 19th century brought the golden age of sail to an end and rendered wind-powered vessels obsolete – but did it? Recent projects in both Europe and the U.S are seeking to breathe new life into this “old technology” and once again give sail-power a viable role in commercial shipping. The new era of sail-power wont see the return of square rigged barques or clipper ships, but rather the introduction of high-tech kite sails that generate greater propulsion power than conventional sails. These can be used to supplement the propulsion systems of all kinds of cargo vessels and in the process generate economic benefit, reduce reliance on fossil fuels and deliver emission reductions in a sector that has become one of the world’s biggest polluters. Read More
EU to debate 101mph speed limit for all new cars
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July 2, 2007 Could the age of the fire-breathing sports car be coming to an end? With cars like the Bugatti Veyron and Koenigsegg CCX starting to break the 400km/h mark straight out of the crate and governments around the world continually lowering speed limits in an effort to decrease road trauma, high-speed motoring passion is on a clear collision course with road safety and emission control sensibility. This battle is now set to take center stage at the European Union where parliamentarians are gearing up to debate the merits of a plan that would see new cars limited to 162km/h (101mph) top speeds if they want Euro approval. Read More
AnalogicTech unveils energy saving 12V Step-down DC/DC Converter
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June 27, 2007 With companies and individuals alike now focussed on reducing their carbon footprint, few of us would deny the value of any device that delivers power savings and in turn, lower carbon emissions on a broad scale. One major energy waster is the power used by devices when not in use and it is this issue that the latest release from power management specialists AnalogicTech seeks to address. The AAT1162 is a synchronous step-down DC/DC converter that delivers higher efficiency to a wide range of 12V industrial applications by limiting energy consumption when in stand-by mode, as well as providing better power management and extended battery life in mobile consumer electronics products including cell phones, laptop computers and digital cameras. Read More
Superconductor research points towards feasible electric airplanes
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June 19, 2007 With combustion-driven aircraft currently producing around 5% of greenhouse gas emissions, the time has clearly come to look at alternative power sources across the skyways. Electric motors have come a long way in relation to cars, but American scientists have now unveiled research that would enable high-powered, ultra-reliable electromagnetic engines to be built for airplanes. Using lightweight superconductors and emission-free hydrogen fuel cells to get around the problems experienced by previous attempts, these electric planes would be eco-friendly, exceptionally quiet and highly energy efficient as well as dramatically cutting down on maintenance costs through the elimination of engine hydraulics. This is an exciting convergence of technology with amazing implications throughout the transport sector. Read More
Heat resistant exhaust coating helping vehicle manufacturers meet Euro 5 emissions standards
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June 4, 2007 We've spoken previously about the amazing heatproofing properties of Zircotec's ceramic thermal coating. Extremely heat resistant, the coating has been put to use by several Formula One teams to move heat out of the engine bays of their race cars. Now it seems this highly effective spray-on coating could have a part to play in emissions reduction and assisting engine manufacturers in meeting the strict Euro 5 emissions standards while contributing to power increases. Read More
