Compressed Air Car #2

We reported earlier this year on a compressed air car being manufactured in India by a French company. Now the New York Daily News reports that the company, with a headquarters in New Paltz, New York, is planning a version for the American market available as early as 2010. The article claims:

"Electricity powers an onboard compressor to compress air to 4,500 pounds per square inch into a pressure tank contained in the vehicle," ZPM communications director Kevin Haydon told the Daily News from New Paltz. "This can be done in a garage overnight and it will take 1-2 hours. The compressed air is then used to power the engine."

Their car will travel about 1,000 miles at up to 96 mph on one fill-up.

Read the story here.

One side note about hype. Having been writing these posts for going on a year, I have discovered that the claims made by companies, and reported in the press, are often greater than the outcomes. Time frames, prices, energy efficiency and other factors, may be exaggerated. The reality is slower, more costly and not quite as efficient as initially projected. Some reports of amazing new inventions and projected market developments never come to pass.

Still, I think it is well worth reporting these developments. For one thing, many of them are actual inventions, and they all point to a trend of more energy efficient and elegant design in response to the changing conditions of contemporary life. Not all these things will work out as hoped, but in general, I have found that reporting these developments has begun to subtly alter my thinking about the technology of the future. My hope is that others will also be stimulated to think along new lines as our society navigates this period of climate change coupled with a need to use resources in a more organic way.

Pedal-Powered Wheat Thresher

Here's an interesting and short video made by a Hampshire College student in Amherst, Massachusetts. The link was sent to me by the bicycle maker across the street from me, who is a member of an emerging sustainability group in the rural region in which I live. The student designed this small, pedal powered wheat thresher in the hope that tools like his will make it possible for more people to grow grains at the local level, as they now grow flowers and vegetables, to supplement their own food production.

Ooh, That Road Is Hot

Here's an ingenious design that allows roads to double as solar collectors for heating an office building. In summer pipes crossing under the surface of the road heat water from the hot asphalt, which is then piped to an underground aquifer 100 meters below the surface. Heat exchangers there allow the heat to be stored underground until winter, when the circuit is switched. The heated water is then used to heat an office building before passing back under the road where residual heat keeps the road free of ice and snow. When the temperatures approach freezing, the water is pumped back down to the aquifer again. An added benefit is that the system actually helps cool the road in summer, saving wear and tear on the asphalt. The system is was designed by Arian de Bondt, an engineer for the Dutch building firm Ooms, and is functioning at their office in Scharwoude.

Read the full Economist article here.

P.S. It looks like "The Economist" is featuring a small section of green technologies. They also report on an idea, which is in the research stages, for using algae to recapture carbon coming out of smoke stacks. The algae could be dried and then put through the plant again or converted to biodiesel. They also have this article about the quest for a longer-lasting, lower energy light bulb.

Wave Runner

This cute little boat takes wave power (no matter which direction it comes from) and converts it to up and down fin motion, in the way a dolphin propels itself through the water. The Japanese sailor captaining the boat plans to make a run from Hawaii to Japan – 4,350 miles – in an attempt take the world record for the longest distance traveled in a wave-powered boat. (Ken-ichi Horie has already won world records for similar Pacific journeys in a pedal-powered and a solar boat, as well as for a solo trip across the Pacific in a catamaran made from recycled beer barrels).

Top speed is only 5 knots, which means it would take 2 or 3 times as long to cross the Pacific as a diesel-powered freighter. Still, the design is elegant, and yet another example of harnessing freely available energy during this time when the age of fossil fuels seems to be waning.

Read the story from Popular Science here.

Green Energy Storage

This article from Reuters, for a general audience, is indicative of how some of the details of the emerging alternative energy movement are beginning to come on-line. The story begins, "Energy storage is an unglamorous pillar of an expected revolution to clean up the world’s energy supply but will soon vie for investors attention with more alluring sources of energy like solar panels..."

Three technologies are discussed for storing energy: First, a longer lasting alternative to lead-acid batteries, which currently are often used for storing solar power. Second, a hydrogen battery produced by a company in the UK, "an electrolyzer," which could be used to store wind and solar power, and then later use the hydrogen produced and stored for cooking, driving a car or producing electricity. Third, there's a new lightweight lithium-ion battery, which will be used in what may be the first mass-produced electric vehicle.

As all these pieces begin to fall in place, I would imagine that people will be putting those pieces together in ingenious and surprising ways.

Moth Eyes and Solar Absorption

According to one story, a scientist visiting the San Diego zoo phoned his lawyer and said, "I'm standing here at the tiger cage and let me tell you, I need you to file suit for me immediately. This animal has stolen the patent on the my new proprietary shock absorption system."

Much of the best of the invention of the coming period will in fact mimic nature and natural systems, which have been honed to perfection over millions of years. PhysOrg.com, for example, reports that Moth eyes may hold key to more efficient solar cells. Peng Jiang, an assistant professor at the University of Florida, noticed that the eyes of moths have a subtle structure that reflect extremely little light, about 1 to 2 %. Compare this to silicon, which is highly reflective, a factor that greatly decreases the efficiency of silicon cells. Further, the non-reflective coatings that are currently painted on solar cells are both difficult to manufacture and expensive, yet still reflect a whopping 35 to 40% of the sun's rays.

Jiang's solution capitalizes on evolutionary influences that have helped make moths less visible to nocturnal predators. He's created a substance with a similar nano-structure to moth eyes that is both simple to manufacture and inexpensive to produce. In fact, the substance effectively grows itself. Read the article here for more details on the process.

According to the report, launching a startup company to put the cells into production is the next step. Let's hope the moths don't sue.

Gravity Light

This LED floor lamp invented by a graduate of Virginia tech recently won 2nd place at the Greener Gadgets Conference (sponsored by inhabitat). The light is four feet tall, made of acrylic, and is powered by weights placed at the top of the unit which turn a rotor as they descend. No cords, no batteries, no electric input required.

The light uses 10 LEDs which give a bluish hue. But as the unit ages, it is believed that the acrylic casing will yellow and that in about 10 or 15 years the lamp will provide a more natural interior light. Output is equivalent to a 40-Watt bulb and runs for 4 hours before the weights need to be reset. The designer, Clay Moulton, says the light could run for 200 years in continual operation, and the impression given is that the LEDs would give out before the drive mechanism.

The implications of this type of design resonate widely. How can products be made to last longer, require less energy input and be powered in ways that utilize subtle forms of energy readily available? Beyond that, how can new designs be attractive and also involve the user in a way that reinforces the elegance of this type of design? Look for more of this type of work as the conditions continue to ripen.