micro-algae lamp absorbs 150 times more CO2 than a tree!

micro-algae lamp absorbs 150 times more CO2 than a tree!
http://www.sciencedump.com/content/microalgae-lamp-absorbs-150-times-more-co2-tree

Staples To Offer 3D Printing Services

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/11/29/2339252/staples-to-offer-3d-printing-services

Staples To Offer 3D Printing Services

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday November 29, @09:07PM 
from the are-doubles-free? dept.

An anonymous reader writes"Mcor and Staples announced today a deal in which Mcor will supply their paper-based 3D printers to Staples Copy Centers worldwide. Staples customers will be able to upload their 3D model and pick up the printed object at their local copy center. The rollout starts in The Netherlands and Belgium in 1Q 2013 and then opens up in other countries."

Sent from my iPad

HydroICE project developing a solar-powered combustion engine

http://www.gizmag.com/hydroice-solar-powered-engine/25139/

OK, first things first – stop picturing a car with solar panels connected to its engine. What Missouri-based inventors Matt Bellue and Ben Cooper are working on is something a little different than that. They want to take an internal combustion engine, and run it on water and solar-heated oil insteadof gasoline. That engine could then be hooked up to a generator, to provide clean electricity. While that may sound a little iffy to some, Bellue and Cooper have already built a small-scale prototype.

• 
• 
• 

The duo have labelled the system HydroICE, which is short for Hydro Internal Clean Engine. Here’s how they envision it working ...

To begin, mirrored parabolic solar collectors would be used to heat oil to a temperature of at least 400 to 700ºF (204 to 371ºC). This hot oil would then be injected into the cylinder chamber of the engine, just like gasoline ordinarily is. A few microdroplets of water would then also be introduced, which would turn to steam immediately upon contact with the hot oil.

The rapidly-expanding steam would serve the same purpose as exploding gas, driving the piston downward and turning the driveshaft. As the piston reached the bottom of its stroke, the spent steam and oil would exit the cylinder and be run through an oil/steam separator. They could then each be returned to their respective reservoirs, for re-use within the closed-loop system.

Hot oil would be injected into the cylinder (Fig 1/Port A), water droplets would then be introduced to that oil (Fig 2/Port B), then the resulting steam would force the piston down (Fig 3)

In order to test the technology, Bellue and Cooper have converted a 31cc 2-stroke gas engine to run as a HydroICE engine. While it isn’t clear if they’ve actually had the thing running yet, they have partnered with Missouri State University and the Missouri University of Science and Technology to develop all the necessary peripheral hardware (such as the solar collectors), and to test the engine’s efficiency.

That efficiency is currently estimated at being at least 15 percent – about the same as the maximum efficiency of existing photovoltaic panels. The technology's big advantage, however, would be price. They’re projecting that a HydroICE system would cost about a quarter of what an equivalent-output photovoltaic system would go for ... obviously, though, that’s still looking some distance down the road.

For now, they’re trying to raise research and development funds viaIndiegogo. More information is available in their pitch video below.

Source: HydroICE

Article: Four African Teens Create Pee-Powered Energy Generator

Four African Teens Create Pee-Powered Energy Generator
http://inhabitat.com/four-african-teens-create-pee-powered-energy-generator/

(via Inhabitat)

Sent from my iPad

The Oil Drum | Battery Performance Deficit Disorder

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/9436#more

Kleiner Perkins' Bill Joy Ends Silence About EEStor

http://bariumtitanate.blogspot.com/2011/04/kleiner-perkins-bill-joy-ends-silence.html

Kleiner Perkins' Bill Joy Ends Silence About EEStor

Source: Masshightech.com

Six years after leading the Kleiner Perkins effort to invest in EEStor, billionaire venture capitalist Bill Joy has finally commented publicly about the investment at the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge this past Thursday evening.  During an open Q&A session, an attendee asked about progress at EEStor and Joy spent about five minutes talking about energy storage in general and offered a few thoughts about EEStor in particular. His comments end speculation about whether or not Kleiner Perkins still has an interest in EEStor.  They do and Bill Joy is still hopeful they will come through but not ready to cease hedging his bets in the energy storage space.

The fireside chat was hosted by Jason Pontin, editor in chief of Technology Review. Below is rough transcript of the exchange on EEStor. (The audio supplied to me was a little rough in places)



Attendee Question:

Since tomorrow is Earth Day and we're here at MIT, it seems like a unique opportunity to ask you about a portfolio company whose lead researcher got his start here at MIT. I'm talking about Carl Nelson & EEStor. I was wondering if you are happy with the progress to date at EEStor and also if everything pans out there, what is your vision for that company?

Bill Joy: 

Well I think. Ok so EEStor is a company that is trying to do a barium titanate giga...I dont know what you call it. It's not hyper super ultra. It's a capacitive energy storage using barium titanate. And it's difficult to do what they are trying to do. And the product isn't out yet. 

But if you look at energy storage you know for...what have we typically done? We pump water uphill and let it run downhill.  People would propose to maybe make an underground cavern and pressurize it and let the gas out something or you do have flow batteries. You start to go into electrochemistry batteries. Flow batteries or you do lithium ion batteries or sodium ion batteries that we talked about.  But ultimately at the end of the day you say, ah,  you know, it's volti, right the voltaic cell. This is old stuff. Kind of violates my rule of not doing something that could have been done in the 19th century. I like to think the future isn't gonna just be electrochemistry that we could have solid state energy storage something that's based on you know maybe early 20th century stuff. It could be a quantum effect or some something that lets us have something which is almost perfectly efficient and has some kind of Moore's law effect to it and be very very durable, high power and  high energy density. 

So you like to have that. And EEStor is an example of something solid state. I always say in investing I prefer solids to liquids and liquids to gases.  And we prefer... semiconductors is our favorite kind of solid.   So... It's just because we can engineer it. When things sit still, we can engineer their structure more and it's more predictable.  And we get access to semiconductor physics which lets us interact with heat and light and all these. There's all of these magical things we can do that came out of say quantum theory.  We're gonna....liquid phase or chemistry, you've got free energy bounds on everything you do and you know, it can get messy. .............reactions and materials fall apart. Whereas a solid state, it is the basis of electronics and it can last basically forever.  And gases, things move around it's hard to have alot of innovations there.  

Energy storage is the same thing. I'd like to see it go from liquid phase chemistry essentially to solid state physics. That would be very desirable. And then you limit cases of energy storage that should be solid state.

Now it is an open question probably whether that...will that transition occur in this decade or the next decade or two decades from now. I'm mean. It's great to have people trying it but it is hard.  And so, when we had this list of 25 grand challenges...when we went out looking for things, we didn't think we would find them all. And if we find investable things that are bred(predicated?) on one of those grand challenges, we don't necessarily expect it to work.  If the list of 25, 10 of them work, that would be a miracle. Because they are set to be very aspirational. So solid state energy storage would be on the list. And that's an example of an investment that is trying to ...with a improvement on an existing technology essentially because barium titanate is used as a material, common material in capacitors. An improvement on the technology to get there through a very you know controversial way of using that material. So.

You can't always predict....things we can't always predict what materials are going to do. You can't do computational level of algebra. We don't have computer simulations with perfect fidelity for any of these things so we have to go try things. One of our sayings is...we prefer things that work in practice to things that work in theory. It's nice if they work in theory but we can always invent the theory afterwards. 

I prefer not to violate the 2nd law of conservation of energy, the standard model. Some things we don't know...any magnetic monopole (?) ....I'm not really interested you know but so we can't always simulate things and we are willing to lose a couple millions dollars to try and see if some effect is plausible or will work ....that we dont have a close form computer simulation. But it's plausible to people trained in the art that it's not.....they can't explain to me on a napkin why it wouldn't work. 

Jason Pontin:  

For what it's worth, every year, Tech Review chooses the 10 technologies we think are most promising to have some kind of a breakthrough in the near future and Solid state was one of them and EEStor is one of the examples we pointed out.

Bill Joy: 

I'd love to find....if someone has another solid state energy state...speculative....it's hard enough to invest in another one of those. 

------------------------------------

After the fireside chat, Joy answered questions from a small crowd of people for over an hour. 

Question:  

So, are you still hopeful about EEStor?

Bill Joy:  

Oh yeah. I mean these things are hard so there is always a chance they won't work. But we're very uh......We'll see. I don't know anything that isn't in the press. 

Question:  ....a person team somebody that already may already have a solution that hasn't been discovered, is that something you think is possible?   Like a crowdsouring...somewhere in world that's working....

Bill Joy: 

It doesn't tend to work that way. It proceeds from somebody who has deep expertise in a domain who acquires interdisciplinary collaborators. Thats a better formula. There are no child prodigies in these fields that involve physics and chemistry. 

You really just have....you mentioned Carl Nelson he is like 90 years old an MIT PHD material scientist, who is one of the inventors under EEStor. If you don't have someone like Carl. I mean you ask Carl, tell me something about halfnium. Carl will talk to you for 15 minutes about halfnium. He knows something about every element in the periodic table. He can tell you off the top of his head what its crystal forms are and alot of interesting properties. I mean you have to be intimate with the periodic table to do this kind of stuff.  You have  know... .you really have to have had a career.  With somebody like that, he's probably the oldest founder I ever backed.  But you just have dinner with him and you realize he really understands what he is doing with materials. 

Now what they are proposing to do is wild. And there's lots of reasons in which some of these things could fail to be commercialized. I'm not saying whether it's worked or not and if we've announced it or not, I'm just saying it's hard.  What they're trying to do...obviously, it's took years...to get....since they....first....it's not easy to do these things. So...but the worthwhile things usually are hard and they always take longer.

Fisker recalls Karma because of faulty cooling fan - San Jose Mercury News

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_21356157/fisker-recalls-karma-because-faulty-cooling-fan?refresh=no

Fwd: CCFL Prices Start to Rise

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "NPD DisplaySearch News" <news@displaysearch.com>
Date: Aug 13, 2012 5:09 AM
Subject: CCFL Prices Start to Rise
To: <john.sokol@gmail.com>

 

CCFL Prices Start to Rise

As published in the DisplaySearch Monitor, August 2012

By Jimmy Kim

2011 was a bad year for LED-backlit LCD TVs. In early 2011, every TV maker planned to achieve their revenue goal by increasing LED backlight penetration. But, the price gap between LED-backlit LCD TVs and CCFL-backlit LCD TVs did not decrease as much as expected. Prices for CCFL-backlit LCD TVs dropped as much as prices for LED-backlit LCD TVs. Consumers suffering from the economic crisis prefered low-cost products instead of high-end products. As a result, LED penetration was lower than expected in 2011.

Raw material costs for CCFL exploded in 2011. Rare-earth metals, the main raw material for CCFL phosphors, reached 5-10 times the price in 2010, as shown in the figure below. As a result, the price of phosphor also jumped, rising to about six times the price in 2010.

Prices for Rare Earth Metals and Phosphors for CCFL

CCFL makers knew very well that demand and price were closely related, especially for their products. If the price of CCFL rises the price gap between CCFL backlighting and LED backlighting decreases. This in turn leads to a decrease in CCFL demand (which is very sensitive to price), and eventually, there is a scale-down of CCFL production and a lower utilization rate. Makers cannot help but raise the unit price of CCFL even further to compensate for the lower utilization rate. Therefore, CCFL makers had to hold the CCFL unit price steady to avoid this chain reaction.

Most Japanese CCFL makers had already given up on CCFL business by this point. They were losing cost competitiveness because of the increasing raw material costs and yen exchange rate. Their exit gave the Korean and Chinese CCFL makers an opportunity. They faced no competition from the Japanese. Furthermore, demand for CCFL did not drop as much as expected. As a result, purchase orders for CCFL units went exclusively to Korean and Chinese makers. The large scale production enabled by the concentrated purchase orders helped them hold the CCFL unit price stable, even under the increasing raw materials cost.

During 2012, the market situation grew worse for CCFL makers. TV makers introduced new low-cost direct LED-backlit TVs for the entry TV market segment. They plan to increase their sales allocation to these new products, which will lead to a further decrease in demand for CCFL. As shown in the figure below, CCFL panel shipments are expected to decrease more than 40% Y/Y after Q2'12. In 2011, the decrease was 30% Y/Y. This means that the scale-down and lower utilization rate for CCFL production seems inevitable this year.

CCFL Panel Shipments

CCFL prices for some new models increased in Q2'12. For example, the CCFL price for a 46" model in Q1'12 was $0.92, but in Q2'12, a CCFL of the same specification was $1.2. For a new 40" model, the CCFL price increased from $0.6 to $1.1, though with some changes of specification (the lamp tube diameter changed from 3.4 phi to 4.0 phi, etc.). Regardless, there have been almost no changes in CCFL prices for running models.

The decrease in CCFL demand caused by the low-cost direct backlight TVs has led to a rise of CCFL unit price. This will probably lead to a further decrease in CCFL demand. We also expect that the EOL of CCFL-backlit LCD TVs will be accelerated.

Copyright © 2012 DisplaySearch LLC, an NPD Group Company
www.displaysearch.com · www.displaysearchblog.com · contact@displaysearch.com
Phone: 1.888.436.7673 (US Toll Free) · 1.516.625.2452

 

Media Contact:

Lauren Leetun, APR

SAVVY Public Relations

407-592-7923

media@displaysearch.com

If you would rather not receive future communications from Savvy Public Relations, let us know by clicking here.
Savvy Public Relations, Not listed, Orlando, FL 32814 United States

Fwd: PV Technology Roadmap and Buying Cycle Essential to Rendering Legacy Capacity as Obsolete

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "NPD Solarbuzz News" <news@displaysearch.com>
Date: Jul 16, 2012 5:08 AM
Subject: PV Technology Roadmap and Buying Cycle Essential to Rendering Legacy Capacity as Obsolete
To: <john.sokol@gmail.com>

PV Technology Roadmap and Buying Cycle Essential to Rendering Legacy Capacity as Obsolete 

Focus on technical innovation from 2013 will create new revenue opportunities for PV capital equipment supply chain

Santa Clara, Calif., July 16, 2012—A technology roadmap for the PV industry is set to emerge during 2013, bringing the PV industry into alignment with adjacent technology sectors where roadmaps typically have broad industry support. The creation of the new PV technology roadmap will be a leading indicator for the new technology buying cycle, which will be driven collectively by top-tier c-Si manufacturers in China and Taiwan.

Until now, each tier 1 PV manufacturer has implemented a different technology roadmap. This lack of synergy has been a factor preventing cell efficiencies from reaching the 20% level. During 2011, only 15% of cells produced by tier 1 manufacturers were rated at 18% or higher. However, through collective efforts in implementing a new PV technology roadmap, 75% of tier 1 c-Si capacity will fall into this high-efficiency category by the end of 2015, according to the latest NPD Solarbuzz PV Equipment Quarterly report.

According to Ray Lian, Analyst at NPD Solarbuzz, "Previously, the PV industry was pursuing a wide range of manufacturing technologies across different c-Si and thin-film types. This created significant challenges for PV equipment suppliers, as they were unsure which customers would survive for repeat business. However, the current manufacturing shakeout is playing a pivotal role in filtering out uncompetitive technologies from the industry."

This shakeout is likely to reduce the number of cell and thin-film manufacturers from almost 400 in 2011 to less than 100 by 2016, with the top 20 manufacturers contributing over 60% of cells produced for module shipments. Within the thin-film segment, only 13 manufacturers are projected to have production output exceeding 100 MW by 2016.

The shakeout along the value-chain will be accompanied by a re-ordering of preferred tool providers, as new capital equipment suppliers challenge existing PV equipment leaders. Unlike PV manufacturing, where consolidation or acquisition of insolvent competitors has limited value, the existing PV supply chain offers more strategic benefits for new equipment entrants. Deals such as those awaiting completion by Oerlikon Solar and Tokyo Electron, Ltd. are likely to become more frequent moving forward, as new capital equipment suppliers prepare for the next PV technology spending upturn.

Cost-Reduction First, Technology Changes Second

New order intake across the entire PV equipment supply-chain remains at a 5-year low, as the industry continues to digest the full effects of strong capacity over-investment in 2010 and 2011. This weak environment is forecast to continue during 2012 and 1H'13, with a limited number of new capacity additions in Taiwan (c-Si cell lines) and Japan (c-Si module lines).

"With PV CapEx in 2012 confined to maintenance-only levels, the short-term emphasis has turned firmly to cost reduction to restore corporate profitability," added Lian. "By mid-2013 however, silicon and non-silicon costs will have reached record lows. At this stage, the tier 1 c-Si leaders will be able to focus collectively on formulating a new PV technology roadmap."

Figure 1: Trailing 4-Quarter Revenue Share Trends for c-Si Cell PECVD Equipment Suppliers

Source: NPD Solarbuzz PV Equipment Quarterly

Cannibalization Essential to Remove Threat of Secondary Equipment Market

Leading tier 1 c-Si manufacturers are motivated to implement new technologies in order to increase average cell efficiencies above the levels that can be achieved from idled and mothballed capacity of tier 2 and 3 competitors. This will effectively consign a considerable quantity of uncompetitive capacity as obsolete and remove its impact on the PV industry supply/demand balance.

Additionally, in order to prevent a secondary equipment market from emerging, PV equipment suppliers need to act quickly to cannibalize the multi-GW of un-installed tools purchased during the over-spending in 2010 and 2011. The new PV technology roadmap will greatly assist equipment suppliers in achieving this goal in 2013.

With new equipment suppliers expected to enter the PV supply chain, the competition for specific tool segments will increase. Until now, c-Si cell deposition tools have commanded the highest ASPs and offered the greatest served addressable market for c-Si PV equipment suppliers. Dominated today by Centrotherm and Roth & Rau (now Meyer Burger), the market for c-Si PECVD tools reached $880 million in 2011. However, with PV thin-film deposition equipment an unattractive segment to target in the near term, a greater number of tool suppliers are likely to contest c-Si deposition equipment revenues from 2014 onwards.

"It is not just that the tool types are set to change when PV spending restarts, but also that market share will shift among the suppliers. The first key deliverable will be to fully understand the timing and content of the PV technology roadmap that will emerge next year from tier 1 c-Si producers," added Lian.

The NPD Solarbuzz PV Equipment Quarterly report enables PV equipment suppliers to navigate spending cycle challenges by identifying target customers and competitors, equipment revenues on offer (down to the key process tool level), and the precise timing of each PV manufacturer's fab expansions by quarter through 2016.

The NPD Solarbuzz PV Equipment Quarterly features a comprehensive capacity and production database, incorporating proprietary NPD Solarbuzz industry knowledge across over 390 c-Si cell and thin-film panel producers, and a PowerPoint report with extensive analysis on technology, equipment spending and market-share trends. All data and analysis is reworked every quarter and includes expansion and spending activity from the immediate quarter closed for over 1,400 capacity expansion phases at over 650 fabs. The performance of leading PV equipment suppliers is analyzed and forecast 12 months out, including PV-specific process tool revenues, bookings, and backlogs.

For more information or to order the NPD Solarbuzz PV Equipment Quarterly, contact us at one of our seven global locations, email us at contact@solarbuzz.com, or call Charles Camaroto at 1.516.625.2452 for more information.

About NPD Solarbuzz
NPD Solarbuzz, part of The NPD Group, is a globally recognized market research business focused on solar energy and photovoltaic industries. Since 2001, NPD Solarbuzz has grown its client-base to include many of the largest global PV manufacturers, major investment banks, equipment manufacturers, materials suppliers, hedge fund companies, and a vast range of other multi-nationals. NPD Solarbuzz offers a wide array of reports, including Marketbuzz, an annual global PV industry report, and Solarbuzz Quarterly, which details both historical and forecast data on the global PV supply chain. The company's research also provides annual downstream PV market reports by region for Europe, Asia Pacific and US markets. In addition, Solarbuzz.com is a recognized and respected online resource within the solar industry. For more information, visit www.solarbuzz.com or follow us on Twitter at @Solarbuzz.

About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 2,000 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, entertainment, fashion, food, home and office, sports, technology, toys, video games, and wireless. For more information, contact us or visit npd.com and www.npdgroupblog.com/. Follow us on Twitter at @npdtech and @npdgroup.

Solarbuzz and Marketbuzz are registered trademarks of The NPD Group.

 

Media Contact:

Lauren Leetun

SAVVY Public Relations

Phone: 407-592-7923

E-mail: media@displaysearch.com

If you would rather not receive future communications from Savvy Public Relations, let us know by clicking here.
Savvy Public Relations, Not listed, Orlando, FL 32814 United States

A Build-It-Yourself Electric Vehicle - Slashdot

http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/07/14/2219253/a-build-it-yourself-electric-vehicle?utm_source=feedburnerGoogle+Feedfetcher&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot+%28Slashdot%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Wave energy project promises jobs boost - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-13/wave-energy-project-promises-jobs-boost/4128666

The 186 MpH Superbus Just Keeps Chasing Pavements | Motherboard

http://motherboard.vice.com/2012/7/9/the-186-mph-superbus-just-keeps-chasing-pavements

From: http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/07/wireless-power-through-4-inch-concrete/?icid=eng_latest_art

Japanese group transmits electricity through 4-inch concrete block, could power cars on roads

The decision to invest in an electric vehicle would be much easier to justify if the car in question offered unlimited range. That appears to be the concept behind a Toyohashi University research group's wireless power prototype, which can successfully transmit electricity through a 10 centimeter-thick concrete block. During a demonstration in Yokohama, Japan, the team sent between 50 and 60 watts of power through a pair of concrete blocks to two tires, which then juiced up a light bulb (you can see the rig just above). The project is called EVER (Electric Vehicle on Electrified Roadway), and could someday be used to keep cars moving along a highway without any need to pull over for a recharge, thanks to a constant stream of electricity coming from below the road. There are some serious obstacles to overcome before EVER can get some wheels turning -- namely, a need to pump nearly 100 times the current maximum load through concrete that's twice as thick as what they've managed today, not to mention improving undisclosed efficiency levels -- but the group reportedly said that it's up to the task, making us fairly optimistic that such a solution could one day get us from A to B without petrol. Until then, you'll probably want to plan out a pit stop or two before you leave the garage.

Making Saltwater Drinkable With Graphene - Slashdot

http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/07/01/1411234/making-saltwater-drinkable-with-graphene

Testing lithium cells for use with a hybrid car - Hack a Day

http://hackaday.com/2012/06/29/testing-lithium-cells-for-use-with-a-hybrid-car/

Spray-on battery makes power paintable - CNET Mobile

http://m.cnet.com/news/spray-on-battery-makes-power-paintable/57463096

Scientists To Use Firefly Bioluminescence To Create Energy-Free Lighting | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building - StumbleUpon

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2OWC8X/inhabitat.com/scientists-to-use-firefly-bioluminescence-to-create-energy-free-lighting/

Wow this is right out of scifi.
Chemical lighting.

Kurzweil Predicts 100% Solar Power In 20 Years - PSFK

http://www.psfk.com/2011/02/kurzweil-predicts-100-solar-power-in-20-years.html

German solar power plants sets a world record

German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour ~ equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity ~ through the midday hours last Friday & Saturday.

Electric moment for Tesla's Model S - SFGate

http://www.sfgate.com/technology/slideshow/Electric-moment-for-Tesla-s-Model-S-44985.php

Germany Swaps Nuclear for Solar and Wind Power

http://truth-out.org/news/item/9932-germany-swaps-nuclear-for-solar-and-wind-power

Lockheed Martin - Alternative & Renewable Energy

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/what-we-do/emerging/alternative-renewable-energy.html

Alternative Energy Generation brochure

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion brochure

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells brochure

Alternative Energy Generation Solutions in the News

Secret Clean Energy Stash Discovered in Oceans
CleanTechnica, February 15, 2012

The Next Wave In Renewable Energy From the Ocean
Forbes, February 8, 2012

Lockheed Martin Jumps on the Clean Energy BandwagonTriple Pundit, September 19, 2011

Nanotechnology: Into the realm of real
High-Performance Composites, May 2, 2011

Tropical idea: Ocean thermal energy conversion
The Engineer, April 11, 2011

The Military Adopts Renewables in Hawaii
MIT Technology Review, October 26, 2010

Lockheed Martin Lands Multimillion Dollar Green Energy Contract 
WENY-TV, September 8, 2010

For ocean’s energy, look leewardHonolulu Star-Advertiser, August 8, 2010

Harnessing Ocean PowerInternational Herald Tribune, May 17, 2010

ANSYS Making Electric Vehicle Batteries More Practical And Efficient

http://www.virtualpressoffice.com:80/publicsiteContentFileAccess/860581/860581.html/?fileContentId=860581&fileName=860581.html&fromOtherPageToDisableHistory=Y
PITTSBURGH, June 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- One year into a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded project, ANSYS (NASDAQ: ANSS), General Motors LLC, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and ESim are leveraging engineering simulation technology to optimize electric and hybrid vehicle battery performance. The team achieved significant milestones during the past year in support of the DOE's Computer Aided Engineering for Electric Drive Vehicle Batteries (CAEBAT) project.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110127/MM38081LOGO )
GM awarded ANSYS a subcontract to develop battery software tools that will help accelerate development of next-generation electric vehicles (EV). The project is a result of a competitive procurement through the DOE's NREL that was presented to GM last year (http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2011/1472.html).
The main goal of the CAEBAT project is to incorporate existing and new battery models into engineering simulation software to shorten design cycles and optimize batteries for increased performance, safety and life span. The project is driving EV innovation.
The GM-ANSYS-ESim team's achievements over the past year include prototyping and validating three electrochemistry modeling approaches. The partners also prototyped a co-simulation feature, which blends battery multiphysics and system simulation technologies that enable engineers to shed unnecessary details and increase simulation efficiency without compromising the accuracy of the model.
"Traditionally, the EV battery industry depends mostly on the expensive and time-consuming process of design-build-test-break for prototyping and manufacturing these batteries," said Jan Aase, director of the vehicle development research lab at GM Global R&D. "However, the virtual development of engineered products has proven to be an effective way of evaluating many design alternatives. This specific team was selected because of their individual track records of success in their respective fields for providing reliable technologies that lead to efficient products."
The team is leveraging NREL's considerable experience in multiphysics, multi-scale modeling of lithium-ion battery systems. The resulting design tools will be made commercially available through ANSYS. GM plans to validate and apply the model to its electric vehicles in development.
"ANSYS is well known for providing reliable simulation technology to enable sustainable design across a wide range of industries, including automotive," said Sandeep Sovani, manager of global automotive strategy at ANSYS. "The recent demands from customers to make vehicles more practical coupled with government regulations are creating unprecedented innovation within the auto industry. ANSYS is proud to be at the forefront of this innovation surge by developing software tools that will accelerate the production of safe, reliable, high-performance and long-lasting lithium-ion batteries for EVs and make vehicles more fuel efficient and sustainable."
NREL expects that the resulting systems will become commercial offerings in about two years. This initiative is funded by DOE's Vehicle Technologies Program in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
About ANSYS, Inc.
ANSYS brings clarity and insight to customers' most complex design challenges through fast, accurate and reliable engineering simulation. Our technology enables organizations ― no matter their industry ― to predict with confidence that their products will thrive in the real world. Customers trust our software to help ensure product integrity and drive business success through innovation. Founded in 1970, ANSYS employs more than 2,200 professionals, many of them expert in engineering fields such as finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, electronics and electromagnetics, and design optimization. Headquartered south of Pittsburgh, U.S.A., ANSYS has more than 65 strategic sales locations throughout the world with a network of channel partners in 40+ countries. Visit www.ansys.com for more information.
ANSYS-G

Fwd: Join us tomorrow for an MITEF talk on "Renewable Energy"

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "MIT Enterprise Forum Central Coast" <mitcentralcoast@gmail.com>
Date: Jun 19, 2012 10:31 AM
Subject: Join us tomorrow for an MITEF talk on "Renewable Energy"
To: <john.sokol@gmail.com>

The MIT Enterprise Forum of the Central Coast  presents:   The Weakest Link in Renewable Energy: Clean Energy Storage    TOMORROW  Wednesday, June 20, 2012 | 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.    Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center  1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA 93103        Site parking $3, or street parking where available.      Online registration closes tonight- Register now to receive discount.         Enjoy networking with top investors, entrepreneurs, media, owners, and community builders. Premiere Sponsors    Supporting Sponsors        Event Speakers & Panelists  Presenter:  Daniel E. Morse, Professor Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry,Biomolecular Science & Engineering at UCSB   Panelists:  Dave H. Auston, Executive Director of the Institute for Energy Efficiency at UCSB Daniel Weiss, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Angeleno Group    Moderator Leslie Edwards, Director of Corporate Business Development, Science and Engineering, UCSB        View the complete biographies of the Presenter and Panelists.     Program Description   Renewable energy is unpredictable...flooding the grid one day and abandoning it the next.  One answer to the grid challenge could be to store these peaks of energy.  However, today's batteries do not have nearly the capacity and they are an environmental fiasco. This Forum will bring one of the leading cleantech venture groups in California, Angeleno Group, a start-up in high powered  batteries, LifeCel Technology, and an expert in the flaws in the current technologies together to discuss recent breakthroughs in energy storage. LifeCel Technology Inc. is a Santa Barbara start-up spun out of UCSB to scale-up and commercialize recent breakthroughs from Professor Morse's lab.  LifeCel's new materials are enabling major improvements in next-generation batteries and fuel-cells.    Event Info   Wednesday, June 20, 2012   5:00 p.m. - Networking hour; wine, beer, light buffet   6:00 - 8:00 p.m.- Formal program and Q & A       Meeting Location   Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center 1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd.  Santa Barbara, CA 93103     View Map    PARKING is available on site for $3, or on street where available.       Cost   Online Pre-registration*:  $30.00   General (at door or online 'pay at door'):  $40.00      Students (w/ ID):  $15.00     (*Online discounted pre-registration is now open. Note, if you registered online but select the 'pay at door' option, you will require to pay 'at door' fee.)   If you have any trouble registering online, please e-mail mitcentralcoast@gmail.com with details of issue and how you initiated the registration.           If you are not already on our mailing list, please click on the following link to subscribe and receive information about our events and other related programs.   Join Our Mailing List

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