The Future is Clear

Imagine a city that’s actually a vast solar energy harvesting system. A team of Michigan State University researchers has developed a technology that can turn transparent surfaces, from building windows to cell phones, into solar collecting surfaces – without obstructing the view.

Aquion Energy Unveils Next Generation of AHI Battery Technology Delivering a 40 Percent Increase in Energy

Inside an Aquion AHI Battery

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 21, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aquion Energy, Inc., developer and manufacturer of Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHI™) batteries and energy storage systems, today unveiled the second generation of AHI technology, delivering energy gains of up to 40 percent. The increased energy is achieved without an increase in the size or weight of either the S-Line Battery Stack or M-Line Battery Module product lines and directly translates into improved performance and delivered value in all of Aquion's target applications.



"We have been hard at work making the world's best long duration battery even better. The improved chemistry of the second generation Aqueous Hybrid Ion battery yields more energy, and will deliver more value for our customers," said Scott A. Pearson, CEO of Aquion Energy. "We are unveiling the new technology at Solar Power International because Aquion's unmatched long duration batteries enable optimal self-consumption of distributed solar generation and ease the burden of intermittent renewable energy on the grid. These two applications are the key to unlocking broad adoption of clean solar electricity as a mainstream energy source." - See more at: 

Aquion Energy Unveils Next Generation of AHI Battery Technology Delivering a 40 Percent Increase in Energy

US researchers propose Earth's infrared radiation as renewable energy source - SCI_TECH - Globaltimes.cn

Infrared energy emitted from the Earth into space may be potentially harnessed as a renewable energy source in the future, US researchers said Monday.

Physicists at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) proposed a device that would resemble a photovoltaic solar panel. But instead of capturing incoming visible light, it would generate electric power by harvesting energy from Earth's infrared emissions into outer space.

"The energy flow from earth to outer space provides a hitherto neglected opportunity to generate a potentially enormous amount of renewable energy," the researchers reported in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"The technology does not yet exist to siphon renewable energy out of this flow, but we argue that it is possible to make a device that does exactly that."

The researchers proposed two possible designs for an emissive energy harvester (EEH) to harness such infrared emissions.

The first design, a thermal EEH, would generate electricity by drawing the heat of surface ambient air through a cold plate that could radiate the energy into the atmosphere, with the flow of heat generating work.



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SCI_TECH - Globaltimes.cn

Ion-Conducting Polymer Improves Solar Cell Performance

by The Daily Fusion

DSSC panel is tested in the laboratory at the School of Chemical Science and Engineering. (Photo: David Callahan)

Drawing their inspiration from photosynthesis, dye-sensitized solar cells offer the promise of low-cost solar photovoltaics and—when coupled with catalysts—even the possibility of generating hydrogen and oxygen, just like plants. Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology have found a way to make dye-sensitized solar cells more energy-efficient and longer-lasting.

A research team that included James Gardner, Assistant Professor of Photoelectrochemistry at KTH, reported the success of a new quasi-liquid, polymer-based electrolyte that increases a dye-sensitized solar cell’s voltage and current, and lowers resistance between its electrodes.

The study highlights the advantages of speeding up the movement of oxidized electrolytes in a dye-sensitized solar cell, or DSSC. Also on the team from KTH were Lars Kloo, Professor of Inorganic Chemistry and researcher Muthuraaman Bhagavathi Achari.

“We now have clear evidence that by adding the ion-conducting polymer to the solar cell’s cobalt redox electrolyte, the transport of oxidized electrolytes is greatly enhanced,” Gardner says. “The fast transport increases solar cell efficiency by 20 percent.”

read full article:
Ion-Conducting Polymer Improves Solar Cell Performance | The Daily Fusion

ARPA-E Project Combines Heat and Electricity | MIT Technology Review

The government’s energy research agency is spending $30 million to demonstrate cheap solar power that’s available day and night.

By Kevin Bullis on July 31, 2013

Combining the strengths of two different solar technologies could yield “hybrid solar power” that works even at night or when it’s cloudy.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy is devoting $30 million to several demonstration projects that will attempt to combine photovoltaics with solar thermal. Early-stage work being conducted by researchers around the U.S. hints at how the combined technology might work.
Read the full story: ARPA-E Project Combines Heat and Electricity | MIT Technology Review

SunDrum Solar Hybrid PVT System reaches peak 86% delivery record - Renewable Energy Focus

SunDrum Solar LLC said it has achieved a solar industry one hour peak delivery record of 86% for a hybrid solar system, which generates both photovoltaic and thermal (PVT) solar energy.

This record was achieved on April 24, 2013 and was enabled by the combination of a standard Photovoltaic (PV) panel and the SDM 100 thermal collector from SunDrum Solar.

After adjustment for all system losses, a record of 86% was used by the home in Massachusetts during the peak hour of 2-3PM - when 870W of thermal energy and 200W of electrical energy was delivered by each solar panel fitted with the SunDrum Solar Collector. This performance sets a new record for a fixed, non tracking, hybrid array, said the company.

Read the full story at http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/33360/sundrum-solar-hybrid-pvt-system-reaches-peak-86-delivery-record/

Times of Oman | Feature :: Hybrid power plants: Renewable energy’s newest trend

byJohn Brian Shannon - Special to Times of Oman

Photo - SolarPraxis.de

One option for renewable energy producers that has been open to utility companies but rarely utilized, is the installation of both wind and solar power plants together at the same location, which results in a doubling in the amount of electricity produced. Prior to a study done by Reiner Lemoine Institut and Solarpraxis AG, it was (incorrectly) thought that the huge towers upon which the wind turbines are mounted would cast huge shadows over the photovoltaic solar panel array, thereby reducing their efficiency by a significant factor. It turns out that when solar and wind power generation are combined on the same site, such hybrid power plants complement each other better, than had been imagined. Approximately twice the power generation is available from any such hybrid power plant site, when compared to wind or solar only. The landmark study took into account the amount of sunlight loss (shading) which would occur in a carefully designed hybrid power plant. Energy losses were less than 2 percent of total output. This is a lower energy loss percentage, than compared to conventional power plant energy, such as coal — where up to 10 percent of the coal can be lost during transport from North America to China, or from Australia to China, and later storage, for example. A major benefit of such hybrid power plants is that due to the relative intermittency of both wind power and solar power is they tend to cancel out the others weaknesses. Grid expansion, is therefore not required for hybrid power plants. Wind power peaks at night, during cool days, and in the colder seasons of the year — while solar produces power during the daylight hours, the warmer parts of the day and most especially during the warmer seasons, when the Sun is high in the sky, directly over the solar panel array... Read the full story - Times of Oman | Feature :: Hybrid power plants: Renewable energy’s newest trend

More Good News About The Scientific Accident That May Change The World

by Chris Clarke

on February 21, 2013 2:51 PM

Graphene supercapacitors | Photo: UCLA

That battery life video that had gone viral due to a recent post on UpWorthy (and which we told you about Tuesday) now has an update. We told you that researchers at Ric Kaner's lab at UCLA had found a way to make a non-toxic, highly efficient energy storage medium out of pure carbon using absurdly simple technology. Today, we can report that the same team may well have found a way to make that process scale up to mass-production levels.

The recap: Graphene, a very simple carbon polymer, can be used as the basic component of a "supercapacitor" -- an electrical power storage device that charges far more rapidly than chemical batteries. Unlike other supercapacitors, though, graphene's structure also offers a high "energy density," -- it can hold a lot of electrons, meaning that it could conceivably rival or outperform batteries in the amount of charge it can hold...

Read the full story More Good News About The 'Scientific Accident That May Change The World' | Science | ReWire | KCET

Next Big Future: Quantum Dots covering one square inch could produce...

A new type of nanoscale engine has been proposed that would use quantum dots to generate electricity from waste heat, potentially making mic...

"The system is really a simple one, which exploits certain properties of quantum dots to harvest heat," Professor Andrew Jordan of the University of Rochester said. "Despite this simplicity, the power it could generate is still larger than any other nanoengine that has been considered until now."

Read the full story:
Next Big Future: Quantum Dots covering one square inch could produc...

Scientists develop a whole new way of harvesting energy from the sun

Feb. 24, 2013 — A new method of harvesting the Sun's energy is emerging, thanks to scientists at UC Santa Barbara's Departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials. Though still in its infancy, the research promises to convert sunlight into energy using a process based on metals that are more robust than many of the semiconductors used in conventional methods.

read more.... Scientists develop a whole new way of harvesting energy from the sun

Solar Window Technology a promising and significant advancement | Construction magazine

In collaboration with the University of South Florida and the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), New Energy Technologies debuted its Solar Window technology based on an organic photovoltaic solution that can be sprayed directly onto glass as an incredibly thin, sub-micrometer layer. The next challenge was to attempt to develop methods for scaling up the fabrication method. The latest manufacturing innovation enables high-speed roll-to-roll and sheet-to-sheet manufacturing, according to the company. Importantly, the process can be executed at ambient pressure and low...

Read the full article: Solar Window Technology a promising and significant advancement | Construction magazine | Construction news | Builders magazine | Construction Chemical magazine

Innovative Solar Cell Tech Gets Snapped Up In Lenders' Fire Sale | Photovoltaic (PV) | ReWire | KCET

Twin Creeks' Hyperion technology on display last March | Twin Creeks press photo

by Chris Clarke

The bad news is that another innovative California-based solar tech firm has gone out of business. The good news is that the firm's innovative technology lives on, and could well prove important in accelerating the state's solar revolution. Nashua, NH-based GT Advanced Technologies announced today that it had acquired core intellectual property of San Jose startup Twin Creeks, which had developed a way to increase the amount of solar panel made from a unit of silicon crystals by a factor of ten

Read the full story:

Innovative Solar Cell Tech Gets Snapped Up In Lenders' Fire Sale | Photovoltaic (PV) | ReWire | KCET

Can Schools Provide Arts Education on a Tight Budget? | Los Angeles | Artbound | KCET

By Abe Flores

A mural depicting the history of Boyle Heights greets parents dropping off their children at my son's elementary school. Inside, a large cartoon bee emblazoned on a handball court reminds students to "be respectful and be responsible." Situated on the emerging Arts District, with a theatre, gallery, music school all within walking distance, the school's murals and surrounding vibrant arts community are no where to be seen inside the classroom. The dearth of arts education mainly due to budget cuts and testing mandates disproportionally affect low-income schools in neighborhoods like Boyle Heights.

The irony was never lost on me: arts needy school in an arts-rich hood. When my son began kindergarten this fall, I was determined to change that. As the Advocacy Manager for Arts for LA, I am tasked with connecting with or creating networks of arts supporters and building capacity to advocate for the arts. My advocacy work comprises two phases: building support and mobilizing support.

Read the full story:

Can Schools Provide Arts Education on a Tight Budget? | Los Angeles | Artbound | KCET

Economic Analysis of a Wind–Solar Hybrid Renewable Energy System

Chong et al. - 2011 - Techno-economic analysis of a wind–solar hybrid renewable energy system with rainwate...

Short Sharp Science: Tiny crystal flower blooms in a furnace

(Image: Chun Li, Liang Huang, Gayatri Pongur Snigdha and Linyou Cao, North Carolina State University)

A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but it's unlikely to be this small. This beautifully intricate flower-like structure has petals only 20 to 30 nanometres thick - making the world's smallest orchid look like a triffid....Read the full story via NewCcientist.com - Short Sharp Science: Tiny crystal flower blooms in a furnace

LENR Testing at NASA Langley

Learn more: Low Energy Nuclear Reactions, the Realism and the Outlook
by Dennis Bushnell, Chief Scientist, NASA Langley Research Center
http://futureinnovation.larc.nasa.gov/view/articles/futurism/bushnell/low-ene...

ELN - Can frozen air help store energy?

Science Lecture: Talking the Higgs Boson with Dr. Joseph Incadela

Dr. Joseph Incandela, Senior Spokesperson for the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at the Large Hadron Collider explains the exact nature of the Higgs boson, how scientists know if they've found it, and what its discovery means for physics.

Breakthrough: Better Fiber for Better Products

New silicon carbide fiber breakthrough from Idaho National Laboratory's materials scientist John Garnier and nuclear engineer George Griffith about their game-changing carbon fiber technology. Coming to a spacecraft near you.

Full article by Michael Hess at http://energy.gov/articles/lab-breakthrough-better-fiber-better-products

Interactivity and Innovation | World Future Energy Summit 2013 | 15 - 17 January 2013 | Abu Dhabi

FROM THE CONFERENCE STAGE TO THE EXHIBITION FLOOR

The World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2013 is delighted to open its Call forProposals for the forthcoming conference to be held 15-17 January 2013, AbuDhabi, United Arab Emirates, under the theme of “Powering the Future ofEnergy Innovation”.

The World Future Energy Summit (WFES) 2013 will bring together globalleaders in policy, technology and business to develop new ways of thinking,and shape the future of renewable energy whilst prioritizing sustainability intheir efforts to address the world’s social, environmental and economicchallenges. 

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Interactivity and Innovation | World Future Energy Summit 2013 | 15 - 17 January 2013 | Abu Dhabi