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Yearly Archives: 2009
Small Autonomous Cleaning Robot Makes Ships Faster and Fuel Efficient
The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) has recently conducted tests with a unique ship hull grooming robot called the Robotic Hull Bio-inspired Underwater Grooming (HULL BUG) tool.
World's Most Efficient Solar Cell Converts 43% Incident Sunlight into Electricity
Researchers at the University of South Wales in Sydney, Australia, have created the world's most efficient solar cell. Professor Martin Green and his team of U.S. researchers have succeeded in developing solar cells that convert 43 percent of sunlight into electricity.
Two-New Massive Solar Plants to Be Built in The Californian Desert
Southern California Edison (SCE) has announced that it is partnering in two large-scale solar installations in Southern California.
Vindicator Laser Wind Sensor Increases the Output of Wind Turbines
The Manassas, Virginia-based Catch the Wind has signed an agreement with National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) to test the company's Vindicator laser wind sensor that automatically optimizes wind turbine direction to boost its output.
Sony’s Olivine Lithium Iron Phosphate Batteries Keep 4 Times More Power
Sony has developed a new type of lithium ion batteries that combine long-life high power performances, using olivine-type lithium iron phosphate as the cathode material. The Olivine-type lithium iron phosphate used in this new battery is a perfect cathode material due to its robust crystal structure and stable performance, even at high temperatures.
Geobacter Microbe Produces Electricity From Mud and Wastewater
Derek Lovley, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently experimented with a microbe named "Geobacter", who loves to live in sediments and mud, and whose hairlike filaments can produce electricity from the muddy environment it loves to live in.
eSolar SunTower CSP Plant Capable of Generating 5MW of Solar Energy
eSolar, a leading provider of modular, scalable solar thermal power technology has unveiled its 5-megawatt (MW) SunTower power plant, being the first CSP solar tower of its kind in the US.
BlackLight Power Sells 400 MW Free Energy Generator to Akridge Energy
On July 30, BlackLight Power announced a commercial license agreement with Maryland-based Akridge Energy. BLP will allow Akridge to use their energy producing process for generating electricity in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Colombia, up to a maximum continuous capacity of 400 MW.
Ford Developing Laser Powered Spark Plug for Future Engines
The auto industry is pursuing various ways to implement more effective fuel saving strategies. Some of them are based on the development of new technology, electric motors, batteries, etc and others are just improving classic petrol-fueled engines to run better. Following the second trend, engineers from The University of Liverpool, UK, in collaboration with Ford and UK-based GSI Group developed a prototype engine ignition based on lasers rather than on spark plugs.
Low Pressure Superconducting Hydrogen Compound Discovered
We have always thought of hydrogen as a fuel. Yet, there are many possibilities for this interesting element. Normally found in gaseous state, hydrogen is the most common in the universe. Recently, scientists from Carnegie Institution in Washington D.C., have found a way to compress hydrogen in such a manner that it becomes not only solid, but turns into a metallic superconducting state.
