SMES: New Energy Storing Technology by ABB Using Electromagnetic Fields and Superconductivity
ABB, a Swiss-based engineering company, has presented a prototype of their innovative superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES), at a DOE ARPA-E conference which took place in Washigton D.C. at the beginning of this month. Their 3.3 kWh proof-of-concept SMES is not very cost-effective for the moment, but may one day provide cleaner storage solutions for excess alternative energy.
New Substrate for Graphene Could Finally Make It Useful and Electronics Greener
Graphene has lately been the electronic industry's spoiled kid - everybody wants to have a piece of the research, but few have the tools and inspiration to find something new. A team of researchers from the University of Arizona have found a material that can play the role of an insulator for the one atom-thick graphene layer. The team published their study in Nature Materials.
AERO-E: A Cool Wind-Powered Wireless Induction Phone Charger Prototype
Small gadgets like phones usually have small chargers, but they often get forgotten plugged in when you wake up in the morning and hurry up to go to work. These often-called "energy vampires" now have a solution - a wind-powered phone charger, actually a design that may just catch if someone will stick to it.
Samsung's New Transparent 46-inch LCD Powered by Solar Energy
Samsung has recently revealed a transparent 46-inch LCD screen powered by solar energy. It is an upgraded model of a see-through LCD panel showed at the SID 2010 in Seattle, in May last year.
NEWEN: Totally Portable Wind/Solar Harvesting Unit Design
Argentinean designer Francisco Tablado has recently designed an autonomous power unit dubbed NEWEN that taps into green electricity for all of your power needs while camping. It is also capable of providing energy to temporary shelters and housing units.
Harvard Student's Tweak Could Yield 20% Energy Savings in Microprocessors
Currently, microprocessors waste a lot of energy by not shutting down parts of themselves that aren't in use at the moment. Wonyoung Kim, a graduate student at the University of Harvard has designed a power saving mechanism that puts the various parts of the microprocessor to sleep right away after they aren't used.
New Cement Production Technology Absorbs Carbon Dioxide, Receives Award
Cement is one of the most important CO2 emitters, accounting for 5% of the world's total emissions. Producing 1 ton of Portland cement, for example, outputs 800 kilograms of carbon dioxide, and that is because of the material used in the fabrication process: calcium carbonate.
Nano-Coating Could Increase Aircraft Fuel Efficiency by Reducing Drag 39%
EasyJet Airline Company plans to apply a revolutionary nano-technology coating on all of their aircraft in order to reduce carbon emissions by up to two per cent and also the fuel consumption.
Sharp Unveils LED Devices With Better Luminous Efficiency
Sharp Corp has recently unveiled an LED device that has a luminous efficiency of 91 lumens/Watt with an input power of about 25W, being used for lighting purposes.
Cyclus: A Spring-Powered Phone Charger by Japanese Designer
An idea by designer Satoshi Yanagisawa is using a spring, some gears and a small motor to produce about 3 watts of electricity. The 6-volt energy generator is hand-cranked, and its energy lasts for 30 minutes.
