The van, targeted for particularly environmentally sensitive areas and for inner-city operations, is based on the long-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz Vito with a typical roof.
A few weeks ago, we wrote that the solar cell company Innovalight has beaten a new record of efficiency in the solar cells field. Now, the same company announced that it developed a new substance ("solar ink"), based on...
In the latest generation of dye-senzitised solar cells, a ZnO nanostructure works as a medium for electron transport and as a scaffold for light harvesting dyes.
Black carbons are emitted from diesel exhausts and burned biomass and are considered an environmental and health hazard all over the world. Besides the fact that they favor global dimming, black carbons also attract heat.
Paraffin wax and oleic acid have been discovered to make up good materials for battery electrodes, which could have applicability in electric cars and power storage systems. A team of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) researchers in Richland, WA, have discovered a technique that could turn materials otherwise unsuited for battery electrodes into ones that exceed even today's most advanced.
So it's possible to build an 80 mpg (2.3 L/100km) car, with all the accessories it needs, and still claim it can't be done. This pisses me off. The Ford Prodigy concept, unveiled in 2000 at the NAIAS (North American International Auto Show) in Detroit, featured such savings and, above all these, it was a hybrid!
Along with butterflies and moths, whose eyes have inspired scientists to build more efficient solar cells, a particular type of fly (the blowfly) has been discovered to have the right properties that would make us harvest the sun more efficiently.
Evatran has found a new way to charge your electric car without bothering with a plug and a cord. The company presented their new wireless charger at the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, California, this week.
Honolulu-based Natural Power Concepts has recently designed a mobile, retractable-blade wind turbine that is capable to generate both solar and wind energy. Being equipped with solar panels, this turbine becomes one of the newest inventions in the alternative energy field.
Partnerships are essential in today's world, as one can no longer do everything - not even Microsoft. They joined a partnership with Blue Line Innovations, a company who sells electricity meters with WiFi network capabilities. These meters will connect to Microsoft's Hohm, a free online service telling the users how much electricity they consume and when.
