Energy-producing shell covered with hairs that can extract wind energy Belatchew Architects presents a visionary idea called STRAWSCRAPER, the first project to come out of their business called Belatchew Labs. STRAWSCRAPER is an extension of the south tower on Södermalm in Stockholm with a new energy-producing shell covered with hairs that can extract wind energy. What was originally meant to be 40 storeys became only 26. Belatchew Architects want to give South tower its original proportions and at the same time explore new technologies to create the future of urban wind farming. Furthermore, an additional aspect is revealed when the constant movement of the straws creates an undulating landscape on the facades.
New Invention Makes Ocean Water Drinkable Susanne Posel Occupy Corporatism July 2, 2013 Chemists with the University of Texas and the University of Marburg have devised a method of using a small electrical field that will remove the salt from seawater. Incredibly this technique requires little more than a store-bought battery. Called electrochemically mediated seawater desalination (EMSD) this technique has improved upon the current water desalination method. Richard Cooks, chemistry professor at the University of Austin said : “The availability of water for drinking and crop irrigation is one of the most basic requirements for maintaining and improving human health.” Cooks continued: “Seawater desalination is one way to address this need, but most current methods for desalinating water rely on expensive and easily contaminated membranes. Kyle Krust, lead author of the study said: “We’ve made comparable performance improvements while developing other applications based on the formation of an ion depletion zone.
Power plant claims to produce hydrogen by splitting water with sunlight The plant would use an array of mirrors to focus sunlight onto a huge towerThe tower heats up to 1,350 °C - enough to liberate hydrogen from steamScientists describe the process as the Holy Grail of a hydrogen economy By Ellie Zolfagharifard Published: 18:07 GMT, 1 August 2013 | Updated: 11:31 GMT, 14 November 2013 Scientists believe they have achieved the ‘holy grail’ of the green economy by designing a hydrogen production plant that can split water with sunlight. The University of Colorado at Boulder envisages an array of mirrors that would focus sunlight onto a central tower several hundred feet tall. The tower would heat up to around 1,350 °C - enough to liberate hydrogen from steam with the help of a metal oxide compound. A concept design of a hydrogen production plant that could fuel a sustainable green economy with sunlight and water. An array of mirrors focuses sunlight onto a central tower several hundred feet tall. This frees up hydrogen molecules for collection as hydrogen gas.
Graphene Batteries Offer 5-Second iPhone Charging Researchers at UCLA have discovered a way to make graphene batteries that charge super fast, are inexpensively produced, are non-toxic, and that blow current battery technology out of the water in terms of efficiency and performance. An iPhone powered by a graphene supercapacitor could charge in five-seconds. A MacBook powered by a graphene supercapacitor could charge 30-seconds. The new energy technology was developed by Richard Kaner, a member of the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA where he is also a professor of chemistry and biochemistry. “To label discs using LightScribe, the surface of the disc is coated with a reactive dye that changes color on exposure to the laser light. The micro-supercapacitors created by Kaner and El-Kady are highly bendable and twistable and will be ideal for future flexible displays, e-paper, and wearable electronics. Graphene batteries sound almost too good to be true. [UCLA Newsroom Press Release]
Deep Green Ocean Energy Solutions | News MIT Wristband Could Make AC Obsolete | Wired Design The Wristify prototype is a personal climate-controlling wearable. Image: Wristify Here’s a scary statistic: In 2007, 87 percent of households in the U.S. used air conditioning, compared to just 11 percent of households in Brazil and a mere 2 percent in India. Another one: By 2025, booming nations like those are projected to account for a billion new consumers worldwide, with a corresponding explosion in demand for air conditioning expected to arrive along with them. Keeping indoor spaces at comfortable temperatures requires a huge amount of electricity–especially in sweltering climates like India and Brazil–and in the U.S. alone it accounts for a full 16.5 percent of energy use. All of that adds up to a big problem. Shames runs hot. Wristify, as they call their device, is a thermoelectric bracelet that regulates the temperature of the person wearing it by subjecting their skin to alternating pulses of hot or cold, depending on what’s needed. Shames runs hot.
Gravity Battery Concept Kite power getting off the ground in Germany Despite offering numerous advantages over its rotating brethren, most notably the ability to reach the high-speed winds found at higher altitudes, kite-based energy systems are yet to really get off the ground in a meaningful way. But things are looking up. Earlier this year, NASA revealed it is investigating ways to improve the aerodynamics and autonomous flight control of kites for power generation applications, and now Berlin-based wind energy developer NTS GmbH has teamed with the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) to make their own kite energy system concept a reality. The team’s “kite power station” would see kites attached to cables measuring around 700 meters (2,297 ft) long, which would allow the kites to fly at heights of 300 to 500 meters (984 to 1,640 ft). “The energy yield of a kite far exceeds that of a wind turbine, whose rotor tips turn at a maximum height of 200 meters. Source: Fraunhofer
Qui est Boyan Slat, le sauveur des océans ? - - Cartridgeworld Magazine Ce jeune homme sauvera-t-il nos océans ? Boyan Slat, étudiant néerlandais de 19 ans, a un projet fou : débarrasser nos océans des millions de tonnes de plastiques qui l’envahissent, et forment aujourd’hui ce qu’on appelle les 7e et 8e continents. Son projet « The Ocean Cleanup » mobilise déjà une cinquantaine d’ingénieurs et soulève bien des espoirs du côté des amoureux de la planète… Boyan Slat, un jeune génie hyperactif Il a seulement 19 ans et il est déjà à la tête d’un projet très important, qui mobilise une cinquantaine d’ingénieurs. Des vaisseaux de nettoyage en forme de raie © Erwin Zwart Boyan Slat a développé « The Ocean Cleanup » en guise de projet de fin d’études pour sa dernière année de lycée, et n’a eu aucun problème pour défendre son idée lors de la conférence TEDx qui a eu lieu en octobre 2012 à Delft aux Pays-Bas. Boyan est aussi photographe de talent. Le projet « The Ocean Cleanup » Les cinq gyres océaniques qui concentrent les déchets plastiques Contribuez vous aussi !
Hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy, accounting for 16 percent of global electricity generation – 3,427 terawatt-hours of electricity production in 2010,[1] and is expected to increase about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years. Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the Asia-Pacific region generating 32 percent of global hydropower in 2010. China is the largest hydroelectricity producer, with 721 terawatt-hours of production in 2010, representing around 17 percent of domestic electricity use. There are now four hydroelectricity stations larger than 10 GW: the Three Gorges Dam and Xiluodu Dam in China, Itaipu Dam across the Brazil/Paraguay border, and Guri Dam in Venezuela.[1] The cost of hydroelectricity is relatively low, making it a competitive source of renewable electricity.
Phone Charger Uses Crystal Orbs to Focus the Sun's Rays | Wired Design A $149 solar smartphone charger called Beta.ey features a ball lens and minuscule multi-junction solar cell that can charge a smartphone one and a half times per day. RawLemon The theory underlying the project is that gleaming crystal globes can concentrate diffuse sunlight, or even moonlight, onto a tiny, hyper-efficient photovoltaic cell. The crystal ball is paired with a dual-motion tracking system that keeps the sun's energy focused on the cell throughout the day. The hope is that these innovations will make solar power a practical solution in parts of the world where it's previously been a non-starter. Ball lenses are a novelty in solar power, but they are commonly used as a coupling tool in laser-based applications, endoscopes, and barcode scanners. In order to prove out the concept and generate investment he has put the principle to work in consumer product form. Pigments would add color to the globes, but slightly reduce their efficacy. Inspiration Strikes
Creating Plastic Out of Thin Air Newlight Technologies co-founder Mark Herrema shows off AirCarbon pellets | Image credit: Dan MacMedan/USA TODAY We’re hearing more and more often about inventive new ways companies are turning waste into valuable resources — from turning everything from CO2 and methane gases to human and food waste into fuels, and plastic into bacteria-battling “ninja polymers.” This week USA Today explored another breakthrough — a process that extracts carbon molecules from methane gas and turns them into plastic. California-based startup Newlight Technologies is using captured methane gas from dairy farms and turning it into AirCarbon, a durable and versatile plastic that can be used in everything from furniture and food containers to auto parts. According to the article, AirCarbon removes more carbon from the atmosphere than its manufacturing emits, making it a carbon-negative material. Already in the works?
8 inventions techno-écolo ! Des végétaux très au courant Produire de l’électricité avec… de la mousse ! C’est ce qu’ont réalisé des designers et scientifiques de l’université de Cambridge. Utilisant la technologie Biophotovoltaïque (BPV), la Moss Table capte l’énergie produite par la mousse lors de sa photosynthèse, la stocke dans une batterie et la redistribue sous forme d’électricité pour alimenter la lampe intégrée au meuble. Si la mousse ne produit actuellement que 50 milliwatts / m2, les scientifiques espèrent atteindre une production électrique de 3 w/m2. La Moss Table pourrait alors alimenter un ordinateur portable pendant 14h00. www.cam.ac.uk Romain Dondelinger Diplômé de l'École Française de Journalisme (EFJ) et après plusieurs expériences dans des chaînes de télévision, Romain s'envole pour l'Australie. Article(s) sur le même sujet L’hybride sur le toit Produire de l’électricité verte ou avoir de l’eau chaude, pourquoi choisir ?
Led Mushroom par Yukio Takano Des champignons dans une maison, un bureau … c’est jamais très bon signe. Sauf quand il s’agit de champignons que l’on dirait tout droit sortis d’un conte fantastique et qu’ils sont destinés à illuminer votre bureau. Le designer japonais Yukio Takano a imaginé un concept eco-design de lampe de bureau dénommé Led Mushroom. Portant un certain intérêt aux champignons, Yukio Takano a réalisé cette série de lampes à la fois amusantes et très réalises représentant des champignons poussant sur des souches de bois. Auteur : Fabien Fondateur de BuzzEcolo, je suis devenu blogueur un peu par hasard.