Hybrid Living

For music-lovers, DAB Radios are great, they deliver crystal-clear sound without the usual background hiss that you get with analogue. However, high quality audio comes at an environmental price, since DAB radios guzzle far more energy than old-school receivers.

Step forward UK company Roberts, which has just launched SolarDAB, the first ever solar-powered DAB radio. The unit comes with an integrated solar panel on the top, which absorbs direct sunlight in order to power the radio. Under good conditions, this should also be enough to charge the batteries, which are capable of delivering 27 hours of play time per charge, enabling use away from direct sunlight.

The power level generated is indicated by an on-screen display, and there is also a good old mains adaptor for use when visiting less sunny areas. The unit also boasts a text-display and a line-in socket, so that users can plug in an MP3 when they’re bored with the radio. This goes quite a bit beyond the eco-improvements made by the Pure Evoke-1S by getting that good old sustainable charge factor into the design.

At £80 (around $160), the unit isn’t particularly cheap, but given the exceptionally high energy-usage of DAB radios (and rocketing energy prices), it’s likely that it could pay back the initial cost over a fairly short period of time – a sound investment!

Via Roberts Radio

Next week, Subaru will be looking to impress delegates at the G8 summit in Hokkaido Toyako by unveiling a prototype plug-in electric car.

The company has provided five cars for use at the summit. Four of these will be used to transport officials and policy wonks around, while the other will go on display in the environmental showcase, as well as being available for test drives.

The new prototype twins Subaru’s existing Stella model with the electric powertrain from the company’s earlier R1e concept, which has been undergoing testing for the last two years. Whereas the R1e is a tiny two-seater, the Stella is a more practical 5-door model, and will be used for the development and test-marketing of next-generation EVs in Japan in the coming years.

The car, powered by a powerful Li-Ion battery, is capable of a top speed of around 60mph, with a range of 50 miles between charges – more than adequate for urban journeys. The battery can either be fully charged overnight at home, or topped up to 80% capacity in 15 minutes using a fast-charger. Charge time has been a major barrier to consumer acceptance of EVs and, although this still doesn’t match up to the speed of filling up with gas, it’s certainly getting there.

Via Reuters

Technology giant IBM has announced plans to join forces with semi-conductor process company Tokyo Ohka Kogyo (TOK) to develop cheaper and more efficient solar power technologies.

The main focus of the venture will be to think up new ways of printing copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) cells, capable of converting more than 15% of absorbed sunlight into power. This would represent a significant improvement on the 6-12% efficiency achieved by the current generation of CIGS cells.

At present, over 90% of solar PV equipment uses silicon to convert sunlight into electricity. This technology is also more efficient than CIGS, often achieving conversion rates of up to 20%. However, the cost of silicon-based applications has rocketed in recent years on the back of soaring demand from the burgeoning solar industry, which has eaten into limited supplies. Silicon cells are also much thicker than thin-film devices, meaning that they are more limited in their applications.

IBM will contribute its expertise in manufacturing cells, while TOK brings its semiconductor and LCD coating technology to the deal. Although there is no news yet on projected sales for the new technology, the partners say that the main objective is to make the cells cheaply enough to achieve grid parity, something most everyone is interested in achieving soon.

Announcing the partnership, an IBM spokesman Supratik Guha said, “I think that if we can get to a module cost of less than $1 per watt, and be able to keep a handle on the system costs, then one should be able to get to grid parity…We strongly feel that we have a shot.”

The long-term plan is to develop the technology and then sell it off to solar companies in a few years time. Interested buyers might include companies like Nanosolar, Global Solar Energy, Heliovolt and Miasole that are also concentrating on CIGS over silicon cells, though market competition may come from other companies like Intel.

Via Reuters

Pacific Gas & Electric has signed a contract with the renewables unit of Portuguese energy conglomerate Martifer to supply 106.8MW of solar thermal-biomass hybrid power to California by 2011.

Under the deal, two plants located near Coalinga in central California will provide enough energy to power 75,000 homes by combining solar thermal technology with steam turbines powered by gas from local agricultural waste and livestock manure.

The hybrid nature of the plants may help to win over critics of solar-thermal plants, who argue that the energy produced is too unreliable, since it relies on uninterrupted sunshine. Martifer’s hybrid technology will allow the plants to run on biomass during periods of cloud cover and overnight, ensuring consistency of supply.

According to Andrew Byrnes, one of the project’s developers, “When the sun is shining during peak hours, it will just be the solar facility. As the sun sets, biomass will be available to support the solar generation, and then at night the biomass will run purely on its own.”

Via Reuters, Treehugger

Boston-based architects Kennedy & Violich Architecture have recently showcased the latest developments in their Soft House project, which features a structure that can generate up to 16KWh of electricity by using semi-transparent solar curtains capable of harnessing solar power.

The advance is made possible by the use of thin-film photovoltaic textiles, which are in reality solar panels created from organic photovoltaics. Although not as efficient as silicon-based panels, they have the key advantage of being able to be molded and customized without the need for an additional manufacturing process.

The Soft House is apparently unlikely to be available any time soon, since the cost would be prohibitively high. However, it’d be nice to see more investment going into projects like this that manage to seamlessly combine cutting-edge eco-technology with everyday products. Perhaps these curtains could be paired up with solar windows for double impact.

Via Ubergizmo, Inhabitat; For more information on Soft House

A small Cincinnati start-up called Advanced Mechanical Products (AMP) has developed, and is taking orders, for Saturn Sky Roadsters converted to run on all-electric power.

The converted cars will be powered by two electric motors and a powerful LI-Ion-Phosphate battery, enabling a top speed of 90mph and 0-60mph acceleration in less than 6 seconds, with a range of around 150 miles on a single charge.

According to AMP CEO Jack Kuntz, a prototype model will be completed in about a month, with an initial production run of 300 units.

The AMP Saturn Sky will be available for around $50,000, which includes the cost of the car and the electric conversion. If you already own a Saturn Sky, AMP will convert any 2007 model or later for $25,000. AMP asserts that the conversion will cost around $0.04 per mile to run, compared with the $0.54 a mile that the American Automobile Association reckons it costs to operate a conventional car. I estimate that in terms of pay-back, this means that a user could recoup the $25,000 conversion cost after driving around 50,000 miles.

According to Kuntz, “This is a commuter car, not a car you’d drive to Florida. It’s not for everybody, but it’s not for the ultra-wealthy either. We want regular folks to be able to afford it, not just the rich and famous.”

Almost all of the big car makers have announced plans to offer some form of electric or gas-electric hybrid vehicle over the next two or three years. If that seems like too long a wait, you might be interested to hear that these conversions will be available from early next year. There’s only one major catch, the cars will only be available in a 200 mile radius around Cincinnati…If you just can’t stand it and want your electric car, you could always DIY it.

However, if AMP can prove that this is a business model that works, I don’t see any reason why similar schemes couldn’t be rolled out across the country?

Via Kentucky.com

High on the Alantejo Plain, near the small town of Mouro in Eastern Portugal, the world’s biggest solar photovoltaic farm is nearing completion. When the £250 million ($500 million) farm is fully operational later this year, it will be twice as large as any project of its kind in the world. It is expected to supply 45MW of electricity every year, enough to power 30,000 homes.

The farm, located in an area with the highest annual sunshine per square meter in Europe, is made up of 2520 giant solar panels, positioned at a 45 degrees angle, to track the sun through 240 degrees every day.Portugal, with no oil, coal or gas reserves and no expertise in nuclear power, has some of the most ambitious targets for renewables in Europe, and aims to become a leader in the European clean-tech revolution. According to economics minister Manuel Pinho, “We have to reduce our dependence on oil and gas. What seemed extravagant in 2004 when we decided to go for renewables now seems to have been a very good decision.” By 2020, he expects Portugal to generate 31% of its energy from renewables.

The rate of progress is certainly impressive. In less than three years the country has trebled hydropower capacity, quadrupled wind power and invested in flagship solar projects like the one at Mouro. Crucially, this progress has been achieved on the back of a favorable economic and political climate. The government has guaranteed price-levels for the long-term and projects are not delayed by state indecision or hold-ups in the planning system. By 2012, companies are expected to invest £10 billion ($20 billion) in renewables, rising to up to £100 billion ($200 billion) by 2020.

While this project is to be of record-holding size, it will be overshadowed eventually by a plant here in the US currently in the planning stage, which is expected to produce 500MW – far more than this plant. The current largest solar farm in the US is well below Portugal’s upcoming farm, sitting at 14MW. Of course, it seems as if lots of "world’s largest" solar farms are in the works, so it’s nice to see at least this one will be a reality.

Via The Guardian; photo credit Teri Pengilley

New auto industry start-up Mindset, has announced plans to release a gasoline-electric hybrid next year. The hybrid 2+2-seater, called the Six50, contains a built-in Li-Ion battery, with a range of 100km (62 miles) between charges, rising to 800km (496 miles) when the two-cylinder gasoline motor also kicks in as a generator as required. Battery charging is further assisted by integrated roof-top solar panels.

The car’s name hints at the target weight of 650kg (1430 lbs). However, according to recent reports, the prototype, made with a plastic body around an aluminum frame, tips the scales at a still fairly lightweight 800kg. According to Mindset, this helps the car to achieve fairly respectable levels of performance. The 70kw (95hp) motor should enable speeds of up to 140km/h (75mph) and acceleration from 0-100km/h in under six seconds.

The company was established by Marat Gunak, former head of design at Volkswagen (who is also gearing up with electric cars), with backing from Swiss billionaire Lorenzo Schmid. According to Gunak, most cars are currently “too big, too heavy, too expensive,” a trend that he hopes to help overturn with the Six50.

On first impressions, it seems that he might have succeeded in developing a small, lightweight car. However, many potential buyers will need to be persuaded that the price, currently estimated at €31,000 (about $61,000) – and likely to reach nearer €50,000 (about $98,700) by the time the Six50 hits the market – is not "too expensive." For an average buyer, that’s pretty darn expensive.

Via Treehugger

Toyota has unveiled its new FCHV-adv, which it says can travel 515 miles between refuels, more than double the previous record for this type of vehicle. In tests, the car, which has just received vehicle-type certification from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, smashed the 205 mile range achieved by its predecessor.

The FCHV-adv (standing for Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicle-advanced), combines on-board high-pressure hydrogen tanks with advanced fuel-cell stack technology. According to the Toyota researchers behind the breakthrough, 25% of the advance in range was achieved through a combination of improving fuel cell performance, playing around with the regenerative braking system and minimizing energy consumed by the auxiliary assemblage.

Ignition performance, an issue that has often plagued fuel cell development, has also been tested successfully by the Toyota team. The new core fuel-cell stack has an improved membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which means that the FCHV-adv can turn over in temperatures as low as -30 degrees C. This was achieved by preventing internally produced water interfering with electrical generation within the MEA at low temperatures.

There is no news yet on a potential release date or price for the FCHV-adv. However, Toyota is said to be working closely with governments and energy companies to see how it could best bring the vehicle to mass production. For now, if you want a fuel cell car, you’ll want to look towards Honda.

Via Motortorque and Automotive Business Review

Japan’s postal service has announced that it is considering plans to switch its entire fleet of around 21,000 short-distance delivery vehicles to zero-emission EVs starting this business year. The company has also approached Japanese companies to push for the development of electric-powered motorbikes.

A spokesman at Japan Post Service Co, the mail delivery unit of Japan Post Corp, said, “We’re discussing the feasibility with automakers and battery makers to that end.” Depending on how fast the cars and the necessary recharging infrastructure can be set up, the company may use some gasoline-electric hybrids in the interim. It’s possible that the delivery vehicles will be a variation of the Mitsubishi i-MiEV.

This seems likely given that shares in Mitsubishi soared immediately following the announcement. Any discussion of the feasibility of the project is likely to focus on the high cost of converting to an all-electric fleet. However, with gasoline prices soaring, cost will be less of an issue in the long-term. The project would also be big enough to make a sizeable dent in Japan’s carbon emissions and might just tip the scales in favor of the government-backed roll out of a nation-wide recharging infrastructure. This will also be encouraging news for carmakers looking to invest in EVs, with such a large ‘guaranteed’ initial demand likely to ease worries about the potential market.

Via Reuters and Business Week