Tag: cleantech
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Report: Concentrating Photovoltaic Solar More Competitive
Traditional flat-plate photovoltaic (PV) solar technologies can expect to face increasing pressure in public utility markets from concentrating photovoltaic (CPV), according to a new study by GTM Research. The report — Concentrating Photovoltaics 2011: Technology, Costs and Markets — tracks 170 CPV projects underway by 70 companies, as well as cost and demand forecasts through…
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Engineers Develop Efficient Nanotech Solar Energy Film
An engineering team from the universities of Missouri and Colorado, Idaho National Lab, and MicroContinuum Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts are developing a flexible solar sheet that captures more than 90 percent of available light, for manufacture in the next few years. Their lab findings have appeared in the Journal of Solar Energy Engineering. Current photovoltaic…
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Fuel Cell Powered Forklifts Built for Demo Project
A fleet of 30 forklift trucks that run on hydrogen fuel cells are being built and tested for use at ports and loading docks in Europe. The trucks are being built under the auspices of the HyLIFT-DEMO project, funded by the EU. The 2.5 ton forklifts are being built by the Danish forklift manufacturer Dantruck…
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Grants Awarded for Biomass Research and Development
The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy have awarded a new series of grants for research on the production of biofuels and related bio-based products from a variety of biomass sources. The eight project awards — four recipients in the private sector and four university or federal lab projects — total $47 million. Funding is…
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ARPA-E to Fund $130 Million for New Energy R&D
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced the availability of funding of five new research areas in its fourth round of grants for new energy technologies. The projects to be funded will involve rare earth alternatives, biofuels, thermal storage, grid controls, and solar power electronics. ARPA-E is modeled after the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency…
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New Process Devised For Efficient Hydrogen Production
A research team at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland has discovered that catalysts based on the element molybdenum can make possible a more cost-effective and sustainable process for producing hydrogen. Their findings appear in the journal Chemical Science (paid subscription required). Hydrogen is an abundant element on earth, but still remains difficult…
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Sensors, Computer Controls Reduce Building HVAC Energy
A computer engineer at University of California in San Diego (UCSD) looked no further than his own office building to conduct research on the use of sensors and computer algorithms to better control heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Yuvraj Agarwal and his colleagues at UCSD presented their findings yesterday at an Information Processing…
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Lab: Algae Can Produce Fuel Equivalent to 17 Pct of Imports
A study by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland, Washington estimates that growing algae for biofuel could realistically replace 17 percent of the nation’s imported oil for transportation. The research team from the lab, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, and other colleagues published its findings in the journal Water Resources Research…
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Dow Chemical, Biotech to Partner on Bio-Based Acrylic Acid
Dow Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan and OPX Biotechnologies Inc. in Boulder, Colorado have agreed to develop an industrial scale process for the production of bio-based acrylic acid from renewable feedstocks. OPX Bio recently completed an 18-month pilot project showing that its technology based on genomic engineering could manufacture acrylic acid from renewable sources. The…
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Wind Turbine Blade Edge Helps Reduce Power Costs
Denmark’s National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy and three corporate partners have developed a controllable trailing edge for wind turbine blades that can reduce loads on turbines and help reduce the cost of electricity from wind power. The lab, known as Risø DTU, is part of the Technical University of Denmark in Roskilde. Wind turbines are…