Although the team had some difficulties, they were not enough to keep Universite Laval’s prototype Alérion from winning for the third consecutive year. The team, which consists of fifteen students in science and engineering are now looking towards Europe’s Eco-marathon.
Technology for a greener future
Archive for April, 2011
The Royal Wedding party should be riding in an electric Rolls Royce
Tomorrow morning Prince William and Kate Middleton are getting married and Kate (sorry, Catherine) and her future in-laws will be arriving (separately) in Rolls Royces. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be arriving in a 1950 Rolls Royce Phantom IV that was purchased by his parents while Kate will arrive in a 1977 Rolls Royce Phantom VI that was commissioned for the Queens Silver Jubilee. Wouldn’t the family look more elegant alighting from two Rolls Royce EX102 Electric Phantom’s? This is the 21st Century after all.
Soft generators could replace batteries and cut down on landfill waste
Batteries are used for just about everything from hearing aids and pacemakers to storing excess energy for power plants. When they finally die, most batteries and their dangerous chemicals wind up in landfills. New Zealand researchers are developing a new method of powering our devices called “soft generators”.
Los Alamos develops cheaper fuel cell catalysts
Fuel cells have been touted as the successor to batteries since they are able to convert water to hydrogen gas which would power everything from handheld devices to cars. One of the major problems preventing greater use of fuel cells for energy is the cost of the most common catalyst, platinum which currently costs around $1,800 an ounce.
Sweden gets the first fast charge hybrid bus
Umeå, Sweden just got a brand new hybrid bus and fast charging infrastructure. The bus is a combination electric/diesel hybrid. It is currently being tested in a collaboration between the companies Hybricon AB, Opbrid SL, e-Traction BV, Umeå Energi AB and the Umeå City Corporation.
Algae may help clean up nuclear waste
Algae may prove to be a simple way to clean up strontium 90, a dangerous waste component of nuclear energy. Effective means of disposing of nuclear waste have been a long standing problem for the nuclear energy industry. Using simple pond algae may take care of at least one element of the problem and it will allow for the separation of high level waste and low level waste.