SmartEnergy Designline Blog
Scientists to develop aqueous lithium-ion battery
Anne-Françoise PELE
3/1/2012 10:44 AM EST
As the global energy demand continues to increase, a team of researchers at the Ruhr University Bochum, in Germany, is developing a water-based lithium-ion battery.
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prabhakar_deosthali
This is a good idea. The objective of this project should be, apart from reducing the cost, to make ...
Design opportunities abound in renewable energy for military
Patrick Mannion
10/6/2010 2:29 PM EDT
Yesterday’s article in the New York Times about the U.S. military’s need to move away from fossil fuel reminded me of an interesting email exchange I had recently with Terry Bollinger, a technology analyst at MITRE Corp., concerning the military’s interest in renewable energy.
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Startup alert: Nanotecture promises tripling of energy-storage performance
Patrick Mannion
9/28/2010 12:26 PM EDT
Given the burgeoning need for improved storage methodologies, whether in batteries or supercapacitors, Nanotecture’s new nanoporous technology is really exciting. Here’s a quick synopsys.
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Hot debut in even hotter market: Oree's LED-based planar lighting
Patrick Mannion
8/13/2010 5:06 PM EDT
LEDs are hot, really hot. So when I got a call asking if I’d spend a few minutes with a startup claiming to have the next big thing in LED lighting, I jumped on it. And I wasn’t disappointed.
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19 comments
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jimeffect
It remains to be seen whether LED’s effect on the lighting industry is permanent, but I have great ...
Reality check needed: New technology doubles solar conversion efficiency
Patrick Mannion
8/9/2010 11:02 AM EDT
Researchers at Stanford have developed a cesium-coated gallium nitride PETE device that converts both light and heat into electrical energy, potentially doubling the efficiency of solar panels.
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p_g
No direct benefit but this will help them reduce power consumption.. may be reduce electricity price ...
China passes U.S. in energy use, but hold on a second...
Patrick Mannion
7/19/2010 3:00 AM EDT
China passed the U.S. in energy used, but what's not noted is that it's also passed the world in net renewable energy generated.
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6 comments
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Silicon_Smith
A couple of points: One, the statistics not only reflect how the 1.3 B Chinese have grown but also ...
Atheros's Wi-Fi/powerline combo is truly 'smart energy'
Patrick Mannion
7/2/2010 11:36 AM EDT
While challenging, Atheros is in a great position to follow through on its plan to combine powerline networking with Wi-Fi—and it is an excellent example of what Smart Energy is all about.
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Product Engr
A Networked Smart Energy Home power control system -- for device management and monitoring -- If the ...
What's the status of FCV research?
Anne-Francoise Pele
6/21/2010 4:23 PM EDT
Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are already in use, but only for demonstration purposes. Fuel cells indeed came into the spotlight last year when leading carmakers said they expected to launch a few hundred thousand FCVs to the market as from 2015.
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Manjunatha TM
However, fuel cell technology faces another greater challenge along with above two problems. Waste ...
Goodbye, incandescent bulb--or maybe not?
Bill Schweber
6/11/2010 10:55 AM EDT
Before we rush to get rid of incandescent bulbs, we should honestly acknowledge their virtues, as well as the shortcomings of electronic alternatives
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lighthouse
Agreed, CFLs and LEDs have their advantages too - but the "switch all your lights and save lots of ...
EVs sound good but electricity still has its cost
Patrick Mannion
5/18/2010 4:46 PM EDT
I want clean air and energy independence as much as anyone. I’m just not sure all-electric vehicles are the way to achieve it.
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Pistonslap
Electric vehicles are completely viable with todays technology. They can't be all things to all ...
