EcoRadio

Category: Energy Matters

The twentieth century way of life has been made available, largely due to the miracle of cheap energy. The price of energy has been at record lows for the past century and a half.As oil becomes increasingly scarce, it is becoming obvious to everyone, that the rapid economic and industrial growth we have enjoyed for that time is not sustainable.Now, the hunt is on. For renewable sources of energy, for alternative sources of energy, for a way of life that is less dependent on cheap energy. 

  • World’s first solar aeroplane and fuel alernatives

    Even if the Solar Impulse completes a successful circumnavigation, though – it would fly day and night – there is not much chance of a solar-power aviation industry emerging any time soon, if ever.

    There seems no way for solar to power the loads required of civil aviation or to achieve the heights or speed required.

    But the aviation industry is looking at alternatives to jet fuel that are practical and sustainable, and have a smaller carbon footprint, particularly in light of emission trading schemes that seem likely to be a feature of the world economies in coming years.

    Air travel is estimated to contribute just two per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, but the industry’s high growth rate has raised concerns about future emissions. The European Union recently included aviation in the third phase of its emissions trading scheme.

    The International Air Transport Association, which represents more than 230 airlines, or almost all the commercial airlines in the world, has set a target of using 10 per cent alternative fuels by 2017.

    Although several options to reduce emissions are available, including synthetics known as Fischer-Tropsch fuels and first-generation biofuels, the industry is favouring so-called second and third-generation biofuels because they have the required high energy content, do not freeze at cold temperatures produce fewer carbon emissions and do not compete with food crops.

    During the past 12 months, there have been at least four flights by leading airlines that have tested biofuels.

    Virgin Atlantic flew a Boeing 747-400 with one engine operating on a 20 per cent mix of babassu oil – derived from the nut of a native Brazilian tree – and coconut oil. Air New Zealand flew a similar plane in December with one engine operating on a 50 per cent mix of biofuel from jatropha.

    Continental Airlines flew a Boeing 737-800 in January with one engine using a 50 per cent mix of algae and jatropha, while Japan Airlines in January also flew a Boeing 747-300 with a 50 per cent biofuel mix containing jatropha, camelina (an energy crop grown in rotation with wheat and other cereal crops) and algae.

    IATA and the airlines are still digesting the results, but the initial response is promising.

    Honeywell, which provided the process technology to convert the second-generation, renewable feedstocks to green jet fuel, says the demonstration flights will have a tremendous influence on how the aviation community thinks about biofuels.

    Honeywell subsidiary UOP’s renewable energy and chemicals unit general manager Jennifer Holmgren says the tests demonstrate that its technology produces “on-spec” green jet fuel from sustainable feedstocks.

    She says commercial-scale production and usage of these biofuels in the aviation industry could be a reality in a few years, and having a substantial effect on aviation jet fuel supply within three to five years.

    However, according to those providing the potential feedstocks, market accessibility and economic benefits still need to be addressed, as it is not yet clear that there is enough raw material to supply the entire aviation industry.

    Read more at The Australian.

  • New catalyst boosts hydrogen as transport fuel

     

    Umit Ozkan, a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Ohio State University, has led a team of scientists to develop a catalyst that can make hydrogen from ethanol without the need for high temperatures or expensive materials such as platinum or rhodium. The work could circumvent some of the storage and transportation problems.

    “Instead of making hydrogen from biofuel at a centralised facility and transporting it to gas stations, we could use our catalyst inside reactors that are actually located at the gas stations. So we wouldn’t have to transport or store the hydrogen – we could store the biofuel, and make hydrogen on the spot.” The research was presented on Wednesday at the American Chemical Society‘s annual meeting in Philadelphia.

    Catalysts that can make hydrogen from biofuels already exist but usually need rare, expensive ingredients. “Precious metals have high catalytic activity and, in most cases, high stability, but they’re also very expensive,” said Ozkan.

    She said that her goal from the outset was to develop a cheaper catalyst, one that was based on readily-available metals. The resulting catalyst is made from calcium, cobalt and small grains of cerium oxide, a common ingredient in ceramics. According to the researchers, it an produce hydrogen with 90% efficiency at around 350C – a low temperature by industrial standards. “Rhodium is used most often for this kind of catalyst, and it costs around $9,000 (£4,800) an ounce,” said Ozkan. “Our catalyst costs around $9 a kilogram.”

    She added that operating at lower temperatures would also bring energy savings. “And if the catalyst is highly active and can achieve high hydrogen yields, we don’t need as much of it. That will bring down the size of the reactor, and its cost”.

    The production of hydrogen from ethanol produces waste gases such as carbon dioxide and methane – the former can be trapped and stored while the latter can be burned to supply some of the energy needed for the conversion process itself. Though the team’s current research focused on ethanol, the researchers believe it could be adapted to other liquid biofuels.

    Ozkan said that a preliminary economic analysis of her technique showed that the price of hydrogen could approach that of petroleum. “As gasoline prices continue to rise, hydrogen produced from renewable sources such as bio-liquids will be more and more competitive. Also, the possibility of using hydrogen in fuel cells will provide much higher efficiency than internal combustion engines can. So the actual cost, in dollars per mile, may already be lower.”

    Friends of the Earth‘s biofuels campaigner Kenneth Richter warned that hydrogen was only as clean a source of power as the energy used to produce it. “Rather than being a clean alternative to fossil fuels, biofuels are actually increasing carbon dioxide emissions. Hydrogen-fuelled cars are still a long way off – the immediate priority for cutting emissions is smarter cars that burn less fuel.”

  • Open-source hydrogen car takes to the road

     

    The car, which drove in to the launch event, is capable of a 50mph top speed, 0-30mph acceleration in 5.5 seconds, and has a 240 mile range. The car’s backers say it has greenhouse gas emissions of 30g/km CO2, less than a third of the latest hybrid petrol cars such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight.

    The lightweight Smart car-size vehicle uses hydrogen in a modest 6kW fuel cell, and – in the case of this prototype – uses hydrogen converted from natural gas. Hydrogen can also be created from water using electrolysis and potentially even from biofuels.

    The open-source decision was made to speed the car’s commercialisation, with the company hoping entrepreneurs globally will adapt it to local conditions. Hugo Spowers, a motorsport engineer and the founder of Riversimple, said: “We want competitors, even if they’re in the UK. We believe that open source is commercially the best thing for us to do, as it will help grow the market for hydrogen technology, from parts to repairs and the refuelling infrastructure.”

    Sebastian Piëch, the finanical backer for Riversimple, added: “Now that we have the basic vehicle in place with practical technology, the challenge is to begin the development of a fuelling infrastructure to accompany it.”

    The car, which cost nearly £500,000 to develop in partnership with Oxford University and Cranfield University, is expected to cost £200 a month to lease when it is launched as a production vehicle. The date for UK availability is yet to be announced, but Riversimple is in talks with UK cities including Oxford and Worcester for pilots.

    Hydrogen cars have so far enjoyed little real-world success, due in part to a lack of charging infrastructure, cost and – more recently – a political swing towards electric cars.

    Gordon Brown has publicly backed electric cars as a way to reduce UK carbon emissions, and in April the government announced plans to offer £5,000 grants towards anyone buying an electric car in 2011.

    In the US, the Obama administration recently cut research budgets for hydrogen vehicles. Steven Chu, the US energy secretary, last month said: “We asked ourselves: ‘Is it likely in the next 10 or 15, 20 years that we will convert to a hydrogen car economy?’ The answer, we felt, was ‘no’.”

    Spowers disputed the notion that widespread hydrogen technology was a long way off. “I agree the passion is swinging away from hydrogen, but the reason is people are sceptical of the near-term possibilities of hydrogen vehicles – people are still clear that hydrogen is the end-game.”

    The Riversimple urban car, he said, proved the technology was available now.

  • Sainbury’s brings green power to the checkout with ‘kinetic plates’

     

    The kinetic road plates are expected to produce 30 kWh of green energy every hour — more than enough energy to power the store’s checkouts. The system, pioneered for Sainsbury’s by Peter Hughes of Highway Energy Systems, does not affect the car or fuel efficiency, and drivers feel no disturbance as they drive over the plates.

    Alison Austin, Sainsbury’s environment manager, said: “This is revolutionary. Not only are we the first to use such cutting-edge technology with our shoppers, but customers can now play a very active role in helping make their local shop greener, without extra effort or cost.

    “We want to continue offering great value but we also want to make the weekly shop sustainable. Using amazing technology like this helps us reduce our use of carbon and makes Sainsbury’s a leading energy-efficient business.”

    The kinetic road plates are one of a number of energy-saving measures at Sainsbury’s new store in Gloucester Quays, Gloucester. The store will harvest rainwater to flush the store’s toilets and solar thermal panels will heat up to 100% of the store’s hot water during the summer, and more than 90% of the construction waste was re-used or recycled.

    David Sheehan, director of store development and construction at Sainsbury’s, said: “The new environmental features within the Gloucester Quays store mark a very exciting time in store development. We are able to use cutting-edge technology to improve our services and the store environment for our customers and colleagues, at the same time as ultimately reducing our carbon footprint across the UK.”

  • AGEC GEOTHERMAL POWER

     

    The preparation of Australia’s 2007 Annual Report (pdf) on geothermal energy to the IEA is a key secretariat responsibility.

     

    AGEG’s Vision

    Geothermal resources to provide the lowest cost emissions-free renewable base load energy for centuries to come. 

     

    AGEG’s Terms of Reference

    Provide support for Australia’s membership in the IEA’s Geothermal Implementing Agreement (GIA) and facilitate engagement with the internal geothermal community.

    Foster the commercialisation of Australia’s geothermal energy resources. Collectively:

    • Cooperate in research and studies to advance geothermal exploration, proof-of-concept, demo and developmetn projects;
    • Cooperate to develop, collect, improve and disseminate geothermal related information;
    • Identify opportunities to advance geothermal energy projects at maximum pace and minimum cost;
    • Disseminate information on geothermal energy decision makers, financiers, researchers and the general public (Outreach).


    Technical Interest Groups

    Ten Technical Interest Groups (TIGs) have been established with the purpose of sharing information and industry-wide learning with maximum effect and efficiency. Details on each TIG is available on the Technical Interest Groups page. This contains information such as TIG leaders and contact details, specific group purposes and objectives as well as workshop presentation slides for each interest group.

  • Australia filthiest nation to make aluminium

    Claims by the coal lobby and aluminium manufacturers that an emissions trading scheme will cost jobs are deliberate mistruths according to NSW MLC Dr John Kaye. He said that the government is proposing to spend $200,000 per employee compensating the aluminium industry for the cost of its carbon offsets. “It would be better for the economy and the environment to send the industry offshore and invest that money in retraining” he told The Generator. “There are 73,800 clean, green jobs waiting for those workers if we get serious about reducing emissions by investing in renewable energy” he said. He was responding to the infamous “Let them eat coal” statements made by both the NSW Premier and the NSW Industry Minister, earlier this month. “Thanks to our reliance on coal, NSW is the dirtiest place in the world to make aluminium,” he said, “surpassed only by Victoria.”

    Listen to the interview

    related story about US Green Jobs