Energy – Page 9 – Impact Lab

AI, brain hacking, Energy, Engineering, Science & Technology News

Brain-inspired electronic system could vastly reduce AI’s carbon footprint

September 4, 2020

A wafer filled with memristors.

Extremely energy-efficient artificial intelligence is now closer to reality after a study by UCL researchers found a way to improve the accuracy of a brain-inspired computing system.

The system, which uses memristors to create artificial neural networks, is at least 1,000 times more energy efficient than conventional transistor-based AI hardware, but has until now been more prone to error.

Existing AI is extremely energy-intensive—training one AI model can generate 284 tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the lifetime emissions of five cars. Replacing the transistors that make up all digital devices with memristors, a novel electronic device first built in 2008, could reduce this to a fraction of a ton of carbon dioxide—equivalent to emissions generated in an afternoon’s drive.

Since memristors are so much more energy-efficient than existing computing systems, they can potentially pack huge amounts of computing power into hand-held devices, removing the need to be connected to the Internet.

Continue reading… “Brain-inspired electronic system could vastly reduce AI’s carbon footprint”

Batteries, Business, Electric Vehicles, Energy, Science & Technology News

These EV chargers make money for their building-owner hosts

September 2, 2020

Los Angeles-based EV charging startup Xeal, which uses predictive AI software to maximize the profits of charging stations, will boost passive income for commercial and residential building owners. It’s just successfully closed its seed investment round.

Continue reading… “These EV chargers make money for their building-owner hosts”

Batteries, Energy, Engineering, Science & Technology News

Nano-diamond self-charging batteries could disrupt energy as we know it

August 28, 2020

NDB makes remarkable claims about its self-charging nano-diamond battery, here seen mocked up as a circuit board component

California company NDB says its nano-diamond batteries will absolutely upend the energy equation, acting like tiny nuclear generators. They will blow any energy density comparison out of the water, lasting anywhere from a decade to 28,000 years without ever needing a charge. They will offer higher power density than lithium-ion. They will be nigh-on indestructible and totally safe in an electric car crash. And in some applications, like electric cars, they stand to be considerably cheaper than current lithium-ion packs despite their huge advantages.

The heart of each cell is a small piece of recycled nuclear waste. NDB uses graphite nuclear reactor parts that have absorbed radiation from nuclear fuel rods and have themselves become radioactive. Untreated, it’s high-grade nuclear waste: dangerous, difficult and expensive to store, with a very long half-life.

Continue reading… “Nano-diamond self-charging batteries could disrupt energy as we know it”

Energy, Environment, Green Friendly, Mass Transit, Science & Technology News

EGEB: Germany builds the world’s first hydrogen train filling station

August 21, 2020

Hydrogen trains in Germany

Germany breaks ground on the world’s first hydrogen filling station for passenger trains.

The town of Bremervörde in Lower Saxony, Germany, has broken ground on the world’s first hydrogen filling station for passenger trains. Chemical company Linde will construct and operate the hydrogen filling station for the Lower Saxony Regional Transport Company.

The station has a daily capacity of approximately 1,600kg of hydrogen, and it will replace the current mobile filling station, according to Railway Technology.

Construction is expected to start in September, and the station’s completion is planned for mid-2021.

Continue reading… “EGEB: Germany builds the world’s first hydrogen train filling station”

Automobiles, City Planning, Electric Vehicles, Energy, Science & Technology News

Why wireless vehicle charging makes sense for smart cities

August 20, 2020

Image of proposed wireless charging stations

Investments we make today in urban EV infrastructure must take into account future requirements for ride sharing, transit and utilities

As the world’s population grows increasingly urban — it’s expected that by 2050, 70 per cent of individuals will live in urban areas — it’s critical for these regions to have the infrastructure in place to support quick, convenient and electric mobility. From autonomous vehicles, to electric urban transit, to effective energy management by utilities, successful deployment depends on cities investing in the proper accompanying charging infrastructure. To that end, there’s a good case to be made that investing in wireless charging is critical for the prosperity of urban areas.

Continue reading… “Why wireless vehicle charging makes sense for smart cities”

Automobiles, Electric Vehicles, Energy, Science & Technology News

24 million EVs is the limit for current U.S. power grid until 2028

August 19, 2020

This PNNL study could help the U.S. power system keep ahead of the EV adoption curve.

Getting the world to work without oil will not be easy. Apart from increasing EV adoption, we have to make sure the world can cope with them. Think about it: would the power grid stand too many electric cars demanding a charge at the same time? PNNL – Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – answered that question with a study saying the current US power grid can handle 24 million EVs until 2028. If the demand increases, we’ll need improvements.

It may seem far-fetched considering the entire US now has 1.5 million EVs on the roads, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Demand for EVs tends to grow, especially when electric pickup trucks such as the Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T are available.

Continue reading… “24 million EVs is the limit for current U.S. power grid until 2028”

Automobiles, Electric Vehicles, Energy, Science & Technology News

What the future of fuel cell EVs looks like…

August 13, 2020

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) are considered by the most, as two competing technologies. Although both technologies power an electric motor, they have different properties and each of them is well suited for some uses more than others.

BEVs market is increasing, with the major automotive companies, like BMW, and Mercedes, starting to introduce into the market an increasing number of electric battery vehicles, in parallel to the main BEVs company like Tesla, and Toyota. FCEVs on the other hand are still at the demonstration stage.

In April 2019 Daimler stepped back from the development of the GLC F-Cell, after many years of investigation of fuel cells technologies. Besides this decision, Daimler did not completely abandon the hydrogen powertrain, but mostly shifted its focus to a different application. In fact, a collaboration with Volvo to develop fuel cell heavy-duty vehicles will possibly begin in September 2020, which will define a new chapter for the hydrogen technologies.

Continue reading… “What the future of fuel cell EVs looks like…”

Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Science & Technology News, Solar Energy, Solar Power

In a world-first, Australian University builds its own solar farm to offset 100% of its electricity use

August 13, 2020

LIMITING GLOBAL WARMING to well below 2℃ this century requires carbon emissions to reach net-zero by around 2050. Australian households have done much to support the transition via rooftop solar investments. Now it’s time for organizations to take a more serious role.

The University of Queensland’s efforts to reduce its electricity emissions provides one blueprint. Last week UQ opened a 64-megawatt solar farm at Warwick in the state’s southeast. It’s the first major university in the world to offset 100% of its electricity use with renewable power produced from its own assets. In fact, UQ will generate more renewable electricity than it uses.

The Warwick Solar farm shows businesses and other organizations that the renewables transition is doable, and makes economic sense.

Continue reading… “In a world-first, Australian University builds its own solar farm to offset 100% of its electricity use”

Batteries, Energy, Record Breaker, Science & Technology News

Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 5 refuels phones 50% in 5 minutes, 100% in 15

August 5, 2020

Wireless recharging has become increasingly popular over the past few years due to its convenience — just drop your phone on a pad and pick it up later — but wired charging is faster, and some ultra-high-speed options have emerged this month to power next-generation phones. Today, Qualcomm is adding its latest innovations to the mix under the name Quick Charge 5, a wired platform that promises to fully recharge upcoming phones in 15 minutes or go from zero to 50% in only five minutes.

Continue reading… “Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 5 refuels phones 50% in 5 minutes, 100% in 15”

City Planning, Energy, Environment, Science & Technology News

Smart cities: The future of urban infrastructure

July 28, 2020

Songdo in South Korea has been designed with sensors to monitor everything from temperature to energy use to traffic flow. By Timothy Carter

Technology is changing everyday city life, allowing us to instantly adapt to everything from storm threats to traffic jams.

Infrastructure is not exactly the sexiest word in architecture. There are no “starchitects” proudly boasting about their pipe designs or subsurface drainage systems. By its very definition – the underlying structures that support our systems – infrastructure is inherently hidden from us, and therefore often overlooked. But without it our current cities couldn’t possibly exist. Without finding ways to improve it, our future cities will struggle to survive.

Historically, our urban infrastructure has materialised as a response to some emergent or acute problem, like natural disasters. In 2010 it was estimated that over 40% of the global population lives in coastal areas, and much of the large-scale devastation in these areas is due to hurricanes and typhoons. Multi-billion-dollar estimates of infrastructure damage from Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina, as well as the recent devastation in the Philippines, demonstrate the amount of damage and human cost these disasters create.

Continue reading… “Smart cities: The future of urban infrastructure”

Energy, Engineering, Science & Technology News, Transportation

How ships could produce an unlimited amount of their own fuel

July 28, 2020

The key is this special catalyst.

A new study shows that a lower-cost catalyst could help turn seawater into fuel on ships.

High-performance molybdenum is combined with potassium and gamma alumina to make a scaleable catalyst.
The material costs less than previous versions that worked as efficiently.

Scientists have taken a major step by improving a process for turning seawater into hydrocarbons. The barebones of the technology has existed since a landmark 2014 paper, but scientists have worked since then to make the process energy-efficient and affordable enough to use at scale in the field. This work could be a step toward that threshold.

Continue reading… “How ships could produce an unlimited amount of their own fuel”

Automobiles, Battery, Electric Vehicles, Energy, Science & Technology News

Australia to start paying EV owners for transferring electricity back to the national grid

July 21, 2020

Electric vehicles can help keep the air clean in our cities – as we’ve seen recently with the reduction of traffic through COVID-19 lockdowns – but they face two obstacles.

In the short term they’re still expensive. In the long term charging millions of vehicles from the electricity grid presents challenges.

I’m part of a new project, launched today, that tackles both of these obstacles head-on, and it could mean owners earn more money than they’re likely to pay for charging their electric vehicles.

Continue reading… “Australia to start paying EV owners for transferring electricity back to the national grid”