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We hear a lot about the need for battery
improvements in order to make electric cars more attractive. Well
now we have found Mercedes showing off a 750 mile (1,200-km)
range for its “solar-boosted” EV (its Vision EQXX prototype) that
recently went from Germany to England and another run through the
French Alps. Just put 117 solar cells on the roof and they triple
the range. Story is online at https://spectrum.ieee.org/new-ev-prototype-leaves-range-anxiety-in-the-dust.
Story #1
relates to another clincher for EVs which is the length of time
to charge. How about fast charging EV batteries in minutes? That
is what Penn State Uniersity has achieved with ultra thin nickel
foil added to the standard lithium-ion battery. With charging
stations getting set up along major interstate highways across
the country, range and charging time anxiety will be a thing of
the past.
Story #2
shows that drones don’t have to make noise during flight, if the
payload is light and it uses ion propulsion. A Florida-based
company now has a Silent Ventus which completed a test flight
with a modest payload for almost five minutes. More information
and simulation are on https://www.undefinedtechnologies.com/.
Story #3 gives us engineers and car drivers hope
that hydrogen, that clean burning gas which makes water as an
exhaust, may just be the fuel of the future. Now H2 has now
been created from water vapor even in a desert environment with
in situ hygroscopic electrolytes at 95% energy efficiency.
Also called “green hydrogen” since it uses solar power, the
process uses Direct Air Electrolysis (DAE) with five parallel
electrolyzers to produce an average hydrogen generation rate of
745 liters/m2 per
day with a wind-driven prototype or solar-driven prototype at the
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Melbourne,
Australia, where it worked for 96 hours.
Story #4
is an exciting new development for wind power, especially for
domestic renewable energy. A motionless wind turbine almost seems
to be a contradiction but Aeromine Tech https://www.aerominetechnologies.com/ just
patented such an animal. Surprisingly it comes in with 50%
more energy at the same cost as rooftop solar PV. It can also
handle extreme weather conditions that normally disable domestic
wind turbines with its enclosed generator and airfoil design.
Story #5
is an interesting boost to the ailing US electrical grid with
Tesla PowerWalls helping out. Distributed power is our IRI
recommendation for the future stability of electrical power
supply and that is what the pooling of Tesla PowerWall users
accomplishes. Therefore, PG&E and Tesla now have a pilot
program creating a virtual power plant with voluntary use of
PowerWalls. This new version of the Tesla Virtual Power Plant
actually compensates Powerwall owners $2 per kWh that they
contribute to the grid during emergency load reduction events.
Homeowners are expected to get between $10 and $60 per event. The future looks
better all of the time with this development.
Lastly,
IRI Exhibit Booth this month at the Natural Living Expo at U of
MD Marriott is shown below as we continue educating the public on
all new energy products and publications!
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1) Fast Charging EV Batteries in 11 Minutes
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IEEE Spectrum October 2022
A new
study finds that standard electric-vehicle batteries can recharge
much of their range in just 10 minutes with the addition of a
thin sheet of nickel inside them. This could provide a welcome
and economically attractive alternative to expensive EVs that
carry massive and massively expensive battery packs.
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2) Ion Propulsion Drone Proves Commercial Viability
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Undefined
Technologies, a Florida-based startup, announced that its eVTOL
ion propulsion drone, Silent Ventus™, has successfully completed a
critical test flight hitting its projected flight time and lifting
power, marking this a major milestone for the emerging dual-use
cargo delivery drone. During the 4-1/2 minute flight, the aircraft
demonstrated its flight performance beyond reaching steady-state
conditions - with higher efficiency power delivery systems and
noise levels below 75 dB.
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3) Hydrogen Production from Air
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Green
hydrogen produced by water splitting using renewable energy is the
most promising energy carrier of the low-carbon economy. However,
the geographic mismatch between renewables distribution and
freshwater availability poses a significant challenge to its
production. Here, we demonstrate a method of direct hydrogen
production from the air, namely, in situ capture of freshwater
from the atmosphere using hygroscopic electrolyte and electrolysis
powered by solar or wind with a current density up to 574 mA cm−2.
A prototype of such has been established and operated for 12
consecutive days with a stable performance at a Faradaic
efficiency around 95%. This so-called direct air electrolysis
(DAE) module can work under a bone-dry environment with a relative
humidity of 4%, overcoming water supply issues and producing green
hydrogen sustainably with minimal impact to the environment. The
DAE modules can be easily scaled to provide hydrogen to remote,
(semi-) arid, and scattered areas.
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4) Groundbreaking motionless wind turbine is 50% more
efficient than regular turbines
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Interesting
Engineering October 2022
Commercial
property owners can fulfill the rising demand for on-site renewable
energy thanks to a revolutionary bladeless wind energy solution
that can be integrated with current solar energy systems and
building electrical systems, thanks to Aeromine Technologies."
Aeromine Technologies' patented motionless wind harvesting system
generates up to 50 percent more energy at the same cost as rooftop
solar PV," says the company.
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5) Tesla PowerWall Provide Backup Grid Power in Test
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Electrek.com
October 2022
Tesla’s
virtual power plant in California had its first emergency response
event helping the grid by pooling power from Powerwall owners around
the state. The event appears to have been a success as the
distributed power plant looks like the future. A virtual power plant
(VPP) consists of distributed energy storage systems, like Tesla
Powerwalls, used in concert to provide grid services and avoid the
use of polluting and expensive peaker power plants.
Last year,
Tesla launched a VPP pilot program in California, where Powerwall
owners would join in voluntarily without compensation to let the VPP
pull power from their battery packs when the grid needed it.
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