Who killed the flying car?

When I was a kid, I never wanted an electric car. I wanted one that flew. Like the Delorean in Back to The Future II. It’s almost 2008 and still no flying cars.

Why is that an important question? Because it underscores that maybe our dreams and our needs aren’t always the same thing. I now know that a flying car would be a really bad idea (if you doubt me, drive on the 405 in Los Angeles and then imagine it in 3D). But perhaps the design challenge wasn’t in making a car fly, but making it as ultra efficient and human-friendly (not just earth friendly) as possible.

That’s the difficulty with what the cleantech industry is trying to do, I think. While we want bigger houses and bigger/faster cars, it is coming at a price. Our environment at large is suffering. Air pollution still causes severe health effects in our cities. And gas is expensive (economically) and costly (politically) .

The electric car wasn’t killed by Big Auto, Big Oil, or SCAQMD.

We killed it.

Nanosolar’s coming out party

Nanosolar has announced deliver of its first solar panel. This is a long time coming and indicates a great opportunity for OEMs to integrate this product into their designs.

From the Nanosolar blog:

Our product is defining in more ways I can enumerate here but includes:
- the world’s first printed thin-film solar cell in a commercial panel product;

- the world’s first thin-film solar cell with a low-cost back-contact capability;

- the world’s lowest-cost solar panel – which we believe will make us the first solar manufacturer capable of profitably selling solar panels at as little as $.99/Watt;

- the world’s highest-current thin-film solar panel – delivering five times the current of any other thin-film panel on the market today and thus simplifying system deployment;

- an intensely systems-optimized product with the lowest balance-of-system cost of any thin-film panel – due to innovations in design we have included.

The $0.99/watt jumps out at me immediately. Other companies have made claims to severely reducing the $/watt, but this is the lowest I’ve seen claimed by any particular company.

What’s not quite clear to me yet (and I only know so much about this technology) how much square footage is needed to get a given output.  Or in other words, did they reduce the numerator or increase the denominator?  Decreasing the numerator means they made a significantly cheaper cell out of a less efficient material.  While the costs on this sound very compelling, the square footage matters as there’s usually a limit to surface area for solar-based projects.  Best Buy’s rooves are only so big.  So while these panels are cheap, if they cover the entire roof, will they produce a significant amount of electricity?

I’d be interested in seeing what products/installations are developed with this technology in the coming months.

Energy Bill still has some life

[Update] Recent vote fails.  Senate not giving up though.

[Update] Senate Republicans seem to be pushing back on the proposed bill due to increases in taxes to the oil industry. ( Read CNN Article)

Senate leaders have been working hard to pass an energy bill that includes higher CAFE standards for cars.

From the Detroit News article:

Even with the changes hammered out in recent days, prospects for the bill remain uncertain. Democrats need 60 votes to end debate and approve the bill, which would require a fleetwide industry average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The House passed the 1,055-page energy bill last week, 235-181. The White House reiterated a veto threat if the tax provisions remain.

Issues in debate:

• Higher CAFE standards with fleet mileage of 35 MPG
• Removal of 15% Renewable Portfolio Standard for electricity production
• Continuation of renewable energy incentives (to the tue of $21.8 Billion)
• Reduction of oil company tax breaks of $1 Billion
• Tax credits for hybrid car purchases

There’s still a lot of changes that could be made before the final version. So we will see what happens today as it may go to vote.

Good Technology

CO2 “reenergizing”.
Sandia National Labs is continuing its research on using sunlight to convert CO2 into CO, a much more usable gas that can be converted into fuels and other chemicals. From the Press Release:

Using concentrated solar energy to reverse combustion, a research team from Sandia National Laboratories is building a prototype device intended to chemically “reenergize” carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide using concentrated solar power. The carbon monoxide could then be used to make hydrogen or serve as a building block to synthesize a liquid combustible fuel, such as methanol or even gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

Read More »

Cheaper Fuel Cell Membranes
Researchers at Ames national labs has made a discovery in developing cheaper fuel cell membranes. In short, the scientists used techniques to survey the properties of a very high-performance membrane called Nafion. They discovered that the long chains tend to have very small defects that, when aligned with each other, form channels throughout the structure of the membrane. These channels facilitate better mass transfer mechanics throughout the membrane including better dewatering properties (very important) and high-temperature operation. This knowledge could allow for developing ways of building in these properties in future designs that push these new properties into areas that could make fuel cells more commercially viable.

Read the Press Release »

Geothermal smell test
Technology Review is reporting that researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs and Arizona State have discovered a possible means of detecting suitable geothermal spots. In short, they have discovered a correlation between geothermal activity and a concentration of Helium isotopes. Essentially, elevated levels of H-3, very prevalent in the earth’s mantle, but not the earth’s crust, gives an indication of exposure to the mantle’s heat resources.

Read the Technology Review Article »

Just a reminder: why we like gasoline
I know everyone’s touting the Tesla roadster as a high-performance hot-rod that pollutes less. But…just as a reminder – this is why we like gasoline.

CNET Review of the 2008 Saleen S302

0-60 in < 4 seconds (like the Tesla), but a little more traditional design, nicer interior, and other options. And…you get a stick shift (which I swear by). It’s cheaper too.