Life after cheap oil: May 2009 Archives

The value of mobility in our society is huge so we want to continue being mobile even when oil is getting scarcer and the emissions are becoming a danger to us all. A lot of effort is being spent by governments and companies to reduce the emissions and energyconsumption associated with mobility. If you start to tally all the different approaches and claims it becomes very hard to identify what the best strategy is. The "Platform Duurzame Mobiliteit" has creating a vision document (4 MByte pdf Visie versie 1.01.pdf) which gives a concise overview of strategies and possible energy conversion processes.

The race for longer batterylife in netbooks creates technology which can have wide ranging effects on the energy requirements for home computing. Just look at the specifications of the first PC which uses the Atom chip from Intel. 

Only 8 watts with the CPU running at full power. With a CPU running at 1,6 Ghz and a hardware video accelerator supporting 1080p full HD it is a machine adequate for most tasks.

Lets assume you want to run this PC on solar power only. All you need are some batteries at 12 V and a solar charger....

such as this one available through Amazon for 70 USD, rated at max 30 Watts.

Despite all the interest in electric vehicles the developments in hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles are very promising. They show a continous improvement curve you only get by patiently testing and improving the technology through real life tests. We might be in for a suprise in a couple of years.

Honda uses the FCX Clarity car to refine the technology. Their details of their latest version shows the progress. The fuel cell is only 50 liters big, weighs 67 kg and delivers up to 100 kW. The plates are stacked vertically so the residual water will drip out of the cell when you park the car. Great detail because it prevents the cell from freezing up in cold climates: the car can start when it is - 30 C.

The charts supplied by Honda lead to an interesting question: what is the (raw input) energy conversion? How does it compare with a good hybrid running on gasoline?

If you do a quick and dirty comparison the calculation shows that the Clarity has a better energy conversion (energy stored in molecules to km's) than a gasoline hybrid. Even if you take the losses inherent to creating hydrogen from electricity the Clarity stands up to scrutiny.

(The calculation can be found here Gasoline versus H2.xls.) For a complete comparison you have to more into account, and yes the straight conversion of electricity to wheels turning is even much better. Still I am impressed.

All the effort put in battery-technology leads to a wide variety of approaches. One interesting approach is a battery that uses the oxygen in the air in the current generating reaction.

If you do not have to carry a part of the chemistry required it saves weight: the researchers claim that a 10-fold increase in power-to-weight ratio is possible. 

The minable resources of coal are supposed to be large enough to last for a couple of centuries. Or are they?

A new method of analyzing the output of mines over time suggests that the actual minable amount of coal is 4 times lower than previously assumed. "Peak coal" might be happening as early as 2025.

WINDELA SA is a french company producing a combination of streetlamp and windturbine and wifi point, self energized. The turbine is a combination : a design optimized for low windspeeds and a design optimized for high windspeeds. 42 LED lamps of 2 watts each provide low-energy lighting.

The wifi bit is a fun addition I must say.

Now let's consider the alternatives. Of course there is biofuel, but is this a realistic option for all cars in the world? I do not think so. And then there is batteries. But batteries also still have a long way to go in terms of size, driving range and charging (or replacement) time. Therefore in my opinion fuel cell vehicles should be developed alongside battery-driven vehicles and we will see what technology wins. So I am guessing, since I highly value the Obama government, that the real reason is another one. But what? Maybe they simply have had it with car manufacturers and are now cutting everything that has to do with them...

How to increase the output of a wind turbine?

Large blades....or deflect the wind.

Leviathan Energy has designed and tested a structure that is placed around the mast of a turbine. The test turbine with 3 meter blades increased its output with (so they claim) 15-30 % at least.

It might work in practice...

(Source CleanTechnica)