A Swiss company says it has developed rechargeable zinc-air batteries that can store three times the energy of lithium ion batteries, by volume, while costing only half as much. ReVolt, of Staefa, Switzerland, plans to sell small “button cell” batteries for hearing aids starting next year and to incorporate its technology into ever larger batteries, introducing cell-phone and electric bicycle batteries in the next few years. It is also starting to develop large-format batteries for electric vehicles.
This graphic illustrates the multilayered structure of a ReVolt rechargeable zinc-air battery. From top to bottom: the battery cover, which lets in air; a porous air electrode; the interface between electrodes; the zinc electrode; the casing. Credit: ReVolt
The battery design is based on technology developed at SINTEF, a research institute in Trondheim, Norway. ReVolt was founded to bring it to market and so far has raised 24 million euros in investment. James McDougall, the company’s CEO, says that the technology overcomes the main problem with zinc-air rechargeable batteries–that they typically stop working after relatively few charges. If the technology can be scaled up, zinc-air batteries could make electric vehicles more practical by lowering their costs and increasing their range.
Unlike conventional batteries, which contain all the reactants needed to generate electricity, zinc-air batteries rely on oxygen from the atmosphere to generate current. In the late 1980s they were considered one of the most promising battery technologies because of their high theoretical energy-storage capacity, says Gary Henriksen, manager of the electrochemical energy storage department at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. The battery chemistry is also relatively safe because it doesn’t require volatile materials, so zinc-air batteries are not prone to catching fire like lithium-ion batteries.
The Water and Power Ministry has received an appalling 15.6 percent of total budgetary allocation for the first quarter of the current year, an amount that flagrantly disregards the critical contribution of this ministry to not only national output, but also to serious issues of households-related to water and power deficiency in the country.
The Finance Ministry provided Rs 2.8 billion during the first quarter (July-September) of 2009-10 financial year to the Water and Power Ministry as against the total committed quarterly allocation, amounting to Rs 17.85 billion. During three-day PSDP review meeting held recently, the Finance Ministry gave top priority to the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA), Ports and Shipping, Communication, Population, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) and Health Ministry.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources received 85 percent of the budgetary allocations, amounting to Rs 170 million as against the request of Rs 200 million in the first quarter.
The Finance Ministry gave second priority to Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority (PNRA), which received 75.1 percent of the committed funds, amounting to Rs 82.5 million as against the committed amount of Rs 109.8 million in the first quarter. The Ministry of Ports and Shipping received 72.2 percent fund releases, amounting to Rs 16 million as against the requirement of Rs 22 million in the first quarter.
For more than three decades, visionaries have imagined tapping solar power where the sun always shines—in space. If we could place giant solar panels in orbit around the Earth, and beam even a fraction of the available energy back to Earth, they could deliver nonstop electricity to any place on the planet.
Image Source: New Scientist
Sunlight is reflected off giant orbiting mirrors to an array of photovoltaic cells; the light is converted to electricity and then changed into microwaves, which are beamed to earth. Ground-based antennas capture the microwave energy and convert it back to electricity, which is sent to the grid.
The technology may sound like science fiction, but it’s simple: Solar panels in orbit about 22,000 miles up beam energy in the form of microwaves to earth, where it’s turned into electricity and plugged into the grid. (The low-powered beams are considered safe.) A ground receiving station a mile in diameter could deliver about 1,000 megawatts—enough to power on average about 1 million U.S. homes.
The cost of sending solar collectors into space is the biggest obstacle, so it’s necessary to design a system lightweight enough to require only a few launches. A handful of countries and companies aim to deliver space-based power as early as a decade from now.
Fool’s gold, also called pyrite or iron sulfide, can be unearthed just about anywhere, from the hills of California to the villages of Yunnan Province in China. But instead of digging pyrite up, researcher Cyrus Wadia is making pure nano particles of the compound from iron and sulfur salts in his lab at the University of California, Berkeley. His ultimate goal is to turn fool’s gold into real treasure: an inexpensive solar cell.
Today, most solar cells are made of silicon, but they are expensive: though silicon is abundant, turning it into photovoltaics requires extensive, energy-intensive processing. Materials such as cadmium telluride and copper indium gallium diselenide are simpler to process, yielding thin-film cells that cost less to produce. But the elements needed to make these compounds, such as tellurium and gallium, are too rare to meet global energy demands.
So Wadia did a study of possible solar-cell materials, examining not only their chemistry and physics but also their availability. One of the standouts was fool’s gold: it is abundant and cheap, and it has optical properties that allow it to efficiently convert sunlight into electricity. “The theoretical efficiency of iron sulfide is 31 percent. That’s as good as silicon,” says Wadia. What’s more, 20 nanometers of pyrite can absorb as much light as 300 micro meters of silicon. Because it absorbs so much more light, it can be made into thinner cells, which require less raw material.
This is the big event for consumer oriented solar gadgets – two major companies launch solar phones.
Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Co. separately started selling solar-powered phones this week, a big step in a budding trend of cellphone makers seeking to tap growing consumer interest in eco-friendly products.
Samsung rolled out a touch-screen model, dubbed Blue Earth, with a shell made from recycled plastic water bottles and a solar panel on the back. LG’s model, called the GD510 Pop, also has a touch screen but its solar panel is an optional add-on.
Consumer demand for solar-based phones is hard to gauge, but makers are planning to market them as good for the environment as well as a way to hedge against running out of battery power.
Both the Samsung and LG phones have features that promote walking, such as software that measures distance traveled, and allow customers to calculate how much they can reduce carbon dioxide emissions with physical activities that replace driving.
“It is premature to say whether they will be successful, but overall it’s the right direction because people are increasingly interested in saving energy,” says Park Sung-min, a telecom industry analyst at Kyobo Securities in Seoul.
Samsung is aiming the Blue Earth model at premium customers, with pricing around $300. The phone, which can also be charged with a traditional plug-in cord, is initially available in Sweden; Samsung said it will quickly roll it out elsewhere in Europe and Asia.
G said the Pop phone will also initially be sold in Europe and be priced around $300 with the optional solar panel about $50. The companies said decisions are pending about U.S. sales.
Samsung said the Blue Earth phone can accept enough charge under an hour of normal sunlight to allow for 10 minutes of talk. LG said the Pop model permits about 13 minutes of talk after being charged for an hour under normal sunlight. The companies said the phones will also charge under artificial light, but more slowly.
Nokia Corp., the world’s largest cellphone maker by units and revenue, introduced a solar-based cellphone in 1997 but it didn’t continue in the company’s regular lineup. The company earlier this year demonstrated a concept phone that runs entirely on solar power.
Samsung, the second-largest maker, in June introduced its first solar-based phone, a bar-shaped model with a normal keypad and solar cells on the back. That phone, called Solar Guru in some markets and Crest Solar in others, was aimed chiefly at developing countries and sells for as little as $60. But Samsung also offers it in some wealthy European countries like France.
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), the world’s largest crystalline silicon
photovoltaic (PV) module manufacturer, announced today that it has entered
into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Pakistan’s Alternative Energy
Development Board (AEDB) to work towards the widespread use of solar energy
technologies to meet the energy shortage in Pakistan.
The objective of the MOU is to facilitate cooperation between Suntech and
the public sector and private companies in Pakistan to help implement solar
programs including the AEDB’s Rural Electrification Program; the development
of Solar Power Pumping Systems with the AEDB and the World Bank; and Solar
Power Telecom Projects in collaboration with Pakistani telecom companies.
“We are proud to collaborate with the Alternative Energy Development Board
to bring the latest in crystalline silicon solar technology to Pakistan,” said
Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech’s Chairman and CEO. “This is a clear example of the
promise of solar energy in meeting growing demands for electricity in the
developing world in an environmentally friendly way. With rapid improvements
in solar energy technology and operational efficiency, solar energy is
establishing itself as a crucial, cost-competitive part of the global energy
mix.”
“We are very pleased to be working with Suntech towards developing clean
renewable energy in our country,” said Mr. Masood Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador
to China. “Pakistan is committed to using solar power as a way to solve
Pakistan’s energy shortage, and we are confident in Suntech’s reputation as a
global industry leader to bring reliable environmentally sustainable solutions
to Pakistan’s growing energy needs.”
The MOU sets forth the agreement in principle of the parties concerning
the project and related activities. Final agreement between the parties is
subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements among the
parties.
Pakistan government has not been able to implement Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) ‘Forward Plan’. According to this plan, Pepco’s debts of Rs 261 million had to be transferred to the newly established Power Holding Company Limited (PHCL) by September 30, 2009.
Munawar Baseer Ahmad, ADB-CDTA team leader, in a letter, titled ‘Pakistan Power Sector Debt Resolution Plan’ (PSDRP) to Special Secretary, Finance, Asif Bajwa, stated that the government would have to take addtiional steps to bring the plan back on track.
“We have reviewed the status and progress with Martin Endelman, Principal Financial Sector Specialist, ADB, Manila, and it has been noted (that) certain time bound actions have not been completed by the target dates due to other priority actions of the Finance Ministry,” sources quoted Baseer as saying in the letter. According to him, the focus was completion of the issuance of Rs 90 billion Term Finance Certificates (TFCs).
According to the ADB, non-completion of the debt transfer from Pepco and Wapda to the PHCL by September 30 require the following essential actions: (a) consent of banks to extend date of transfer beyond agreed date of Sept, 30, 2009; and (b) obtaining extension by Pepco from SECP for account closing by September 30 and AGM by October 30 (Statutory requirement of one month from account closing).
Further, ADB has envisioned that on completion of the Rs 90 billion transaction, Finance Ministry will be able to re-focus on the essential actions as per the ‘Forward Plan’.
The Pakistan and Regional Energy forum will be held from October 20-21, at a local hotel. The forum is organised by the Petroleum Institute of Pakistan (PIP) and /IIR Middle East and supported by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Government of Pakistan, International Gas Union (IGU) and World Petroleum Council (WPC).
Pakistan’s energy demand over the next 15 years is expected to grow at a rate of between 4.4 to 6.1 percent per annum based on projected economic growth and is likely to be in the range of 115 to 148 million TOE’s by 2021-22.
With that in mind, the Pakistan and Regional Energy Forum will be one of the most open discussions with international experts on the energy sector, discussing key topics including; Renewable Energy and Emissions’ Reductions, Regional Co-operative and Gas Pipelines, Pricing, Regulation and Finance, and the Future of Power Generation.
International experts likely to attend the forum are Dr Marie Lall, Associate Fellow, Asia Programme, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, UK Jonathan Evans, Vice President Oman, BP Exploration (Epsilon) Ltd, Oman Rune Stroem, Country Director, Asia Development Bank, Pakistan.
Consumer demand for solar-based phones is hard to gauge, but makers are planning to market them as good for the environment as well as a way to hedge against running out of battery power.
