Electrifying vehicles could slash petroleum use and help clean the air (if electric power shifts to low-carbon fuels like wind or nuclear). But it’s going to take better batteries.
In a lithium-air battery, oxygen flows through a porous carbon cathode and combines with lithium ions from a lithium-metal anode in the presence of an electrolyte, producing an electric charge. The reaction is aided by a catalyst, such as manganese oxide, to improve capacity.
Lithium-ion batteries, common in laptops, are favored for next-generation plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. They’re more powerful than other auto batteries, but they’re expensive and still don’t go far on a charge; the Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid coming next year, can run about 40 miles on batteries alone. Ideally, electric cars will get closer to 400 miles on a charge. While improvements are possible, lithium-ion’s potential is limited.
One alternative, lithium-air, promises 10 times the performance of lithium-ion batteries and could deliver about the same amount of energy, pound for pound, as gasoline. A lithium-air battery pulls oxygen from the air for its charge, so the device can be smaller and more lightweight. A handful of labs are working on the technology, but scientists think that without a breakthrough they could be a decade away from commercialization.
Via: WSJ, Diagram Source: EDSRC.
Cars, Innovation
battery, car
Interesting news, it has been reported in the press that Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) has imposed a ban over use of CNG in motorcycle asking the people not to purchase or convert their motorcycles on CNG. According to official sources, the Authority has asked all CNG operators, licensees and CNG users that due to public safety reasons, the use of CNG in motorcycles is not allowed. Well, this is what happens when oil and fuel becomes too expensive, people start taking risks and endanger the whole society.
CNG, Cars, Consumers
Daily Times reports that Ministry of Science and Technology(S & T) is to complete surveys for windmill farm sites. The S&T Ministry received Rs 4.1 billion in budget. Here are the details.
To attract public private investment in the power-producing sector, the government has asked the Ministry of Science and Technology (S&T) to complete the survey report of 24 sites in Northern Areas for the establishment of windmill farms.
The Ministry of S&T has to complete the survey report during the fiscal year 2009-10 so that work on these sites could be initiated soon, the Annual Plan 2009-10 revealed. The government is determined to overcome electricity shortfall by December 2009 so that economic activities might get momentum to optimal level.
The plan further revealed that growing level of investment in research and development was generally correlated with improved gross domestic product (GDP). For the fiscal year 2009-10, the government has allocated Rs 4.1 billion in public sector development programme for S&T sector projects. Out of which, an amount of Rs 3.3 billion had been earmarked for the Ministry of S&T and Rs 0.8 billion for the S&T projects of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission.
Pakistan Council for Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET): The council would provide indigenous technological support to the local industry to develop and promote renewable energy products of international quality. PCRET would start production of solar cells and modules up to 80kw annual capacity.
Read more after the break about the different research organizations and their spending plans.
Read more…
Buildings, Cars, Clean Technology, Electricity, Energy, Investment, Water, Wind
According to International Association of Natural Gas Vehicles, as of December 2008, Pakistan has the world’s highest number of vehicles running on compressed Natural Gas (CNG). The number is 2 million. Pakistan also has the World’s highest numer of CNG refuelling stations. i.e. 2600 . This growth has been phenomenal noting that CNG as a fuel was made available in Pakistan, only in 1992.
Via Pakistaniat
Why Pakistan has got so many vehicles running on CNG? I believe, main reason is because gasoline (Petrol) prices in Pakistan are among the highest in the region as well as natural gas is found abundant and locally in Pakistan.
The use of CNG in vehicles brings an added blessing that it is much less polluting than regular gasoline (petrol). The emissions coming out of CNG vehicles consists of water vapors and carbon monoxide (CO). The CO content in CNG exhaust is also 90% less than CO found in gasoline (petrol) exhausts.
In Pakistan, car companies are now offering vehicles which come factory-fitted with CNG kits. These vehicles sell for a premium of approx 30000 rupees (US$ 375) as compared to gasoline (petrol) vehicles.
With Pakistan going full ahead with making CNG as the primary fuel source for transport, one concern is that Pakistan is depleting its Natural Gas reserves faster than ever before.
Cars, Clean Technology, Energy, Gas
CNG
Lithium ion battery is the new promise for electric vehicles. There have been some great advances in this area and companies around the globe are vying for the top spot. Here are some excerpts from a BusinessWeek article on this topic.
U.S. contenders such as Ener1 and A123 claim superior cell technology for cars. Johnson Controls (JCI), the world’s biggest maker of conventional lead-acid car batteries, boasts of its automotive experience and alliance with France’s Saft, which makes lithium-ion batteries for aerospace and industry. The Asians are counting on their dominance in lithium-ion devices for computers and appliances and on their ties with the hybrid programs of Toyota (TM) Motor and Honda Motor.
Lithium ion is regarded as a core enabling technology for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which, unlike most current hybrids, can be recharged with normal household current and run much longer on electricity before a gas-powered engine takes over. Lithium-ion cells can store up to three times more juice and generate twice the power of the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in today’s hybrids. The T-shaped lithium-ion battery for the Chevrolet Volt, due in 2011, will contain 200 such cells. “They aren’t just another part. They are the car,” says Masahiko Otsuka, president of Automotive Energy Supply, a joint venture between Nissan Motor (NSANY) and NEC that aims to invest $275 million in new lithium-ion facilities.
MANAGING THE GRID, TOO
General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) both assert that a domestic lithium-ion industry is vital if the U.S. is to be a major player in green cars. Otherwise, Detroit’s fate would be in the hands of suppliers half a world away. Besides, lithium-ion technologies can be used to help electric utilities manage their grids more efficiently—a potentially bigger market than cars. “As a country, we can rely on others,” says Denise Gray, energy storage director at GM. “But we could fall behind.” GM turned to South Korea’s LG Chem to supply lithium-ion cells for the Volt because the carmaker says U.S. companies lacked sufficient manufacturing experience.
Another Asian contender is Toyota-controlled Panasonic EV Energy. Panasonic supplies 90% of the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in today’s hybrids. Last year it agreed to buy Sanyo Electric, the largest maker of rechargeable batteries.
China has more than 10 manufacturers—Beijing has declared lithium ion a strategic industry. Mainland battery giant BYD Auto, in which Warren Buffett holds a 10% stake, turned heads at the Detroit car show with a small plug-in hybrid sedan, the F6DM, that it says can run 60 miles on a lithium-ion battery before the vehicle switches to gasoline. In China, BYD already sells a plug-in for $22,000. The Volt is expected to cost $40,000.
Analysts say no U.S. or Asian contender has solved all of the challenges of producing lithium-ion car batteries that are safe, reliable, and affordable: Questions linger over the battery’s ability to last long enough to satisfy car buyers, for example. With no company in mass production, there is little real-world evidence to back up bold claims. Tokyo-based JPMorgan (JPM) analyst Yoshiharu Izumi thinks Panasonic is the most formidable player, but “it’s too early to say who will win.”
Cars, Clean Technology, Electricity
battery, Lithium ion
Research is going on to find the bacteria which efficiently convert biomass to sugar, reports Technology Review. All this to produce more biofuel that is Ethanol, which amounts to 15% of mix in gasoline sold in many parts of US. Zymetis, a start up company which is foussed on this work, has genetically modified a rare, cellulose-eating bacterium to break down and convert cellulose into sugars necessary to make ethanol, and it recently completed its first commercial-scale trial. Earlier this year, the company ran the modified microbe through a series of tests in large fermenters and found that it was able to convert one ton of cellulosic plant fiber into sugar in 72 hours. The trial, researchers say, illustrates the organism’s potential in helping to produce ethanol cheaply and efficiently at industrial scales. Zymetis is now raising the first round of venture capital to bring the technology to commercial applications.
Ethanol production from cellulosic sources is an expensive multistage process. The cellulosic feedstock is first pretreated with heat and chemicals to break down the material’s tough cell walls. Expensive manufactured enzymes are then added to the mix to convert purified cellulose into glucose, which is then treated with yeast that turns the sugars into ethanol. As a result, scientists and several startup companies are developing improved microbes that could accomplish several of these steps, thus making the resulting biofuels more competitive with fossil fuels.
Toward that goal, Laughlin says that the company has developed an ethanol-producing system that revolves around a microbe that quickly and efficiently combines the first two steps of the conventional ethanol process. “It has the ability to break down whole plant material, and it excretes enzymes that break down cellulose, [which works] very well in solution,” says Laughlin.
Cars, Petrol
biofuel, ethanol, R&D, research
Technology Review has reported about the shift in thinking towards vehicle.
From the article - there is a nice slideshow at the site as well:
The talk at this year’s Detroit Auto Show was all about electric cars and plug-in hybrids–hybrid cars whose batteries can be recharged from wall sockets. But both types of vehicles will remain uncommon on U.S. highways for several years. Although both Ford and Chrysler have said that they will release electric vehicles in 2010, they had disclosed no further details at press time. Several companies expect to beat Chevrolet’s ballyhooed Volt plug-in to market but are limiting production runs and plan to gather data on how their vehicles are used before broader commercial releases. Other companies are concentrating on small, sometimes eccentric-looking vehicles for city commuting, but it’s still unclear whether drivers will embrace the idea.
Cars, Clean Technology, Consumers
