Nanotechnology expert awarded $10M grant

Nanotechnology researcher Ted Sargent Canada has been awarded a $10 million dollar grant from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia – an international graduate-level research university set to open in September 2009 He works on developing nanotechnology products that use the infrared rays of the sun.
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New Solar Panel Technology Stylish and Sustainable

The new cell technology combines nanoparticles and organic dyes that can be produced in any number of colors and designs.
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Industrial Nanotech’s HomeProtect Thermal Insulation sales up 300%

morehere

Greener Nano 2008 Conference: Nanoscience for a Sustainable Future

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QuantumSphere battery catalyst wins Nanomaterial of the Year award

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Biogas Could Replace All EU Natural Gas Imports From Russia**

morehere

A Solar Grand Plan

The January 2008 issue of Scientific American has an article titled “A Solar Grand Slam” which outlines a plan in which solar power could end U.S. dependence on foreign oil and slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. morehere

The prize of biofuel

part 1
part 2
part 3

nanosolars-breakthrough-technology-solar-now-cheaper-than-coal

more here

The fourth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4) released by UNEP.

see here

The U.S. Green Building Council certified the world’s first carbon-neutral building.

more

Best Solar Homes: German Team Wins Solar Decathlon

more

Nanowire generates its own electricity

Harvard chemists have built a new wire out of photosensitive materials that is hundreds of times smaller than a human hair. The wire not only carries electricity to be used in vanishingly small circuits, but generates power as well.
more here

Nanotech could make solar energy as easy and cheap as growing grass

Scientists are working to produce cheap, sustainable solar energy by imitating nature. Nanotechnology researchers like California Institute of Technology professor Nate Lewis are exploring nanoscale materials that mimic the architecture of grass and photosynthesis to capture and store the sun’s energy.
morehere

Nanotech Oil and Gas Consortium Gets Justice Department OK

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NBICS and Climate Change

my new column out

Making Gasoline from Bacteria

from here and more here
The biofuel of the future could well be gasoline. That’s the hope of one biotech startup that on Monday described for the first time how it is coaxing bacteria into producing hydrocarbons that could be processed into fuels like those made from petroleum.

LS9, a company based in San Carlos, CA, and founded by geneticist George Church, of Harvard Medical School, and plant biologist Chris Somerville, of Stanford University, had previously said that it was working on what it calls “renewable petroleum.” But at a Society for Industrial Microbiology conference on Monday, the company began speaking more openly about what it has accomplished: it has genetically engineered various bacteria, including E. coli, to custom-produce hydrocarbon chains.

US scientists discover ‘energy microbe’

The journal Science reports that scientists have found a microbe that converts light to energy, a process known as photosynthesis.

It has been discovered in the famous hot springs in Yellowstone National Park, in the American north-west.

They say that studying the bacterium could help produce stocks of fossil fuels.
more here
see also here
original article here
Candidatus Chloracidobacterium thermophilum: An Aerobic Phototrophic Acidobacterium
Donald A. Bryant, Amaya M. Garcia Costas, Julia A. Maresca, Aline Gomez Maqueo Chew, Christian G. Klatt, Mary M. Bateson, Luke J. Tallon, Jessica Hostetler, William C. Nelson, John F. Heidelberg, and David M. Ward
Science 27 July 2007: 523-526.
A distinctive, oxygen-tolerant photosynthetic bacterium has been identified in a metagenomic study of hot-spring communities in Yellowstone National Park. see here

NJIT Researchers Develop Inexpensive, Easy Process To Produce Solar Panels

Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) have developed an inexpensive solar cell that can be painted or printed on flexible plastic sheets. “The process is simple,” said lead researcher and author Somenath Mitra, PhD, professor and acting chair of NJIT’s Department of Chemistry and Environmental Sciences. “Someday homeowners will even be able to print sheets of these solar cells with inexpensive home-based inkjet printers. Consumers can then slap the finished product on a wall, roof or billboard to create their own power stations.”
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GLOBAL TRENDS IN SUSTAINABLE ENERGY INVESTMENT 2007

more here

my new column out: NBICS and the Convention on Biological diversity (CBD)

see here
a list of all columns can be found here

U.S. Is Creating 3 Centers for Research on Biofuels

The New York Times
Printer Friendly Format Sponsored By

June 26, 2007
U.S. Is Creating 3 Centers for Research on Biofuels
By MATTHEW L. WALD

WASHINGTON, June 25 — The Energy Department is creating three
bioenergy research centers to find new ways to turn plants into fuel.

The three centers, which the department described as three start-up
companies with $125 million each in capital, will be in Oak Ridge,
Tenn.; Madison, Wis.; and near Berkeley, Calif. They will involve
numerous universities, national laboratories and private companies.
The goal of the centers, which are to be announced on Tuesday, is to
bring new technologies to market within five years…..
see here

The Global Renewable Energy Policies and Measures Database

see here and an article about it here

Oil from Algae

is reported as a solution here

AlternativeEnergyBlogs

see here

AlternativeEnergyBlogs is a gateway to the following Alternative Energy Blogs:

The Bioeconomy Blog
The Bioeconomy Blog is devoted to the promotion of all key literature relating to biorenewable fuels, most notably bioethanol and biodiesel. It will focus on the economic, environmental, medical, political, and social aspects of bioeconomy initiatives. The Bioeconomy Blog is a companion to the The Bioenergy Blog, which is devoted to the technical aspects and technologies associated with production.
[http://www.bioeconomyblog.blogspot.com/]
Facebook Group
[http://iastate.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2350983131]

The Bioenergy Blog
is devoted to the documentation of key literature relating to biorenewable fuels, most notably bioethanol and biodiesel. It is focused on the technical aspects and technologies associated with the production of these fuels. The Bioenergy Blog is a companion blog to The Bioeconomy Blog, which is focused on the non-technical aspects of bio-based fuels.
[http://thebioenergyblog.blogspot.com/]
Facebook Group
[http://iastate.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2363348674]

The Geothermal Energy Blog
The Geothermal Energy Blog is devoted to the documentation of key monographic literature relating to all aspect of geothermal energy.
[http://thegeothermalenergyblog.blogspot.com/]
Facebook Group
[http://iastate.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2362519065]

The Wind Energy Blog
The Wind Energy Blog is devoted to the promotion of all key literature relating to wind energy and wind turbines and related technologies. It will also focus on non-technical issues as well.
[http://windenergyblog.blogspot.com/]
Facebook Group
[http://www.windenergyblog.blogspot.com/]

In Preparation

The Clean Coal Blog
The Green Building Blog
The Hydrogen Energy

More reports on biofuel…

Ethanol Expansion in the United States How Will the Agricultural Sector Adjust?
USDAhttp://www.proquest.com/products_pq/descriptions/pqdt.shtml
Ethanol Expansion in the United States How Will the Agricultural Sector Adjust?

Emerging Biofuels: Outlook of Effects on U.S. Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Markets
Emerging Biofuels: Outlook of Effects on U.S. Grain, Oilseed, and Livestock Markets
Center for Agricultural and Rural Development
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011-1070
www.card.iastate.edu

Congressional Research Service CRS Regort for Congress Ethanol and Biofuels: Agriculture,…

Ethanol and Biofuels: Agriculture Infrastructure, and Market Constraints Related to Expanded Production
March 16, 2007
more at source

Cost of solar electricity

Boeing promises to cut the delivered price of electricity via concentrated solar to 15 cents per kilowatt hour by 2010, from an estimated 32 cents per kilowatt hour today, and to cut that price in half again by 2015. That would make solar power less expensive than electricity from the grid in much of the United States, where the average price of electricity in recent months has been about 10 cents per kilowatt hour.
more at source

Lights! Water! Motion!

The world’s urban infrastructure needs a $40 trillion makeover. Here’s how to reinvigorate our electricity, water, and transportation systems by integrating finance, governance, technology, and design.
PDF here

Solar cells with 40.7% efficiency made, 58% efficient possible

see more at source

168 million for 13 solar projects

U.S. Funds Shine $168M on Solar

President Bush wants to cut the price of solar electricity.
March 9, 2007

By Ilkka Luukkonen

The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday announced it will invest $168 million in 13 solar technology projects in the next three years as a move to bring down the cost of solar energy.
more at source

EU’s Sustainable Energy Future

Commitment by European leaders to scale up efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30 per cent by 2020 sets the right path to control climate change at the global level. But appropriate laws and measures are needed to be put into place so that the goal does not remain hot air.
more at source

Cheap Nano Solar Cells

Monday, March 05, 2007
Carbon nanotubes could help make nanoparticle-based solar cells more efficient and practical.
By Kevin Bullis
Researchers at University of Notre Dame, in Indiana, have demonstrated a way to significantly improve the efficiency of solar cells made using low-cost, readily available materials, including a chemical commonly used in paints. The researchers added single-walled carbon nanotubes to a film made of titanium-dioxide nanoparticles, doubling the efficiency of converting ultraviolet light into electrons when compared with the performance of the nanoparticles alone. The solar cells could be used to make hydrogen for fuel cells directly from water or for producing electricity. Titanium oxide is a main ingredient in white paint.
More at source

Nanotechnology for Sustainability: Key Opportunities for Energy Saving, Few for New Energy Generation – Report

Nanotechnologies for the Residential and Commercial Energy Market
Nanotechnologies for the Energy Market
Nanotechnologies for the Automotive Energy Market

Simple biofuel cells with nanotechnology

Nanowerk News) A simple enzyme-based biofuel cell has been made by a team of Japanese scientists (“Fructose/dioxygen biofuel cell based on direct electron transfer-type bioelectrocatalysis”).
more at source

Tactical Biorefinery

A group of scientists have created a portable refinery that efficiently converts food, paper and plastic trash into electricity. The machine, designed for the U.S. military, would allow soldiers in the field to convert waste into power and could have widespread civilian applications in the future.

more at Source

ENERGY 2020: A VISION OF THE FUTURE —A REPORT RETRIEVED FROM THE YEAR 2020 VIA A WORMHOLE

more at source

Alternative-Energy Spending Fizzles Out

USA Congress ends without funding research programs, as the United States falls behind in alternative technologies.
Read More at Source

Nanotechnology meets solar energy

(Nanowerk News) Two of the hot-button fields of scientific study — nanotechnology and solar energy — are being combined by a team of Arizona State University researchers in an effort to find a cheap source of household energy for the nation’s future.
The team headed by Stuart Lindsey, director of the Center for Single Molecule Biophysics at the Arizona Biodesign Institute; Rudy Diaz, associate professor of electrical engineering; and chemistry professor Devens Gust, have received a $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to explore creation of infinitesimal nanoscale devices on the molecular level that can convert sunlight into electric current.
The idea is to try to overcome the major problem of photovoltaic solar energy — its relative inefficiency, which makes the cost of electricity produced by solar cells four times greater than electricity produced by nuclear or fossil fuels.
“If it works, there is a potential to bring the fabrication cost down to a very small amount,” Lindsey said.
That’s a big “if,” Lindsey admits. He said the idea of using nano-structures to convert sunlight into electricity is still theoretical. But the fact that the NSF is willing to fund research indicates an increasing interest in the concept by the scientific community, he said.

Red More at Source

Genetically engineered blood protein can be used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen

Scientists have combined two molecules that occur naturally in blood to engineer a molecular complex that uses solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, says research published today in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Read More at Source

Team to build solar cell from DNA

Filed in archive Energy by george elvin on November 17, 2006
19170523.jpg
In every solar cell, light energy is converted to electricity. But even the most advanced solar cells can harness only a small percentage of the available sunlight energy. The majority of the energy is lost and simply escapes as heat.

Now, a team of researchers from Arizona State University has received a $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to use DNA as scaffolding for solar cells in order to break through the current technological hurdles of solar energy.

One researcher, Hao Yan, is an expert in the burgeoning science of DNA nanoarchitecture – or molecular-scale DNA “origami” – for folding DNA into a broad range of technological applications important for human health and bioelectronic sensing devices.

“The DNA will act as the scaffold that holds everything together,” says team co-leader Stuart Lindsay. “It will hold the antenna that gathers light together with the molecules that convert the intensified light to electricity. The antenna, by concentrating light, will increase the rate of absorption of the light photons.”

The team’s goal is to create nanoscale devices for higher-efficiency solar energy and photonics applications. (Hat tip to Carbon Free)
Link To Source

Cheap, Superefficient Solar

Solar-power modules that concentrate the power of the sun are becoming more viable.

By Kevin Bullis
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A worker arranges wafers that will be fabricated into superefficient solar cells. These cells could help dramatically reduce the cost of generating electricity from solar energy. (Credit: The Boeing Company)

Technologies collectively known as concentrating photovoltaics are starting to enjoy their day in the sun, thanks to advances in solar cells, which absorb light and convert it into electricity, and the mirror- or lens-based concentrator systems that focus light on them. The technology could soon make solar power as cheap as electricity from the grid.

The idea of concentrating sunlight to reduce the size of solar cells–and therefore to cut costs–has been around for decades. But interest in the technology has picked up in the past year. Last month, Japanese electronics giant Sharp Corporation showed off its new system for focusing sunlight with a fresnel lens (like the one used in lighthouses) onto superefficient solar cells, which are about twice as efficient as conventional silicon cells. Other companies, such as SolFocus, based in Palo Alto, CA, and Energy Innovations, based in Pasadena, CA, are rolling out new concentrators. And the company that supplied the long-lived photovoltaic cells for the Mars rovers, Boeing subsidiary Spectrolab, based in Sylmar, CA, is supplying more than a million cells for concentrator projects, including one in Australia that will generate enough power for 3,500 homes.

The thinking behind concentrated solar power is simple. Because energy from the sun, although abundant, is diffuse, generating one gigawatt of power (the size of a typical utility-scale plant) using traditional photovoltaics requires a four-square-mile area of silicon, says Jerry Olson, a research scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, in Golden, CO. A concentrator system, he says, would replace most of the silicon with plastic or glass lenses or metal reflectors, requiring only as much semiconductor material as it would take to cover an area the size of a typical backyard. And because decreasing the amount of semiconductor needed makes it affordable to use much more efficient types of solar cells, the total footprint of the plant, including the reflectors or lenses, would be only two to two-and-a-half square miles. (This approach is distinct from concentrated thermal solar power, which concentrates the heat from the sun to power turbines or sterling engines.)

“I’d much rather make a few square miles of plastic lenses–it would cost me less–than a few square miles of silicon solar cells,” Olson says. Today solar power is still more expensive than electricity from the grid, but concentrator technology has the potential to change this. Indeed, if manufacturers can meet the challenges of ramping up production and selling, distributing, and installing the systems, their prices could easily meet prices for electricity from the grid, says solar-industry analyst Michael Rogol, managing director of Photon Consulting, in Aachen, Germany.

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EUROPEAN ENERGY VENTURE FAIR 2006

ZURICH, SEPTEMBER 11-12 2006
for the presentations see here

Buckyballs with a Surprise

A Virginia-based startup called Luna nanoWorks is nearing commercialization of a novel version of buckyballs–soccerball-shaped carbon molecules–that the company says could improve magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and lead to high-efficiency solar cells. Each buckyball is made of 80 carbon atoms with metal-nitride clusters trapped inside, creating a nanomaterial with novel electronic, optical, and magnetic properties.
Link to source
Luna Nanoworks

Australia to Build Largest Solar Plant

By ROD McGUIRK
The Associated Press
Wednesday, October 25, 2006; 6:00 PM

CANBERRA, Australia — The Australian government pledged $95 million in funding Wednesday for two projects as part of its new strategy to combat global warming, including the construction of the world’s largest solar power plant.

Link to Source

U.S. Pledges $34.5 Million for Renewable Energy Technologies

13 October 2006
U.S. Pledges $34.5 Million for Renewable Energy Technologies

Biofuels, solar energy and biomass genomics research to benefit from investment

By Cheryl Pellerin
Washington File Staff Writer

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Energy Northwest’s White Bluffs Solar Station near Richland, Washington, is located near the abandoned Washington Nuclear Project One, in the background. The demonstration project, composed of more than 200 photovoltaic panels, is one of the public power agency’s explorations into renewable energy production. (© AP Images)
Enlarge Photo
Energy Northwest’s White Bluffs Solar Station near Richland, Washington. (© AP Images)

Washington — U.S. energy and agriculture officials announced $34.5 million is available to fund new research in biofuels, solar energy and biomass genomics research to accelerate development of alternative fuels.

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel Bodman and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Mike Johanns announced the funding October 11 at “Advancing Renewable Energy: An American Rural Renaissance,” a conference hosted by both agencies in St. Louis to further President Bush’s Advanced Energy Initiative.

The initiative seeks to accelerate the commercialization of clean, affordable alternative and renewable sources of energy by changing the way Americans power cars, homes and businesses.

Bodman and Johanns announced nearly $17.5 million for 17 biomass research, development and demonstration projects, and more than $13 million to fund new research in solar technologies.

Raymond Orbach, DOE under secretary for science, announced $4 million for bio-based fuels research, and both departments solicited research proposals for new plant genomics research projects, which would involve the genetic modification of plants for the improved production of fuels such as ethanol or renewable chemical feedstocks.

ENERGY FROM PLANTS

Biomass is an energy resource that includes organic matter, such as wood, agricultural waste, algae, sewage and other living-cell material that can be burned or chemically processed to produce heat energy (See related article.)

Biomass, which supplies about 3 percent of total U.S. energy consumption in the form of electricity, process heat and transportation fuels, helps diversify the energy supply and support rural economies.

“Americans are discovering the road to energy independence is paved with natural resources grown right here at home,” Johanns said. “This is a new era for America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities as they seize this moment where opportunity meets need, and where American ingenuity breaks a century long addiction to oil.”

The grants are intended to develop technologies needed to help make biobased fuels cost-competitive with fossil fuels in the commercial market. The chosen projects will include research, development and demonstrations of biobased products, bioenergy, biofuels and biopower.

Of the nearly $17.5 million announced October 11, $12.8 million is funded by USDA and $4.7 million by DOE. DOE funds will go to three projects developing cellulosic (from cellulose, the main part of the cell wall in most plants) biomass. USDA will provide funding to address such topics as feedstock production and product diversification.

Under the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, a joint USDA-DOE effort established in 2000 and reauthorized in the comprehensive Energy Policy Act of 2005, projects receiving awards must demonstrate collaboration among biomass experts. (See related article.)

The initiative aims to enhance creative approaches to developing next-generation advanced technologies and promote research partnerships among colleges, universities, national laboratories, federal and state research agencies and the private sector.

BIOMASS GENOMICS

Biotechnology offers the promise of dramatically increasing ethanol production using cellulose, the most abundant biological material on earth, and similar organic materials. Materials such as post-harvest corn plants (stover) and timber residues could be used, along with specialized high-biomass “energy” crops like domesticated poplar trees and switchgrass, a hardy, fast-growing grass native to North America that is considered a good candidate for biofuel production.

“We are seeking to accelerate research breakthroughs that contribute towards making biofuels a cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels, with a goal of replacing 30 percent of transportation fuels with biofuels by 2030,” Orbach said.

“This joint research initiative shows a commitment to acquiring new alternative energy resources and improving the efficiency with which biomass and plant feedstocks are used to produce renewable fuels such as ethanol,” Under Secretary of Agriculture Tom Dorr said.

The new funding continues a 2006 commitment to conduct a fundamental research program in biomass genomics that will build the scientific foundation to facilitate the use of woody plant tissue for bioenergy and biofuels. Developing such crops for energy fuels could use less-intensive production techniques and poorer-quality land, avoiding competition with food production on the most fertile land.

The program will take advantage of advances in breeding, molecular genetics and genomic technologies and build on the existing knowledge of plant biology to help researchers confidently predict and manipulate plants’ biological function for bioenergy resources.

POWER FROM THE SUN

Photovoltaic devices use solar cells or arrays to turn sunlight into electricity and they have little impact on the environment. Photovoltaics can be used in a wide range of products, from small consumer items to large commercial solar electric systems. (See related article.)

The $13 million announced for solar technologies at the St. Louis conference is part of President Bush’s $148 million Solar America Initiative. The funding will support the development of more efficient photovoltaic devices.

“This investment is a major step in our mission to bring clean, renewable solar power to the nation,” Bodman said. “If we are able to harness more of the sun’s power and use it to provide energy to homes and businesses, we can increase our energy diversity and strengthen our nation’s energy security.”

The Solar America Initiative aims to make solar power cost competitive with conventional electricity sources by 2015, by developing materials that convert sunlight directly to electricity.

The $13 million in funding, including about $4.5 million to be awarded for fiscal year 2007, will support several projects, including:

• Solar codes and standards working group leadership, a five-year, $4.2-million project designed to create and operate a national working group to manage solar regulatory codes and standards. Sample work includes recommending or developing model codes and standards and helping in their implementation, developing codes and standards studies, and monitoring emerging codes and standards issues;

• State strategic partnerships, a three-year, $1.35-million project in which DOE will enlist the help of state membership organizations as strategic partners on solar issues, and allow recipients to foster strong relationships with targeted state partners to promote solar energy technology adoption; and

• Utility strategic partnerships, a three-year, $1.35 million cost-shared project to enlist the help of utility membership organizations as strategic partners to deliver key assistance to utilities to enable the success of the Solar America Initiative.

For additional information, see Clean Energy Solutions.

More information on the solicitation and facts about the Solar America Initiative can be found on the DOE Web site, along with information about biomass and the biomass genomics joint research program.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
Link to Source

Spain To Bring On Stream Europe’s Largest Thermosolar Station

by Emmanuel Angleys
Seville (AFP) Oct 22, 2006
Spain, championing the drive towards renewable energy, is set to launch production of solar energy from what will be Europe’s largest thermo-electric plant. The thermo-electric solar plant at Sanlucar La Mayor, near the southern city of Seville, appears the perfect place to boost the drive to wean Spain off its dependence on oil, as the sun beats down almost incessantly on the southern Andalusia region.
Link to Source

Biofuel Cells From Bacterial Membrane Protein

Biofuel Cells From Bacterial Membrane Protein
October 18, 2006

In an article published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, scientist report of purified protein extracted from Shewanella oneidensis which may be used in designing miniature bioreactor cells. These proteins –outer membrane c-type cytochrome A, or OmcA –formed a dense coating on the iron-rich mineral hematite and using a combination of techniques that included FCS, or fluorescent correlation spectroscopy, and confocal microscopy, demonstrate whether hematite was available to bind with OmcA in solution, and transfer electric charge from the protein to the mineral.

According to the reserachers, these preliminary findings suggest that these protein have the potential to be used in developing small biofuel cells.
Link to Source

Green chimney could save the planet

A new power plant chimney that converts greenhouse gases into helpful substances could have a huge impact on global warming.
By David Whitford, FSB Magazine
October 20 2006: 9:10 AM EDT
Read more here

Nano-forestry

I published a column on Nanoforestry recently
and since than other news appeared e.g. Nanocoating woodfibers results in smart paper. In the column I also dealt with the link between nano-forestry and biofuel and with the link between synthetic biology and biofuel and right after I published my nanoforestry column I saw the news item Amyris Biotechnologies Synthetic Biology Pioneer Expands Into Bioenergy Field which I mentioned in the blog here a few days ago. To be on top of things it seems one has to have ones sensors in the advances of many different sciences and technologies and be aware of the numerous applications all of these sciences and technologies go for. ..

Printing Fuel Cells

Tuesday, October 17, 2006
A technique based on an inexpensive process used to print electronic circuit boards has been developed for constructing complex three-dimensional devices, such as a micro-reformer for fuel cells. The new method could be a versatile way to more cheaply and easily create microscale devices, making it practical to fabricate fuel cells for recharging two-way radios. It could also help make some types of chemical manufacturing safer and more efficient, and produce wireless-tire air-pressure sensors inexpensive enough to be standard issue in new cars.
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