Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Environment, Funny, Green, Greener, Politics, Redneck
During the recent presidential campaign, I was listening to political commentary on the radio as they tried to explain how demographics in Red States and Blue States would determine the election results. I have one major problem with this – I am Purple and not just because I was mad that someone was trying to tell me how I would vote because of where I live and what I like to do.
As I got out of the car I saw a middle age couple getting out of an enormous pick-up truck carrying their re-usable shopping bag into the store and it struck me: We are much more alike than we are different. Everyone wants to “do good” but life circumstances force them to make choices. If we continue to frame our political and environmental discussion in black/white or Red/Blue, people will tune out (like I did with the radio).
I consider myself environmentally consious, but have a big family and own an SUV (our second car is a hybrid). This blog share what I have learned about “doing good” when it comes to the environement and hopefully provide others with some choices they have and inspire others to take action.
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I thought this was pretty cool. Ecosafe up in BC Canada has made some biodegradable plastic bags. I had beem looking for ones like this about a year ago and there was only a company in China that was manufacturing them and you had to order them in multiple cases (not very consumer friendly). I picked up some at my local Top Foods and they seem to work well. One request is that they start making their kitchen bags with the drawstring handles (guess i am just lazy).
They have a coupon on their website http://www.ecosafeplastics.com/.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: chevy volt, cool tech, energy efficiency, Lithium ION battery
MIT’s Technology Review has a piece in its May/June 2009 issue outlining the success of A123 Systems in developing a workable lithium-ion battery. Some top people took a number of years to discover and refine solutions to various technical challenges. The result is a product that is now powering Black and Decker tools and looks to be built into a number of planned electric vehicles, including the Chevy Volt.
The company, which has an impressive group of investors including G.E. Motorola, Qualcomm, and M.I.T., is still privately held. Their lithium-ion technology, which I would assume has plenty of patent protection, seems to have put them in a leading position in producing batteries for the next generation of plug in hybrids and EV’s. On the other hand, it is very early in the battery game. It certainly would not be a shock to learn that Toyota or Honda or Panasonic or some other company has discovered an even better approach.
I have not found a better way to play the hybrid/electric car phenomenon than through SQM. There are other lithium producers, but none that are sufficiently concentrated in lithium to make an important impact on the stock. A speculative play that was suggested by an EIS reader is a Canadian company called Western Uranium Corporation. If anyone knows that situation, I would be interested to learn more.
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A battery research group out of MIT and led by Dr. Gerbrand Ceder just published remarkable research findings in the journal Nature.
The scientists were able to develop a new formulation of lithium iron phosphate that allows for extremely rapid charging, and massive specific power.
In the typical lithium ion cell when a current is applied to charge the cell, lithium ions move away from the cathode compound and are trapped at the anode storage medium. When the battery discharges producing current , those ions travel back to the cathode medium and in so doing produce current flow.
Speed of charging in typical lithium-ion cells is slowed by virtue of the fact that it takes time for the lithium ion to move off the cathode material. Various techniques have been tried to increase that speed including the nanoparticle doping strategy that A123 Systems uses. However recharge times still can take hours, and specific power is limited.
The scientists noted that lithium iron phosphate forms a lattice that creates small tunnels through which the lithium ions flow, but that although the cathode seemed ideal it still took some time for those ions to travel.
The novel solution they devised was to create a lithium phosphate glassy surface to coats these tunnels. This glassy surface acts as a speedway of sorts rapidly transporting the lithium ions on and off the cathode.
The result was startling.
Per the article “extremely high rates can be achieved for the active material: at a 200C rate (corresponding to an 18-s total discharge) more than 100mAh g can still be achieved, and a capacity of 60mAh g is obtained at a 400C rate (9 s to full discharge). Such discharge rates are two orders of magnitude larger than those used in today’s lithium ion batteries.”
The authors note that “Typical power rates for lithium ion battery materials are in the range of 0.5 to 2 kWkg. The specific power we observed for the modified LiFePO4 (170kWkg21 at a 400C rate and 90kWkg at a 200C rate) is two orders of magnitude higher.”
At this point the researchers have only tested the cells to 50 cycles but have noted no degradation.
The authors note that this new ability to charge and discharge lithium-ion batteries within seconds blurs the distinction between batteries and ultracapacitors, and may result in radical lifestyle change in terms of consumer electronic devices and plug-in cars.
Besides being able to charge one’s cellphone in seconds, this will have a major impact on electric cars.
The authors note that if electric grid power was available, an electric car with a 15kWh battery could be charged in 5 minutes. This would require the delivery of 180 kw of energy in that time frame. Further those cars could have extremely powerful acceleration and be useful in other power applications such as towing.
Lead author Ceder said “If manufacturers decide they want to go down this road, they could do this in a few years,” and noted the technology has already been licensed by two companies one of which includes, you guessed it, A123 Systems.
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The North American Auto Show is taking place in Detroit (a forgotten city if ever there was one) and there are some cool new cars that were announced. Some of my favorites include:
- Cadillac Converj Concept – an electric hybrid with a gas engine to re-charge the batteries. 273 lb-ft torque, 22 in wheels and 100 mph, it is definately not your father’s cadillac.
- Chrysler 200C EV Concept – Maybe Chrysler is not dead yet afterall! 0-60mph in 7 seconds and a top speed of 120mph with a 40 mile range on battery and a range extending gas motor that takes it to 400 miles
- New Toyota Prius (a.k.a. Pious) – No other hybrid is as celebrated—or loathed—as the Toyota Prius. Combined fuel economy of 50mpg with 22hp more power. Now if they could just ditch the Logans Run styling I might be interested.
- Fisher Karma S Concept – A very sexy car now with a hardtop, it looks like a cross between a Jag convertible and the Pontiac convertible. 0-60 in 6 seconds and a 50 mile battery range. Now if only they could design it so that a 6’6″ guy could drive it without sticking his head over the windshield!
Lot’s of cool stuff coming down the road – now if they could only make them available before gas gets to $4.00/ Gallon again!
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A few years ago, I saw some prototypes of Wi-Fi enabled electrical outlets at the Intel Developer Forum. The idea was to create a simple web based home automation without having the big Crestron or other system installed in your house. While that hasn’t hit the market like I thought it would, it does look like they are making WiFi enabled thermostats.
Ecobee has brought one to market for under $400.00 USD. If you are thinking of replacing your existing thermostat, give this one a look!
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This could be pretty cool, especially with a 150 mile range per charge. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7760787.stm. I think I might miss having the back seats – on second thought, I guess the kids would have to stay at home
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Trying out Windows Live Writer beta to do this post. It seems a little easier to use than the web interface from wordpress. I like the fact that it has easy access to maps, tags and videos. It looks like it has lots of free plugins available as well at http://gallery.live.com/results.aspx?c=0&bt=9&pl=8&st=5.
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A good place to start is the governement’s energystar website. They have information all sorts of products for your home and work plus tips on how to save energy.
One item on my list this holiday season is the x-treme electric scooter. It is not only a really fun toy, but you can use it for short communtes (weather permitting). It’s 600W motor provides a cruising range of 10 miles per charge and a top speed of 20+ miles per hour!
One thing I have been looking for are good high efficiency lights. Most CFL lightbulbs emit a poor quality of light and very few are dimmable. LED lights are on the horizon, but at a cost of $75 – $125 dollars, you want to be pretty sure you are going to like it. If anyone has some good experience in this area, please post a note!
