Hybrid Solar Cells Sets New Record in Performance

EPFL`s Institute of Microengineering in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, has created a “hybrid” solar cell based on the technologies behind amorphous thin film and monocrystalline silicon that performs at a conversion efficiency of 21.4% – higher than any other solar cell using this type of substrate.
Read full story  - Hybrid Solar Cells Sets New Record in Performance

Great Ways To Go Green at Home

Many individuals are becoming more and more environmentally conscious in every part of their lives. Individuals and families are realizing the impact their decisions have on the environment around them, and are actively doing things to try and mitigate the environmental impact of their decisions. However, people also realize that doing everything possible to mitigate their environmental impact is near impossible. But here are some easy and great ways to go green at home and help the environment.
Great Ways To Go Green at Home

Garbage Granulator – waste management solution

This past few months, The streets of Manila Philippines has been inundated and a content in the news. Regular player are tons and tons of garbage in the shore and floating in the water world like streets of Metro Manila. Questions are everywhere on how to atleast reduce waste to avoid flooded streets. Renewable engineering solution is the answer.

This is called “the Garbage Granulator”, developed by a Filipino engineer Bong Archeta. Taal, Batangas is one of the municipalities benefiting the granulator...
Read the Full Story in Got Eco Technology

BMW’s Electric Scooter Packs 75 mph – The Green Solution for Crowded Urban Centers

Electric scooters have been dabbed as one of the greenest practical solution for crowded urban centers. BMW’s electric scooter is designed to achieve the performance specification of a gasoline-fueled scooter. This all-electric scooter will pack a top speed of 75mph, and a full charged battery range of 100 kilometers or 62 miles plus the range added with the use of its regenerative braking system. And it plugs into standard electric cars charging stations.

Read full article at Got Eco Technology.

The Soccket: Power Soccer Ball – Fun and Play Equals Electricity

The world’s most popular sport becomes more fun with the Soccket. The world’s first eco-friendly portable power generator that combines fun and play with power generation. This innovative soccer ball is equipped with a gyroscopic mechanism that captures energy in every kick, roll, bounce and with even the slightest movements of the ball. Created for developing countries who lack access to electricity, but the love for the game is so full.

Believe it or not, with our current technology 1 out of 5 people in the world still live without electricity. In developing countries, a lot of families cannot afford the cost of electricity and some live too far away from the electric grid. So they use health hazardous energy and light sources, like kerosene.

Read the full article at Got Eco Technology.

Hawaii Implements Statewide Plastic Bag Ban – First U.S State

Hawaii is officially the first U.S state to have a statewide ban on plastic bags. Huge credits to local activists and volunteers who fought and built support for the ban. This amazing development is big statement for the environment conscious community, with the fact that the statewide ban was not actually a law on a state level. It was a separate effort of all four counties of Hawaii.

On May 10, 2012, Honolulu has joined the other three counties of Hawaii after legislators finally signed the bill to ban plastic bags. This made Hawaii officially the first U.S. state to have a statewide plastic bag ban with all its four counties implementing it in their own counties.

Read full story at 
Got Eco Technology - Innovations for the Earth.

Filipino Inventor Turns Plastic Trash Into Liquid Gold

A Filipino inventor has found a way to convert plastic trash into fuel – Gasoline, Diesel and Kerosene. Though not a very new invention, Jayme Navarro has found his own way of turning plastic into fuel, through a process called  “Pyrolysis”. This patented system has been proven to convert non-biodegradable and non-recyclable plastics into fuel. If implemented in a large-scale this system could literally turn hill sized land fills in the Philippines into a goldmine – “fuelmine”.

 Read full story at Got Eco Technology

High Altitude Wind Turbines: To harness winds 1,000 feet up in the sky

Harnessing the power of high altitude winds has been continually explored over the years. Recently, testing of a 35-foot wide prototype of an Airborne Wind Turbine (AWT) has been completed by Altaeros Energies. The AWT was deployed at 350 feet high and produced twice as much power at high altitude than generated at conventional tower height turbines, this was done in an automated cycle. It was transported and deployed from a trailer, which can be very useful in remote areas. It is as clean and portable as it can get.

The Value of a Tree - worth $193,250

We all know how important trees are to mother nature. Some even consider it priceless, while others would simply place a commercial value on them. But have you ever wondered, How much a tree is really worth?.

In our recent trip to the City of Davao, Philippines. We visited one of their main tourist attraction, the Eden Nature Park & Resort. Our journey around the 80 hectares park, led us across a billboard, right on the side of a walkway, with the heading "A tree is worth $193,250".

 "Of concern to all! A tree is worth $193,250. According to Professor T.M.Das of the University of Calcutta. A tree living for 50 years will generate $31,250 worth of oxygen, provide $62,000 worth of air pollution control, control soil erosion and increase soil fertility to the tune of $31,250. Recycle $37,500 worth of water and provide a home for animals worth $31,250. This figure does not include the value of fruits, lumber or beauty derived from trees. Just another sensible reason to take care of our forests."

It may not be an accurate calculation but it is just amazing how the tree's benefits were presented by that small billboard. It is a good reminder and a simple green solution that we could use onour way towards greener technology and solutions. Well, sometimes we need to be reminded of the obvious.

McDonald's New Paper Cups To Replace Polystyrene Coffee Cups

The company has taken a major environmental initiative, by launching a pilot program to drop the use of polystyrene foam cups. Their previous initiative was phasing out Styrofoam for its food packaging, but hot beverages were still served on polystyrene cups.

The program is testing a double-walled paper cup as replacement for polystyrene cups. It will involve 2,000 of their restaurants in the U.S primarily on the West Coast, that represent 15 percent of their restaurants in the U.S.

Since it is still on a testing process, the pilot program will asses; Customer acceptance, Operational impact and Overall importance.

This is definitely a great news for the environment. Especially with a move from a large international company like McDonald's. They have done such move, in fact, in the past decade the company has reduced their waste by 30 percent, eliminated more than 300 million pounds of packaging, save $6 million per year, and is currently one of the largest purchasers of recycled paper for use in its food containers and napkin.

Having stated above that the company is making a major move "for the environment", I wondered why is still their a need for testing? And why the customer's acceptance are necessary? Well obviously, they are more focused on the company image or operation, rather than making it a move for healthier environment.

Let us just hope the tests goes well and the program is implemented across all their restaurants worldwide. And hopefully, other companies would follow on with environmental moves.

source: GreenBiz

Philippines' first public e-Jeepney franchise, launched in Makati

Philippines's first commercial Electronic Jeepney (left),
traditional Public utility jeepney (right)

Twenty one (21) e-jeepneys started running on the streets of Makati City on March 01, 2012. After the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has issued the country's first commercial electronic jeepney (e-jeepney) franchise last February 27, 2012.

Clean water out of humid air - Foreign help for CDO

A foreign company introduces green technology to provide clean water for the Typhoon Sendong damaged Cagayan de Oro (CDO) Philippines. G2 machines are said to produce clean drinkable water from humid air, plus, it will also be powered by solar energy.

Six G2 units (Generation 2 water humidifier) has been provided to the province as a much needed help for the typhoon victims. This cutting-edge product is an atmospheric water generator, that produces sterilized water out of humid air. It does not just produce water, but clean it produces clean, sterilized and drinkable water. The machine is suitable for use in disaster struck areas.

Prepeat - Inkless rewritable printer

The Prepeat, "Print Repeat" is an eco-printer that can significantly reduce our use of papers. This rewritable printer is inkless, tonerless and makes the printed papers completely reusable. How does it do that? Well, the Prepeat uses a special paper made from PET plastic that can be printed on over and over again without degradation in quality, through the Prepeat. The printer uses a special thermal head that erases the content of the paper and at the time prints the new document. The printer promotes high-speed printing as well as reduce the running costs if you factor in the ink and paper. From the video, we can determine that the current price on the printer is at 500,000 yen, that is around $,5,600. While the special paper is sold in lots of 1,000 pieces which is another 300,000 yen or $3,360. And the paper is said to be reusable for 1,000 times of re-printing.

With this technology, offices can also say goodbye to paper shredders. Since the Prepeat can also erase the paper's content without re-printing anything. Just slide the paper into the printer and press the erase button. However, there has been no details on how much information can be extracted from the paper, if ever this is possible. This may pose as an issue for handling confidential documents.

Checkout the video and be amazed. It is truly clean and green technology.

source: diginfot.tv

The Bloom Box - "Energy server"

Could Energy Internet be in the very near future? At the size of a refrigerator a Bloom Box generates 200 kW of clean, efficient and affordable electricity, day and night. Its to early to say but this may revolutionize power generation,just like how Computing machine - Desktop computers - Laptops has evolved. At least that is how its manufacturer, Bloomenergy, claims. But the plus side on this technology evolution, is its contribution to reducing Carbon emissions.

Sulfur Oxide fuel Cells (SOFC)

A Bloom Box converts existing fuel sources like natural gas or biogas into electricity through an electro-chemical process. Each fuel cell consists of thousands of solid oxide fuel cells. Each cell is a flat solid ceramic square made from a common sand-like "powder". A single fuel cell can produce 25W, which can already power a light bulb. The refrigerator-sized energy servers consists of several stack of these fuel cells capable of generating 200kW power. The Energy Servers can also be interconnected to produce more power if necessary.

The concept is to create decentralized networks of Energy Servers, each powering small groups of buildings or homes.

Click here to see How it works

The 200kW Energy servers are currently at $700,000 to $800,000 and are being used by key companies - Google, ebay, Walmart and more. However, in its recent press release, they have

Water converts Wood into Biofuel

Using water (supercritical water) to extract the sugars from parts of food crops that does not get eaten. Once the sugars are extracted they can be fermented into biofuel, which are largely ethanol.

Producing biofuel from food crops has been controversial, because it can raise the cost of corn and grain. But making the alternative fuel from the part of the food crop that doesn't get eaten, such as the stalks, or from waste wood is expensive, as well as chemical- and energy-intensive. But a start up company called Renmatix says it has an answer: Use supercritical water to extract the sugars.

25,000 Pinoy Homes lit by Sunlight-powered plastic bottle bulbs

Around 25,000 low-income homes in the Philippines have been lit up after the launch of a scheme, six months ago, to fit sunlight-powered “bulbs” made from old plastic bottles, "A Liter of Light" or "Isang litrong liwanag".

A Liter of Light project was launched by the My Shelter Foundation, a Philippines-based NGO which aims to provide light to 1 million of the roughly 12 million homes who are either still without light or live on the threshold of having their electricity shut down.

Roughly 40% of the population lives off less than $2 a day, the rising cost of power leaves many unable to afford electricity. Some use candles as a light source, but when generations of family members share a small, dark space in shanty towns, accidental and destructive fires are often the result.

Kodak reinvention: from camera film to flexible (thin-film) Solar Cells

Kodak is in the process of trying to reinvent itself through flexible (thin-film) Solar Cells.  It may be a long shot, but they are hoping to use its existing film manufacturing equipment to produce thin-film solar cells.

Kodak, the camera and film maker, has filled for bankruptcy recently this January 2012. They have suffered as digital cameras has eclipsed film technology over the last decade. It has tried to compete and sold digital cameras itself but was unable to keep up companies that have more technical competence in electronics.

Seaweed into Biofuel - Breakthrough found

Using synthetic biology and enzyme engineering, a new form of E. coli bacteria was created that can digest all the sugars found in brown seaweed, producing ethanol that is twice the yield of sugar cane and five times that of corn.

This breakthrough of transforming seaweed into fuel has been the dream of many scientists, entrepreneurs, and policy maker for years. The traditional biofuel crops, corn and sugar cane, has been topics of several debate since these traditional biofuel sources compete with food crops in terms of precious land area and fresh water, but Seaweed doesn't.

Green Cars at NAIAS 2012

This is a featured news via ecogeek.org by Philip Proefrock

Two years ago, automakers were scrambling to out-green each other and to emphasize their green halo, and the show's main floor included an 'Electric Avenue' with all manner of unusual vehicles (most of which have not returned). But the age of the bamboo thumb drive has already passed. As we noted last year, hybrids and electric drive vehicles now just seem to be an expected part of the mix in a manufacturer's line. Along with this, relatively simple features like auto-start/stop are becoming more prevalent in more models.
A couple of new companies on this year's show floor were particularly interesting. These include Coda, a company that is selling electric drive cars. They seem to have just a single model, but the company looks like a more complete contender than BYD, another Chinese manufacturer that has been at show the past couple of years, was not present at this year's show. (The Coda body and battery are manufactured in China, but final assembly takes place in the US.)

20T e-trikes by 2012 in Cebu City

As fuel prices continue to rise and air pollution worsens. The government is looking at a cleaner alternative source of energy. This year, Twenty (20) thousand electric tricycles, "e-trikes", are eyed for Cebu City by the end of 2012.

The first significant step of the Philippine government towards a more sutainable, cleaner and energy-efficient mode of transport, was the launching of the e-Jeepney (electric jeepneys) making the country's basic mode of transportation cleaner.


Last aprill 2011, Pres. Aquino has launched the first twenty (20) electric tricycles (e-trikes) in the country. The e-trikes where turned over to the City of Mandaluyong as the pilot area of the program. This has marked a significant step towards a sustainable, clean and energy-efficient mode of transport.

E-trikes is a project of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Which aims to present energy-efficient transport and promote green technology. As part of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Alternative Fuel Transport Program. They are pushing for green mode of transport and are eyeing

Lithium air Battery - Holy grail of EV technology

IBM's lithium air battery could make electric vehicles (EV) as cheap as a typical family car. IBM is leading the research, together with four US technology giant laboratories and commercial partners, in creating a battery that will power an EV up to 800 kilomtres (500 miles) in  what a coalition dubbed as The Battery500 Project.

Despite the advances of the EV techonology for the past years. Current EVs can travel only about 100  miles on a single charge, using the latest Lithium-oi (Li-on) battery technology today. This creates a major drawback to switching to a cleaner and cheaper energy source electric vehicle.

IBM claims to have solved the main problem with electric vehicles. With a new type of battery,

Makati City: Southeast Asia's First Energy-Effecient City

Did you know that Makati City (the financial hub of the Philippines today) has been recognized as Southeast Asia's First Energy-Efficient City on July 2009  by  international organization Greenpeace for its programs committed to reduce its carbon footprint?
Makati has constantly supported and promoted environment friendly and energy-efficient initiatives. They have optimized scarce resources to achieve eco-sustainability. Having eco-efficient buildings and structures and promoting the use of e-Jeepneys (Electric Jeepneys).

Austin Energy Turns On 30 MW Solar Farm in Texas

The 30 Megawatt (MW) solar farm in Webberville, Texas began generating power on December 20, 2011. It is the largest active solar project of any public power utility in the country, the largest active project in Texas and among the largest of all operating solar projects in America. 

The 30MW solar project contains more than 127,00 Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels which are mounted on single-axis trackers that tracks the sun to maximize solar energy production, electricity output. The 380 acres photovoltaic solar farm is expected to generate 61 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean energy on the first year. 1.4 billion kWh of renewable energy over 25 years . That is enough clean energy to power more than 136,000 average U.S. homes (5,000 homes per year). In the same time frame, using the solar farm as energy source will prevent the emission of 1.6 billion pounds of CO2 in to the atmosphere.

This is clean and green technology at work.

More photos

Via Austin Energy

Corals revived by Electricity

Electricity Sparks New Life Into Indonesia's Corals. A weak, harmless voltage run through metallic structures underwater is reviving near-dead reefs. Based on "Biorock" technology", it has been implemented in twenty (20) countries, mainly in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Pacific. The electrolysis provokes a fast build-up of limestone, helping corals flourish.

3 year old Biorock: Ibu Karang;Pemuteran Bali, Indonesia: J.Cervino

The “BioRock” coral reef restoration method, accelerates coral growth. The harmless electrical current on metal structures, causes the minerals dissolved in sea water to crystallize and deposit on to the metal structure. Amazingly, the resulting limestone material  is similar to what coral organisms themselves produce  naturally.

Why care about corals? - www.coral.org

Coral reefs benefit a healthy world by providing:

Solar-powered Kindle cover means you never have to plug it in again

This is a featured news via venturebeat.com by Sean Ludwig

If you’ve ever wanted a Kindle that you never have to plug in, SolarFocus has the accessory for you with its solar-powered Kindle case.
Green tech has dominated the conversation around cars, but now it seems these eco-friendly trends are edging into mobile at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, where SolarFocus is debuting its Kindle case. Taiwan-based SolarFocus has other solar-panel products that have USB ports, but its Kindle case might be the most interesting, specific device.
The solar-powered Kindle case fits only the fourth-generation Kindle, but it should be available for the Kindle Touch in the spring. The front part of the case features one long solar panel, which is a bit inelegant. On the inside, there is a pop-up light that can help you read at night or in low-lighting.
SolarFocus says its Kindle case will make the Kindle battery last three times the normal duration, which amounts to three months. But because you can charge solely off the solar charger, you could, in theory, never need to plug it into a wall or computer USB port again.
The SolarFocus solar-powered Kindle case is a 2012 International CES Innovations Design & Engineering Awards Honoree. The device will be available online starting Jan. 15 for $80.

Here are a few other photos of the innovative solar-powered case:

Compressed Air-Powered Car EnigineHow does it work?

On my previous post I tackled about the up coming release of MDI and TATA Motor's Air-Powered vehicle, the MiniCAT, this year. You were probably in disbelief of the idea that your vehicle can be powered by air from your surroundings. Well I also asked the same question when I first heard about it. How does a compressed air-powered engine work?

 

MDI's AirPod One and its compressed air engine, at MDI's headquarters near Nice, France.

Lionel Cirroneau/AP Photo

The Compressed Air-powered Engine (CAE) works with the laws of physics. As the law dictates that unconfined air (gasses) will fill up any given space. That is how the CAE works. But this principle is best seen with a simple inflated balloon and a pin. The balloon's elastic skin contains the air tightly inside it. At the moment you bore a hole on the balloon's surface, using the pin. The air inside the balloon will expand outwards with such energy that the balloon explodes.

Compressing air into a small space builds up pressure, this is way of storing energy. When the air is released, it expands with such energy to to work. The expansion of pressurized air has the same characteristic with fuel combustion. Both moves the engine's pistons using the energy generated on expansion or combustion.

TATA Technology's Compressed Air-Powered Car Engine In 2012

The world's first air-powered vehicle is set to for release in India this year - 2012. The car runs on compressed air making it a zero carbon emission vehicle. To make it even greener, it also uses vegetable oil as engine oil. This amazingly clean and green vehicle is called the "MiniCAT".

The Compressed Air Engine (CAE) was developed by ex-Formula One engineer, Guy Nègre, for the French company Motor Development International (MDI). TATA Motors, India's largest automaker, has invested on MDI's engine to produce the world's first air-powered vehicle.

Powered by compressed air the vehicle produces 0% CO2 emissions. Clean air is expelled by the exhaust pipe has a temperature between 0-15 degrees below zero. Which can be used for the vehicle's air conditioning, with no loss of power and mileage.

The MiniCAT is a light urban car, which is suitable for city transportation. It is a six-seater vehicle built with aluminum rod chassis, fibre and injected foam body, 800cc four-cylinder engine with a maximum power of 25hp at 4,000rpm and a regenerative braking system, which recovers 13% of used power. It can reach a top speed of 110 km/h and can travel up to 200km between refills. Its 340-litre carbon fiber air tank can be filled with 4350psi air.