Here, I build on the topic of superconducting cable in the Grid (see my previous post, “Superpower’s 2-G Superconducting Cable Slated For Grid Installation”). While there are currently short superconducting lengths being tested in the Grid, there is a forward-looking concept, called the SuperGrid, which also deserves note. The SuperGrid capitalizes on the confluence of liquefied, cryogenic hydrogen as an energy carrier and superconducting cable, which requires very low temperature to operate.
Attributed to Chauncey Starr of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the SuperGrid is envisioned to be a liquid-hydrogen-cooled, national-scale, hybrid energy pipeline containing superconducting cables for power transmission. This arrangement would enable large amounts of electricity to be transferred across the length of the country with nearly zero line loss. In addition to providing the enabling cooling for emergence of superconducting properties in the cable, the cryogenic hydrogen would double as a chemical energy storage and transport medium, like a next-generation oil pipeline. The term “hydricity” has been proposed to describe the parallel transport of energy as electricity and hydrogen.
A comprehensive article on the SuperGrid entitled “A Power Grid for the Hydrogen Economy” was published in the July 2006 edition of Scientific American. As highlighted in this article, hydricity transportation across weather boundaries and time zones would allow power plants throughout the nation to meet the peak electricity needs of distant cities. When demand drops after dark on the East Coast, New York’s power generation capacity could be applied to mitigate mid-day brown outs in Los Angles. Inconstant and off-peak generation from renewables like solar, wind, and waves could also be stored and transported as hydrogen, enhancing the competitive potential of these green power sources.
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
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Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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