Fuel from only water and sunlight? Talk about an endless supply. That's what researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory are counting on. Senior Scientist Dr. John Turner and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Oscar Khaselev developed an all-in-one device using an advanced semiconductor material. The instrument splits water into hydrogen and oxygen, converting up to 12% of available sunlight into hydrogen. Current systems link photovoltaic cells that generate electricity with an electrolyser. Because they lose efficiency by transferring electricity to the electrolyser, they only convert about 4 to 5% of the available sunlight into hydrogen. The potential of hydrogen is enormous, says Turner. Internal combustion engines can run with pure hydrogen or hydrogen blended with natural gas, producing fewer emissions. Hydrogen fuel cells, with no emissions, also can power vehicles and provide heat and electricity. When hydrogen is used as an energy resource, it generates no emissions other than water, which can be used to make more hydrogen. The Department of Energy's Hydrogen Program hopes to replace 2 to 4 quads of conventional energy with hydrogen by 2010 and 10 quads a year by 2030. A quad equals the amount of energy consumed by 1 million households in the U.S. E-mail: george_douglas@nrel.gov.
We looked at a number of sources to determine this year's greenest cars, from KBB to automotive trade magazines to environmental organizations. These 14 cars emerged as being great at either stretching fuel or reducing carbon footprint.
Researchers at MIT and Sandia National Labs have observed a reaction in lithium-air batteries that could help improve the design of these cells for electric vehicles and other applications.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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