[kublikhan]

What the heck is with this list? Fuel cells were not scientifically viable until 2013? NASA was using fuel cells back in the 60s. Smart meters won't be financially viable until 2016? Millions of these things are being installed everywhere today.

[Graeme]

The authors have consulted experts. Perhaps they mean when these techs will accelerate change as mentioned in the first paragraph.

[Graeme]

What It Will Take to Farm Sunlight from Space

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')ith the advent of silicon-based photovoltaic solar panels—the kind that directly convert solar energy to electrical current—some 60 years ago, researchers immediately looked to the skies as the ideal place to collect solar energy. Up there, you don't have miles and miles of atmosphere and clouds absorbing, scattering, or blocking out the sun's incoming rays. That means photovoltaic panels should, conceivably, be able to operate at (or very near) their theoretical efficiency limits. Plus, if you position a solar power satellite (SPS) properly over the equator, it will only reside in the Earth's shadow for a few hours every year and thereby provide nearly non-stop energy.

The idea of space-based solar power (SBSP) was formalized in the seminal 1968 report, Power from the Sun: Its Future, by American aerospace engineer Peter Glaser. The paper set forth a conceptual system for collecting unhampered solar energy from massive extra-atmospheric arrays of photovoltaic cells set in geosynchronous orbit above the equator, and transmitting it wirelessly back to Earth where it would be used by terrestrial power grids. In theory, with enough orbiting "solar farms," the energy needs of not just the U.S. but the entire world could be met.

In his paper, Glaser argued that while building, launching, and operating such a power plant was currently beyond the reach of scientific knowledge at the time, those technological advances would be within our grasp in the coming years and decades. So, are we any closer to freeing the entire world from its energy woes with orbiting solar farms than we were at the start of the Space Age? Sure, but we've still got some work to do before that actually happens. Specifically, there are a number aspects that we need to iron out before something like this actually comes to fruition.

[Graeme]

Citi: These 10 Technologies Will Utterly Transform The World

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')lectric Vehicles
Description: Citi’s interesting suggestion, from analyst Itay Michaeli, for wider market goes like this: “The consumer purchases a new EV at a much lower price ($11-13k depending on size/ cost) and does so worry free of any residual value risk tied to future battery technology advancements. The operator would own the batteries, bill customers and operate battery switching stations that allow consumers to quickly (and robotically) switch batteries when desired or when taking very long drives.”

Insane stat: Tesla plans to offer a Gen-3 model priced at $US35,000. “A $US35k price point is historically what’s required to begin the path towards achieving sizeable volume of over 100k units (typically 2-3 years after launch), in theory enough to crown Tesla as the 1st mover in the affordable pure EV market.”

Relevant graphic: This cost comparison table

Electric vehicles citi
Energy Storage
Here is the clearest justification for energy storage we’ve yet seen, from Citi’s Jason Channell: Solar generates its electricity when most households are empty, or have limited demand. Saving that electricity for later would dramatically offset consumption prices. He continues: “The potentially greater value is in terms of avoided capacity payments, and the grid stability which storage could provide. If storage could be combined with smart metering and demand response, we could conceivably move to a situation where load is managed (i.e., by dishwashers etc. being turned on automatically when demand was lowest and vice versa) and supply is being managed by storage. This could significantly reduce the amount of stranded capacity and hence wasted cost on an electricity system, as well as improve its reliability.

Insane stat: In the first quarter of 2014, solar and wind combined generated 28% of German electricity.

Relevant graphic: Here is the breakdown of the potential market size for different storage technologies

[ROCKMAN]

Finally a practical way to save the Ukraine from Russian NG...ship them Bakken LNG: North Dakota LNG, LLC has joined North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple and other state officials at an event to announce the arrival of an LNG production facility. Located in Tioga, North Dakota, the plant will be the first-to-market in the state to produce 10,000 gallons per day (GPD) starting in Summer 2014. A phase two facility is scheduled to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2014 and capable of producing 66,000 GPD. NDLNG targets the drilling, fracking and transportation sectors of the unconventional oil and gas industry and will help meet the need for a cost-effective power source by converting natural gas feedstock into value-added liquid fuels. - See more at: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/1 ... ppqN7.dpuf

[Graeme]

Your post has nothing to do with future energy tech! It's last century tech.

[ROCKMAN]

Graeme - No one the planet has every developed small scale LNG capabilities before during the last century or even during this century until now. That makes the technology developed to capture the NG that is being flared for lack of pipelines brand spanking new technology. Many here have been pissing and moaning about the ND NG flares for years. This "new" technology should please them.

I suppose you and I have different definitions of "new".

[Graeme]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he LNG industry developed slowly during the second half of the last century because most LNG plants are located in remote areas not served by pipelines, and because of the large costs to treat and transport LNG. Constructing an LNG plant costs at least $1.5 billion per 1 mmtpa capacity, a receiving terminal costs $1 billion per 1 bcf/day throughput capacity and LNG vessels cost $200 million–$300 million.

[Graeme]

A Plug That Can Reduce Your Energy Bill by Half

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Parce One smart plug works by measuring and controlling the energy usage of your electronic devices. The plug is Wi-Fi enabled, so it also gives users access to detailed reports and even suggestions on how to reduce energy use. The makers of the Parce One smart plug have recently run a successful IndieGoGo campaign and the funds they raised will go towards the further development of the plug with a view towards mass production in the near future.

[Graeme]

Scientists discover how to turn light into matter after 80-year quest

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I')mperial College London physicists have discovered how to create matter from light - a feat thought impossible when the idea was first theorised 80 years ago.

In just one day over several cups of coffee in a tiny office in Imperial's Blackett Physics Laboratory, three physicists worked out a relatively simple way to physically prove a theory first devised by scientists Breit and Wheeler in 1934.

Breit and Wheeler suggested that it should be possible to turn light into matter by smashing together only two particles of light (photons), to create an electron and a positron – the simplest method of turning light into matter ever predicted. The calculation was found to be theoretically sound but Breit and Wheeler said that they never expected anybody to physically demonstrate their prediction. It has never been observed in the laboratory and past experiments to test it have required the addition of massive high-energy particles.

The new research, published in Nature Photonics, shows for the first time how Breit and Wheeler's theory could be proven in practice. This 'photon-photon collider', which would convert light directly into matter using technology that is already available, would be a new type of high-energy physics experiment. This experiment would recreate a process that was important in the first 100 seconds of the universe and that is also seen in gamma ray bursts, which are the biggest explosions in the universe and one of physics' greatest unsolved mysteries.

The scientists had been investigating unrelated problems in fusion energy when they realised what they were working on could be applied to the Breit-Wheeler theory. The breakthrough was achieved in collaboration with a fellow theoretical physicist from the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, who happened to be visiting Imperial.

[Graeme]

10 Innovations Analysts Predict Will Change The World By 2025

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'H')ere are their predictions for innovations that will emerge by 2025:

1. The onset of dementia, Alzheimer’s and other neuro-degenerative diseases will decline as more funds are directed toward afflictions Baby Boomers could encounter in their 80s, and studies continue isolating specific chromosomes that cause different forms of the diseases.

2. Solar power will move from environmentalists to the masses as the largest source of electricity in the world, heating buildings, water and powering homes and offices, stores and manufacturing facilities. The sun’s rays will be harvested, stored and converted more efficiently through new materials and methods.

3. Type 1 diabetes will become preventable through a human genome engineering platform that’s paving the way for the modification of disease-causing genes and helping prevent metabolic conditions. As the science advances, patents of organisms and partial DNA segments will arise, complicating who owns which rights to what and blurring the line between nature and commerce.

4. Food shortages and food price fluctuations will cease to exist as genetically modified crops will be grown rapidly indoors with 24/7 light that matches wavelengths to crops, and crops will be bred to resist diseases.

5. Electric-powered airplanes and cars will be more light-weight, travel farther and store more energy with lithium-ion batteries, reversible hydrogen storage options and nanomaterials in fuel cells. As micro-commercial airplanes become feasible for short journeys and small landing spaces, getting a pilot’s license could become the new right-of-passage to adulthood.

6. More things will be connected to the Internet than people as the digital world extends to nearly everything, everywhere. So-called “smart” cars, homes and appliances will be digitally directed and connected across the globe as wireless communications improve.

7. Petroleum-based packaging (think plastics) will be replaced by fully biodegradable cellulose, a type of psedo-plastic derived from forms of plant matter.

[Keith_McClary]

Japan at cutting edge of turning black coal more green

"Better than LNG"

[dissident]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Keith_McClary', '[')url=http://asia.nikkei.com/magazine/20140703-Miracle-workers/Tech-Science/Japan-at-cutting-edge-of-turning-black-coal-more-green]Japan at cutting edge of turning black coal more green[/url]

"Better than LNG"

[Subjectivist]

Typical coal has a ratio of 0.5:1 hydrogen to carbon or 1:2 which ever way you prefer to state it. Being one third Hydrogen by number of hydrogen and two thirds carbon is not what I would call "little or no hydrogen"
http://phe.rockefeller.edu/AustinDecarbonization/index_files/image006.gif

[evilgenius]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('ROCKMAN', 'G')raeme - No one the planet has every developed small scale LNG capabilities before during the last century or even during this century until now. That makes the technology developed to capture the NG that is being flared for lack of pipelines brand spanking new technology. Many here have been pissing and moaning about the ND NG flares for years. This "new" technology should please them.

I suppose you and I have different definitions of "new".

[dissident]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Subjectivist', 'T')ypical coal has a ratio of 0.5:1 hydrogen to carbon or 1:2 which ever way you prefer to state it. Being one third Hydrogen by number of hydrogen and two thirds carbon is not what I would call "little or no hydrogen"

[Subjectivist]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dissident', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Subjectivist', 'T')ypical coal has a ratio of 0.5:1 hydrogen to carbon or 1:2 which ever way you prefer to state it. Being one third Hydrogen by number of hydrogen and two thirds carbon is not what I would call "little or no hydrogen"

[kublikhan]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')cientists at Stanford University have developed a low-cost, emissions-free device that uses an ordinary AAA battery to produce hydrogen by water electrolysis. Unlike other water splitters that use precious-metal catalysts, the electrodes in the Stanford device are made of inexpensive and abundant nickel and iron.

"Using nickel and iron, which are cheap materials, we were able to make the electrocatalysts active enough to split water at room temperature with a single 1.5-volt battery," said Hongjie Dai, a professor of chemistry at Stanford. "This is the first time anyone has used non-precious metal catalysts to split water at a voltage that low. It's quite remarkable, because normally you need expensive metals, like platinum or iridium, to achieve that voltage."

Saving energy and money
The discovery was made by Stanford graduate student Ming Gong, co-lead author of the study. "Ming discovered a nickel-metal/nickel-oxide structure that turns out to be more active than pure nickel metal or pure nickel oxide alone," Dai said. "This novel structure favors hydrogen electrocatalysis, but we still don't fully understand the science behind it."

The nickel/nickel-oxide catalyst significantly lowers the voltage required to split water, which could eventually save hydrogen producers billions of dollars in electricity costs, according to Gong. His next goal is to improve the durability of the device. "The electrodes are fairly stable, but they do slowly decay over time," he said. "The current device would probably run for days, but weeks or months would be preferable. That goal is achievable based on my most recent results." "We're very glad that we were able to make a catalyst that's very active and low cost. This shows that through nanoscale engineering of materials we can really make a difference in how we make fuels and consume energy."