In this post I will highlight a variety of established and emerging technologies that could ultimately prove disruptive to the status quo. I'll place the most promising technologies at the top of the list.
1. EEStor's Battery Breakthrough
Discussed in depth at Technology Review. This Texas based startup could be on to something with their new battery-ultracapacitor. Pound per pound 10 times as powerful as traditional lead-acid batteries, half the cost and non-toxic. "EEStor claims that, using an automated production line and existing power electronics, it will initially build a 15-kilowatt-hour energy-storage system for a small electric car weighing less than 100 pounds, and with a 200-mile driving range. The vehicle, the company says, will be able to recharge in less than 10 minutes". If legit, then prepare for the electric car revolution.
2. Solar Technologies
Discussed at World Watch. Scientists at DOE and Spectrolab, Inc. have broken the 40% efficiency barrier for a photovoltaic cell. This is quite a milestone considering average solar cell technology produces around 15% efficient cells. Let's hope they can keep on boosting efficiency and bringing production costs down. I would be more than happy to cover my roof with these and exit the grid. Another interesting tech in this arena would be solar powered stirling engines. Companies such as Stirling Energy Systems harness the sun to power their energy producing engines. More information on stirling engines can be found here. And lastly have a look at Solar Towers in Australia. The tower is 1600ft high and uses greenhouse style heat from the sun to generate wind power.
3. Silicon Valley
Ok, Silicon Valley is not a technology but the New York Times has an interesting article discussing the booming energy business in Silicon Valley. "Russell Hancock, chief executive of Joint Venture, said the emerging need for clean technology is a good fit with the skills and companies already in the area. “A new cluster is emerging in Silicon Valley that provides leadership around global climate change”. Can Silicon Valley do it again, this time around with environmental technologies? I'm pulling for them.
4. Fuel Cells
Science Daily reports on a substantial breakthrough in fuel cell technology. "The development of hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles, the ultimate green dream in transportation energy, is another step closer. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) have identified a new variation of a familiar platinum-nickel alloy that is far and away the most active oxygen-reducing catalyst ever reported." My only beef with hydrogen fuel cells is they require hydrogen. Although clean we may still find ourselves at the mercy of a hydrogen cartel. I would prefer my car to run off of a small cheap battery-ultracapacitor from EEStor which is charged by the sun and regenerative braking.
5. New Mechanical Engine Designs
Two such designs would be the air powered engine and the MYT engine. The air powered engine which powers the "Air Car", runs on compressed air and it works! Click here for a YouTube video of the air car in action. The Air Car definitely looks feasible for city use. The MYT Engine (Massive Yet Tiny) has some incredible specs. From their homepage, "The MYT™ Engine has the potential to replace all the existing internal combustion engines and jet engines. With 40 times higher power to weight ratio, low parts count, low maintenance, high mechanical efficienty, and low pollution."
6. Nanotechnology
An article at physorg states that, "Thinking small may help solve one of the world's biggest problems -- the need for alternative energy sources -- according to scientists attending the first Energy Nanotechnology International Conference held June 26-28 at MIT". Nanotechnology is an exciting field and with so many new novel materials being created it may be inevitable that nanotechnology will usher in a new era of energy production.
7. Biological & Biomimetic Energy Conversion
Harnessing the designs of nature could lead to a breakthrough in energy production. Everything from bacteria, photosynthesis and dolphin tails are on the drawing board. Some examples are a kelp shaped biomimetic ocean wave power generator , harnessing the power of photosynthesis , and energy producing bacteria.
8. Wind Power
Wikipedia describes windpower as "the conversion of wind energy into more useful forms, usually electricity using wind turbines. In 2005, worldwide capacity of wind-powered generators was 58,982 megawatts;
although it currently produces less than 1% of world-wide electricity
use, it accounts for approximately 25% of electricity use in Denmark, 9% in Spain, and 6% in Germany. Globally, wind power generation more than quadrupled between 1999 and 2005." Although I am not a huge fan of wind power if wind farms could be harnessed to produce hydrogen that would be an interesting development. The website powerscorecard makes it clear windpower is not without issues, "Wind power generates three categories of environmental impacts: visual impacts; noise pollution; wildlife impacts. These impacts can vary immensely from site to site."
9. Flywheel Technology
Companies like Pentadyne produce flywheel based energy storage systems that compete with batteries. From Wikipedia, "A flywheel is a heavy rotating disk used as a storage device for kinetic energy". I believe such technology could be used in conjunction with solar power. For example run your house during the day with new 40% efficient solar cells, the same cells spin up your flywheel which provides power through the night.
10. Out of left field
There is always a chance something will come smack out of left field and surprise us all. One such example would be the much debated company Steorn http://steorn.com. Steorn has made some bold claims of a new energy source. Their website states: "In 2003 Steorn undertook a project to develop more efficient micro generators. Early into this project the company developed certain generator configurations that appeared to be over 100% efficient. Further investigation and development has led to the company’s current technology, a technology that produces free energy. The technology is patent pending". I'm not holding my breath but stranger things have happened..
Conclusion
The methods of energy production listed above show that all hope is not lost. I believe we are on the verge of an energy revolution where affordable and clean energy will be in abundance. How long this could take is anyone's guess but I am optimistic that within 5 years we will begin to see some "disruptive technology" announcements in the energy sector.
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