Smart Grid
Look at brochures of electricity companies today and you’ll see green pictures full of wind farms and sunshine. These are the images that now surround electricity generation. But, the reality is that at the moment at least 60 per cent of the UK’s electricity still comes from fossil
water purification
A highly beneficial tree native to northwest India could help provide cleaner drinking water to millions of people across the developing world. The Moringa oleifera tree is already recognised as having great potential in a world facing climate change, rising population and growing desertification. It’s fast-growing, drought-tolerant and extremely
Cuts today and cuts tomorrow. Frontline cuts and bottom line cuts. Cuts that are gentle and cuts that take your legs off. I think we can all see what the dominant political motif is going to be in the run up to the UK’s general election next year. So
energy funding
The US Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $100 million in Recovery Act funding to speed up the development of grid-scale energy storage and other clean energy technologies. Finding cost-effective ways to store energy on a large scale across the electrical grid is vital for reducing dependence on fossil fuels
energy harvesting
A new virtual network of researchers and industry experts launched today with the goal of advancing energy harvesting technology and reducing dependence on batteries. Energy harvesting involves scavenging power from low-grade ambient energy sources — things like environmental vibrations, human motion, light and even temperature variations — and using it to operate
Greenbang
Greenbang recently helped sponsor some of the sailplanes participating in the World Sailplane Grand Prix Final, which took place 2 through 9 January in the heart of the Andes mountains in Chile. As only companies and organisations that deploy substantial initiatives for the benefit of the environment are invited to
fuel cells
Bloom Energy, a California-based company whose fuel-cell technology was profiled in a recent “60 Minutes” broadcast today publicly launched its Bloom Energy Server. The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology is designed to let business and home customers create their own electricity on site. While Bloom Energy has until now
water
Inspired by spiders, researchers in Florida have come up with what they say is a “nearly perfect” water-repelling surface. Their innovation is based not on a unique chemical compound but on physics: by reproducing the tiny and random structure of the hairs found on spiders, engineers at the University of
climate
Picture an agricultural region that today provides jobs to thousands of seasonal workers each year. Now imagine that same region as it might look like in the year 2070, when average temperatures are 3.5 degrees C warmer than today and rainfall has dropped by 35 per cent. Whatever it
Jurdy will give you three guesses …
waste-to-energy
Municipal waste, sewage sludge and “slurry” from livestock (yes, it’s what you think it is) could provide a little over 7 per cent of Spain’s energy needs, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR) say those types of waste are not only good
resource efficiency
Chemical companies that make sustainable business practices a priority don’t just win pretty gold stars for going green … they actually enjoy much richer cash flows that benefit their bottom lines. “Sustainable value is created when a company uses its resources more efficiently than the market average,” said Frank Figge,
