Developages - Development and Technology Blog

MIT is in a twisted, propeller-capped knot this morning heralding a new discovery it says will unleash a solar revolution. However, the “revolutionary leap” inspired by photosynthesis is not on the glamorous front-end of energy collection, rather, it’s related to a simple, highly efficient and inexpensive way to store that energy when the sun doesn’t shine. “This is the nirvana of what we’ve been talking about for years,” says Daniel Nocera, MIT neomaxizoomdweebie who with Matthew Kanan developed the unprecedented approach to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases using the sun’s energy. The gases can then be recombined later inside a fuel cell. The key components to the process are a pair of catalysts (one consists of cobalt metal, phosphate, and an electrode; the other, platinum) which produce the O and H gases at room temperature and in neutral pH water (i.e., tap water). While similar solutions exist for industrial use primarily, these are very expensive and require specialized environments.

“This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind,” said James Barber, a leader in the study of photosynthesis at Imperial College in London. “The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem.” Nocera concedes that further engineering is required to commercialize the approach but hopes to see it implemented in household fuel cell systems within the next 10 years. Click through for the video breakdown.

Continue reading Video: MIT develops solar storage “nirvana”: energy crisis solved?

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Wearables

Unless you’re strolling through Disneyland (or Dollywood, we suppose), we can’t imagine anyone not giving you an awkward stare when you approach them with this on. Brando has triumphed once more by offering up the Solar Mini Clip Fan, which does a remarkable job of explaining itself. For those who can’t understand what’s going on here, it goes like this: clip on the fan, get out in the sun, experience a mild breeze on your brow and enjoy the solitariness. Obliterate your shot at being the life of the party for just a Hamilton.

[Via Coolest-Gadgets]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Household

Think your house is green? Think again. Japan’s own Nihon Telecommunication System has just revealed a line of windowpanes that actually include integrated photovoltaic cells. The windows are aimed at the (ritzy) residential housing market, and folks that snag a few will reportedly be able to power a PC and recharge their cellphones simply by tapping into the energy generated by these units. Additionally, the glass is designed to shun most of the sunlight from coming into your abode, thereby lowering air conditioning costs and satisfying your needs as an introvert. So, what’s the pain for helping out Mother Earth? Around $1,900 per square meter of windowpane — ouch.

[Via CrunchGear]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Nah, it’s no Mag-Lite, but the Tri-Solar LED Flashlight should handle most minor lighting needs. The unit can operate with one LED on, three LEDs on or all three LEDs flashing (you know, in case you realize the car you just hopped in is now making a b-line for the Bates Motel). Because a single solar panel can only catch so much sunlight, this one has a trifecta of cells that fold out and generate juice for the bulbs. Not too bad for $32, particularly when you realize that it doubles as a weapon.

[Thanks, Joe]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Nah, ICP Solar isn’t trying to help create the next solar-powered automobile (at least not with this initiative). Instead, it’s looking to all but eliminate the hassle of returning to a vehicle with a dead battery. Said outfit has just entered into a sales agreement with both the European and North American branches of Nissan for OEM solar chargers, which would essentially juice up one’s main battery while the sun beams down in a grocery store parking lot. Curiously, there’s no mention of what vehicles this will be integrated into, so we’ll just throw caution to the wind and expect to see ‘em on every last motorcar it produces in 2009.

[Via CNET]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Transportation

Never heard of Fresno-Yosemite International? Thanks to this low-key airport now housing the largest solar installation of any airport in the entire United States, you have now. Arriving passengers will notice the panels a half-mile out, as they cover about seven football fields worth of land and will eventually result in taxpayer savings of $11 million. The 2-megawatt farm has been churning out clean energy for the past month, and electricity from the installation helps to run “everything from airport lighting to tower communications.” FYI’s aviation director even noted that it would “produce about 40% of its annual electrical requirement.” If you’re worried that other locales won′t follow suit, don′t be — a similar, albeit smaller system is already in the works at DEN.

[Via Gadling, thanks Trowa]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Transportation

Never heard of Fresno-Yosemite International? Thanks to this low-key airport now housing the largest solar installation of any airport in the entire United States, you have now. Arriving passengers will notice the panels a half-mile out, as they cover about seven football fields worth of land and will eventually result in taxpayer savings of $11 million. The 2-megawatt farm has been churning out clean energy for the past month, and electricity from the installation helps to run “everything from airport lighting to tower communications.” FYI’s aviation director even noted that it would “produce about 40% of its annual electrical requirement.” If you’re worried that other locales won’t follow suit, don’t be — a similar, albeit smaller system is already in the works at DEN.

[Via Gadling, thanks Trowa]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

No, the blacked-out rear quarters of your ‘90 CRX aren’t going to start powering your hooptywoofer anytime soon, but a new window treatment developed at MIT that functions as a solar concentrator promises to finally bring solar windows to the masses. Based on similar work done in the ’70s, the dye mixture pulls in light at a range of wavelengths and re-emits it to solar cells at the edges of the window at a different wavelength — a technique good for a 40x increase in each cell’s power output, or 10 times what current systems can provide. The team estimates that the panels could become widely commercial within three years — just in time for us to bolt ‘em onto our new solar shoe Prius.

[Via Metaefficient and TechNewsWorld]

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Transportation

The rain in Spain may fall mainly on the plain, but the summer sun drenches the entire country nearly every day. General Motors intends to make the most of it, covering the roof of its largest manufacturing plant in Europe with 85,000 solar panels, a whopping 2,000,000 square feet of them. That’s 10 megawatts of clean electricity, enough to power 4,600 households — or to build a bunch of Opel sub-compacts. What’s not consumed by the robots on the assembly line will be sold back to the grid, funding future rooftop installations at 19 other locations across Europe. We’re thinking GM should maybe invest a little of that into powering the cars themselves via solar, or risk getting beaten to the punch by Toyota again.

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Original post by Tim Stevens

Filed under: Transportation

According to Nikkei, Toyota’s apparently going to be equipping future high-end Priuses with Kyocera-built root-mounted solar panels. Somewhat counterintuitively, the sun’s rays won’t be used to power the car itself, but will instead run the AC. It also sounds like your next solar-assisted Prius won’t be around for a while, as the panels aren’t designed in yet, nor will they be until early next year when Toyota starts work on revamping the line.

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Original post by Ryan Block

Filed under: Displays

Forget schools, forget lighting, forget easy access to drinking water… it’s that sweet TV goodness that people living off the grid really need. Well, that and laptops. You’re looking at Sharp’s 26-inch LCD prototype which uses just a quarter of the power (or a third measured annually) of a conventional CRT with the same screen size. That’s low enough to be suitably powered by a Sharp, triple-junction thin-film solar cell module whose surface area is roughly equivalent to that of the LCD screen. Sharp hopes to market the two items as a pair in a bid to “contribute to the environment.” Good thing too, ‘cause nothing fills a billion empty bellies like an eye-full of boob-candy.

[Via Impress]

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Ever walk through Times Square and wonder how much electricity all those flashy billboards are soaking up? No? Well, Ricoh has, and now they’re doing something about it. Ricoh Company Ltd. of Tokyo is erecting a 47 x 126-foot billboard at Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street that will be completely powered by the sun and wind. Fueled by 45 solar panels and four wind turbines, the billboard won’t even need a backup electric generator. On days that the sun and wind aren’t enough to power it, it will simply go dark. In the end, the billboard is said to reduce carbon dioxide usage by 18 tons a year. The billboard will go live in December, or just in time for the sun to go dark.

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Original post by Joshua Fruhlinger

Filed under: Portable Audio

Roberts may get ridiculed for its design cues, but one thing’s for sure: it sticks to its guns. The latest patently ugly (but sort of cute) DAB radio to emerge from its lair is the solarDAB, which predictably gets energized by the sun. The unit packs a top-mounted solar panel along with a “level indicator on the display screen that shows the strength of the solar level being absorbed.” Once the rechargeable batteries are fully juiced, said radio will blast out tunes for a whopping 27 hours. You should be able to secure one in a variety of colors here soon for £79.99 ($158).

[Via TechDigest]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Sharp has certainly been an integral part of these solar installations before, but the latest endeavor by the city of Sakai and the Kansai Electric Power Company isn’t anything to sneeze at. The initiative will see a pair of “mega solar plants” constructed, one of which will crank out around 10,000 kW while the other outputs 18,000 kW. Once the plants go online in 2011, expectations are that CO2 emissions will decrease on the order of 10,000 tons per year. Of course, a staggering ¥5.0 billion ($46.5 million) will be coughed up in order to make it happen, but you can bet Mother Earth will certainly see it as money well spent.

[Via CrunchGear]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Household

There are all sorts of ways to tech-up your plants, be they fake or real. In this case, Firebox’s solar-powered pot takes in the sun’s energy during the day in order to glow at night. A solar cell is placed in the sun and connects to a ground spike with a 9.8-foot wire which then powers the color-changing flower pot. Could be an interesting — or gaudy — addition to your yard depending on your scheme. Available now for about $40.

[Via Pocket-Lint]

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Original post by Joshua Fruhlinger