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What do you think will be.....

The Next Big Green Thing?

Page Updated:
February 16, 2022

• Insect Eyes Inspire
  New Solar Cell Design

  

  Packing tiny solar cells together, like micro-lenses in the compound eye of an insect, could pave the way to a new generation of advanced photovoltaics, say Stanford University scientists.
  In a new study, the Stanford team used the insect-inspired design to protect a fragile photovoltaic material called perovskite from deteriorating when exposed to heat, moisture or mechanical stress. The results are published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science (E&ES).



• 
  

  Turn Your Organic Waste
  Into Energy for Your Home

  

  HomeBiogas, an Israel-based startup, has created an affordable and compact anaerobic digester that converts organic waste into cooking gas and liquid fertilizer. Home wastes like food scraps, kitchen trash and pet manure no longer have to go to waste.
  Here’s how it works: after the HomeBiogas system is fed organic matter, microorganisms break down the biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. The end product is biogas and biofertilizer.




• LED Lights to Cut
  60-Watt Bulb to Five Watts

  

  Philips has cut the amount of power of its overhead Light-Emitting Diode (LED) tube light in half, a sign of continuing improvements in LED lighting geared at displacing incumbent technologies.
  The company says it has built a prototype of a tubular overhead LED light that produces 200 lumens of light with a watt of power. Its current products produce light at 100 lumens per watt, about the same as florescent tube lights. Even though the price of LEDs will be higher, Philips thinks that they can start to displace more of the florescent tube lights that are everywhere from office buildings to parking garages based on energy savings.




• Drying Clothes Without Heat

  It could make your home safer and more energy efficient. It could be as affordable as your current clothes dryer.
  "It consumes almost 5 to 10 times less energy," said Ayyoub Momen, a scientist with the laboratory better known as one of the birthplaces of the atomic bomb. The laboratory, under the U.S. Department of Energy, now conducts research into clean energy and national security problems.
  Momen stumbled on a technology that uses vibrations, rather than heat, to dry clothes. It uses ultrasonic transducers to dry the fabric. The vibrations turn the water into a cold mist.




• This Massive Tower
  May Be the Future
  of Energy in the U.S.
  

  The country's largest freestanding structure will soon start construction — and it's going to be a solar-wind tower. Projected to reach 2,250 feet, it will be considerably taller than other American landmarks like the 1,454-foot Empire State Building. Designed by Maryland-based Solar Wind Energy Tower Inc., the solar-wind hybrid facility just secured funding to build its first model, which is projected to stand near San Luis, Ariz., by 2018.
  




• Tubine-Free Wind POWER

  
  From the
  NY Times Magazine 2011 Ideas Issue
  
  
  Conservationists argue that wind turbines pose a risk to birds, bats and sensitive habitats like shorelines. People living close to wind farms, meanwhile, complain of constant noise and vibration. This year, engineers responded with a new way to draw electricity from the wind: oscillating wind panels. Click the icon on the left to read more and catch the video.




• Solar Paint
  

  Melbourne: Scientists have developed a new solar paint that can absorb water vapour and split it to generate hydrogen - the cleanest source of energy.

  The paint contains a newly developed compound that acts like silica gel, which is used in sachets to absorb moisture and keep food, medicines and electronics fresh and dry.
  However, unlike silica gel, the new material, synthetic molybdenum-sulphide, also acts as a semi-conductor and catalyses the splitting of water atoms into hydrogen and oxygen.




• Green Concrete
  

  Nikolaos Vlasopoulos, chief scientist at London-based startup Novacem, is trying to eliminate green-house gas emissions with a cement that absorbs more CO2 than is released during its manufacture. It locks away as much as 100 kilograms of the greenhouse gas per ton.




• Light-Trapping Photovoltaics
  

  In 1995, Kylie Catchpole decided to take a risk on a field that was nearly moribund: photovoltaics.
  
  "There was a sense that I might have difficulty ever being employed," she recalls.
  
  
  But her gamble paid off. In 2006 Catchpole, then a postdoc, discovered something that opened the door to making thin-film solar cells significantly more efficient at converting light into electricity. It's an advance that could help make solar power more competitive with fossil fuels.




• Flexible Sheets Capture
  Energy from Movement
  

  The day of charging cellphones with finger swipes and powering Bluetooth headsets simply by walking is now much closer.
  Michigan State University engineering researchers have created a new way to harvest energy from human motion, using a film-like device that actually can be folded to create more power. With the low-cost device, known as a nanogenerator, the scientists successfully operated an LCD touch screen, a bank of 20 LED lights and a flexible keyboard, all with a simple touching or pressing motion and without the aid of a battery.




• Capture with Nanotubes

  Membranes made with carbon nanotubes could reduce the amount of energy needed to capture carbon-dioxide emissions from smokestacks, and therefore cut costs, according to a company that will receive $1 million from the new advanced-research projects agency for energy, Arpa-e, to develop the technology.•  Read More
  
  
  In another aericle from Tech Times, there is this headline:

  Researchers Turn CO2 From
  The Atmosphere Into Carbon Nanofibers

  A group of researchers claims that they were able to fulfill what majority of scientists and government officials have long dreamt - transforming the most widespread greenhouse gas called carbon dioxide (CO2) into something beneficial. Specifically, they stated that they were able to come up with a technology that can economically turn atmospheric CO2 directly into carbon nanofibers, which may be used for industrial and commercial purposes. Read More



• New Energy Source
  

  BrilliantLight Power (BLP) Inc. announced the successful independent replication and validation of its 1,000 watt and 50,000 watt reactors based on its proprietary new clean energy technology. This follows BLP's May announcement that it had successfully tested a new non-polluting energy source.



• Electric Scooters
  for Green Commuters

  Does 15 MPH with Zero Emmisions
  

  There are tons of options on the market for bicycles and electric bikes for commuters, but most of them can't pack down to the size of a carry-on bag and go with you on the bus or train.
  This little e-vehicle could be the missing link for traveling that 'last mile' between transit station and destination.
  The URB-E is essentially a foldable electric scooter, although one that you can sit on, and it packs a lot of features into a small package. Weighing in at just 27 pounds, and folding up to about the size of a small wheeled carry-on bag (16?x16?x 36?), this portable electric vehicle is capable of going up to 15 mph and traveling up to 20 miles on a single charge.



• Fuel from Thin Air
  (Does .85 p/g Sound Good?)
  

  Advocates of America’s Green New Deal or other radical efforts to decarbonize the world economy in the face of a looming climate crisis may well have one of their greatest champions in a rumpled 65-year-old who lives in the Toronto suburbs.
  Roger Gordon wears a navy wool coat that extends well past the bottom of his green knit sweater on a chilly day in February. He talks with a quintessentially Canadian politeness as he rails against what he sees as a massive conspiracy to suppress his life’s work — which could amount to a fuel revolution.



• Geothermal Gets Loopy
  

  A Geothermal Loop System sits securely in the earth underneath your home.
  It's zig-zag grid of underground pipe acts like a giant, low-energy heating & cooling machine. The system transfers air, water, or coolant through hundreds of feet of underground plumbing. After passing that media through the plumbing, the air, water, or coolant reenters your building, passing over your HVAC's heating & cooling coils and saving you about 80% on your #1 energy expense.........



It's the Cool Tube


With the world getting hotter, finding energy-efficient ways to cool down is more important than ever. A team of researchers from the University of British Columbia, Princeton University, the University of California, Berkeley and the Singapore-ETH Centre plan to help us do just that with the ‘Cool Tube’.
Air conditioning can be a blessing in the hot summer months, but they also consume a lot of power. Added up on a city- or country-wide scale this translates to a huge drain on our grids and vast quantities of CO2 emissions. Air conditioning can also contribute to respiratory complications by keeping germs in suspension in the air (by keeping it in constant motion).
The team behind Cold Tube wanted to change how we manage our personal temperature during such times, and their approach doesn’t involve cooling or moving air at all.
 

• Solar Powered Gas Stations
   

  A Romanian oil company is powering its gas stations with solar panels.
  Romanian oil and gas company OMV Petrom has installed solar panels on the canopies that cover the gas pumps at 40 service stations in Romania. The output of those solar arrays will provide about 30,000 kWh of electricity annually — enough to offset approximately 10% of the electricity need to operate those service stations.

Spaceport Japan

 

Spaceport Japan was designed by Noiz Architects, in collaboration with the communications agency Denstsu, design firm Canaria, and the non-profit Spaceport Japan, and it’s intended to be a getaway in and of itself.
If you can’t afford to go on an expensive suborbital day trip, you can always just go on a day trip to part of the spaceport where there are shops, a hotel, an astronaut-food restaurant, a 4D IMAX movie theater, a gym, an aquarium, and even a disco — all sharing a space theme. The whole project is designed to serve like an open-space museum to go with the main attraction.

Wind Catching Systems
Launches Floating Offshore
Wind Technology

 

Wind Catching Systems will, in co-operation with Aibel AS as the main contractor, commercialize the groundbreaking Wind Catching technology for floating offshore wind farms.
The technology increases efficiency, cuts acreage use by 80% and reduces production costs, which will enable floating offshore wind to produce electricity at bottom fixed prices. Ferd AS and North Energy ASA are among the main owners of the company and see significant growth and export opportunities for the technology.

Algae Powered Energy Cell

 

Green computing is taking on a whole new meaning: researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed an algae-filled power cell that has successfully powered a microprocessor for a year now — and it’s still going.
Synechocystis is a widespread species of photosynthesizing blue-green algae. As it captures energy from the sun, these algae generate a very small electrical current. The cell, after being filled to the brim with Synechocystis, uses an aluminum electrode to tap into these biologically-generated currents and power a microprocessor — the part of a computer that does the computing.




Turning Smelly Hydrogen
Sulfide into a Cash Cow



Rice University engineers and scientists have created a sweet way for petrochemical refineries to turn a smelly byproduct into cash.
Hydrogen sulfide gas has the unmistakable aroma of rotten eggs. It often emanates from sewers, stockyards and landfills, but it is particularly problematic for refineries, petrochemical plants and other industries, which make thousands of tons of the noxious gas each year as a byproduct of processes that remove sulfur from petroleum, natural gas, coal and other products.

• Congestion Problem Solved

  

  Cities becoming so overcrowded with traffic, even emergency vehiclies become stymied. What if there was a better way?
  Watch this video for a very different approach, by clicking on the image above.



• Lean, Green Locomotives

  

  As the world continues to explore new ways of limiting carbon emissions in the transport sector and beyond, a new wave of eco-friendly locomotives is emerging to maximise the environmental benefits of rail transport.
  
  

• World’s Lightest and Most
  Compact Electric Bike
  Can Fold Into a Backpack

  

  Folding bikes are already incredibly convenient, but throw in a battery and an electric motor, and now it’s a bike commuter’s dream. At 26 pounds, the A-Bike Electric claims to be the lightest and most compact e-bike in world.
  With its tiny wheels and a battery that’s the size of a thermos, the ride is so small it can tuck inside a backpack or under a desk, making it a cinch to take onto a subway, train or car. Parking isn’t even an issue when you can easily take it inside of a store or restaurant.



•  

  Don't Be "Shocked"
  By this Automotive Advance.

  
  Despite shifting into higher gear within the consumer's green conscience, hybrid vehicles are still tethered to the gas pump via a fuel-thirsty 100-year-old invention: the internal combustion engine.

   

  However, researchers at Michigan State University have built a prototype gasoline engine that requires no transmission, crankshaft, pistons, valves, fuel compression, cooling systems or fluids. Their so-called Wave Disk Generator could greatly improve the efficiency of gas-electric hybrid automobiles and potentially decrease auto emissions up to 90 percent when compared with conventional combustion engines. Click the on the graphic to read the Discovery Channel story and watch the video.

•  

  An Engine To
  Harness Sound Waves
  

  Etalim, a startup company, has developed a new type of engine that could generate electricity with the efficiency of a fuel cell, but which costs only about as much as an internal combustion engine. The engine uses • thermoacoustics to achieve these efficiences.



•  

  Artificial Leaf That Creates
  Hydrogen Fuel from Sunlight

  
  MIT researchers just officially unveiled a device that uses sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The device builds upon a breakthrough hydrogen producing technology developed in 2008, and they are calling it an “artificial leaf” because of it capacity to create chemical fuels directly from sunlight.
  The cell is also made from common materials like silicon, cobalt and nickel, which means that the “leaf” could potentially be mass-produced. If the technology proves itself it could create hydrogen fuel directly from the sun, which could be used for transportation, heating, and running fuel cells for electricity. Check out a video of the leaf’s bubbling action by on the image.




• All-Weather Miniloop
  

  Architect Richard Moreta just unveiled the MINILOOP, an enclosed cycleway that could be a dream come true for bicycle commuters. Envisioned as the “ideal zero-emission transportation system,” the MINILOOP is designed to harness renewable energy and supply excess power to the local city grid.
  Geared to satisfy even the most fair-weather cyclists, the cycleway would be enclosed in a weather-resistant elevated pipeline and it’s designed to cater to bicycles and e-bikes.



• Fabric-based Solar Cells
  

  New textile-based solar cells developed by Fraunhofer researchers, semitrailers could soon be producing the electricity needed to power cooling systems or other onboard equipment. In short, textile-based solar cells could soon be adding a whole new dimension to photovoltaics, complementing the use of conventional silicon-based solar cells.
  In the future, we may well see other surfaces being exploited for photovoltaic generation. Truck tarps, for example, could be used to produce the electricity consumed by the driver when underway or parked up for the night, or to power electronic systems used to locate trailers in shipping terminals.



• Spherical Solar Energy Generator
  

  Behold The Future...Rawlemon Solar Devices
  Their spherical solar concentrating system produces efficient solar energy in any place.
  Building Integrated Concentrated Solar Power (BICSP) Technology by incorporating a patent-protected (pending) optical sun tracking solution for the conversion of solar power in buildings, we introduce the world’s first Building Integrated Concentrated Solar Power (BICSP) Technology.

• Climeworks Carbonr
  Capture Device
  • 

  
  Carbon capture is essential to the fight against climate change and keeping temperatures below a two-degree-Celsius increase, according to Swiss-based Climeworks. For a few years now they’ve been working on technology to suck carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and sell it to agriculture or energy industries for reuse. And now they’ve finally switched on the final product – the world’s first Direct Air Capture (DAC) commercial plant on top of a waste recovery facility in Zurich, Switzerland.




• Seasteadding - Not Homesteading
  

  Low-lying islands in the Pacific, like Kiribati and parts of French Polynesia, face the imminent threat of disappearing because of sea level rise. Hencken believes that seasteading offers one practical solution for these places to create new, resilient territory on which to continue to exist …
  Hencken looks forward to working with French Polynesia’s youth in building new ocean tech that can benefit the island nation and subsequently be spun out to places in need of new land. He said that once they’ve built a successful pilot, he can imagine deploying similar seasteads to places like Miami and Bangladesh.”



• Breakthrough Could
  Be Game-changer for the
  Future of Automotive Fuels
  




• Solar Impulse 2 -
  Progress Eagle
  • 

  
  As the Solar Impulse 2 makes its historic round-the-world trip powered only by the energy of the sun, it’s not so crazy to think that sometime in the future, commercial flying will abandon dirty fossil fuels.





• Solar Roadways
   
  

  Solar Roadways is a modular paving system of solar panels that can withstand the heaviest of trucks (250,000 pounds). These Solar Road Panels can be installed on roads, parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, bike paths, playgrounds... literally any surface under the sun. They pay for themselves primarily through the generation of electricity, which can power homes and businesses connected via driveways and parking lots.A nationwide system could produce more clean renewable energy than a country uses as a whole. • More Here.
  
  
  They have many other features as well, including: heating elements to stay snow/ice free, LEDs to make road lines and signage, and attached Cable Corridor to store and treat stormwater and provide a "home" for power and data cables. EVs will be able to charge with energy from the sun (instead of fossil fuels) from parking lots and driveways and after a roadway system is in place, mutual induction technology will allow for charging while driving.




• Solar is Now Out the Window
  

  SolarWindow™ achieves payback within one year, according to first-ever independently validated financial modeling results.
  To produce the equivalent amount of energy with conventional solar systems would require at least 5-11 years for payback and at least 10-12 acres of valuable urban land.
  Unlike the many acres of expensive downtown real estate required for solar array fields, SolarWindow™ systems can be installed on the readily-available vast window glass surfaces on tall towers and skyscrapers.



• Solar Can Make This Boat Fly
  

  Russia researchers to test solar powered ‘flying boat.' Engineers from Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU) in Russia are working on an unmanned solar-powered ‘flying boat’, operated using advances in artificial intelligence.’
  The Storm-600 wind-in-ground-effect vehicle will be capable of reaching speeds of 200km per hour with an “unlimited” power reserve.
  The final prototype of the Storm-600 wing-in-ground-effect vehicle will be tested in summer 2020 on the Neva river in St Petersburg.



• ERVIS Oceans
  Plastics Removal

   
  A 12-year-old Pune-based boy Haaziq Kazi designed a ship called 'ERVIS' that will help reduce pollution in the ocean and save marine life.
  "I watched some documentaries and realised the impact waste has on marine life. I felt I had to do something. The fish we eat in food are eating plastic in the ocean so the cycle of pollution comes to us and that is even affecting human lives. Hence, I came up with ERVIS," Haaziq Kazi told ANI.

• The Solar Chimney
  

  Saves Energy & Booosts Fire Safety
  (Click the image below for
  more information and a video.)
  

  In “Solar Chimneys & Solar Updraft Towers,” we described these solar solutions as ancient passive solar technology, whereby natural heat convection processes are harnessed to provide ventilation. The basic idea is to harness the power of natural ventilation to increase the turnover rate for air within a building by amplifying natural convection processes through the use of a (typically external) vertical shaft that heats up rapidly when exposed to the sun.
  RMIT University researchers have energetically enhanced the safety aspect and designed a solar chimney optimized for a 6-fold increase in fire safety — as well an increasing energy saving.
  As a passive solar heating and cooling technology, this type of ventilation and/or cooling system has seen widespread use in the region encompassing and surrounding Greater Iran, throughout the Middle East and North Africa, and in Roman Europe throughout the millennia. It’s time to spread its use with the advancements of RMIT University and the Australian town of Kingston, Victoria. This could be a turning point towards expansion.

Shock-Absorbing Material Protects Like Metal but Light Like Foam



Scientists at Johns Hopkins University may have invented the perfect material for protective gear. They’ve devised a new material that is strong and sturdy like metal, but is super lightweight like foam.
The material performed very well in preliminary tests, which suggests it could be a real game-changer for the automobile and aerospace industries, as well as the military that could use it to fashion lighter body armor and helmets.



Disposable Paper Battery




Scientists have devised a low-power battery made from paper coated with graphite and zinc. Like a cooking recipe, the paper battery stays dormant until you add water. The ultra-thin device could power tiny yet useful electronics, such as real-time parcel trackers, environmental monitors, and medical sensors.
Researchers at Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) led by Gustav Nyström started off with literally a piece of paper. On one side, they printed a circuit using graphite ink, acting as a cathode. The other side was printed using zinc powder ink to make the anode side.

Infrared Wall Paper




Radiators in a central heating system heat rooms by what is known as convection heating, warming up the air in rooms, which then circulates.
This infrared technique warms up solid objects in the room directly, including us humans.
It also means you can easily choose to heat only one room at a time, using an app. Why also heat the bedroom, for example, when you are going to be watching Happy Valley in the sitting room for the next few hours?

• From Bugs

  OPX Biotechnologies uses genetic engineering to speed the development of organisms that make chemicals and fuel.
  A startup that has successfully engineered bacteria to make common industrial chemicals is now using its technology to engineer organisms to make renewable fuel. Read More.




• Future of Thin-film Solar
  

  Watch this Em-Tech Video of an interview with CalTech Professor Harry Atwater on making solar competetive with fossil fuels, without governemnt subsidies. We wish those subsidies were not available to the fossil fuels industry, so the playing field would be level to begin with.
  




• Smart Window Glass
  

  In 2017 Kinestral Technologies unveiled the first installation of its new Halio smart-tinting glass at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.’s (NYSE:ARE) San Francisco office.
  Halio is the most responsive smart-tinting glass on the market, transitioning from clear to dark within seconds and achieving its darkest, neutral gray tint in less than three minutes.




• CO2 to BioFuel,
  Bypassing the Middleman
  

  When Noubar Afeyan, the CEO of Flagship Ventures in Cambridge, MA, set out to invent the ideal renewable fuel, he decided to eliminate the middleman. Biofuels ultimately come from carbon dioxide and water, so why persist in making them from biomass--corn or switchgrass or algae?
  "What we wanted to know," Afeyan says, "is could we engineer a system that could convert carbon dioxide directly into any fuel that we wanted?"
  
  
  





• Bacteria Make
  Diesel from Biomass
  

  The bacteria, developed by South San Francisco company LS9 in collaboration with researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, make the necessary enzymes for every step along the synthesis pathway and can convert biomass into fuel without the need for additional processing.




• Vehicle to Grid Technology

  Electric-drive vehicles, whether powered by batteries, fuel cells, or gasoline hybrids, have within them the energy source and power electronics capable of producing the 60 Hz AC electricity that powers our homes and offices.
  When connections are added to allow this electricity to flow from cars to power lines, we call it "vehicle to grid" power, or V2G. Cars pack a lot of power.
  One properly designed electric-drive vehicle can put out over 10kW, the average draw of 10 houses. The key to realizing economic value from V2G are grid-integrated vehicle controls to dispatch according to power system needs.

   More from the
  University of Delaware.






• Simple Elixir:
  "Miracle Liquid"

  Sounds like the old "Saturday Night Live" gag for Shimmer, the faux floor polish plugged by Gilda Radner. But the elixir is real. U.S. regulators have approved it. And it's starting to replace the toxic chemicals Americans use at home and on the job. Read More



• Electric Cars to Al

  An overarching plan to replace the world's gas cars with electric ones--really, really quickly. The nutty thing is, it just might work; the streetside charging outlets for these cars are already under construction in six countries and two U.S. states. (You can watch the story • here.)



• Not Just a Load of Manure
  Farmers Turning to Alernative Sources of Power
  

  Fresno Bee, Nov. 6th 2008 - With energy prices high and crop prices sluggish, farmers are turning to solar power, converting animal waste to natural gas and planting exotic trees to help them survive in a tough economy.
  The article looks at a dairy farmer and entrepreneur who spoke this week at the first Farming Clean Energy Conference. David Albers is president of a company that builds facilities to extract methane gas from cow manure.
  Unlike other companies that use the gas to power farm buildings, Albers’ company pumps it into a pipeline to be sold to Pacific Gas & Electric Co. He and participating dairies benefit by getting paid for the gas while also managing their cow waste in a more environmentally friendly way. He says he has contracts or letters of intent with 100 dairies to join the project.







• Compressed Air
  Vehicle for the U.S.

  Peugeot debuts first-ever hybrid gasoline-air vehicle
  

  At the 2013 Geneva auto show, Peugeot unveiled the first-of-its-kind HybridAir system in its 2008 model, with a drive system that combines compressed air and gasoline power.



• What's It All About, Algae?
  

  From Forbes December 2013 - Scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are claiming success in perfecting a method that can transform a pea-soupy solution of algae into crude oil by pressure cooking it for about 30 minutes.
  The process, called hydrothermal liquefaction, also works on other streams of organic matter, such as municipal sewage. And the crude oil created is lightweight and low in sulfur and can be “dropped in” to refineries that process fossil crudes.



• Kite Wind
  

  The high-altitude wind of the troposphere represents an untapped energy source that is larger than the world’s current energy needs. The concept of Kitenergy is to use wings or power kites, linked to the ground by two ropes, to reach altitudes of about 800-1000 m above the ground.
  At such elevations, winds are stronger and more constant compared to the elevation where actual wind towers operate. The flight of the airfoils is tracked using on-board wireless instrumentation and it is suitably driven by an automatic control unit, able to differentially pull the ropes to influence the wing motion.





• UK researchers today announced what they believe to be a game changer in the use of hydrogen as a "green" fuel. A new discovery by scientists at the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), offers a viable solution to the challenges of storage and cost by using ammonia as a clean and secure hydrogen-containing energy source to produce hydrogen on-demand in situ.



• Solar Lighting
  

  Use sunlight to illuminate your rooms. No skylight necessary....Read More



• Game-Changing Lamp
  Powered by Gravity
  Could Provide Light to Billions
  

  Solar-powered electricity systems have often been touted as a solution for those living without reliable access to electricity, but another Earthly force is also readily available (and doesn’t surrender to inclement weather or nightfall): Gravity.
  
  
  GravityLight is powered by the lift of a weight. As the weight falls it turns a gear train, driving the motor that powers the LEDs.
  It doesn't need batteries or sunlight and costs nothing to run. It takes seconds to lift the weight that powers GravityLight, creating 20 minutes of light on its descent.
  
  
  Click the image for more information.
  





• 
  A University of Toronto engineering innovation could make printing solar cells as easy and inexpensive as printing a newspaper.
  Dr. Hairen Tan and his team have cleared a critical manufacturing hurdle in the development of a relatively new class of solar devices called perovskite solar cells. This alternative solar technology could lead to low-cost, printable solar panels capable of turning nearly any surface into a power generator.

• Emissions Absorbing Sculpture
  

  Kengo Kuma just unveiled a spiraling, air-purifying sculpture that can absorb the emissions produced by 90,000 cars in a year. Kuma’s “Breath/ng” is made from a cutting-edge fabric with a nano-molecule activated core that separates and absorbs toxic molecules. Developed by Anemotech, this pollution-neutralizing material uses the natural flow of air to purify the surrounding environment.









The Un-Solar Cell


Jeremy Munday, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California (UC) Davis says “A regular solar cell generates power by absorbing sunlight, which causes a voltage to appear across the device and for current to flow. In these new devices, light is instead emitted and the current and voltage go in the opposite direction, but you still generate power.”
“You have to use different materials, but the physics is the same.”
The whole system relies on the property of physical bodies to radiate heat to their surroundings (if these are cooler). In essence, it works as a reverse to a traditional solar cell, which absorbs light and energy from the sun.


• 
  Out of the Box
  Thinking Leads
  to Energy Efficiency Breakthrough
  

  The term “out of the box thinking” seems a little overused, but in this case it appropriately describes the unique thought process that has led one research team to a fantastic discovery. What if there was a way to control magnetic waves the way we control electric current?
  Research led by a University of Sussex scientist has turned a 156-year-old law of physics on its head in a development which could lead to more efficient recharging of batteries in cars and mobile phones.
  Dr Jordi Prat-Camps has for the first time demonstrated that the coupling between two magnetic elements can be made extremely asymmetrical. Working with colleagues from the Austrian Academy of Sciences and University of Innsbruck, Dr Prat-Camps’ research rips up the physics rule book by showing it is possible to make one magnet connect to another without the connection happening in the opposite direction.
  
  
  
  
  

  Game Boy Look-Alike Runs On PV
  and Button Smashes
   

  The prototype handheld game console, built by researchers at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, harvests enough energy from key smashing and sunlight to run games like Tetris and Super Mario Land.
  Such a battery-free setup, presented September 15 at the virtual UbiComp conference, could one day help curb electronic waste from handheld games and other mobile devices.
  
  
  

   

  The WaterNest Floating Home
  

  Designed by renowned Italian architect Giancarlo Zema and produced by EcoFloLife, the WaterNest 100 is an eco-friendly floating housing unit. The 100 square meter residential units are made of up to 98% recycled materials; including the laminate timber and aluminum hull.
• Skylights, balconies and large windows encircle the dwelling, allowing for efficient lighting and beautiful waterfront views. 60 sqm of photovoltaic panels embedded in the rooftop provide up to 4 kWp of internal electricity. A sophisticated system of natural micro-ventilation and air conditioning classifies it as a low-consumption residential habitat. Scroll down for more photos.
  

   

  Solar Trees

  
  
  A solar tree is a structure resembling a tree that generates solar energy using photovoltaic (PV) panels. It employs principles of biomimicry, using a natural system—in this case the form of a tree—to help solve a pressing global challenge: Replacing greenhouse gas-emitting energy sources like coal, oil, and gas with renewable energy.
  These attention-grabbing installations generally have a sturdy metal, plastic, or stone base that extends up and out into “branches” on which solar panels are mounted. Beyond this basic structure, there is great diversity in the design of solar tree units, reflecting innovative responses to particular environments, climates, and local energy needs.
  

  Uberizing Your Roof

  
  The Uber model is changing America. First it made a business out of the family car. Then it made a business out of the spare room or vacation house.
  Soon it might make a business out of the roof over your head.
  That is the dream of a group of hugely successful entrepreneurs who see roofs as the next big monetization of a widely held capital asset.
  This group, which at present chooses to remain anonymous, believes that with the right communications network and smart computer linkage, the nation’s sun-trapping roofs could become a new source of electricity and, if connected to in-home batteries, a virtual power plant of scale and reliability.