Renewable Energy

November 2017
Bridging the Gap
As we work to toward more sustainable ways of powering our lifestyles, there is a quest to bridge the gap between the carbon dioxide-emitting fossil fuels we rely on for our most basic needs, and the cleaner, but not yet economically feasible alternative technologies. To that end, a group at UC Santa Barbara h
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Date:
11/21/2017
Rechargeable batteries: CeraCharge – first rechargeable solid-state SMD battery
TDK Corporation presents CeraCharge – the first solid-state rechargeable battery in SMD technology. Depending on requirements, the number of charge/discharge cycles this battery is able to perform ranges from several dozens to up to 1000. With its compact EIA 1812 package (4.5 x 3.2 x 1.1 mm) it offers a capaci
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Date:
11/21/2017
Rutronik presents Gate Drivers from Diodes
The gate drivers of the DGD series from Diodes simplify the switching of two N-channel MOSFETs or two IGBTs in a half-bride configuration. They are suitable for a wide range of applications.     The DGD2103M, DGD-2104M and DGD2304 gate drivers feature a floating high-side driver to simplify t
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Date:
11/21/2017
Ionic 'Solar Cell' Could Provide On-Demand Water Desalination

This is an artist's rendition of bipolar-membrane design for ionic electricity generation.

Modern solar cells, which use energy from light to generate electrons and holes that are then transported out of semiconducting materials and into external circuits for human use, have existed in one form or another for over 60 years. Little attention has been paid, however, to the promise of using light to dr
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Date:
11/16/2017
Desert Solar to Fuel Centuries of Air Travel

Diagram of the chemical process for concentrated solar splitting of H2O / CO2 from Philipp Furler's presentation at the 23rd SolarPACES Annual Conference.

Scientists with the SOLAR-JET Project have demonstrated the first-ever entire process to make kerosene, the jet fuel used by commercial airlines, using a high-temperature thermal solar reactor to create syngas. Shell Global Solutions in Amsterdam refined the solar syngas into jet fuel, using the Fischer-Tropsch me
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Date:
11/16/2017
Oakland, Calif. – CANDI announced its collaboration with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and the launch of a new solution that simplifies the connection of smart building devices and data to apps. Through the integration of Google Pub/Sub and CANDI’s PowerTools, IoT developers and service providers can more eas
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Date:
11/16/2017
3...2...1...Launch! Graphene Goes Zero G!

Two teams of researchers will explore the benefits of graphene as a light-propulsion material in solar sails, and as a smart coating in loop heat pipes for satellites. Both experiments will be performed in microgravity conditions, to simulate the extreme conditions in space. The solar sails will float in microgravity in a drop tower experiment, while the research team investigating heat pipes will experience weightlessness onboard a parabolic flight.

After a long summer of hard work in the laboratories, researchers in the Graphene Flagship are ready for two experiments this week, testing graphene technologies for space-related applications in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA). Two teams of researchers will explore the benefits of graphe
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Date:
11/14/2017
Butterfly Wing Inspires Photovoltaics: Light Absorption can be Enhanced by up to 200 Percent

Nanostructures of the wing of Pachliopta aristolochiae can be transferred to solar cells and enhance their absorption rates by up to 200 percent.

Sunlight reflected by solar cells is lost as unused energy. The wings of the butterfly Pachliopta aristolochiae are drilled by nanostructures (nanoholes) that help absorbing light over a wide spectrum far better than smooth surfaces. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now succeeded in transfer
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Date:
11/14/2017
Fuel Cell X-ray Study Details Effects of Temperature and Moisture on Performance
Like a well-tended greenhouse garden, a specialized type of hydrogen fuel cell - which shows promise as a clean, renewable next-generation power source for vehicles and other uses - requires precise temperature and moisture controls to be at its best. If the internal conditions are too dry or too wet, the fuel ce
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Date:
11/13/2017
LEDs Deliver Natural Spectrum Human-Centric Lighting Sources for European Lighting Designers
ANSAN, Korea – Seoul Semiconductor exhibited its new SunLike Series LEDs, the world's first LED to produce light that closely matches the spectrum of natural sunlight, at the recent Professional Lighting Design Conference (PLDC), held in Paris, France from Nov. 1 – 4. The new LED technology, first unveiled i
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Date:
11/13/2017
Transitioning to Electric

Kevin Parmenter, Excelsys Technologies, Vice President Applications Engineering, N. America

Globally, the electric vehicle market is poised for growth, estimated to grow 21 percent over the next ten years.  Automakers from A to Z are announcing dates when they expect production of their vehicles with internal combustion engines to transition to Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) and then completely to elect
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Date:
11/10/2017
SAN ANTONIO/PRNewswire/ -- Green Car Journal has recognized the Chevrolet Colorado as the magazine's 2018 Green Truck of the Year and the Ford Police Responder Hybrid as its 2018 Commercial Green Car of the Year at a San Antonio Auto & Truck Show press conference today. Earning recognition as the magazine
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Date:
11/10/2017
Fueling the Future: ASU Scientists Promote New Method of Algal Hydrogen Production

Ale Smith, Kevin Redding and Andrey Kanygin: Changing the way the nation generates and consumes energy is at the heart of a new NSF grant awarded to Arizona State University and Kevin Redding, professor in the School of Molecular Sciences and director of the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis (CB&P).

Changing the way the nation generates and consumes energy is at the heart of a new NSF grant awarded to Arizona State University and Kevin Redding, professor in the School of Molecular Sciences and director of the Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis (CB&P). The goal of Redding and his research group is
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Date:
11/10/2017
An Electronic Converter That Improves the Electrical Power Output of Larger Wind Turbines
The power of wind turbines is growing and more powerful turbines are being increasingly planned for deployment offshore especially. Land-based wind turbines mostly used until now work at a voltage of 0.6 kilovolts, but others of up to 3.3 kilovolts are already being deployed offshore. These wind turbines work by t
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Date:
11/10/2017
Offshore Wind 'Could be a Bonanza' for UK Says Expert

As the world gathers in Bonn for COP23, the UN's annual climate change conference, Professor Mike Barnes, from The University of Manchester's School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, outlines why he thinks offshore wind could be a boom industry for the UK.

The UK generates more electricity from offshore wind than any other country in the world with around 5% of our annual electrical energy coming from the sector. This is expected to grow to 10% by 2020. Wind power is also a fundamental part of the Government's decarbonisation targets. Windfarm electricity capacity w
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Date:
11/10/2017
Evidence-Based Action for a Competitive, Green and Trusted European Car Industry

This is a representation of how the DIONE module works.

The European Commission has introduced a package of measures seeking to reconcile the ambition of world-leading environmental standards with increasing the competitiveness of our car manufacturing industry to secure jobs and growth. The 2nd Mobility Package is also designed to offer a new deal for consumers
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Date:
11/08/2017
Improving Sensor Accuracy to Prevent Electrical Grid Overload
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Electrical physicists from Czech Technical University have provided additional evidence that new current sensors introduce errors when assessing current through iron conductors. It's crucial to correct this flaw in the new sensors so that operators of the electrical grid can correctly respond to
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Date:
11/07/2017
Wuerth Elektronik Supplies Wireless Power Coil for Semtech’s Wireless Charging Solution

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Wuerth Elektronik Supplies Wireless Power Coil for Semtech’s Wireless Charging Solution

Wuerth Elektronik eiSos, a manufacturer of electronic and electromechanical components, announced its collaboration with Semtech Corporation by integrating its transmission coil, WE-WPCC, with Semtech’s LinkCharge® LP (low power) platform, an innovative wireless charging solution that concurrently charges m
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Date:
11/06/2017
Georgia State Physicist Gets $400,000 Grant to Study Solar Energy Conversion

This is Dr. Gary Hastings, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Georgia State University.

ATLANTA--Dr. Gary Hastings, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Georgia State University, has received a two-year, $400,000 federal grant to study solar energy conversion in photosynthesis. The goal of this project, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Basic Ener
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Date:
11/02/2017
PSDcast - Maintaining a Secure Power Infrastructure in the Aftermath of Maria
In this episode of the PSDcast, we're chatting with Tom Lewis, the President of the US Division of Louis Berger, a global professional services corporation that assisted in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. After the tropical storm hit Puerto Rico, Louis Berger shipped 200 commercial power generators to help wit
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Date:
11/02/2017
Power Integrations Launches InnoSwitch3, a 94%-Efficient Offline Flyback Switcher IC Family

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New InnoSwitch™3 integrated switcher ICs cut losses by 25%, deliver constant efficiency over a wide range of line and load conditions

Power Integrations today announced the release of its InnoSwitch™3 family of offline CV/CC flyback switcher ICs. The new devices achieve up to 94% efficiency across line and load conditions, slashing power supply losses by a further 25% and enabling the development of compact power supplies up to 65 W without h
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Date:
11/01/2017
AC Power Supply Features Distortion of Less Than 0.3% at 50/60Hz
Preen (AC Power Corp.) announces their latest AFV-P series AC power supply. The AFV-P series is a programmable AC power supply with DC output and precision measurement. This AC power supply with high power density comes in four power levels: 600VA, 1250VA, 2500VA, and 5000VA, providing clean power with distortion le
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Date:
11/01/2017
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