Green Technology Forum

Bioplastics are biodegradable and can be made from a wide range of different plants. In the future genetically modified plants will need less water and reduce the costs. Bioplastics has the potential to reduce the petroleum consumption for plastic by 15 to 20 percent in 2025. Improved technical properties and innovations open new markets and applications with higher profit potentials in automotive, medicine and electronics.

When bioplastic companies change their strategy from just replacing today’s products to new applications, product conceptions and production processes with the advantage of bioplastics the profitability and saleability increase dramatically.

In 2025 Europe will count for 31 percent, USA 28 percent and Asian for 32 percent of the total markets. Asian has the advantage that genetically modified plants are easier to realize and new outlets for agriculture are faster to build up. These are some results of a new released market study by Helmut Kaiser Consultancy.

Bioplastics fast market growth of more than 8-10% per year. Bioplastics cover approximately 10-15% of the total plastics market and will increase its market share to 25-30% by 2020. The market itself is huge, it reached over 1bn US$ in 2007 and will be over 10 billion by 2020. More and more companies are entering and investing in this market. New applications and innovations in the Automotive and Electronics Industry lead to market boom. Over 500 bioplastics processing companies are already available, more than 5000 is expected by 2020.

Source: nanovip.com

SkySails’ first cargo ship, with a huge computer-controlled kite, was recently flagged off by Eva Luise Koehler, wife of German President Horst Koehler.

The ship MV Beluga SkySails started its maiden voyage from the city of Bremerhaven, Germany to South & North America (and back) and the SkySails-System with its 1,722 square-foot towing kite has been put into operation successfully.

This new technology can tow cargo vessels and superyachts, reducing fuel consumption by 10 to 35 per cent on annual average.

Source: engineerlive.com

US firm MTI Micro Fuel Cells intends to be first to bring a fuel cell product to the market with a direct methanol-based device next year which will allow you to recharge a mobile phone seven times before it needs a top-up of methanol.

Albany, New York-based MTI Micro said that methanol-based fuel cells have been approved for use in aircraft by the aviation authorities in the UK, Canada and Japan and should be approved by the US Department of Transport this year.

“We see it as a universal charger,” Peng Lim, company CEO told Electronics Weekly, “there’s no more need to plug into the wall.”The firm’s approach is to use a passive, direct methanol fuel cell. A feature of the technology, which is claimed to make it easier to manufacture, is the integration of the power module with the water conditioning system. This internal flow of water takes place without the need for any pumps, complicated re-circulation loops or other micro-plumbing tools.

Called Mobion, the device has demonstrated power of over 50mW/cm sq. while producing 1.4Wh/cc of energy from the fuel.

Source: electronicsweekly.com

Embryos containing human and animal material have been created in Britain for the first time, a month before the House of Commons votes on new laws to regulate the research.

A team at Newcastle University announced yesterday that it had successfully generated “admixed embryos” by adding human DNA to empty cow eggs in the first experiment of its kind in Britain.

Source: timesonline.co.uk

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory have moved closer to creating a thin-film solar cell that can compete with the efficiency of the more common silicon-based solar cell.

The copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar cell recently reached 19.9 percent efficiency, setting a new world record for this type of cell. Multicrystalline silicon-based solar cells have shown efficiencies as high as 20.3 percent. The energy conversion efficiency of a solar cell is the percentage of sunlight converted by the cell into electricity.

“This is an important milestone,” said NREL Senior Scientist Miguel Contreras. “The thin film people have always looked for matching silicon in performance, and we are reaching that goal.”

Source: nrel.gov

“Washup” is a conceptual design integrating washing machine with toilette-flush. It suggests a sustainable water consuption by storing the wasted water in toilette-flush tank and reuse it with flushing. Moreover, “washup” brings a solution for the problem of location of washing machines in small bathrooms, overlapping washing machine usage space with toilette usage space.

It is fixed on wall upwards toilette, so that loading of clothes would be easier for the user without bending or crouching. A special interface including three semi-sphere control units & two flushing buttons is designed for a practical usage of the product. “Washup” is a green product offering solutions for the problems of standard washing machines.

Source: core77.com

Nanocomp Technologies, Inc., a developer of energy-saving performance materials and component products, today announced it has been awarded a Phase One contract by the United States Air Force under the Department of Defense’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The intent of this SBIR project is to develop a new generation of very lightweight, electrically conductive wires, cables and materials made from carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Under Phase One, Nanocomp Technologies will expand upon its current processing and manufacturing methods for producing CNT sheets and spun conductors, composed of long-length CNTs, to surpass established electrical performance standards required by aerospace to replace traditional copper wiring.

“We are thrilled to have received this important program award from the USAF,” said Peter Antoinette, president and CEO of Nanocomp Technologies.

“It is generally overlooked that modern satellites and aircraft rely upon an invention from the 1800s – copper-based electrical wires and cables. Our work can result in a true 21^st century change in the game, creating electrically optimized carbon nanotube wires and cables, comparable to copper in terms of electrical conductivity but up to 80 percent lighter and more robust. The result will be increased mission capability for the Air Force and dramatic fuel savings for the entire aerospace industry. . .”

Source: businesswire.com

Two new surveys find consumers want to buy more cleantech products, but suggest leading brands may not yet have emerged.

This could be the year for big consumer cleantech spending, with a new survey estimating that people could go shopping for $104 billion worth of green goods in 2008.

A latest U.S. National Technology Readiness Survey found that 71 percent of adults are interested in green technology, but said there is a large gap between the number of products consumers own now and the number they say they would like to own.

The annual survey, covering cleantech for the first time in its latest edition, was conducted by the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and Great Falls, Va.-based technology research firm Rockbridge Associates.

Charles Colby, president of Rockbridge, said the survey showed “that there is a very strong commitment among consumers to the environment. But very interestingly, they also are interested in green technologies.”

He said a chunk of the money could be spent on new cars.

“About half of that is in transportation technologies, like hybrid vehicles, and biofuels, and energy saving vehicles. About $50 billion worth.”

Other technologies that could get a piece of the potential action according to the survey are home automation systems for things like lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, as well as solar water heaters, solar home heating, home water purification, high-efficiency cooling, high-efficiency heating and energy-saving light bulbs.

“Things that just support a green lifestyle,” said Colby. “If you look out across all of those, we’re looking at a very substantial market, or market opportunity for companies that will offer these products.”

Solar home heating comes in at the No. 2 spot in the survey, with a market potential of $20.6 million.

Source: media.cleantech.com

Nokia has taken the idea of mobile phones as fashion accessories to its logical conclusion.

Researchers from Nokia have collaborated with Cambridge University’s Nanoscience Centre to produce the Morph phone. The Morph utilises nanotechnology to break down the stale shape relations of the “brick” phone.

The morph phone uses radical wiring and materials in order to allow bending, rolling and folding – so that the phone presents as a bracelet. The Morph has the added appeal of being self-cleaning and energy efficient.

The Morph is still very much a concept phone, currently on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as part of the Design and Elastic Mind exhibition.

The nanotechnology used in design is a prelude to tangible benefits in handheld communication, lower cost manufacturing and energy rationing. The Morph serves as a fresh example of successful collaboration between industry and technical colleges.

Source: smartcompany.com.au

Luminus Devices, Inc., the developer and manufacturer of PhlatLight (Photonic Lattice) LED products for a wide variety of display and illumination applications, today announced the closing of a new round of financing of over $72 million. The investor syndicate was led by Boston-based Braemar Energy Ventures and included a number of other funds, notably San Francisco-based CMEA Ventures and Washington, D.C.-based Paladin Capital Group, which are similarly focused on energy and environmentally friendly technologies. In addition, all of Luminus’ previous investors participated in the financing.

This latest financing highlights a significant strategic juncture for Luminus, which had been traditionally focused on light sources for the TV and display industry but is now targeting a broader array of applications for its PhlatLight LED technology. The opportunities for solid-state lighting range from general commercial and consumer lighting to specialty applications such as medical, entertainment and homeland security, to name a few. Luminus plans to use the capital to accelerate development of new products and expand into new lighting markets. The company continues to strengthen its team in sales support, applications engineering and product development, and is recruiting staff in the greater Boston area.

“It’s a big vote of confidence in our company and in the future of solid-state lighting, and we are thrilled to have such strong backing from Braemar, CMEA, Paladin, and our other new investors, as well as the continued support of our earlier investors,” said Udi Meirav, CEO of Luminus Devices, Inc.

Source: luminus.com