w o r d s

The big splash about Tata Motor’s ultra-cheap Nano ($2,500) all but buried another announcement from the Indian automaker at the Delhi auto show: they signed a $20M deal with MDI, a European start-up car maker working on commercializing cars that run on compressed air.

Of course, the cars don’t “run on air,” rather they use compressed air as an energy store, like batteries. Even the MDI website states that incorrectly, when they say that the the motor uses air as fuel. That, of course is complete nonsense. The source of the energy is either the power grid (via a stationary compressor), or a motor in the car (electric or combustion). They will also be able to recover energy from the moving vehicle during deceleration, much like some electric cars do.

So the potential for a positive environmental impact of this technology will be determined by

• its overall energy efficiency
• the ultimate source of the energy used
• the usefulness of the vehicle

They have been working on this for 14 years, and it’s not clear from the website how close they are to shipping the first models. But the investment from India should give them a big boost. Although I am skeptical that making cars and engines more complicated will make them more efficient, I certainly hope this works. This is very cool technology, and at the very least, it might help solve some specific problems, like cleaning up the air in big cities.

Skysails is a German company that is working on commercializing a simple, brilliant way for large ships to use wind power for propulsion. Large kites tethered high above the ship can generate up to 50 percent of the propulsion energy needed for freighters and large yachts. The company estimates that their product can save 10-35 percent of a ship’s annual fuel. If widely adopted, this technology could save millions of tons of fossil CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.

I used to sail a lot as a teenager and I really love the sensation of harnessing this awesome force to make your boat fly across the water. I was also into stunt kites, especially while I lived on Norderney in the North Sea. My dream is to go to Kitty Hawk and learn to kite-surf. So when I read about Skysails I thought that this was just brilliant! Check out the video on their website (see below). This is really amazing - the kite deploys at the push of a button, and operates completely automatically. And depending on wind conditions the cost of the system can amortize in a couple of years.

The way modern technology brings together two ancient technologies - sailing and kites - is quite fascinating. It’s not a new idea, I don’t think. Seems to me I had read before that kites had been used for propelling boats as far back as sails. Now I wonder if they can make kites big enough that even a container ship could turn off the engine altogether?!

(more…)

If this story about these three guys from Wales is true, and their “greenbox” is real, and if it works … then it might well be the holy grail in the struggle to prevent a climate catastrophe. They claim that their invention can capture emissions from IC engines and store it. The waste from the engine can then be discharged at the fuel station, while we fill up with more fuel, instead of being discharged into the atmosphere. The CO2 could even be used to grow algae to make more fuel. They also claim that their technology can be scaled up to factory-scale, and adapted to all kinds of applications.

This technology might be as significant a step forward for public health as closed sewers and indoor plumbing. And the concept of carbon recycling to prevent further climate change is brilliant! If this greenbox device really works …

(No, I have no interests in their company, Maes Anturio Limited. But if had a bunch of dollares burning holes in my pocket, I’d take a very close look at these guys.)