Scientists presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society their new mitochondria fuel cell, that uses sugar to produce electricity. It may sound weird, but this is true! Once again inspired by nature and living organisms, scientists used in their experiments a particular compound found in organic cells (the mitochondria) that can convert sugar and fats into energy.

In every cell of our body mitochondria produces ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a substance which stores energy until needed. To make this substance, mitochondria uses pyruvate, a chemical formed from the digestion of fats and sugars. Scientists said that the amount of ATP produced every day by mitochondria is equal to our body weight.

So, similarly to this biological model, scientists have created a new type of fuel cell that uses a thin layer of mitochondria to produce electricity. This layer is placed between two electrodes, so when fats or sugars reaches there, a chemical reaction produces usable energy.

Scientists already found many uses for these new “batteries”, and they hope that one day all our gadgets will use such systems. “This is the first demonstration of a new class of biofuel cells. When further developed, these devices have the potential for replacing disposable and rechargeable batteries in a wide variety of consumer electronics and other products. It is the first such device based on one of the microscopic parts of the billions upon billions of cells that make up the body.”, said Shelley Minteer, Ph.D., who presented the report.

Source: Newswise

Brother Industries explained that the Vibration Energy Cell has a simple but efficient design: “Our Vibration Energy Cells generate electricity using a coil, a magnet, and condenser that charges electricity. These are all embedded in the battery…Because of its low output this type of cell is designed to be used for things such as TV remote controls and LED devices, which consume low power and do not consume electrical power continuously.”, said a Brother spokesman.

Unlike other batteries this vibration battery does not pollute the environment. So, it fits well in our devices, works well, looks well but there is one more question: How we should use these batteries? It is really necessary to shake our gadgets to produce that electricity?…and…the answer seems to be “yes!”. “Walking with a device in your pocket would vibrate with a frequency of around 2Hz. You’d need to shake the remote quite briskly, but it would work”, said Carl Telford, an analyst at electronics business consultants Strategic Business Insights.

When we talk about energy storage and batteries, we often think of those devices which helps us to power our gadgets. So, we use batteries for mobile phones, laptops, but could we use batteries to power an entire building? Panasonic Company says “Yes”! They recently announced the launch of a lithium-ion storage battery for home use. After they bought 50% stake in Sanyo, Fumio Otsubo, president of Panasonic said: “We’ll be the first to bring to the market a storage battery for home use, which can store sufficient electricity for about one week of use”.

The company is very pleased with their latest achievements (was estimated that sales will be about 8.66 trillion yen next year). They say that this storage battery is more efficient compared to solar batteries for home use and fuel cells because it is able to store surplus renewable energy and use it to power your house with green electricity. Panasonic announced that this storage cell will be on the market by the end of 2011. Fumio Otsubo also said that Panasonic products will be accessible for middle-income people. “We will come up with products sought by middle-income people in such emerging countries as China and India, which haven’t been hit by deflationary pressure. We hope to introduce Sanyo products to Panasonic’s sales channels,” said Fumio Otsubo.

The car that we can see in the image, I think it is the greenest car of the week. When we talk about BMW we have to talk about power, safety and comfort, but also about high prices. These high prices are due to higher quality, but also are due to high fuel consumption. So, BMW recently announced the launch of the second electric car after the Mini E. The car is actually an all-electric sedan with a big trunk(approximately 200 liters).

This Electric BMW was dubbed ActiveE and I think that this thing has happened for two reasons:  it is an agile electric car, very active on the road, and secondly because its battery is loading very fast (3 hours via a conventional 240V wall socket). The only thing that is a disadvantage is that after 100 miles, the batteries must be recharged.Although BMW ActiveE is an electric car, the performances remain almost the same as previous BMW models. This zero-emission car manages to run with 60mph in under 9 seconds. ActiveE will be unveiled next year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The ActiveE model is similar to BMW 1 Series Coupe and is expected to have an affordable price. So, for all loyal BMW customers, „Prepare for new ActiveE sensations” !

Electric scooters are very useful today, especially in urban areas where traffic is often blocked because of agglomeration and where the air is polluted by vehicles that run with fossil fuels. Electric scooters Market is large enough today, and every producer tries to bring new improvements to their vehicles, to reach “the top of the pyramid”. A Japanese manufacturer recently announced that next year they will launch a new electric scooter model, 10 times more effective than any older model currently on the market.

This new model,Miletto, is actually produced by Prostaff, a Japanese company. Miletto Electric Scooter is equipped with batteries, pedals and will appear on the market in 10 different colors. The cost of this electric scooter will reach up to 1100 euros. Ryo Teranishi, explained that “Miletto scooter can run in excellent conditions on battery power, but on difficult roads, we have to use the pedal system. Miletto electric scooter has 0 emissions and the electric motor combined with this pedal system, makes it even more environmentally friendly.”  The scooter can reach 35 km/h using only batteries, which means that consumption can be estimated at 0.7 cents/3km, 10 times less than a classic scooter.

The search for more economical and fuel-efficient buses have led engineers from building hydrogen-fuel transit vehicles to hybrid-electric ones. But, as it turns out, the most environmentally-friendly and cheapest way to power buses proved to be the ultracapacitor buses. At least that is what a Chinese company, Shanghai Aowei Technology Development Company, and its partner for the U.S.A,

They started their experimentation with this technology three years ago, when 17  buses (with 41 seats) where set in motion on Shanghai’s streets, with phenomenal success, suffering no failures what so ever in this time frame. On Monday, 21 October they made a demonstration at the American University in Washington, DC with a ultracapacitor minibus.

In order to make the ultracapacitor buses work, they had to transform some of the bus stops into charge stations. In comparison to the common trolley buses, which need to touch the powerline all the time, the ultracapacitors only do this at the charge stations, placed three-five miles apart. Within a couple of minutes, the batteries placed under the seats are fully recharged and the bus is ready to go.

Another way this method of transportation is gaining energy is from braking. Also, in order to make them greener, the charge stations can be equipped with solar panels. Overall, the ultracapacitor buses uses 40 procent less energy than the conventional trolley bus. And also in the “battle” with the lithium-ion battery buses, the new technology wins, proving to be 40 procent cheaper.

But there is a downside to the ultracapacitor. It can only store 5 procent of the amount of energy, the lithium-ion battery is able to hold, but on the other hand they very rapidly charge and recharge. The ultracapacitors are made of activated carbon and posses an energy density of 6 Watts-hours per kg, when today’s top lithium-ion battery have the potential of 200 Watts-hours per kg.  This is the sector where improvements need to be made. They already succeeded in getting twice the energy density of the existing ultracapacitors, but their goal is to expand it to 5 times the amount.

Another disadvantage of the current generation of ultracapacitor buses is that they lose 35 procent of their range when the air conditioning  is turned on, from 5 miles to only 3. Nevertheless, they still could be implemented in more crowded cities, where bus stops are more closer to each other.

The invention of the solar cells, those devices that convert the energy of light into electrical energy,  was really a bliss to mankind. The first solar cells were created in 1954 by three American researchers, Gerald Pearson, Calvin Fuller and Daryl Chapin, out of very thin stripes of silicon capable of about six percent conversion efficiency. After more than 50 years, today’s highest solar cell conversion

Today we find them installed everywhere. From house rooftops, all the way to cellphones. They represent a important tool towards a more environmentally-friendly and energy efficient society. And with the sun as the main energy source, it’s practically a product for the ages, because it will never stop providing with energy(or just in about 5 billion years!).

The next place where these devices were fixed are the backpacks. Yes, you can now listen to your favorite music on your iPod or write your memoirs on a laptop even if becoming lost and you’re far away from home,maybe somewhere in the Sahara dessert. Provided, you are equipped with the latest voltaic backpacks, there are no worries anymore.

The company Voltaic Systems offers some of this bags. The bags have appropriate adaptors, so it will fit to any electronic device you want to recharge. Their most powerful one, the Generator, can produce 15 Watts of electrical power. That is enough to power  a standard laptop, after a day long exposure in the sun. The other, more smaller bags produce 4 Watts, more suitable for an iPod for example, providing a play time of over 3 hours, or for 1,5 hours of cellphone conversation,  after leaving the bag for only one hour in the sun. The product also comes with batteries, which means that any surplus of energy will be stored, for later use. Also included are the AC  travel charger or the car charger, if the opportunity comes along.

In most cases the energy is stored in batteries, but for more powerful and advanced portable devices we need more energy.After many years of studies Daniel concluded that microfluidic cells may offer the solution of this energy problem, due to “utilizing the chemical bond energy stores in fuels with high calorific values such as methanol”.

“Daniel’s research has revealed that more work is needed for integration of fuel cells into a complete system and he plans to do a PhD in Microfluidics to develop his research further. In the meantime, Sharp Corporation is currently deploying a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell system, the timescale for which is unknown.” – Sciencedaily

The flashlight consists of 3 LED lights and requires  no conventional batteries but instead is equipped with a new technology called Flashpoint Power, which uses ultracapacitor energy storage systems to benefit the recharging process.

Technically it means that the “Light for Life” is operable after just 90 seconds of recharging.  When it comes to illumination, the flashlight can provide 90 lumens for 90 minutes for one charge. Also it has three modes: bright (reaching at it heights 270 lumens), standard (90 lumens), and strobe. If we consider that a 60 watt incandescent bulb is rated at approximately 800 lumens while a 40 watt bulb is rated at 400 lumens and a small standard 4-watt night light bulb delivers about 20 lumens, the LEDs, with the help of the latest improvements in technology prove to be a reliable  alternative to conventional illumination systems.

According to the providing company, the  LEDs have a life-time of 50,000 hours  and don’t need replacement, also the flashlight is guaranteed to work even after 10 years of use under typical conditions. In case of an electricity failure, you can always use the 12V DC automotive charger and, which comes together with the product, and use you car to recharge it. If it has a disadvantage, then it is the price: $169.99.

“The PEG is 9 inches by 1.5 inches, weighs about 9 ounces, and is made of recycled materials. The PEG isn’t a battery, so users can not store their kinetic energy to be used for charging later. Instead, it’s more of a kinetic energy real-time converter that must be plugged in to the device as it’s moving for the kinetic energy to be transferred as electricity immediately to the device.The PEG, which has a standard USB 2.0 output, is compatible with 90 percent of portable electronic devices including MP3 players, GPS units, and digital cameras, according to Tremont Electric. (The compatibility list includes BlackBerry, iPhone, iPod, LG Chocolate, Magellan GPS, Nintendo DS Lite, Palm Treo, and most cell phones from Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sanyo, and Sony.) ” – www.cnet.com