Creating GMO's that produce fuel from CO2: A Craig Venter project.

(UPDATED CONTENT)

Craig Venter, one of the most famous geneticists alive, is working on a Genetically Modified microbe that will be able to metabolize atmospheric CO2 to octane. Although this type of micro-organisms already exist in nature, they do not produce enough fuel for commercial use. That is where Genetics Engineering kicks in. Check out the links.

Article1

Article2

A couple of TED talks from him. In the first one he also mentions his plans for producing clean energy from engineered species

Talk 1

Talk 2

And a link for Craig Venters institute:

http://www.jcvi.org/

Self-healing rubber bounces back

Interesting and possibly sustainable development from Ludwik Leibler, at the Industrial Physics and Chemistry Higher Educational Institution in Paris. Its a new technology rubber, made by molecules that link with hydrogen bonds. If the bonds break, they can be regenerated by simply pushing the broken parts back together. The time of immortal rubbers is close...

http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080220/full/news.2008.611.html

The Air Car

Forget about Hydrogen, electric, hybrid and all the rest, how about just plain old air - compressed that is. Just came across this on BBC News.com and it sounds very interesting.

The BBC reports that:

The OneCAT will be a five-seater with a glass fibre body, weighing just 350kg and could cost just over £2,500.

It also reports that while a 'breakthrough' has been talked about for over a decade, the inventor, Guy Negre has recently struck his first manufacturing deal with Tata in India to produce the car.

What is interesting beyond simply the idea and technology, is that Guy Negre is trying to build sustainability into the business model by encouraging local production and sourcing of materials.

Overall a very interesting concept and one which sounds like it's well positioned to become a commercial reality.


More info:
http://www.theaircar.com/acf/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_car
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmqpGZv0YT4
http://business.theage.com.au/air-car-to-call-melbourne-home/20071202-1ee6.html (especially relevant for me being a Melbournian, great news! :))

HighTech-LowCost Lithium Batteries coupled with UltraCapacitors in hybrid cars

Very interesting development for the hybrid car industry and the electricity storage in general:
http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10601407

and for more details on the car:
http://www.afstrinity.net/Jan08-AFSTrinity-XH150-Presentation.pdf
and
http://www.afstrinity.net/afstrinity-xh150-pressrelease.pdf

World’s first carbon-neutral, waste-free, car-free city

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 13 January 2008 - The WWF and Masdar, The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, today launched a “Sustainability Action Plan” to deliver the world’s greenest city – Masdar City. Located near Abu Dhabi International Airport, Masdar City will be the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city, aiming to exceed the 10 sustainability principles of “One Planet Living™”– a global initiative launched by the Worldwide Fund for Nature and environmental consultancy BioRegional.

Masdar City’s electricity will be generated by photovoltaic panels, while cooling will be provided via concentrated solar power. Water will be provided through a solar-powered desalination plant. Landscaping within the city and crops grown outside the city will be irrigated with grey water and treated waste water produced by the city’s water treatment plant.

The city is part of the Masdar Initiative, Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted investment in the exploration, development and commercialisation of future energy sources and clean technology solutions. The six-square kilometre city, growing eventually to 1,500 businesses and 50,000 residents, will be home to international business and top minds in the field of sustainable and alternative energy.

A model of the Masdar City will be unveiled on January 21, at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. Ground breaks for the construction of the city in the first quarter of 2008.

Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, Director of WWF International’s One Planet Living initiative, said: “Today Abu Dhabi is embarking on a journey to become the global capital of the renewable energy revolution. Abu Dhabi is the first hydrocarbon-producing nation to have taken such a significant step towards sustainable living.

“Masdar is an example of the paradigm shift that is needed. The strategic vision of the Abu Dhabi government is a case study in global leadership. We hope that Masdar City will prove that sustainable living can be affordable and attractive in all aspects of human living – from businesses and manufacturing facilities to universities and private homes,” Jeanreneaud continued.

Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of the Masdar Initiative, said: “Masdar City will question conventional patterns of urban development, and set new benchmarks for sustainability and environmentally friendly design – the students, faculty and businesses located in Masdar City will not only be able to witness innovation first-hand, but they will also participate in its development.”

“We are pleased to be able to work with One Planet Living to make our vision a reality,” he said.

Pooran Desai OBE, co-founder of BioRegional and Technical Director of the One Planet Living Communities programme, said Masdar would be the largest and the most advanced sustainable communities in the world.

“The vision of One Planet Living is a world where people everywhere can lead happy, healthy lives within their fair share of the Earth’s resources. Masdar gives us a breathtaking insight into this positive, alternative future.

“In realising the goal of a sustainable future, Masdar is committed to surpassing the One Planet Living Program’s 10 Guiding Principles, covering issues that range from how waste is dealt with to the energy performance of the buildings.”

The One Planet Living programme is based on 10 unique principles of sustainability. Masdar City will meet and exceed each of these, as detailed below.

These targets are to be achieved by the time the Masdar City is completed and fully functioning in 2015.

One Planet Living principle Masdar Target

ZERO CARBON: 100 per cent of energy supplied by renewable energy – Photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, wind, waste to energy and other technologies

ZERO WASTE: 99 per cent diversion of waste from landfill (includes waste reduction measures, re-use of waste wherever possible, recycling, composting, waste to energy)

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT: Zero carbon emissions from transport within the city; implementation of measures to reduce the carbon cost of journeys to the city boundaries (through facilitating and encouraging the use of public transport, vehicle sharing, supporting low emissions vehicle initiatives)

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS: Specifying high recycled materials content within building products; tracking and encouraging the reduction of embodied energy within materials and throughout the construction process; specifying the use of sustainable materials such as Forest Stewardship Council certified timber, bamboo and other products

SUSTAINABLE FOOD: Retail outlets to meet targets for supplying organic food and sustainable and or fair trade products

SUSTAINABLE WATER: Per capita water consumption to be at least 50 per cent less than the national average; all waste water to be re-used

HABITATS AND WILDLIFE: All valuable species to be conserved or relocated with positive mitigation targets

CULTURE AND HERITAGE: Architecture to integrate local values.

EQUITY AND FAIR TRADE: Fair wages and working conditions for all workers (including construction) as defined by international labour standards

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS: Facilities and events for every demographic group

In June 2007, Masdar City received the first World Clean Energy Award from the Transatlantic21 Association in Basel, Switzerland. In September 2007, the city’s design was voted “Sustainable Region/ City of the Year” at Euromoney and Ernst & Young’s Global Renewable Energy Awards.

source: www.masdaruae.com

Maiden flight of the SkySails towing kite propulsion on a newly built cargo ship on the North SeaHamburg

Bremerhaven, January 18th, 2008.

A newly built cargo vessel was towed by the innovative wind propulsion of the Hamburg-based company SkySails on the North Sea near Bremerhaven, Germany for the first time. The 160m2 SkySails supported the main engine of the 132m long Multi Purpose Heavy Lift Carrier MS “Beluga SkySails” of the Bremen-based Beluga Shipping with approx. five tons tractive force at low wind.

Next Tuesday, the cargo ship will set off from Bremen to Venezuela and gain first experiences with the new system during the maiden voyage. “The maiden voyage marks the beginning of the practical testing during regular shipping operations of the SkySails-System. During the next few months we will finally be able to prove that our technology works in practice und significantly reduces fuel consumption and emissions,” says Stephan Wrage, Managing Director, SkySails GmbH & Co. KG.

Parallel and in addition to the practical tests on the MS “Beluga SkySails”, the SkySails technology is advanced and optimized for series production readiness on further ships. Stephan Brabeck, Technical Manager at SkySails: “Certainly, the daily routine at sea will still bear many challenges for SkySails. It is thus now particularly important to raise the manageability and robustness of the system to the level demanded by our customers. We will have to face up to many challenges and in the process learn many very valuable lessons.”

The shipping company and the manufacturer calculate that by using the towing kite system, a ship’s average annual fuel costs can be reduced by 10 to 35%, depending on the prevailing wind conditions. Under optimal wind conditions, SkySails estimates that fuel consumption can temporarily be cut by up to 50%. The first results are to be expected in the next few months.

“Interest in the SkySails technology among shipping companies from all over the world has already been high before, but especially during the last year and in light of the rising oil prices it has increased considerably,” states founder of the company Stephan Wrage.

Source: www.skysails.info

Human body heat used to warm up building in Stockholm

Body heat rising from the head of an athlete. A project from the Swedish state-held property administration company Jernhuset is planning to use the body heat from hundreds of thousands of people who pass through the Stockholm Central Station each day, to heat a new office building nearby.
The body heat from hundreds of thousands of people who pass through the Stockholm Central Station each day will be used to heat a new office building nearby, the project leader said Wednesday. "So many people go through the Central Station ... We want to harness some of the warmth they produce to help heat the new building," Karl Sundholm, of the Swedish state-held property administration company Jernhuset, told AFP. Some 250,000 people pass through the station each day, rushing to catch trains and subways or simply visit the many shops and stores inside.

"All people produce heat, and that heat is in fact fairly difficult to get rid of. Instead of opening windows and letting all that heat go to waste we want to harness it through the ventilation system," Sundholm said.

He said the body heat would warm up water that in turn would be pumped through pipes over to the new office building, which will also house a small hotel and a few shops and is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2010.

"This is old technology, but used in a new way. It's just pipes, water and pumps, but we haven't heard of anyone else using this technology in this way before," he said, adding that Jernhuset expects the system to bring down heating costs in the building by up to 20 percent.

Installing the heating system is not expected to be complicated or very costly, Sundholm said, pointing out that laying the necessary pumps and underground pipes might cost a some 200,000 kronor (21,200 euros, 31,200 dollars).

"For a large building expected to cost several hundred million kronor to build, that's not that much," he said.

Source: Physorg.com