Category Archives: 2050 Magazine
The EV Cordless Power Vehicle Charging System
Nobody likes an unsightly mass of electric power cables. Particularly the sort of cables that like to wrestle each other into an unholy mass of knots the moment your back is turned, and then sit there laughing at you as you wonder once more how it is they manage to do that. And electric car [...]
The Window Socket Portable Solar Charger
As the economist Adam Smith once said, “If you have a mind to look after the pennies in life, the pounds will look after themselves.” A rubbish theory obviously, but one which perhaps illustrates the beauty of a new little solar charging device that you can stick to a window and then charge your mobile [...]
REA Report: Renewable Energy Big Chunk of UK Energy
2012 was a strong year for the performance of renewable energy generation, mainly due to new renewable power projects coming on-stream, Government figures reveal [1]. 11.3% of the UK’s electricity last year was generated from renewables overall, and 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Much of this growth is due to new on- and offshore wind [...]
Affordable Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars by 2015?
According to reports flying around in the motor press recently, the race to start mass-producing pollution-free hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is well and truly on. The Sukuki Motor Corporation for example, started a joint venture with UK-based Intelligence Energy just last year to develop its air-cooled fuel cell system and has already announced that they [...]
Global Lithium Ion Electric Vehicle Battery Market: $22 Billion by 2020
The tipping point for the mainstream acceptance of electrically-powered cars may already be with us, according to a study by US-based market analysts, Pike Research. Their research suggests that there are (and will continue to be) 3 main reasons why car manufacturers around the world are ramping up the production of electric cars: a) newly [...]
The Meterplug
While still in pre-production, the Meterplug is a gadget which promises not only to tell you exactly how much each electrically-powered device in your house is using at any given time, but also, through its Bluetooth 4.0 capability, help you plan and control that consumption as efficiently as possible. Thereby cutting down on both cost [...]
Electric Vehicles: 35% Cheaper to Maintain
Much ink has been spilled over whether or not electric vehicles are a cost-effective replacement for conventional cars. Considering their high upfront cost, the return-on-investment isn’t exactly a short-term proposition. But a new study reveals that when it comes to basic maintenance, electric vehicles have the distinct advantage of costing a whole lot less to [...]
Peel and Stick Solar
A new ‘transfer’ style application process allows thin, flexible solar panels to be applied to virtually any surface from business cards to roofs to windowpanes. For all their promise, solar cells have frustrated scientists in one crucial regard – most are rigid, reports Stanford University’s Glen Martin. They must be deployed in stiff and often [...]
Obama To Protect US Airlines From EU Emissions Trading Scheme Taxes
One of Barack Obama’s first climate-related actions since winning his second term of office has been to sign a bill preventing US airlines from complying with EU regulations regarding emissions. Or more specifically the taxes required by the European scheme from all airlines flying into European airspace. The American aviation industry will no doubt be [...]
China Gives Go Ahead on Eco-City
Designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Chengdu Tianfu District Great City promises to become the world’s most energy efficient and sustainable city when it is completed in 2019. The 1.3 km2 uber-modern metropolis, which will be connected by mass transit links to the nearby megacity of Chengdu (14 million inhabitants), will become home [...]
Tokelau: World’s First 100% Solar-Powered Territory
Until recently the South Pacific Island of Tokelau was entirely dependent on imported diesel fuel to generate electricity for its 1,500 residents. Which was both expensive and dirty. But Tokelau couldn’t afford to get itself off its expensive diesel habit by installing solar arrays to capture its near constant sunshine and use that to generate [...]
FUTUREWATCH: Self-Healing Concrete
Researchers at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands have developed a bacterial additive for concrete, the most widely used building material in the world, which could dramatically extend the life of concrete-framed buildings, and thereby save billions. Cracking, or ‘spalling’ in traditional concrete (caused by the freeze/thaw effect of rainwater expanding and contracting inside hairline [...]