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Fuel
X Prize competition moves to next phase with 43 teams remaining
By Jeff Salton
22:35 November 15, 2009 PST
From more than 100 entrants, 43 teams and 53 vehicles have now advanced to the most important, and possibly exciting, stage of the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize – performance and safety testing. The 43 teams represent 10 countries, 18 U.S. states, and six fuel types and all have passed the fuel-efficiency competition’s Design Judging phase. Vehicles must be able to achieve more than 100mpg or energy equivalent (MPGe), as well as being vehicles that people want to buy, meeting market needs for price, size, capability, safety and performance. Read More
Drawing power from the road
By Darren Quick
19:59 October 1, 2009 PDT
It’s starting to look like roads will become much more than simple thoroughfares made of concrete and asphalt in the not too distant future. As we’ve seen, work is already underway to embed them with solar panels and piezoelectric generators to generate electricity. Now engineering company Ingenieurgesellschaft Auto und Verkehr (IAV) is looking to embed them with electrical conductors that would “refuel” the electric cars of the future while they are driving or parked. Read More
Trashing existing fuel sources could cut global emissions by 80%
By Darren Quick
01:03 September 30, 2009 PDT
If there’s one thing there seems to be an endless supply of, it's garbage. The idea of turning the trash that currently ends up in landfill into a fuel to combat the growing energy crisis and tackle carbon emissions isn’t new. Companies like Waste2tricity in the UK are already looking to convert waste from business and industry into clean electricity. Now scientists in Singapore and Switzerland have added credence to the idea, saying that replacing gasoline with biofuel derived from processed waste biomass could cut global emissions by 80%. Read More
Environmentally-friendly navigation - the Vexia Econav 435 GPS
By Mick Webb
18:16 September 1, 2009 PDT
As GPS navigation systems increase in popularity, the world’s fuel supplies simultaneously are in decline. However, the Vexia Econav 435 GPS is attempting to do its bit for the environment by offering a system that gives drivers information on the most economical route, which gear to use and when - even how firmly to accelerate. The manufacturers say the aim of the unit is to reduce drivers' fuel consumption by up to one third. Read More
Plan to turn rooftops, walls and windows into cheap solar cells
By Jeff Salton
19:23 August 25, 2009 PDT
Cheaper solar cells – roughly one-tenth the cost of current day prices – could be available within three to five years thanks to a manufacturing procedure that uses nanoparticle ‘inks’ to print them like newspaper or to spray-paint them onto the sides of buildings or rooftops. Even windows could become solar cells thanks to the semi-transparent inks. 'Painting' solar cells on buildings has been an idea in the making for some time – Gizmag investigated the possibilities of 'solar paint' in 2008. Read More
NASA tests eco-friendly rocket fuel
By Jeff Salton
21:11 August 23, 2009 PDT
NASA and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) have successfully launched a nine-foot rocket to a height of 1,300ft using an environmentally-friendly propellant made from aluminum powder and water ice. The fuel, called ALICE, has the consistency of toothpaste with a high burn rate and achieved a maximum thrust of 650 pounds during this test. Read More
NASA competition offers green challenge for air travel
By Paul Lester
19:06 August 4, 2009 PDT
As we've seen with the ongoing X-Prize model, competitions can be a great way to provide incentive for technological advancements in transport. While the latest example, the Lunar X Prize, has its sight set on the heavens, NASA is running a competition with objectives a little closer to the ground. The Green Flight Challenge is enticing creative types with a USD$1.5 million prize in which designers need to create an aircraft that is low cost, quiet, has a short take-off, is 'road worthy' and gets excellent passenger-miles per gallon. Read More
Canadian startup proposes nuclear fusion power plant at a bargain price
By Darren Quick
00:40 August 4, 2009 PDT
Nuclear fusion offers a completely clean method of producing vast amounts of energy. So far the major stumbling block for scientists has been creating a controllable fusion reaction that achieves “net gain”, meaning it gives off more energy than is needed to trigger it. But Canadian startup, General Fusion, is claiming it can build a relatively low-tech prototype nuclear fusion power plant within the next decade for less than a billion dollars. Read More
U.S. vehicle fuel efficiency has increased only 3 mpg in 80 years
23:50 August 2, 2009 PDT
Gizmag is always on the lookout for alternative means of powering vehicles and saving precious fossil fuels. But, in truth, the vast majority of us still drive exclusively petrol-powered cars. And the even sadder truth, outlined in a new research from the University of Michigan, is that the average fuel efficiency of a US vehicle has improved only three miles per gallon since the days of the Ford Model T. Read More
Nissan's next generation CVT claims world's highest transmission ratio
By Jeff Salton
18:14 July 30, 2009 PDT
Nissan and its transmission supplier Jatco have developed a next generation CVT (continuously variable transmission) that promises better fuel economy and performance in a compact and lightweight package. The new CVT combines conventional CVT belt operation with an auxiliary gearbox and has a significantly increased gear ratio range – roughly 20 percent higher than other CVTs and among the world's highest for production vehicles according to Nissan. Read More
Hail a hybrid - Toyota Prius cabs for Scotland
By Jeff Salton
06:01 July 28, 2009 PDT
Scottish council, West Lothian (near Edinburgh), has given the green light to a local cab company to run a fleet of Toyota Prius vehicles. The decision makes Calder Cabs the first cab company in Scotland to offer the hybrid cars after the council determined that the Prius could be licensed as a private hire vehicle. Read More
Biodiesel goes to the birds
By Darren Quick
23:47 July 23, 2009 PDT
Scientists in Nevada have found a new and environmentally friendly source of biodiesel – “chicken feather meal”, a delightful material that consists of chicken feathers, blood, and innards made from the 11 billion pounds of poultry industry waste that accumulates annually in the US alone. Read More
Nissan's 'smarter' navigation system assists with safer, greener driving
By Jeff Salton
19:24 July 23, 2009 PDT
Nissan's new enhanced on-board navigation system will provide drivers with more information to make safer and greener driving decisions. The company is launching an automotive navigation system that uses intelligent transportation system (ITS) infrastructure and other advanced technology to warn drivers of low-visibility intersections, school zones, and navigation-linked speed control. The navigation system can also recommend faster route calculations, which can lead to fuel savings. Read More
Phoenix: Concept vehicle for a brave new world
By Jeff Salton
19:33 July 22, 2009 PDT
First appearing in the Michelin Challenge Design earlier this year, the Phoenix concept features an orbital omni-directional four-wheel-drive system which allows for several types of motion - apart from moving forwards and backwards, it can rotate around its own axis and move sideways. Read More
Making cars a wee bit more efficient by turning urine into hydrogen
05:56 July 7, 2009 PDT
No-one should ever drink and drive, but there may soon be a good reason to drink a lot before you fill up your car – researchers at Ohio University have worked out a way to efficiently extract hydrogen from urine. It could provide a cheap, renewable fuel source for vehicles and, finally, a good use for the most abundant waste on Earth. Read More
Terotech
- November 21, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
