biotech firm with patent promising liquid fuels from solar energy

[Gurtie]

solar houses and fuel from trash are starting to get there

- our solar manages to power the house in the summer (we only paid for 20 units a month over the summer, and we export more than that, just we don't have storage capacity so we can't get entirely self sufficient as we need to run fridges etc overnight)

- there are waste incinerator power stations now, although not many in the uk. Jury's still out on how good an idea it is though I think.

The main area where seemingly good ideas seem to quietly dissapear seems to be in areas where it could be applied to vehicles. Or is that just a good conspracy theory?

[Brad]

The neighboring county is building a giant ethanol-from-trash facility.  It has been done on small scale before but this is supposed to be the first time it has been done on a very large industrial scale, and nobody really knows if it will work.  Actually I hope it does work, because we have no end of trash, and it makes more sense than using corn (maize).

>solar houses

Slowly seeing more green buildings here and more passive solar features being incorporated.  On a house level, not realy seeing the 1980's solar homes being built anymore.

[rcjordan]

>hovercraft

There's a personal hovercraft around the neighborhood that I once toyed with buying.  Like their close kin swamp boats, the noise level is mind-numbingly bad.   I've heard that the fuel consumption is even more horrific than the noise.


>nobody hops in one and commutes to work every morning

When I was 14, I commuted to work occasionally in (what is now called) a J Class hydroplane  in the summer.  Fuel economy wasn't exactly up to 'green' standards, but probably better than a hovercraft.

[Brad]

The first hydrofoil I ever saw was on Jonny Quest.  This was cutting edge cool back in the early 60's:

There used to be hydrofoil ferry between UK and France that I always wanted to take just to say I have ridden on one. It's probably gone now.

[rcjordan]

>hovercraft

I rode this one at Montreal in 67. I think it lost control and hit the bridge some time later.

http://www.photovalet.com/335142

[rcjordan]

<added>
hovercraft and hydrofoil

And subject line relevant to this thread: Remember when we used to dream?

http://www.taylornoakes.com/?p=117

[ergophobe]

A friend of mine (PhD in biology, MBA, and VP of business dev for a biotech, so a serious guy) launched a startup last year after asking a simple question - "How much carbon is there in the atmosphere?" He said he thinks that schemes to produce fuel from bacteria are still too far away to be commercially viable. What's more promising is engineering microorganisms to produce specific petrochemicals (think fertilizers, polymers, things like that) which have a higher value than $60/barrel. He think companies need to get off the ground replacing the high-cost uses of petrochemicals first, and then optimize the process to get it price competitive with fuel, which will be the last frontier.  Of course, nobody has done either, so it may be the technical challenges of coming up with something that just sort of burns may be a lot easier than coming up with something that makes a durable, recyclable or compostable beverage bottle.

"...allegedly outputs more energy than it takes in."
Which set off the BS Detector.  
They probably don't count the energy of the sun?  

I think they're comparing to many other biofuels (ethanol) and even photovoltaic solar, which are commonly alleged to require more petroleum and coal to produce than they offset (though both have supposedly surpassed breakeven in the last 10-15 years, it's still debated in some quarters). Like dogboy says, I think it's bad writing where "energy" = "fossil fuels".

I thought the US military was mucking about with fuel from algae?

There are private companies claiming to make this profitable and workable commercially. The big issue, as I understand it, is scale. They need lots of salt water, sun, and clean tubes to grow the stuff in. Currently using giant plastic bag tubes they get good initial yield, but as the algae grows, the sun doesn't penetrate well past the first layer, and there's a performance dropoff (according to my vague memory of a couple articles I've read).

2. Fuel cells.

I have to say, all the talk of fuel cells as clean energy just drives me insane. Fuel cells, are storage devices, not energy sources. This whole "hydrogen economy" buzz is utter nonsense unless we find energy sources to make that hyrdogen. So yeah, great. Let's develop storage technologies for energy that are not as nasty as current battery tech, but first let's figure out how to produce the energy we're going to store. Otherwise, it make more sense to put the fossil fuels straight in your car (except in terms of local problems with smog, of course).

Remember when we used to dream?

One of the books that I'm always trying to get people to read is The Clock of the Long Now by Stewart Brand (get it used on Amazon for $2). He formed the Long Now Foundation with Danny Hillis (one of the inventors of the Cray supercomputer) because Hillis noticed something in the early 1990s (as the Y2K mania heated up). He said "I remember when I was a kid in the 1950s and we would think about the future and talk about the year 2000. Now it's forty years later and when we talk about the future, we still talk about the year 2000. That means that for every year I've been alive, I've lost one year of future."

[Brad]

Adding one:

9: Zeppelins, dirigibles, super blimps etc. - been hearing about the big comeback for 20 years and that has not really progressed beyond tourist rides and advertising.  US Navy had one or two for radar (useful against small boat drug smugglers) but I don't know  if those are still operational.

[rcjordan]

>Zeppelins, dirigibles, super blimps etc

You just don't know where to look, Brad.

[Rooftop]

On the airship front try a search on LEMV  .  US Military are meant to start using them this year and all sort of other nutty plans for them going around.  I'm loving the idea of giant freight carrying ones.  Would be an awesome sight!

[rcjordan]

This is a local company.

Company celebrates production of 100th aerostat
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/08/company-celebrates-production-100th-aerostat


They've built a few piloted blimps, too. I was once allowed to see the double-decker gondola of a military prototype, but I don't know for sure that it was ever placed into service. 

[Brad]

More:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12110386

Article:
http://www.airshipzprize.org/?p=304

I would love to see the one in the Trans Atlantic passenger trade, like they describe.

[Rupert]

They still run a hovercraft to the Isle of Wight.  I spent some time this new year watching them from Portsmouth.


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1808044091219483323#

I wanted a ride, but somehow I think the real joy was watching them

[grnidone]

I think when someone can invent a battery that actually can store energy effectively, then that will be a huge breakthrough.  Currently, wind energy is great, biut there isn't a way to "store the windy days" for the "calm days".

And, I hope this patent takes off and doesn't get purchased by the oil companies.  Oil companies are notorious for taking really amazing inventions that use energy from non-oil sources and burying them.

I'd really like the US to be able to give the finger to the Middle East Oil conglomerate.

[ergophobe]

Currently, wind energy is great, biut there isn't a way to "store the windy days" for the "calm days".

Sure there is - all you need is a hill, a valley, a pump, a turbine and some water.... Maybe not the most efficient, but I've heard of this being done for nuke plants to store up energy for peak times.