powered by salt water

One of the wildest cars at the Geneva Motor Show, the Nanoflowcell Quant e-Sportlimousine is a research prototype that's powered by salt water. More accurately, it's powered by a flow battery that uses a special formula of ionic charge-carrying salt water as its storage medium. Not content to just electrify an average powertrain, Nanoflowcell uses its technology to send 912 horses into an all-out frenzy of spinning, smoking rubber.

We now have a clearer picture of Nunzio La Vecchia's energy and supercar ventures than we did when we covered the Quant teaser. La Vecchia began researching alternative energy technologies in 1991, forming NLV Solar in Switzerland seven years later. He turned his attention to auto design in 2003, partnering with Koenigsegg on the original Quant in 2009 and releasing an updated version on his own a year later. Nanoflowcell emphasizes that the cooperation with Koenigsegg ended in 2009, and the 2014 Quant represents an entirely new vehicle concept.
"Following the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, it was decided to pursue a completely new concept, both optically and technically," Nanoflowcell explains. "Every element of the Quant e-Sportlimousine has been developed from the ground up over the last four years: new powertrain, complete redesign, and most importantly, every aspect of the new prototypes are designed with homologation requirements in mind."
The beating heart of the new Quant is its Nanoflowcell power storage, a very specific formulation of flow battery. Flow battery power for vehicle use is being researched elsewhere, as well, but the Quant becomes what Nanoflowcell qualifies as the first actual vehicle powered by it.
Nanoflowcell explains that its technology boasts five to six times the storage capacity of other flow cell designs or lithium-ion batteries, making it primed for vehicular use. It credits that superior energy density to "an extremely high concentration of ionic charge carriers in the cell system’s electrolyte" and translates it into a 249- to 373-mile (400- to 600-km) driving range estimate.
Understandably, Nanoflowcell isn't divulging the full recipe for its flow battery or electrolytes. In its introductory video, it describes the solutions simply as salt water. La Vecchia confirmed that the full truth is a bit more complex, as the electrolytes contain a mix of metal salts and other ingredients.
The high- and low-charge solutions are stored in separate 200-liter tanks in the rear of the Quant, being pumped forward through a central cell, separated from each other by a thin membrane. This creates electricity, which flows into two supercapacitors, where it is stored and managed, released on acceleration to power the four three-phase wheel motors. Nanoflowcell says the flow technology operates with 80 percent internal efficiency.

The Quant design uses supercapacitors for their ability to release energy quickly, allowing for the sportiest performance, a reason that they've shown up in race cars and concepts like the Toyota Yaris Hybrid R. On the receiving end of that energy, the four motors combine for a very supercar-like 912 hp.
Beyond the robust estimated range, the Nanoflowcell system has other major advantages. When the energy in the electrolyte solutions is used up, the liquids need only be replaced, a process that is similar in ease and quickness to refueling a gasoline car. La Vecchia envisions a future where gas stations or the like will offer seamless flow cell refueling. Nanoflowcell also says that the used liquid can be recharged and used again.
Unlike in lithium-ion batteries, the flow battery's storage capacity does not degrade over time from memory effect. Nanoflowcell claims there are no environmentally damaging components to the electrolytes and says the system does not rely on rare or precious metals.
As with any research vehicle, the Quant's specifications need to be viewed as food for thought, not reliable, rock-solid numbers. Nanoflowcell lists a 2.8-second 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time and a potential 236 mph (380 km/h) top speed. Those numbers come thanks in part to the gobs of torque being cranked at each wheel. The car weighs 5,070 lb (2,300 kg).
In terms of design, La Vecchia and company did an excellent job in making a car that stands out at a show full of wild and exotic designs, without making it so overwrought as to distract from the technological story. You could walk right past many alternatively powered vehicles, never realizing what interesting technology hides underneath plain skins, but you're going to want to stick around and learn more about a car like the Quant.

The 5,257-mm concept offers seating for four with gullwing access to the front and rear. The big, roof-hinged doors are reminiscent of the wings on last year's Vauxhall Monza concept.
At the front, the Quant has an interesting combination of arched fenders swooping inward and a distinctive grill and inlet design. A clamshell roof drops gently toward the rear, framing the extended four-person cabin. The rear quarter is defined by the curves of the fenders and double-bubble roof as well as the under-shell-style fascia. The "crystal lake blue" and copper paint job represents the car's liquid-based electrical powertrain.
"It was important to us that, despite its size and unusual dimensions, our four-seater Quant e-Sportlimousine would be a sporty automobile," explains La Vecchia. "The front of the car is convincing, with its pronounced shoulders, self-confident look, and clear lines. Anyone who stands in front of the QUANT e-Sportlimousine will know exactly what I mean."


 Source: Nanoflowcell

Lights off for Earth Hour's global crowdfunding call

Lights went off in thousands of cities and towns across the world on Saturday for the annual Earth Hour campaign, which is aiming to raise money via the Internet for local environmental projects.
The Singapore-based campaign by conservation group WWF was boosted by Hollywood star power, with "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Jamie Foxx leading ceremonies at the city-state's Marina Bay district.
Comic-book hero Spider-Man is this year's "ambassador" for Earth Hour in which 150 countries are taking part, according to organisers. The event was launched in Sydney in 2007.
The Australian city's Opera House and Harbour Bridge were among the first landmarks around the world to dim their lights for 60 minutes during Saturday's event.
An estimated 7,000 cities and towns from New Zealand to New York are taking part at 8.30 pm local time.
Hong Kong's stunning waterfront skyline was unrecognisable on Saturday evening, with the city's tallest skyscraper, the International Commerce Centre, stripped of the vast light show usually wrapped around its 118 storeys.
Blazing neon signs advertising some of the world's largest brands were shut off, leaving the view of the heavily vertical southern Chinese city peppered only with tiny lights from buildings' interiors.
In the Indian capital of New Delhi, lights were turned off at major landmarks, including the India Gate.
Earth Hour partnered with payments giant PayPal to allow donors to contribute to specific projects from Russia and India to Canada and Indonesia, using Asian fundraising site Crowdonomic.
Earth Hour chief executive Andy Ridley said before the lights went off in Singapore that the event had moved beyond symbolism to concrete action.
"If you want to get real social change you need to have symbolism," he told AFP.
"We are seeing some really big outcomes."
But it has drawn criticism, including from Danish political scientist Bjorn Lomborg who argues it does little for the real problem of global warming and diverts resources from other problems.
"This celebration of darkness sends the wrong message, Lomborg said in a statement this week.
"While more than a billion people across the globe make a symbol of foregoing non-essential electrical power for one hour a year, another 1.3 billion people across the developing world will continue to live without electricity as they do every other night of the year."
Projects under the "Earth Hour Blue" crowdfunding scheme -- which aim to raise more than $650,000 in total -- include a turtle centre in Italy and funding for forest rangers in Indonesia.
Other projects include a 24,000-dollar effort in the Philippines to bring fibreglass boat technology to coastal communities affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan in November last year.
In Nepal, $100,000 is being sought for a programme called "A Flame Called Hope" to provide access to biogas energy for 150 households in the Terai region, reducing the need for wood as fuel and helping protect the habitat of endangered wildlife, according to the Earth Hour website.
"Spider-Man 2" star Garfield told journalists that he was a personal supporter of the Nepal project.
"What they are doing is turning waste into energy, it's like the cycle of life right there, if only everyone knew how simple it was," he said.
Earth Hour will see other landmarks including the Empire State Building in New York, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Kremlin in Moscow switch off their lights for an hour.
burs/pdh

From AFP

World Water Day 2014: Water and Energy

Water and energy are closely interlinked and interdependent. Energy generation and transmission requires utilization of water resources, particularly for hydroelectric, nuclear, and thermal energy sources. Conversely, about 8% of the global energy generation is used for pumping, treating and transporting water to various consumers. 

In 2014, the UN System – working closely with its Member States and other relevant stakeholders – is collectively bringing its attention to the water-energy nexus, particularly addressing inequities, especially for the 'bottom billion' who live in slums and impoverished rural areas and survive without access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, sufficient food and energy services. It also aims to facilitate the development of policies and crosscutting frameworks that bridge ministries and sectors, leading the way to energy security and sustainable water use in a green economy. Particular attention will be paid to identifying best practices that can make a water- and energy-efficient 'Green Industry' a reality.

Selling fuel wood at wood market in Cambodia ©FAO/J. Koelen

Geothermal Power Station in Þingvellir, Iceland - Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 by Scott Ableman

• Raise awareness of the inter-linkages between water and energy
• Contribute to a policy dialogue that focuses on the broad range of issues related to the nexus of water and energy
• Demonstrate, through case studies, to decision makers in the energy sector and the water domain that integrated approaches and solutions to water-energy issues can achieve greater economic and social impacts
• Identify policy formulation and capacity development issues in which the UN system, in particular UN-Water and UN-Energy, can offer significant contributions
• Identify key stakeholders in the water-energy nexus and actively engaging them in further developing the water-energy linkages
• Contribute as relevant to the post-2015 discussions in relation to the water-energy nexus.

ARM System in Kaohsiung

Taking MRT in Kaohsiung also do recycling. EPA Kaohsiung designed the first "automatic resource recycling machines" in Taiwan. The public can insert empty PET bottles, aluminum, iron cans into the machine in the MRT station and the refund will refill in the travel card automatically.  The city mayor Chen Chu demostrated the recycle process in person and said the refund will only refill in the travel card, that means we encourage the publics taking the MRT ar rent the bike. The ARM system can improve the convenience and efficiency of recycling, and it is the symbol of the progress for the city.