(Credit:
ONR)
In what it says is a "first of its kind" initiative, the U.S. Navy plans to launch sometime this spring an unmanned aerial vehicle for a 24-hour endurance flight carrying a 5-pound payload and powered entirely by a hydrogen-powered fuel cell.
Called the Ion Tiger, the UAV can travel farther and carry heavier loads than earlier battery-powered designs, according to the Office of Naval Research. It also boasts "stealthy characteristics" such as reduced noise, low heat signature, and zero emissions (PDF).
"This will really be a demonstration for a fuel cell system in a UAV application," ONR Program Manager Dr. Michele Anderson said. "That's something nobody can do right now."
Fuel cells convert hydrogen and oxygen into water in a pollution-free process to create an electrical current delivering up to double the efficiency of an internal combustion engine, researchers claim.
The Tiger will use a "500-watt polymer fuel cell with a high specific power system." Weight will be reduced using high-pressure lightweight hydrogen storage tanks. The UAV has already "demonstrated sound aerodynamics, high functionality, and low-heat and noise signatures under battery-powered tests," according to ONR.
This test will show how a surveillance drone can operate economically with less possibility of detection and still exceed the duration of previous flights seven-fold.
Collaborators include Protonex Technology and the University of Hawaii.
The Better Place Rogue is an all-electric version of the Nissan Rogue crossover SUV.
(Credit: Better Place)Hawaii has decided to partner with Better Place to bring car battery exchange stations for electric vehicles to the islands, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle announced Tuesday.
Better Place stations, similar in concept to gas stations, offer drivers with electric vehicles an automated system that swaps out exhausted lithium ion car batteries for fully-charged ones. The swapping system is intended to be convenient for both drivers and local electric companies, since Better Place can recharge the exhausted batteries with excess electricity generated from renewable sources during off-peak electricity hours.
Lingle said the project is an example of Hawaii's efforts to gain independence from foreign oil, and to stimulate its economy through investment in energy technology.
Not surprising due to its geography, Hawaii spends about $7 billion a year on oil imports with its drivers facing some of the toughest prices at the pump in the U.S. The plan to implement Better Place stations coincides with the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) intended to change that. Signed in January, it sets Hawaii's renewable energy bar at 70 percent clean energy by 2030, as well as encouraging programs that foster local economic growth.
Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place, was also on hand at the plan unveiling in Hawaii on December 2. According to Agassi, Hawaii is the second state in the U.S., and the fifth place in the world, to adopt the Better Place electric-car infrastructure. Better Place stations have already been implemented in Denmark and Israel, with Australia and California recently announcing intentions to add them.
"Hawaii, with its ready access to renewable energy resources like solar, wind, wave, and geothermal, is the ideal location to serve as a blueprint for the rest of the U.S. in terms of reducing our dependence on foreign oil, growing our renewable energy portfolio and creating an infrastructure that will stabilize our economy," Agassi said in a statement to the press.
Hawaii Electric is also onboard. The state's electric utility signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Better Place which plans to power its public charging and battery-swapping stations with renewable energy resources.
According to the plan, Better Place will pull permits for its stations in 2009, offer electric cars within 18 months, and make both available for the mass-market in Hawaii by 2012.
Better Place has said it's in talks with major automakers and would like to offer swappable batteries for any electric vehicle regardless of which company makes the car. But right now the company's stations only service two electric vehicles: the Renault Megane and the Better Place Rogue, an electric vehicle based on the Nissan Rogue crossover SUV.
Hawaii's plan with Better Place is to install about 20 electric battery-swapping stations across its islands.
(Credit: Better Place)
On the surface, OPT's PowerBuoy resembles any ordinary ocean buoy.
(Credit: Ocean Power Technologies)Ocean Power Technologies announced Thursday that it will be installing a water-power buoy system to tie into Hawaii's Oahu Island power grid.
The New Jersey-based company makes ocean buoys that harness the energy of ocean waves to generate electricity that is then sent back to shore via underwater cable.
Through a partnership with the U.S. Navy, Ocean Power has been developing technology that could supplement electricity needs for the military in Hawaii .
"We are pleased to be a part of the Navy's effort to develop and commercialize new technologies to reduce the Navy's dependence on fuel shipments for power generation facilities, and to meet its strategic goals and other sustainability initiatives," George W. Taylor, Ocean Power's chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The company's PowerBuoy, which on the surface resembles an ordinary ocean buoy, is about 12 feet wide and 55 feet long. As the buoy is jostled by naturally occurring offshore waves, it moves a piston-like device located at its core up and down. The electricity generated by the system, which is typically placed in about 100 to 150 feet of water, is then sent back to shore via a standard submarine transmission cable along the ocean floor.
The water-power buoy is loaded with onboard sensors and communications tools that allow it to be monitored and instructed from Ocean Power's headquarters in New Jersey. But the device can autonomously adjust the way it pumps to accommodate changes in ocean waves and maximize its effect.
The U.S. Navy contributed $300,000 to funding this particular installation. But Ocean Power announced in early November that it has won a $3 million contract with the Navy to develop its PowerBuoy for use in conjunction with data gathering and communications.
Ocean Power also has the support of the U.S. Marine Corps. This latest PowerBuoy system will be placed about one mile off the coast of Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) at Kaneohe Bay and will be connected to Oahu's power grid.
This is the third PowerBuoy that Ocean Power has installed within the last two months.
The Navy and Marine support is a coup for Ocean Power, which struggled with its IPO, and perhaps even for the ocean energy industry as a whole.
Ocean energy proponents have been swimming against a current of lackluster interest because of logistical issues like infrastructure costs, and the unpredictable nature of the energy source.
- prev
- 1
- next
