Renewables

NEC Corporation, NEC TOKIN Corporation and TOHOKU UNIVERSITY have jointly created a thermoelectric (TE) device using thermoelectric conversion technology. The spin Seebeck effect has conversion efficiency ten times higher than the conventional method.

The Rapid Shutdown with Capacitor Discharge Systems from Innovative Solar (ISI) is fully 690.12 compliant and requires no modifications to the inverter.

Solar panels require a lot of space, so why not use the space which is abundant in large bodies of water to produce environmentally-friendly electricity? The main obstacle to this is waves, which endanger large floating installations on the water. A lightweight construction has been developed at TU Wien which can be used to build platforms spanning one hundred metres long which remain steady and firmly in place – even in rough sea weather.

A specialist in direct wafer growing technologies for the next generation of solar photovoltaic products, Crystal Solar, and Imec have achieved a 22.5% cell efficiency (certified by FhG ISE CalLab) with nPERT silicon (Si) solar cells manufactured on six inch mono-crystalline epitaxially grown kerfless wafers, which will help to pave the way toward industrialisation of this promising technology.

The range of high temperature resistant bio-based polymers from Royal DSM has been expanded with the introduction of a new family of high performance polyamide 4T materials, partially produced from renewable resources, called ForTii Eco. These new materials fit with the growing need of faster, thinner and more sustainable devices in the electronics industry.

The CV7SF is a new ultrasonic product from LCJ Capteurs that is wireless, stationary and operates without the need of a separate power supply. The radio signal is remotely received by a receiver/decoder box and formatted, providing standardised messages directly usable by computer USB or COM ports.

Solar panels require a lot of space, so why not use the space which is abundant in large bodies of water to produce environmentally-friendly electricity? The main obstacle to this is waves, which endanger large floating installations on the water. A new lightweight construction has been developed at TU Wien which can be used to build platforms spanning one hundred metres long which remain steady and firmly in place – even in rough sea weath...

To commemorate the 46th Earth Day, the Earth Day Network has begun its Plant the Trees campaign, which aims to encourage people to plant trees in their communities. The campaign's ultimate goal is to reach 7.8 billion trees around the world by 2020.

  A team of researchers from Drexel University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) and Tsinghua University recently discovered a way to improve the making of energy storage materials so that they are bigger, better and soaking up energy. The secret? Just by adding salt. 

Next week’s Hannover Messe trade fair taking place in Germany will see Viking Cold Solutions launch its second generation thermal energy storage system, which combines thermal storage with solar PV, making it possible for cold storage facilities, supermarkets and utilities to intelligently store and deploy refrigeration to help balance electricity networks.