Important Innovations

  20 Miles of Green Energy                                                                      Source:  Daejeon, South Korea                                           Source:  Solar Bike Highway                                   Source:  Sejong, SK Solar Energy and Green Transportation South Korea has built a 20 mile solar "bike highway" that is both green and highly innovative.  The solar bike lane sits on top of a 20 mile stretch of highway running between the city of Daejeon, which is a transportation hub with a population of 1.5 millio...

  20 Miles of Green Energy & Pedal Power Source:  South Korea Solar Bike Highway                                                       Source:  Daejeon, South Korea Source:  Solar Bike Highway                                           Source:  Solar Bike Highway                                   Source:  Sejong, SK Solar Energy and Green Transportation South Korea has built a 20 mile solar "bike highway" that is both green and highly innovative.  The solar bike lane sits on top of a 20 mile stretch of highway running between the city of Daejeon, which is a transportation...

  Big Discovery by MIT Engineers                                                                           Source:  MIT No Wires or Battery Needed MIT engineers have discovered a brand new way of generating electricity.  They're using tiny carbon particles that create an electric current by interacting with their liquid environment of an organic solvent.  The particles are made of crushed carbon nanotubes (blue in the image) coated with a teflon-like polymer (green). The MIT researchers say the current can power micro or nanoscale robots and can also be used to trigger chemical reactions.  Their process of generating electricity is completely new and innovative.  All that is necessary is to surround the carbon particles with the solvent....

  Big Discovery by MIT Engineers                                                                           Source:  MIT No Wires or Battery Needed MIT engineers have discovered a brand new way of generating electricity.  They're using tiny carbon particles that create an electric current by interacting with their liquid environment of an organic solvent.  The particles are made of crushed carbon nanotubes (blue in the image) coated with a teflon-like polymer (green). The MIT researchers say the current can power micro or nanoscale robots and can also be used to trigger chemical reactions.  Their process of generating electricity is completely new and innovative.  All that is necessary is to surround the carbon particles with the solvent....

  A First in the UK                                   Source:  Tesla Megapack Batteries Tesla As An Energy Provider For the first time, a Tesla UK facility composed of six huge, megapack batteries kept the lights on in Britain.  The breakthrough, renewable energy event happened this week.  The Tesla batteries helped balance electricity supply and demand and kept Britain out of the dark. Since March when the pandemic hit with full force, electricity demand in the UK has been very difficult to predict. National Grid The Tesla facility's six giant batteries store energy from renewable energy sources for use at times of peak demand.  A new computer system used by energy utility National Grid in the UK allows the company to tap into new technologies like Tesla batteries in their efforts to balance supply and demand. For National Grid, use of green renewable energy is c...

Huge, Industrial-Scale Wave Power Project Just Announced in Italy Source:  Wave Power Stock Image Renewable Energy from the Force of Waves Eni, the Italian oil and gas energy company, along with the power grid group Terna, shipbuilder Fincantieri and state lending agency CDP just announced their plans to launch a huge wave energy power project.  They call it industrial scale.  It's composed of wave power stations and they say the application is immediate.  For more on this breaking news, go to Important Innovations Collection: Italian Wave Power Renewable Energy : Industrial-Scale Renewable Energy Project off Italy Source:  Waves off coast of Italy New Wave Power Stations Italian oil and gas ...

UCLA's Wearable Nanogenerator to Monitor Athletic Performance Source:  Stock Image of Extreme Ski Jump SnowTENG - First of its Kind Nanogenerator This small, inexpensive, slim device can be embedded in the bottom of a ski or the sole of snow boots.  It generates its own power and can monitor the athletic performance of skiers and others engaged in winter sports.  The device converts contact with snow into electricity, which the device harvests.  Developed by UCLA engineers in warm, sunny LA, it has tremendous potential to create the next generation of wearable devices to monitor athletes and to work as smart weather stations with no battery power needed. Best in Snow For more details, go to Important Innovations Collection: Electricity from Snow - UCLA First : First of its Kind Nanogenerato r:  SnowTENG Source:  UCLA Generating Electricity from Snow - New Wearables From sunny, warm Los Angel...

China Investing and Building a "Star in a Jar" Source:  China's Nuclear Fusion Reactor in Hefei, China China Targets 2040 for Nuclear Fusion Power Generation Nuclear fusion power generation is a source of clean, renewable energy.  The nuclear fusion of hydrogen into the heavier element helium is how the sun and stars have remained burning for billions of years.  That's why a nuclear fusion reactor is called a "star in a jar".  It is a powerful source of energy but with many technological barriers yet to be overcome. News now that China is funding and constructing their own star in a jar to generate clean electricity by around 2040. Artificial Sun China calls their Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak Reactor (East) the "Artificial Sun".  It's located in Hefei, Anhui province, China.  They are developing their experimental reactor to start generating electricity and commercializing it by 2040. China is a Leader in Renewable...

Reshaping Tissue with Electricity and No Incisions Source:  University of California Irvine, Molecular Surgery Medical Innovation at the Cutting Edge This is important innovation, medicine and science.  It's new, innovative "molecular surgery" that, if you have to have surgery, you're going to prefer.  It's just at the beginning stage.  But it can reshape torn cartilage without any incision only electricity.  It can work to reshape a nose or ear and even shows promise to fix immobile joints and as a noninvasive alternative to laser eye surgery. Innovation from University of California and Occidental College The innovation is from UCAL Irvine and Occidental College.  Here's how it works.  Tiny needles are inserted into the damaged cartilage and they pass a low dose of electrical current through the tissue, which makes it soft and malleable. A customized 3D printed mold reshapes the tissue. The tissue stiffens and takes on the shape of the mol...

Thorium Based Nuclear Power - Greener Electricity Source:  Thorium Powered Nuclear Reactor Global Innovation Research Thorium based nuclear reactors.  Global scientists are working on this promising greener form of nuclear energy.  Thorium is a moderately radioactive chemical.  It can be used as "fuel salt" in molten salt reactors to produce electricity.  It can't be used to produce nuclear weapons and produces much less dangerous waste than current nuclear power plants. Advantages of Thorium and Who Is Working On It The Netherlands and China are investing in this technology.  It offers the advantages of traditional reactors.  It's reliable, efficient and low carbon emissions electricity.  And that is without the big problems of radioactive waste and nuclear proliferation.  It's a promising and greener form of renewable nuclear energy. CERN The European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) believes thorium could be a radically di...

Stanford University's Rooftop Renewable Energy Device Source:  Stanford University Provides Electricity and Cooling from Sun and Space Scientists from Stanford University have created a first.  A single device that collects heat from the sun and coldness from outer space.  It simultaneously collects space and solar energy, generates electricity and coolness and functions with great efficiency.  Their research results have been published in the journal Joule. Double Layer Panel Their invention is a double layered rooftop panel.  The top layer is composed of standard semiconductor materials that go into solar cells.  The bottom layer is revolutionary and the combination of the 2 layers is being hailed as a potential gamechanger.  The bottom layer is composed of novel materials that collects the space energy and does the cooling. Dual Functions:  Electricity and Cooling The device combines radiative cooling with solar absorption technol...

Coal Plants Going Green with BioMass End of Coal - International Trend The UK plans to end coal powered electricity by 2025.  So what happens to the huge coal plants left behind?  The largest power plant in Western Europe, Drax in the UK that now burns coal, is going green.  By 2023, it won't burn coal.  It will burn only biomass and natural gas.  The biomass is wood pellets smashed to powder to generate electricity. Coals' Big Grid Connections Coal has been a big player in the global electricity market.  Coal companies have expensive connections to national grids and cutting those connections may not be easy. Nonetheless, the UK has gone from coal being 45% of its power mix in 2012 to a very low amount today.  The UK, like many other nations, is committed to cutting the dirty air emissions from coal.  There's a drive to find alternative uses for the coal plants as nations convert to alternative energy. Big Money to Convert to Biomass It...

Lockheed-Martin's Compact Fusion Reactors Source: Lockheed-Martin Nuclear Reactor that Travel by Truck Lockheed-Martin has been quietly developing a game-changing compact nuclear fusion reactor.  They've patented the tech for potentially fitting it into a fighter jet.  Experts believe the potential for nuclear fusion tech is huge.  It could make other forms of electricity generation obsolete. Lockheed's reactor is so compact it can be transported by truck to locations in need of electricity. What's Nuclear Fusion and Why Call it a Star In A Jar? Here's an example and explainer.  UK based Tekamak Energy has heated a plasma of hydrogen to 27 million degrees fahrenheit within its own  reactor.  That's hotter than the core of the sun.  Essentially the reactors convert hydrogen into helium, then to electrical energy.  It's the same nuclear reaction that makes the sun and stars shine for billions of years. The process creates high volumes of el...