Sikorsky X2 TECHNOLOGY Demonstrator Flies

Cool Helicopter

Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation’s X2 TECHNOLOGY Demonstrator has successfully completed its first flight.

In a first test flight yesterday that lasted approximately 30 minutes, the prototype counter-rotating coaxial-rotor helicopter maneuvered through hover, forward flight, and a hover turn.

….The flight represented the culmination of more than four years of design, development and testing of the X2 TECHNOLOGY Demonstrator’s suite of technologies, intended by Sikorsky to advance the state of the art for counter-rotating coaxial-rotor helicopters. ….
http://www.aviation.com/technology/080828-sikorsky-X2-demonstrator-flies.html

GE reshapes the future of wind power

“Reshape” as in using new technology to change the physical shape of turbines.

General Electric’s wind energy division is trying to find a “Goldilocks” turbine design, one that’s not too big and not too small.

Like other wind manufacturers, GE is benefiting from booming demand for wind turbines in Europe and in the U.S., even with the possibility of a renewable-energy tax credit lapsing later this year.

Still, the rapid expansion is being throttled by high prices of steel and other commodities, making wind power more expensive.

…..

“I see a lot more technology going into each of the components, especially the blades,” he said. “The blades will look more funky and twisted to get better performance.”

By adding more carbon composite to turbine blades, GE can add 16 feet to their length, which translates into a significant boost of energy. …

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10023553-54.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.0

Peugeot Unveils The “888” Folding Electric Concept Vehicle

The Peugeot 888 is the personal vehicle for the future Metropolis. The car carries two persons and medium amount of luggage. This is the car for travelling within the city and to the suburbs, for daily driving and weekend cruising.

When driving in the city the vehicle has the ability to ”shrink”. The center of the cars profile has a hydraulic tilting system that rises the car, making the distance between the wheel axis decrease. This results in a rised up cockpit which enhance the drivers traffick overview. The short wheel axis distance will also increase the manouverability in narrow places making the car able to take a sharp u-turn. A short wheel axis distance also makes it easier to find a suitable parking space.

http://www.nextenergynews.com/news08/next-energy-news8.28.08b.html

Ionic Polymer Piezoelectric Grid Generating Energy from a River

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are using ionic polymers immersed in a river to generate ‘clean’ electricity for the city of Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. If the project is successful, the city’s downtown ‘could one day get 20 percent or more of its electrical power from a mile-long array of tiny plastic devices wiggling away on the bottom of the Kiskiminetas River as it sweeps around the town.

The development is performed in coordination with the town of Vandergrift, PA. The people of Vandergrift not only enable access to the river for prototype testing, but are also actively involved in the design process to insure that the ultimate device meets their expectations for maintaining the beauty and accessibility of their local river — the ‘Kiski’.”

http://www.nextenergynews.com/news08/next-energy-news8.28.08c.html

Energy-Efficient Way of Producing Hydrogen From Water Discovered

Hydrogen will be one of the most important fuels of the future. It would be ideal to obtain hydrogen by splitting water instead of from petroleum. However, the electrolysis of water is a very energy intensive process, making it both expensive and unsustainable if the electricity necessary to generate it comes from the burning of fossil fuels. Photolysis, the splitting of water by light, is a highly promising alternative.

A team of Australian and American researchers has now developed a catalyst that effectively catalyzes one of the necessary half reactions, the photooxidation of water. As it reports in the journal Angewandte Chemie, the core of the catalyst is a manganese-containing complex modeled after those found in photosynthetic organisms.

http://www.nextenergynews.com/news08/next-energy-news8.28.08d.html