Whole Travel Blog

This week, ExxonMobil announced that it will invest more than $600 million into research and development of next-generation biofuels produced from sunlight, water and waste carbon dioxide by photosynthetic pond scum. In a collaboration with Synthetic Genomics expected to last 5-6 years at a new test facility being constructed in San Diego, the hope is to develop the technology to a point where ExxonMobil can invest billions more into bringing it to commercial markets.

Pond Scum: the next source of renewable energy?

Craig Venter, founder and CEO of Synthetic Genomics, said, “There are different approaches to what is truly economically scalable, so we’re testing things and giving a new reality to the timelines and expectations of what it takes to have a global impact on fuel supply.” It’s a big strategy shift for ExxonMobil to move into developing renewable biofuel technology after years of publicly opposing investment in renewable energy. If all goes well, ExxonMobil and Synthetic Geonomics hope to be producing biofuels similar in structure to today’s conventional hydrocarbons, but from completely renewable sources, by the end of the project. You can read more about it at Synthetic Genomics’ website: www.syntheticgenomics.com.

Smart grid start-up Tendril and General Electric announced that later this year they will test a smart-grid system that allows GE’s networked appliances to take advantage of cheaper electricity rates. This joint test will allow consumers to control their appliances remotely - from home, a web-browser or even an iPhone application. GE’s use of Tendril’s software will also allow consumers to take advantage of utility special incentives. By cutting use during peak demand times, consumers will save money on their electricity bills.

The control panel of a GE smart fridge.

In order for this pilot study to work, the appliances must communicate with the electric utility company to determine when to use power and when to conserve based on fluctuating, real-time prices. Based on this information, a refrigerator can decide when to use the ice-maker and assumedly do so during off-peak hours for energy demand. Great way to improve energy efficiency in the home without changing your personal habits at all!

Nephelios, a solar-powered blimp, is completing test flights over the next 2 weeks in preparation for a crossing of the English Channel by the end of the summer. This will mark the first manned solar airship ever, proving that carbon-free air travel is possible. Flexible solar panels on the top of the blimp will power a small motor, turning two propellers and moving the blimp forward. The flight across the Channel is expected to take less than an hour, and be an amazingly quiet and serene experience for those onboard. You can read more about it here.

Some people swim the Channel, these guys float across.

If you’re in Long Beach, California, check out the M/V Auriga Leader. It’s docked at the Port of Long Beach and hosts an amazing 328 solar panels that provide up to 10% of the ship’s power.

Auriga Leader: powered by the sun

The ship is part of a demonstration by Toyota and Japan’s NYK Line, and it directs solar power into the ship’s main electrical grid, helping to power the thrusters, hydraulics and steering, and provide 10% of the ship’s electricity. While 10% may seem nominal, supertankers can require enough energy to power 5,500 homes while at port, so even small percentage improvements are huge savings for the earth.

The San Francisco-based design firm Mike and Maaike, which designed Google’s G1 phone, has come up with the Autonomobile, a concept for a self-driving, low-speed electric car of the future. They acknowledge that this car will probably never be built - especially considering the years of skepticism and months of anticipation before the G1 was launched - but they hope to at least provide some inspiration for the future of ground transportation.

Who needs a steering wheel? Give me a couch!

The design by Mike and Maaike takes the opposite approach to Tesla Motors, which is working to spur interest in electric vehicles by making them sporty and fun to drive. So instead of all the bells and whistles of a sports car, the Autonomobile’s design is all about quality time while in transit. A lounge area with no steering wheel, accelerator or rear-view mirror allows comfortable seating for 7, whether working on computers, watching television or just relaxing and conversing. Technology has a long way to go before it can provide this type of experience, but hopefully this provides inspiration for the designers of our future transports.

Starting next week, the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Environment and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards will be revised and require building owners to submit data about how much energy and water they use on an annual basis, and seek re-certification every two years. The USGBC says the data collected by annual reporting will help improve future revisions to the LEED standards. Senior Vice President of LEED, Scot Horst, said in a press release Thursday, “[this information] will bring to light external issues such as occupant behavior or unanticipated building usage patterns, all key factors that influence performance.”

General Electric and the Idaho National Laboratory announced last week that they have received $2 million from the Department of Energy to further research and develop a technology that converts heat from industrial engines into electricity, potentially making engines 20-40% more efficient and reducing carbon emissions.

Don't waste that waste heat!

Researchers in Germany and New York have been working to improve the Organic Rankine Cycle so that they may effectively capture and convert waste heat, but technology to date has not been cost competitive. By using an evaporator instead of a working fluid, GE’s new design can capture heat from relatively small sources and convert it to electricity for a wide range of applications.

Back in November 2008, FedEx Express announced a plan to purchase vehicles that combine Azure Dynamics’s hybrid system with a Ford gasoline engine and chassis. Last Thursday, the Hybrid Truck User Forum sponsored an event in Washington, DC, fittingly called: “Hybrid on the Hill Day.” This event featured 17 medium- and heavy-duty commercial hybrid trucks with participants including FedEx Express, Mack, Peterbilt, Freightliner and Kenworth.

FedEx Express already uses hybrids in city fleets.

The event on Capitol Hill took place next to the Capitol Reflecting Pool with speakers addressing the benefits of hybrids for the commercial trucking industry and how to roll-out hybrid fleets in a rough economy. Duke University also released a report on the hybrid truck sector and how it could impact the industry going forward.

Garbage giant Waste Management announced last week at the US Conference of Mayors that it will be distribution BigBelly Solar’s solar powered trash compactor in North America. These units will mostly be sold to municipalities and events venues, and 15 have already been installed at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, the new home of the New England Patriots.

Compacting your trash with the power of the sun.

The solar-powered trash compactors look like traditional trash cans, but they are outfitted with solar panels that power a motor that crushes the trash. What does this mean for sustainability? Garbage colleciton can occur less frequently, offsetting carbon emissions by the trucks and distribution network. Small things can really make a difference!

London mayor Boris Johnson wants his city to lead the charge in making the UK the electric vehicle capital of the European Union. Less than a month after Johnson presented a 35-page plan to get the electric vehicle market going with government funding, London’s official foreign direct investment agency, Think London, pitched more than 50 cleantech companies at an event in San Francisco.

With London hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, there is a lot of capital flowing into infrastructure and technology improvements around the city, and to meet their 2025 goal of 60% carbon emissions reduction the expected capital requirement is £20 billion. This creates a nice incentive for many US and international companies to setup shop in London, and hopefully means we’ll get to a greener tomorrow faster.