Hybrid Airship Being Readied for Flight
by: Eco Geek Latest, 2016-03-08 19:10:46 UTC
The “world’s largest aircraft,” the Airlander 10, is being readied for flights to begin later this year. The Airlander 10 is a massive hybrid aircraft that combines helium lift, aerodynamic lift, and direct thrust for flight. As we’ve noted before, we are big fans of airships (and even if there are tradeoffs in time and energy costs, we think that there is definitely a place for them in certain niches of air transport), so this is exciting news.
Company information from Hybrid Air Vehicles cites a number of reasons for finding this airship so appealing to EcoGeeks:
“The revolutionary Airlander 10 combines lighter-than-air technology with the best of aeroplanes and helicopters to bring brand new capabilities to aircraft. We produce less noise, less pollution, have a lower carbon footprint, longer endurance (remains airborne for up to three weeks) and better cargo-carrying capacity than virtually any other flying vehicle, with the ability to land and take-off from any surface, including ice, desert and even water.”
At over 300 feet (92 m) long, the Airlander 10 [pdf] is roughly the length of an American football field, and its total envelope is 1.34 million cubic feet (38,000 cubic meters). But the aircraft itself weighs only about 20 tons (20,000 kg). It is the latest in a series of hybrid airship concepts that have been in development over the past several years, and the Airlander itself is the continuation of the now-cancelled US Army LEMV airship.
We are certainly glad to see that the civilian uses of this technology continue to be pursued. It’s also good to see the apparent improvements in the technical performance of the craft. When we covered this in 2012, it had a cargo capacity of 7 tons, while the current payload is up to 10 tons. The Airlander 10 has an endurance of 5 days for manned flights and a cruise speed of 80 knots (148 km/hr).
via: @hottopicnz
Flow Batteries for Household Power Storage
by: Eco Geek Latest, 2016-03-31 17:45:10 UTC
Residential power storage options are starting to get more competitive with a flow battery being introduced to the market in Australia. Flow batteries have been something we’ve looked at for grid-scale storage, and the research into the technology has been making advances. But it has been primarily a utility-scale technology.
However, the technology has been developed to suit a smaller scale, and a commercial version of a household-scale flow battery is coming to market in Australia with a 10kWh flow battery called ZCell. The ZCell uses a zinc bromide flow battery developed by the parent company Redflow. The Redflow battery offers several advantages over lithium-ion battery packs, including high temperature tolerance without a need for active cooling; full cycle depth available and no cycle depth limitations; no concern about thermal runaway; and an electrolyte that is also naturally fire retardant.
The system has been announced with an installed price of “between $A17,500 and $A19,500 a system” (around 14,000 US dollars or 12,500 Euro). The annual average household energy demand for Australia (in 2010) of 7,227 kWh translates to about 19.8kWh per day, so the ZCell would only account for half of that if it was fully charged and then discharged on a daily basis. However, it is likely that many of the homes and businesses with the greatest interest in the ZCell would be more efficient than average.
Local power storage such as the ZCell or the Tesla Powerwall allows direct storage of energy produced by solar panels or other on-site generation when that production exceeds demand, and then allows that stored energy to be used later, when needed. Local power storage can also be used for load-shifting in areas with tiered electricity rates, where higher prices charged for power during peak periods and off-peak periods have lower rates. In cases like that, the battery is charged during less expensive, off-peak times, and then the battery is used instead of the higher-priced grid power for things that need power during the peak periods of the day.
Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2016
by: Sustainable Design News, 2016-03-17 03:13:08 UTC
The 2016 Red Dot Award: Design Concept is now open for submissions. Designers, design studios, manufacturers, and universities are called on to submit their best product ideas, prototypes and ready to launch products.
Circular Economy: What Businesses Should Know
by: Environmental Leader, 2016-03-22 09:28:41 UTC
Businesses and cities in the circular economy approach production as a “closed loop system” rather than a linear system, and regenerate waste, like an ecosystem in nature. This Veolia video highlights circular economy successes.
Online Green Building Tool Helps Industry Choose Safer, Sustainable Materials
by: Environmental Leader, 2016-03-16 16:12:09 UTC
A new online building tool provides architects, material specifiers, interior designers and other building and construction professionals with information about green building codes and standards, materials selection, and the role of chemistry in developing sustainable building materials. The American Chemistry Council’s www.BuildingWithChemistry.org provides the building industry with the tools needed to make “informed decisions” about […]
Modern greenhouse lamps for window-free & sunless plant growing
by: TreeHugger Design, 2016-03-21 11:00:00 UTC
No windows and no sunlight? No problem: these lamps double as mini-planters for houseplants, and feature a nifty coating for a cable-free look.
The Hidden Beauty Of Europe's Super-Efficient Recycling Empire
by: Co.Design, 2016-03-08 19:00:00 UTC
Paul Bulteel visited more than 50 recycling plants to document the stunning size and efficiency of these little-seen worlds.
They say one man's trash is another man's treasure. For photographer Paul Bulteel, Europe's super-efficient recycling plants offer an embarrassment of such riches. In Bulteel's new book, Cycle & Recycle, the Belgian photographer traveled to recycling plants across Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France to capture what he calls the "unreal aesthetics" of their strange and flotsam beauty.
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What iPhone-Based Health Care Could Look Like In 10 Years
by: Co.Design, 2016-03-09 12:00:00 UTC
Chronicle, a new concept from the design consultancy Artefact, is like a doctor in your pocket.
Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, arthritis—chronic conditions such as these account for 84% of health care spending. Yet many are preventable. An estimated 40% of all premature deaths can be attributed to lifestyle, such as smoking and inactivity. How can the health care system shift focus (and dollars) from acute to preventative care?
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Boeing develops self-cleaning airplane loo
by: TreeHugger Design, 2016-03-07 15:07:16 UTC
“If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going.”
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