Ultra Battery for Hybrid Cars
With the world looking for alternative energy and automobiles that can get us where we want to go without using fossil fuels and adding to the pollutions problems, hybrid cars can be a good alternative to the cars most people are driving now.
One of the main drawbacks or the hybrid cars has been their batteries. The typical battery – a lead acid battery – can store a great amount of energy, however there are also problems associated with them. When they are charged and discharged repeatedly, as in turning on and off a car engine, the battery gradually fills with deposits of chemicals, which coat the inside of the battery. These deposits make the battery wear out much faster.
Researchers have been looking for a battery that will not have those problems, and a company named CSIRO out of Australia has created the Ultra Battery. The Ultra Battery combines a lead acid battery with a supercapacitor. The Ultra Battery will store as much energy as a regular lead acid battery without the battery plate getting coated with deposits that make it wear out sooner. The capacitor acts as a buffer during charging and discharging so that this does not happen and the life of the battery is extended.
During testing, the Ultra Battery lasted 4 times as long as the lead acid battery and drove over 185,000 km without any problems. The Ultra Battery was still in good shape with plenty of energy left to keep running.
Cost has been another worry regarding batteries for hybrid cars. The Ultra Battery should solve that problem as well. The projected cost of the Ultra Battery is about one-third to one-fourth of NiMH batteries and only one-sixth of what the lithium ion batteries used on higher powered electric cars cost. A couple of Battery manufacturers in Japan and the United States have begun the process of modifying their plants so that they can begin manufacturing the Ultra Battery, making it available sometime next year.
Algae As An Alternative Fuel
Everyone is looking for an alternative to fuel that harms the environment, costs too much and holds the country hostage to the handful of countries that control fuel supplies. There are numerous ideas being considered.
As the presidential election inches closer, we are hearing about everything from drilling to ethanol to natural gas. Of course, any of the alternatives to fossil fuels would require major adjustments – and possibly major costs – to the vehicles that these fuels are made for.
There are, however, some alternative fuels that have not been mentioned much and that many of us do not know much about. Algae is the basis for one of those bio-fuels.
According to researchers, algae can be grown inexpensively and it can be grown in areas that are unfit for crops. As a result, crops that are raised for human or animal consumption would not be affected by the growth of algae, which has been a concern when dealing with using crops for the development of ethanol.
Experts in the Department of Energy and in the Bio-Fuel industry estimate that algae for fuel can yield up to 30 times more energy per acre than soybeans and other crops, thus using less land for higher results. In addition, there are thousands of types of algae world wide that could be adapted to be grown and harvested for fuel.
Algae is extremely rich in oil and scientists have been able to isolate the types of algae that have the most oil and the best suitability to be used for fuel. Extensive research has been done from the 1970s through late 1990s, especially during the Carter administration. In fact, there are existing patents for using algae as a base for fuel. Funding and budget shortages ended research at that time.
There is good news, however. With all eyes on the fuel crisis, there are three U.S. studies being performed regarding the viability of using algae to create alternative fuel. Additionally, there are studies being performed in Japan, Australia and other countries involving major oil companies.
Algae may very well be a big part of the solution to the fuel crisis affecting the U.S. and the world. Though there are no immediate answers and though it will probably take a combination approach, algae could alleviate a substantial part of the fuel crisis at a reasonable cost, and the good news is that it is available everywhere.