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I have uploaded the Sean Seamour II rescue video edited by NOAA for the COSPAS SARSAT 25th anniversary
Sean Seamour II rescue

Additionally, WPLG Local 10, the ABC station for south Florida ran a story on the EPIRB failure that almost cost us our lives, it is now on the internet “Boaters beware…how a mixup in registration numbers could cost you your life…exclusive on abc channel 10″

Tags: ACR, Add new tag, epirb, sean seamour II, sean seymour, USCG

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My absence from the blog for the past few months has not been due to holding my breath on EESTOR expectations (still holding regardless of the extraordinary data I will be publishing below), but due to the intensive investigative effort regarding my cloned and failed GPIRB (EPIRB with GPS integrated function) that is now coming to a close. I will report within the next few weeks on that life threatening event under section Sean Seamour / the Tale of Two EPIRBs, but wish to thank all at this time the extraordinary efforts deployed by the team that has already brought about process and policy changes within the administrations involved, with much more to come.

Today I will be focussing on EESTOR as mentioned above and the next few days on new STEYR Hybrid propulsion system. Both are emblematic of new technologies that are game changers for the mariner community at large.

The Zenn Motor company who is first in line (before Lockheed Martin, let alone the new partner Light Electric Vehicles Company) to integrate the ESU (Energy Storage Unit), has just published some remarkable data which speaks for itself. We would have preferred the data directly through Eestor always as secretive (understandable when you are about to turn a market in its head) but as Zenn is a shareholder I am republishing from their site ZENNERGY the following charts :

I have mentioned in the past the paradigm changes the Eestor ESU represents, the chart above illustrates it all. For those less conversant with metric measures the following chart again taken from the Zennergy site is just as eloquent :

It is important to emphasize that with the ESU, much like the traditional capacitor, the full 52kWh capacity is available until full discharge versus varying percentages around the 50% mark for competing technologies. This means longer legs combined with almost no resistance to charge (3 to 6 minutes versus hours).

NOW, is that a paradigm change?

I am still dreaming of installing a methanol fuel cell in lieu of the diesel ICE to power an electric motor, unfortunately, although great strides are being made that configuration is still some years ahead.

My alternative after reviewing various diesel electric and hybrid solutions will be integrated hybrid diesel-electric propulsion, object of an upcoming post that will update information already available on the blog.

Tags: EEStor, ESU, hybrid propulsion, Steyr Hybrid Propulsion, ultracapacitators

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The November issue of Soundings magazine presents a five page article on the rescue of the Sean Seamour II crew and a section with early findings on the investigation of the ACR EPIRB, unit that not only ceased to function less than two hours after initiation, but its “unique” hexadecimal code had been duplicated into another ACR EPIRB that mislead the US Coast Guard into believing it was a false alert.
This EPIRB section of the article (not presented here) details the early out-of-date findings and interviews that by nature includes substantial errors, since the journalist’s writing the investigation has advanced by leaps and bounds, for the safety of all I will publish these corrections and findings in the near future.

Extracted from Soundings Magazine, November 2008 issue..

The Crew of a 44-foot cutter narrowly survive a knockdown, a 360-degree roll and, ultimately, the loss of their boat in a fierce Atlantic storm..

By Douglas A. Campbell Senior Writer

There was no conversation in the saloon of the 44-foot cutter Sean Seamour II, where the crew had retreated to ride out the huge storm waves one spring night in 2007. A drogue had been deployed on more than 500 feet of line, and a reefed storm jib was keeping the bow pointing downwind.

Outside, the storm howled, and mountains of water loomed 70 feet above the stern. Inside, only Rudy Snel’s voice occasionally broke through the roar, which had become background noise. Wind speeds were consistently reading above 70 knots. The 62-year-old Snel sat at the chart table and let his new friends know whenever there was a gust of more than 80 knots.

Ben Tye, 31, was sitting in the curved settee behind the oval table to port. Jean Pierre de Lutz, 56, the skipper, a citizen of the united States and France who owned the center cockpit Beneteau, was in one of the cushioned seats to starboard. As seas pounded the port bow with frightening frequency, Snel, a retired school teacher, remained at the nav station long enough to announce a high gust of 85.5 knots. Then he went back to the aft stateroom to nap. His rest would be short-lived; the following near-death experience would be anything but../… go to Death’s Door

Tags: ACR, balise sarsat, epirb, sean seamour II

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gCaptain.com is an exciting resource for mariners we invite you to visit, you can also listen to their weekly podcast, Messing About in Ships, four of which have been dedicated to the Sean Seamour II and faulty EPIRB events (as referenced below) of May 7, 2007:

Tags: C130, epirb, gCaptain.com, HH-60, podcast, robin storm, US Coast Guard

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On this anniversary of the loss of Sean Seamour II and the traumatic experience of clinging to a life raft in seventy foot seas with the belief that no help is on the way, I call on all mariners to read and consider appropriate measures to avoid our predicament.

Your EPIRB can be the only link left with the world, and as such, is a critical element of security for all mariners regardless of purpose. Ensuring their proper registration and operation is just as critical to avoid adding another entry to the long list of “lost at sea statistics”. Even then, do not take for granted third party assurance that you are fully operational, redundancy can be the best hedge against the odds. Had I not kept my old and obsolete EPIRB I would not be here to tell the tale of two EPIRBS aboard s/v Sean Seamour II.

Tags: 406 rapidfix, ACR, andrea, epirb, gpirb, sean seamour II, US Coast Guard

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The Iskra Hybrid system is not unique inasmuch as it principle has been adopted by part of the automotive industry and first tier OEM’s to enable the introduction of hybrid vehicles, but Iskra’ development is truly innovative to marine community and has already been adapted to this environment by OEM manufacturers such as Steyr and Frauscher motorboats. Taking from Iskra’ documentation the following presentation provides some fascinating advantages that we will illustrate through their different operating modes.

If we could bolt this unit behind the diesel power plant of SS3 we would all of a sudden have four potentially high value added functions in one unit:

1. Starter motor
2. Generator
3. Electric Propulsion motor, and finally
4. Booster motor

(more….)

Tags: flywheel motor generator, hybrid electric propulsion, Iskra, Sean Seamour

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Reviewing the presentation abstracts of the Small Fuel Cells 2008 Portable & Micro Fuel Cells For Commercial & Military Applications we though interesting to single out four of these that appear of interest from a topical perspective, notably in the search of fuel cell / battery synergies.

Starting with EnerFuel, sister subsidiary of Ener1 Inc’s Enerdel we have been watching in the Lithium-ion battery development for automotive applications (The EnerDel packs for the TH!NK City have been announced at 26 kWh capacity and 180 km range) :

“Development of a Fully-Integrated, Hybrid, High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell/ Lithium Ion Battery Power Plant

Daniel A. Betts, PhD, Engineering Manager, EnerFuel, a subsidiary of Ener1, Inc.
From a business standpoint, Ener1, Inc. is well-positioned to take advantage of the upcoming demand for fuel cell/battery automotive power plants. Ener1 is the parent company of EnerDel, an automotive lithium-ion battery developer, and EnerFuel, a fuel cell company. While EnerDel is in the process of establishing itself as an important player in the automotive lithium ion battery market, EnerFuel has been developing fuel cells with substantial technical advantages over traditional automotive fuel cell technologies. EnerFuel has pioneered high temperature PEM fuel cell stacks. High temperature operation has allowed EnerFuel to pursue designs that are durable, thermally stable, compact, and relatively inexpensive. In this presentation, quantifiable benefits of EnerFuel’s high temperature PEM fuel cell are discussed.”

This FC / battery synergy is further supported by an abstract from Germany’s Fraunhofer ICT with a call for ethanol FC development. Nobody can say today where the crop diversion for ethanol debate will lead but ethanol policies prevail on both sides of the pond :

“Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells: An Emerging Technology with Reduced Logistic Footprint for Military and Civil Applications

Michael Krausa, PhD, Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology ICT, Germany*

An important goal of replacing primary batteries by hybrids of rechargeable batteries and fuel cells is to reduce the logistic effort in power supply. Fuel cells using ethanol would be beneficial as ethanol offers a higher availability and easier handling compared to methanol. However, the performance of today’s DEFCs does not compete with that of commercial DMFCs. To improve this performance two approaches are currently pursuit, a multistep process in proton exchange membrane based DEFC and alkaline DEFC using anion exchange membranes. The current state of the art of both approaches will be presented and their advantages and disadvantages will be discussed.
*In collaboration with: Carsten Cremers, PhD, Fraunhofer ICT”

For years the military have pushed for fuel cells to replace high thermal signature diesel generators, fuel was to date one of the stumbling blocks. We announced some time back ongoing efforts to develop on-board JP-8 and diesel reformers to feed the fuel cell, interesting data from IdaTech :

“Military Fuel Cells for Tactical Power Generation and Battery Charging

Eric Simpkins, Vice President, IdaTech, LLC

IdaTech has developed two small fuel cell systems for commercial, defense and civil applications. A fully integrated 250 Watt portable fuel cell power plant has applications as a battery charger or stand-alone power plant. This system is commercially available, and will be hardened for defense applications. A fully integrated 3 kW fuel cell system has been developed for the Army, that is fueled with flightline jet and diesel fuels.”

Finally, the Department of Energy’s PNNL / BMI national laboratories are studying the economic trade-offs in commercial markets between advanced battery and fuel cell technologies :

“Identification and Characterization of Near-Term Commercial Markets for PEM Fuel Cells in Portable Applications
Kathleen Judd, Senior Research Scientist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory / Battelle Memorial Institute
In a study for the U.S. Department of Energy, TV broadcasting video cameras were identified as a near-term opportunity for portable direct hydrogen PEM fuel cells. A technical comparison of PEM fuel cells and competing battery alternatives was performed for TV broadcasting video cameras. The comparison includes a lifecycle cost analysis of fuel cell and battery technologies (lithium ion and nickel cadmium) under different use scenarios for TV broadcasting video cameras. A sensitivity analysis was also performed to show the variability in average annual system cost as individual factors (e.g. cost, durability of the fuel cell) are varied while other factors are held constant. A value proposition was defined for this market based on the overall market, economic, and technology assessments.”

There is a lot more to read and learn by perusing the abstracts and if some of our readers have the chance of attending the conference we welcome their input. Finally, another comment of interest is VIASPACE’s call for form, fit, function standardization of methanol recharges for portable applications, kind of wish the call was for converting one of those dockside pumps to methanol!

Tags: Battelle, Ener1, Enerdel, Fraunhofer ICT, fuel cell, hybrid propulsion, IdaTech iGen, PNNL

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We noted some months ago Maxwell Technologies collaborating with China’s leading Li-ion Tianjin Lishen Battery to combine the strengths of a double layer capacitor with a Li-ion battery. Now Market and technology leaders in battery technology Johnson Controls (Optima, Varta, etc) and SAFT (high end defense and space applications), after winning the Daimler hybrid supply contract and opening a dedicated plant in Nersac France, have announced a development collaboration through which Maxwell will produce lithium-ion battery electrodes for testing and evaluation by Johnson Controls-Saft.

In effect we have gone from a battery versus ultracapacitor logic to merging their respective qualities. Consider, until EEStor proves the contrary with their EESU, that ultracapacitors can only hold a fraction of the electrical charge that batteries can hold (research at MIT seeks to reach 25%) but that capacity can be totally drained with no memory effect, no loss in capacity and much faster charge-discharge times. On the other hand to prolong battery life less than 20% of a chemical battery’s capacity can be used. Combine an ultracapacitor with perhaps 25% of battery capacity but no restrictions on full discharge could actually provide more power and a longer range.

In our marine environment these developments are of great interest as mass production of lithium-ion batteries for hybrid vehicles combining Maxwell’s ultracapacitor technology would allow better capture of renewable energy from multiple sources such as regenerative sailing, solar and of course wind generation. (more…)

Tags: EEStor, hybrid propulsion, Johnson Controls, maxwell technologies, saft, ultracapacitors

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As follow up to our posting of Orja Protonics of March 18 Oorja Protonics Emerges and Raises the Stakes hereunder is their latest press release of April 14 anouncing a demonstration :

Oorja Announces First Public Demonstration of Ultra-Powerful New Methanol Fuel Cell for Material Handling Vehicles
Oorja Protonics CEO to Unveil OorjaPac^TM at NA2008 in Cleveland, Ohio April 21-24
FREMONT, California (April 14, 2008) Oorja Protonics, the industry leaders in ultra-powerful Direct Methanol Fuels Cells (DMFCs) will give the first public showing of their innovative OorjaPac^TM on-board battery charging system for the material handling industry.
The press conference at noon on Tuesday April, 22 in Cleveland’s IX Center Press Room will be the first public opportunity to hear Oorja’s CEO, Sanjiv Malhotra, PhD discuss the breakthrough technologies in these powerful new fuel cells. The fuel cell will be demonstrated at the press conference and at the Oorja booth #2639. OorjaPac will also be shown at NA 08 in conjunction with FMC Technologies and MHD Green Energy Solutions. Oorja Protonics is expected to make a big splash with this green technology at this year’s NA 2008 show hosted by the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA).
“It made perfect sense for us to publicly display OorjaPac^TM for the first time at NA08 which is a leading expo for the material handling industry” said Sanjiv Malhotra, Founder and CEO of Oorja. “The NA08 show provides us with the ideal platform for demonstrating the value associated with onboard charging and address any technical questions on OorjaPac^TM.”
OorjaPac^TM is a breakthrough onboard charging system for forklifts, pallet loaders, and other material handling vehicles and charges their batteries both while they operate and under idling conditions. OorjaPac^TM addresses a number of critical problems faced by the material handling vehicle users. These include:
•
Low runtime with batteries on a single charge, resulting in the need to purchase and maintain multiple batteries per vehicle and conduct battery swaps in order to get through one full day of operation
•
Significant vehicle and labor downtime during non productive activities such as battery swapping, resulting in reduced operational productivity
•
Reduced battery life due to inadequate charging and cooling processes
•
High operational costs associate with the incumbent approach, namely maintaining real estate for battery swapping/charging rooms and the labor associated with the battery swapping process
Operating as an onboard battery charger, OorjaPac^TM addresses all of these concerns and provides a compelling ROI. For example, when installed onboard Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) in a pilot program with a global automotive OEM, OorjaPac^TM was able to deliver a savings of 82% in time – or 431 minutes of operation per vehicle, per week. The net result was a substantial increase in productivity and reduction in both capital and operational expenditure.

Tags: direct methanol fuel cells, DMFC, hybrid electric propulsion, Oorja Protonics, seanseamour

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Hardly a week goes by without some hopeful news about EEStors emergence from secrecy. I invite you to read the [press release] http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=837653 of ZENN Motor Company’s Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders (published by Marketwire)with encouraging data regarding the availability and performance of the EEStor Ultracapacitor technology — still holding our breath just imagine a configuration build from unconfirmed data!

The unit is said to hold 15kwh which could provide a PEV with : – an autonomy of say 60 miles (100km) with a – unit weight of approximately 100lbs (45 kilos)

Now, considering Zenn’s announced 250 miles (400km) of autonomy we are looking at an energy storage package designed to be racked or stacked, capable of microsecond recharging that weighs approximately 400lbs (180kg) and hold 60kwh.

Configure this on Sean Seamour III with an Oorja Protonics direct methanol fuel cell generating 10kwh with power reserve to punch through bad weather in the ultracapacitor; wind, solar and regenerative sailing feeding the storage bank with no internal resistance other than maximum capacity – why am I still holding my breath?

p.s. Oorja Protonics, perhaps at the emerging industry leader in ultra-powerful Direct Methanol Fuels Cells (DMFCs) will give the first public showing of their innovative OorjaPac™ on-board battery charging system for the material handling industry on Tuesday April, 22

Tags: dfmc, EEStor, energy storage, Fuel Cells, hybrid propulsion, Oorja Protonics, ultracapacitors

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Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DFMC) that claim to be ten to a hundred times more powerful than the existant!

No, it doesn’t appear to be blue sky, this would be the fifth generation developed and deployed with industrial end users since 2005 as a self contained retrofits for material handling vehicles like pallet loaders, tuggers, and automated guided vehicles. Oorja Protonics’s fuel cells are retrofitted into the battery compartment to operate as an on-board battery charger that continuously charges the smaller battery that appears to function as an energy storage buffer.

If our hopes of seeing a fuel cell crossover from the automotive sector to the marine recreational market were faded with recent announcements by GM and Toyota, perhaps we will see the migration from industrial applications such as materials handling equipment. Considering such equipment can weigh several tons, constantly demanding torque effort for traction and hydraulics, the simple math “guestimate” appears encouraging when preliminary data shows two full eight hour shifts for five gallons of methanol – less than a litre an hour. Try that with a 50 to 75 hp Yanmar or Volvo diesel, oversized to compensate for low torque at low RPM range at which sailors usually motor.

Borrowing from the company’s press release as published on Business Wire, “Oorja’s direct methanol fuel cells are novel in that they eliminate the barriers associated with hydrogen fuel cell adoption, namely the high price of compressed hydrogen gas, lack of hydrogen supply infrastructure, and hydrogen’s inherent volatility as a fuel source. Methanol is a much better alternative to hydrogen fuel cells due to its low cost, ready availability, and greatly reduced volatility.”

Already some weeks ago I was wondering on this blog what ever happened to the Daimler Chrysler’s NECAR 5 which as early as 2002 made a trip from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., the first attempt to drive a methanol charged fuel-cell-powered car cross-country. The car had to be refueled about every 300 miles. Again wondering about China’s push towards methanol as an alternative energy (leading world producer).

But today’s announcements of Oorja Protonics was but one response, add to this the EU-funded METHAPU (‘Validation of renewable methanol based auxiliary power systems for commercial vessels’) project, which after nearly one and a half years of research and development, is about to start trials on a prototype of a methanol-based solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) unit (imagine the Violet Fuel Cell Stick). The protoype will be tried and tested for performance and emissions under real-life conditions onboard a car transport vessel involved in international trade.

Oorja Protonics appears to be well prepared for a major push into the market, “while many hydrogen fuel cell providers are still developing their technology”, says CEO Sanjiv Malhotrahe “the OorjaPac is tested and ready for use. We are not selling an R&D dream, this is a full commercial solution we are selling.” Oorja Protonics is funded by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital (the main backer of YouTube) and DAG Ventures and others and plans to announce a major contract with a Tier I automotive manufacturing company very shortly.
Founded by Sanjiv Malhotra, for more than ten years he has been at the forefront of commercial development of alternative power generation and storage technologies. Early in his career as a researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories in Berkeley California, he worked on pioneering developments with Zinc-Air batteries. In addition to his technical skills, he went on to take H-Power, a leading fuel cell company, public in August of 2000 and was also a senior executive at another prominent fuel cell company DCH Technologies. Before founding Oorja he was a consultant with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (who we have identified as backing other energy startups of great promise, notably EEStor and Ausra) where he assisted its venture partners with due diligence for energy related investment opportunities.

Tags: DMFC, hybrid propulsion, Oorja Protonics, seanseamour

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After the January announcement of the marketing agreement with Lockheed Martin, news bits from Zenn announcing a performance upgrade for their electric vehicles, Forbes actually published a picture of the long awaited “arlesienne”

Perhaps more interesting yet is the performances announced in the Forbes articleby Melanie Linder “EEStor says it solved that problem using a ceramic ultracapacitor with a barium-titanate insulator that can absorb higher amounts of energy per given unit of mass (called specific energy). According to the company, EEStor’s batteries boast specific energy of 280 watt-hours per kilogram, whereas a lithium ion battery has about 120 watt-hours and a lead-acid gel battery, commonly used in golf carts and motor scooters, has only 32 watt hours”

But this is just one of the news bits, even if much appears as updates of previous articles, MIT’s Technology Review has an interesting article publishes on January 22nd :

“A New Deal for EEStor. A delayed battery technology may indeed be on the way”

We are all holding our breath but to add to the excitement Popular Mechanics published yesterday an article relating to research under way at MIT on what appears to be yet another approach to advanced ultracapacitors, I refer you to “MIT Builds Efficient Nanowire Storage to Replace Car Batteries“.

update

EEStor : the next paradigm shift?

Is if for real? The bold claims about a new ultracapacitor technology rendering the battery to an object of the past has nurtured more and more scepticicsm as milestones were left behind. We watched Zenn Motors re-engine to turtle speed it’s PEV launch… we had almost forgotten EEStor, then as we reported last week, out of the blue Lockheed Martin jumped into the fray to secure exclusive rights for defense and homeland security applications and this morning Zenn Motors is all of a sudden announcing plans for remotorization of its PEV to intitially announced specs.

MIT’ Technology Review “A New Deal for EEStor, a delayed battery technology may indeed be on the way” adds another layer of comfort today, rehashing a lot of what we know but with some bells and whistles that could spell the words “for real”; as a teaser we will borrow from the article as follows : “ZENN chief executive Ian Clifford remains optimistic. “Every restatement of delivery time has been for good reasons,” he says, suggesting that the Lockheed announcement and the due diligence that led to it “add credibility to the technology.” He’s now expecting delivery of the energy-storage unit in mid-2008. And it won’t be a prototype, he emphasizes: it will be a mass-produced commercial product. “This is about commercialization, not hitting technology roadblocks. We’re in constant contact with EEStor, with regular visits to their site. We always come away from every meeting much more excited that this is going to happen.”

Tags: EEStor, energy storage, hybrid propulsion, ultracapacitors

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Violet^TM Fuel Cell Stick^TM claims they have overcome the most significant obstacles to fuel cells while increasing output by almost an order of magnitude “‘We believe that this is the highest density, scalable fuel cell in the world, and we are confident that we can quickly go much higher” said co-founder of Violet^TM Fuel Cell Sticks^TM Alan Devoe. For a full description of the technology I encourage all to register an d review the white paper at www.violetfuelcellsticks.com.
The impact of this technology could be quite extraordnary for those likeus waiting for a automotive/marine crossover; as while Toyota and General Motors are pushing back expected launch dates fuel cell hybrid vehicles for many of the reasons this technology appears to resolve. It would be interesting to compare VW’s lower temperature SOFC development in this area.

To recap the announced performance they have achieved an extremely high, 15KW/Liter cell density with their Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Stick^TM. Previous commercial fuel cells, including both SOFCs and PEMs, have struggled to meet a target of 2KW/Liter; and previous advanced concepts have struggled to achieve 4KW/Liter. The VioletTM StickTM has overcome the most significant hurdles facing fuel cells, and it resolves the technical limitations of existing technologies, such as sealing, cracking and manifolding problems, and poor volumetric density. Their technology offers a fundamental change to the physical structure of SOFCs enabling it appears for the first time, high density, low cost, mass produced solid state engines. The technology opens the door to mass production for numerous applications to include automotive and advanced vehicle concepts.

Tags: bateauvert, fuel cell stick, greenboat, hybrid propulsion, renewable energy, sofc fuel cell, Violet Fuel Stick

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Here is the schema of the recently released Steyr Hybid Propulsion system, the data below is taken from their brochure. It is strangly similar to the Hyperion system we will be presenting shortly.
“This is our integrated flywheel generator (IFG) was developed in collaboration with the Universities of Ljubljana and Vienna and ISKRA Avtoelektrika d.d. Our own product, the STEYR HYBRID SOLUTION has been developed in team work with several regional companies that have merged into “Netzwerk ADC plus”.

(more …)

Tags: flywheel generator motor, hybrid propulsion, integrated electric diesel, seanseamour, steyr

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EEStor is a small private Texas company known primarily for being one of the most secretive players in the energy storage development community. If I said energy storage versus battery it is beacuse of the nature of this company’ product development which has claimed will rereplace the battery. EEStor has been working on a new method for making ultracapacitors, which are battery-like devices that if successful, would enable a plug-in vehicle such as Canada’ Zenn that had been counting on this technology for which they hold exclusive rights for the automotive sector, to be recharged in the same amount of time it takes to pump a tank of fuel and drive 300 miles (500km) on that one charge. The deal with ZENN Motor and a $3 million investment by the venture capital group Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which made big-payoff early bets on companies like Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., provided creedance that EEStor might be on the edge of a breakthrough technology (more…)

Update [~Jan~~15~]

AFS Trinty unveils 150mpg (1.5l/100km) extreme hybrid SUV

An interesting application of ultra capacitors explained and applied in the AFS Trinity Power system presented in Detroit, considering similar draws in a marine environment such as the high battery drain of such applications as electric winches, windlass and starter motors, it appears that untracapacitators could be ideal recipients of solar, wind and regenerative sailing sources to meet such punctual needs.

Tags: greenboat, hybrid electric propulsion, next generation batteries, seanseamour, ultracapacitators

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We have hesitated until now to publish data regarding A123 as their Iron Phosphate technology appeared close to other companies I had already published, although summarily. What strikes me today is the link to the Stanford University nanostructure breakthrough that has demonstrated the ability to multiply by ten the storage capability of Li-ion cells (see posting Getting a grip on Lithium-Ion).

It appears that already before the Stanford research announcement A123 has taken a leading position in automotive applications, we previously announced that Continental in Germany was planning to introduce a Li-ion battery in 2008, this will be based on A123 cells, and the company is also in co-leading position with its Korean competitor to supply General Motors’ Volt vehicle.

What is important here is that the manufacturer tunes the cell to obtain either for higher power or for greater energy density. Total energy determines the vehicle’s range, whereas available higher power determines its acceleration — considering that in a marine environment we have no need for higher power (rubber to road versus prop to water) torque is the constant applied to a propeller whatever the rpm. The link to Dr. Cui’ silicon nanowire enhancement to A123 battery technology is of critical value for future marine applications, all the more of claims of increasing energy density tenfold come true as it offsets one of the downsides of this Li-ion technology. (more…)

Tags: A123, hybrid propulsion, Li-Ion automotive batteries in 2008, seanseamour III

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Ener1 chairman says lithium-ion batteries coming to market in 2008

“Our batteries have already been tested by the United States Advanced Battery Consortium, which is General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. We are the only battery company today using this Lithium-ion technology, which has met or exceeded all of the Big Three’s requirements, especially and most importantly best-in-class in safety. We have already announced a commercial contract with Think Electric Vehicle in Norway. It’s the largest electric vehicle company in Europe. You will see our batteries in their cars by the end of 2008″ Gassenheimer added, referring to a $70 million development and supply agreement signed in October.

Mr. Gassenheimer said that the size of the market for Lithium-ion power sources for electrical transportation, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and pure electric vehicles will burgeon in the next decade. The new technology (more…)

Tags: diesel electric, electric drive, hybrid propulsion, Li-Ion automotive batteries in 2008, regenerative sailing, Sean Seamour III

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From the sailor – laymen’ perspective Lithium Ion batteries are a dream come true. If it all checks out we can multiply our load capacity in the same allotted space while maintaining our waterline; we can run that horrible diesel a fraction of what we are accustomed to reload our battery banks, and even aspire to rid ourselves completely from the noisy smelly clunker with whom we maintain a symbiotic love hate relationship. But what of the echoes of a glaring side effects: they can short on occasion, in industry parlance initiate a “runaway thermal reaction”, again in layman’s terms a fire capable of burning its way right through the hull.

The noted events of laptop batteries catching fire that have cost companies like Sony a bundle are supposed to be a thing of the past, yet airlines are putting some restrictions on “how much extra power” we can take on board in the form of spare batteries – infinitesimal compared to what we need on board a sailing vessel. On the other hand we can see Li-Ion batteries going into similarly critical applications such as hybrid and electric automobiles, submarines and spacecraft.

In keeping with our crossover logic that implies that development in the hybrid automotive sector is ultimately good for sailboat propulsion retrofits, battery technology is the essential building block for our hybrid rolling and floating stock. In 2008 at least five manufacturers will be commercially launching a variety of Li-Ion batteries for automotive and industrial applications (more…)

Tags: bateau vert, diesel electric, fuel cell, green boat, hybrid propulsion, lithium ion batteries, nanotechnology, nauticat 33, Sean Seamour III

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Looking, let alone seeking to implement some of the new technologies available to equip our sailboats today requires a phenomenal culture change as there are some major paradigm shifts under way. Consider batteries that will be able to charge 90% of their capacity in less than five minutes, this in a weight-volume ratio to to load capacity often half if not less than what we are accustomed to.

In the area of electric propulsion similar technology migrations have been accomplished. Below is an explanation, or rather a part thereof, of how seemingly small electric engines can perform better than the powerful diesels we are used to. The data is taken from David Tether’s website I invite you to visit http://www.electricmarinepropulsion.org , undoubtedly one of the pioneers of hybrid propulsion having first created STI. We will be borrowing from his experience in various areas.

How can those little motors replace a great big diesel?

Our 16 kw motor is less than 19 inches long (excluding the shaft), 11 inches wide and weighs 150 pounds. Its calculated horsepower rating is just over 20. Yet it can easily turn a 30 inch propeller that would choke a 50 hp diesel. How is that possible (more…)?

Tags: diesel electric, electric drive, hybrid propulsion, Li-Ion automotive batteries in 2008, regenerative sailing, Sean Seamour III

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IdaTech’s direct hydrogen-fueled ElectraGen™ family of backup power solutions is an economical alternative to traditional battery powered systems for markets such as telecommunications, utilities, public safety networks, and any application requiring high reliability and long lifetimes. IdaTech’s ElectraGen™ backup power systems are based on a modular and scalable design and are an ideal replacement for VRLA battery-only backup systems, providing 10 or more years of higher system reliability at an attractive initial cost and lower lifecycle cost. Transitioning to the ElectraGen™ product line to supply backup or critical power also eliminates the classic problems associated with lead acid battery-only solutions, including unpredictable performance and hazardous disposal, which greatly increases system reliability.

Advantages of the IdaTech ElectraGen™ solutions include proven dependable performance from a compact system, incredibly low maintenance requirements with annual inspection periods and zero emissions for an environmentally friendly alternative to directly support efforts towards alternative energy.

Available in a range of power outputs (3 – 5 kW) and operating on hydrogen or methanol-water fuel when paired with the ElectraGen™ XTR Module, the IdaTech ElectraGen™ systems provide a choice of solutions for a diverse range of industries. http://www.idatech.com/

Methanol fuel cells– how cost-efficient are they?

IdaTech, a fuel-cell manufacturer in Oregon, announced a smallish new fuel-cell power supply today, the 250-watt iGen. The announcement caught my eye because I’ve written here a few times about fuel cells and other alternative energy sources and this time I was able to figure out the device’s approximate cost of operation, something that usually isn’t disclosed for fuel cells (more…).

Tags: diesel electric, electric drive, hybrid propulsion, Li-Ion automotive batteries in 2008, regenerative sailing, Sean Seamour III

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After grabbing headlines for years as the ultimate solution to world energy problems, the “hydrogen economy” has an emerging but lesser-known competitor called the “methanol economy,” according to an article in Chemical & Engineering News.

In the article, C&EN Associate Editor Jyllian Kemsley describes how methanol, an alcohol like ethanol, shows increasing promise as an alternative energy source with advantages over both ethanol and hydrogen.

A methanol economy – championed in a 2006 book by chemistry Nobel Laureate George Olah – would not be dependent on bumper crops of corn and could provide lower tailpipe emissions and a reduced fire hazard. Besides powering automobile engines, methanol can also be used to power fuel cells and as a fuel for operating gas turbines at electric power plants, the article notes. It also can take the place of petroleum-based feedstocks for making a range of chemicals and materials, including plastics (more…).

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The Green Boat Adventure is an effort to monitor and analyze new and emerging technologies important to bettering our environment, and to help mariners and sailors who aspire to go green choose and implement the appropriate solutions.

It all started after the loss of our Sean Seamour II between Cape Hatteras and Bermuda last May 7th (Final Log), I was in quandary to define what Sean Seamour III should be. My wife Mayke had long insisted that we should have a silent boat (no diesel engine to smell or hear) and a catamaran for it offers a stable platform. I had long insisted that we would never have a boat that could not right itself from a 180°. After the events of May 7th, moving to a Catamaran is no longer a debate, on the other hand, silent clean propulsion remains both her desire and my curiosity.

Below you will find our most recent posts and scrolling through the menu bar constantly evolving data pertinent to the subject areas. Your input and contribution is welcomed.

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