Friday, November 21, 2008

Lithium phosphate batteries in Brammo’s Enertia all-electric motorcycle


Battery Companies On Starting Grid For Motorcycle Deal

21st November 2008

Valence Technology, a developer of safe lithium phosphate energy storage solutions, says that it has finalized a supply agreement with Brammo, a manufacturer of ultra-efficient, lightweight vehicles. Building on a collaborative development process, Valence will provide lithium phosphate batteries for installation in Brammo’s Enertia all-electric motorcycle.

"We are very pleased to announce this agreement as it reflects the hard work and collaboration of both the Valence and Brammo teams,” said Robert L. Kanode, president and CEO of Valence. "This agreement with Brammo epitomizes our approach to work with our customers from initial introduction to final adoption, which we are currently applying to other companies that are in our development pipeline. We continue to see growing acceptance of our lithium phosphate energy storage solutions in the electric vehicle market as we educate customers on the benefits of our technology.”

Weighing only 280 pounds, the Enertia motorcycle is an urban commuter bike that exceeds 50 mph and 45 miles on a single 3-hour charge. At approximately 40 cents per charge or about 1 cent per mile, the Enertia is positioned to be the compelling green alternative for the new urban consumer. The Enertia standard model went on sale in 2008.

“Following the successful completion of $10 million in Series A funding, this supply agreement with Valence was critical as we move forward to bring our Enertia motorcycle to market next year,” said Craig Bramscher, CEO of Brammo, Inc. “The battery is the enabling technology for our bike and Valence’s chemistry provides both an amazing life cycle and inherent safety not found in other lithium-ion batteries. We have been testing and evaluating their solution for some time and we were impressed by Valence’s level of knowledge and support.”

While modern motorcycles currently produce up to 15 times the emissions per mile as the average new car or light-duty truck, the Brammo Enertia emits no pollutants or carbon while riding, making it a true zero-emissions vehicle. The lithium phosphate energy storage solutions supplied by Valence contribute to Enertia’s extremely low environmental impact. In addition to being fully recyclable, lithium phosphate is also intrinsically safer than other lithium chemistries and contains no heavy metals.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Cool Earth's New inexpensive Concentrating PV balloon

Cool Earth has developed breakthrough solar technology that can ultimately produce enough clean energy to address the global energy crisis. This patented concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology dramatically reduces the cost and time to develop solar power plants capable of generating massive amounts of clean energy at prices competitive with fossil fuels.

Our technology, which is the basis for our power plants, is "reshaping solar energy" in a very literal way: Most of today's solar energy systems take the form of flat panels or boxes-with-lenses and require large amounts of heavy, expensive materials. Our inflated solar concentrators, on the other hand, are shaped like balloons and are primarily made of inexpensive and free materials. This design approach radically reduces material requirements as well as our plant deployment costs and time.

Schematic

Solar Concentrators Focus the Sun…

Our inflated, balloon-shaped concentrators are key to Cool Earth's innovative design. Each 8-foot-diameter concentrator is made of plastic film—the same kind of plastic film used to bag potato chips, pretzels, and so on—with a transparent upper hemisphere and a reflective lower hemisphere. When inflated with air, the concentrator naturally forms a shape that focuses or concentrates sunlight onto a PV cell placed at the focal point. This means we need fewer cells to produce a lot more electricity. In fact, a single cell in our concentrator generates about 300 to 400 times the electricity of a cell without a concentrator.

The inflated structure is naturally strong—strong enough to support a person's weight—and aerodynamically stable, able to withstand winds of 125 miles per hour. Finally, the transparent upper surface protects the PV cell and mirrored surface from the environment, including rain and snow, as well as insects and dirt.

Each concentrator has additional structural components: a small steel strut and a harness. The steel strut, tethered in place, holds the cell at the focal point inside the concentrator and provides a conduit for a small water loop that cools the cell. A lightweight, flexible steel band forms a harness around the circumference of the concentrator and is used to hold and point the concentrator.

A Support System Holds It All in Place…

The concentrators are suspended with our patented support system, which is based on the architectural principles of tensegrity. (Tensegrity structures stabilize their shapes by continuous tension or "tensional integrity" rather than by continuous compression.) The resulting system of wood posts and steel cables uses a minimum amount of material, has a small footprint, and causes the least disruption to the natural environment of any solar power plant.

…And, That's It!

All in all, a simple, elegant solution.


For More Information— Please download a copy of our Solar Power 2006 Presentation in PDF format.