Eco Factor: Electric car designed to be powered by zinc batteries.
Advanced Power and Energy Sources Transportation (APET) in Hong Kong is trying to revolutionize electric cars with a unique car that runs on zinc batteries and doesn’t need a plug-in recharge. The car dubbed Salamander will run on zinc air battery technology that till date has been used in hearing aids.
Eco Factor: Triple-junction solar cell with the world’s highest energy conversion efficiency.
Sharp has been trying to better its solar panels to make them feasible for a wide range of application areas. The company has recently announced a breakthrough technology with which it has achieved a record conversion efficiency of 35.8%.
Eco Factor: Concept electric pedal-assist bicycle with a carbon fiber frame.
The Tokyo Motor Show isn’t just about futuristic cars that tickle the imagination buds of most, but has a few hidden gems under its sleeve as well, and the Lexus HB concept bicycle is just one of them.
Eco Factor: Sustainable floating pavilion designed to harness solar energy for power.
Construction is underway on the climate change resilient floating pavilion designed by DeltaSync, a spin-off company of the Delft University of Technology and Public Domain Architecten. The eye-catching structure will be constructed in the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam, and will consist of three floating half-spheres. The structure will be 12 meters tall, with a total floor area the size of four tennis courts, and will be fully re-locatable.
Eco Factor: Carbon neutral housing project runs on solar energy.
This era belongs to architecture, and we’ve seen some really ingenious ways architecture can go green. Here is another similar plan by architect Carl Burdick. The architect has proposed a Zero Net Carbon Housing (ZNCH) project that makes its inhabitants live with minimum impact on the environment.
Eco Factor: One-piece solar mounting rack made from recycled materials.
Sollega Inc has announced its new InstaRack™, the solar industry’s first fully assembled, one-piece mounting rack made from recycled materials. The patent-pending no-assembly design reduces installation labor costs for flat commercial rooftops by up to half when compared with traditional systems. The InstaRack™ is compatible with most solar panels on the market today, allowing installers to continue working with the manufacturers of their choice while greatly reducing labor overhead.
Eco Factor: Ecofriendly pod generates renewable electricity and harvests rainwater.
The rise in the cost of energy has made many homeowners think about renewable energy that can initially be expensive, but they also have the potential to recoup their cost in terms of energy savings. The [Pod #001] is an ecofriendly pod that can connect with other dwellings for sustainable space and renewable energy generation.
Eco Factor: Ecofriendly vehicle runs on batteries.
Eco-minded designer Seth Kinmont surely is a designer who has the skills to bring the past into the future in a sustainable fashion. The designer has come up with an electric car that brings the great past of wooden buggies including a horse drawn carriage and an Amish cart into the future by converting it to run on clean electricity.
Eco Factor: Hi-tech recycling bin makes origami from waste paper.
Designed by Qianqian Tao, the Waste Paper Recycle Trash Bin is not just a way to dispose trash for further recycling, as this hi-tech bin recycles waste on its own. The system mixes waste paper with polyvinyl alcohol environment cement.
Eco Factor: Underwater turbines could generate 10TWh of energy annually.
Of all the forms of renewable energy, wave power seems the most complex, but if harnessed it could end the global dependence on fossil fuels for power. A spin-off from the Swedish military and aircraft design firm Saab Minesto has proposed the Deep Green Underwater turbine that could well generate about 18 terrawatthours of electricity annually by harnessing wave energy.
