Eco Factor: Concept electric vehicle designed to be powered by renewable energy.

Designed by Vlad Icobet, the Renault Aeon is a concept electric vehicle that makes sure that your daily commute to the office has minimum impact on the ecosystem. The all-electric car is inspired by modern architectural structures that are blended with natural organic forms.

The futuristic vehicle offers state-of-the-art technology and materials that provide optimum quality and high performance at the same time. The teardrop aerodynamic shape helps the two-seater vehicle reach high speeds without emitting any harmful gases in the process.

The large daylight openings of the vehicle ensure a clear and open interior space. The vehicle’s polycarbonate surface is covered with nano photovoltaic cells that recharge the vehicle’s onboard batteries on the move.

Via: Behance

Eco Factor: Students develop bio-cell to clean sewage water and generate electricity.

A team of engineering students at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur have developed a bio-cell, which they claim can be used to treat sewage water and also generate renewable electricity – a solution that can solve the energy and water crisis in one go.

The bio-cell (LOCUS) can be set up in the form of a plant, which can treat sewage water for a housing complex as it flows through the plant. The patent-pending invention carries a cell that will automatically grow millions of anaerobic bacteria that multiply through respiration. This bacterium cleans up the sewage water and in the process generates free electrons, which can be harnessed for renewable energy.

The team believes that the its present stage, the cell can clean up to 50,000 liters of sewage water, about the amount produced by 100 residential units in a day. Though the energy output of the cell won’t power any air conditioners, the team believes that if 350 units are installed, the cells can generate enough electricity to meet 50% of the demand of an apartment complex with 100 apartments.

Via: Times of India

Eco Factor: Research focuses on ways to produce biomass best suited for biofuel production.

Researchers at Purdue University have identified and grouped the genes responsible for cell wall development in maize, which could further help discover ways to produce biomass best suited for biofuel production. Discovering some 32,000 genes of maize, scientists can study the function of individual genes and how they affect plant development.

The research team was mostly interested in studying the genes that regulate cellulose, lignin and other parts of the plant’s cell walls. The team now hopes to develop catalysts or catalytic sites into plants and use heat or chemical catalysts to directly convert the biomass into fuel.

Scientists can grow plants that have a gene mutation and compare them to those without the mutation to understand how changes alter biomass accumulation or quality in maize. The next step in using the data collected will include testing the mutant genes and exploring how expression of particular genes can be regulated to produce desired characteristics in a maize plant.

Via: Purdue University [Press Release]

Eco Factor: Renewable energy power plant to be set up for Crayola.

PPL Renewable Energy has joined forces with UGI Corp. and Crayola to break ground on a 15-acre solar energy park at Crayola’s headquarters and manufacturing facility in Forks Township. The renewable energy generated by the solar farm will help the company to produce 3 billion crayons.

Equipped with 26,000 solar panels, the solar farm will be installed by First Solar and will be able to produce 1.9MW of power, which is 10% of the company’s total annual energy consumption. The high-efficiency solar panels being used in the project will also be able to produce energy even on an overcast day, ensuring that the manufacturing facility always get a share of renewable energy.

Via: LehighValleyLive

Eco Factor: Robotic alarm clock made from found items.

While most alarm clocks are equipped with a neat little button that allows you to snooze for a few more minutes before you get ready for the day, designer Vadim Ryazanov thinks that the same button is the reason most of us are frequently late at work.

Vadim is a creator of Mr. Wake, a small robotic alarm clock that not only ensures that you’re awake before the alarm is turned off, but also helps you burn a few calories in doing so. The robotic clock is made from a found alarm clock and carries a frame made from plastic pens.

The clock is equipped with infrared sensors that detect motion. When the user attempts to shut off the alarm, the robot drives away, forcing the user to get out of the bed and run after it to catch it and then turn it off.

Via: Designboom

Eco Factor: Mixed-use space created from office waste.

Creating functional pieces of art from items that no one bothers to give a second look at is what artists Antoine Morris and David Long believe in doing. The duo has created The Mobile Office from waste materials found within a one-block radius of their office.

The self-contained space can be used both as an office and a living area. The discarded materials with which the office has been made was transported by bikes and the only material that is new in the design is the hardware that holds the recycled stuff together.

The sleeping platform can be raised or lowered depending on the use. The Mobile Office also features shelving and a work area, the positions of which can also be adjusted. More shelving or platforms can be added within the compact space.

Via: PSFK

Eco Factor: Low-emission car powered by a gasoline/LPG hybrid engine.

Often being criticized for a fuel-guzzling high-emission engine, Alfa Romeo has tried to solve some woes with a newly launched dual-fueled LPG version of the Turbo 1.4-liter engine in a hatchback model.

The vehicle reduces CO2 emissions down to 131g/km, while still churning out 120hp and reaching 100kph in just 8.8 seconds. The vehicle is equipped with a 39-liter LPG reservoir, which along with a standard gasoline tank allows the vehicle to run for 1200km. Benefiting from tax exemptions, the vehicle will retail for €13,900 in Italy.

Via: AutoBlogGreen

Eco Factor: Concept streetlamp designed to harness wind energy.

With energy resources being depleted with every passing day, industrial designers are trying to power gadgets with the abundant energy that can be harnessed from renewable sources. Designer Kyung Kuk Kim is proposing a streetlamp that harnesses wind energy not only to power itself, but to power other nearby streetlamps as well.

Dubbed Wind Lamp, the concept streetlamp is equipped with wind-harnessing generators that power the built-in LEDs. All excess energy is transferred to nearby streetlamps to make sure that they too don’t need any additional help from the grid.

Via: YankoDesign

In this fast-moving world with an even faster shrinking space, folding bikes are an interesting solution to address concerns pertaining to transportation and storage. Take a look at top of the edge folding concept bicycles that offer a unique combination of speed, folding ease, compactness, engineering, ride, weight, durability and price.

Eco Factor: Wind farm with an installed capacity of 140.7MW.

New South Wales has finally got its biggest wind farm, the Capital Wind Farm that can generate renewable energy to power over 60,000 homes. The wind farm is equipped with 67 Suzlon S88 wind turbines, each of which can generate about 2.1MW of clean power.

Collectively the wind farm has an installed capacity of about 140.7MW, which is about five times more than any other wind farm in New South Wales. The farm will power a new desalination plant at Kurnell.

Image Courtesy: Wikipedia

Via: EnergyMatters