GOODYEAR RELEASES ELECTRICITY-GENERATING TIRE CONCEPT

We’ve been getting a lot of positive news about electric cars recently. This week at the Geneva International Auto Show, Goodyear unveiled a new concept tire called the BH03. While we don’t know why it is called that, we do know that Goodyear’s new tire looks radical and could potentially generate electricity for electric cars by converting the friction heat of the tire on the road. Check out the video below…

The tire will collect heat in multiple ways, primarily from the friction heat, but also the heat generated by tire flex. The most interesting thing about these tires is that they can still collect heat while not moving! Small patches on the tire’s thermo-piezoelectric layer can collect heat from the sun on a hot day.

Watch the concept video:

More photos:

While this is still just a concept, with no clear way to power the car and no release date, we are excited by the potential. What do you think? Do you think this technology is practical and could be available in electric cars soon?

• deafgun
  As much as the idea is intriguing, I wonder if hitting the potholes will create more electricity? But its a wonderful idea that sun facing tires can also produce power for the car while either parked or on the road.
• GEA
  Excellent idea! However, durability and ROI will need to be proven before I would purchase.
• http://solar-power-now.com/ Solar-Power-Now.com
  Amazing tire technology. Yes, everything is starting to really look good for a full adoption of electric vehicles in the near future. These tires are just one of many tech advances in this space.
  • zeetz2004
    My limited knowledge about piezoelectricity generation prohibits me from making too many assumptions, but I’m learning…….apparently without friction or flexing movement of any kind, is not necessary, to generate electricity…….you good folks are probably more knowledgable than I am, but I am a hobby inventor w/ a sketchpad,……and after researching the propulsion of the “Mars Rover,”…I think it’s called, the builders are basically taking a raw heat source, (low grade, low emission radiation from spent uranium, and taking the “direct emitted heat….and converting it from direct heat to a direct conversion to electricity…with nothing rotating, in a circular fashion, around magnets or stators,,,,,,,,someone has the technology to directly take any heat source…and directly & spontaneously emit electricity,….are the giant automakers hiding this technology…….this would solve the problems of ‘range extenders’ for vehicles like Tesla….& Nissan Leaf cars……this would seriously jeopardize oil company profits, however…the conversation about generating electricity is becoming fascinating…gigantic amounts of static electricity is present all over our planet.
• Charles F. Easter
  Stupid, increasing Drag to produce power requires more power to drive the car.
  • Dr_StrangeKill
    It’s stupid to assume that this would increase drag. If, say, they decided to put a coil in the center of the tire, and rotate a magnet around it as the tire rotates to generate electricity, THAT would increase drag, as you would have fundamentally changed the function of the tire. While it WOULD generate electricity, you are correct to assume that it would NOT produce MORE power than was input to it. Think of a hand crank generator. You twist the crank, and it produces electricity, but it never produces ENOUGH electricity to continue turning the crank. YOU have to input power to the crank, which it converts into electricity.

    The difference between my simple and overly simplified example above, and the tires goodyear are creating, is that you are not ADDING any new function to the tire. Instead, they have simply found a way, by using the fundamental properties of the materials used to create the tire, to HARNESS power that ALL of our tires CONSTANTLY generate. Namely: heat, and friction. The piezoelectric materials used in the tire do not require additional input to generate energy. Rather, by the natural flexing of the tire on the road (the same flex that YOUR tires exhibit during everyday travel,) the material generates an electric charge. See the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eam1-9FDD-Y or this wiki article for more information about piezoelectric materials: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity.

    TL;DR: THEY ARENT INCREASING DRAG, BUT HARNESSING THE NATURAL HEAT AND FRICTION ALL TIRES EXPERIENCE WITH REALLY COOL MATERIALS
• Dingo
  how MUCH electricity??!
• John Moore
  No. Just no.
• Miles Harding
  I’m looking forward to a long free lunch at the release!

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TULIP SHAPED SOLAR PLANTS TO BE INSTALLED IN ETHIOPIA

AORA Solar has announced that it will begin construction of its solar-biogas power plants in Ethiopia. Construction of the first pilot plant will start by mid-2015. Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy has stated that ” AORA’s unique solar-hybrid technology is impressive and well-suited to provide both energy and heat to support local economic development in off-grid rural locations in Ethiopia.” AORA currently already has active sites in Samar, Israel and Almeria, Spain. Scroll down for photos and video.

What is AORA’s Tulip Hybrid System? A lens in the tulip-shaped tower receives concentrated solar rays that are reflected off of 50 mirrors. Behind the lens, the 1000 Celsius temperature is used to heat the pressurized air, resulting in a hot pressurized gas. This gas is then used to turn the blades of a turbine to generate electricity. The mirrors are synchronized to constantly follow the sun’s rays, directing the light toward the tower’s lens at all times.

During cloudy weather or nightfall, the tower’s turbine automatically switch to using biofuels or traditional fuels to heat the air inside and power the turbine. This allows the tower to continue producing energy 24/7. Unlike conventional solar thermal systems that use steam to drive large turbines, the Tulip requires only 8% of the amount of water, making it perfect for desert regions.

Photos:

Watch the video:

More videos on AORA’s YouTube Channel

Visit the AORA Website.

What do you think of the Tulip System? Leave your comments below…

• Pieter Siegers
  Nice try, but first there’s no clean green power with “traditional fuels” (not even with bio-fuels for that matter as this requires land and production facilities), and second there’s the maintenance factor as it’s not a static system (requiring another different infrastructure), and third there’s a need for a storage of the combustion fuels when there’s no sun.
  IMO this project tries to channel fossil fuels and make them look green so I don’t like it.
  Most probably a project coming from the fossil fuel industry or affiliated companies.
• Askgerbil Now
  Aora’s Tulip concentrated solar thermal system with the flexibility to use additional fuels is a good design for supplying 24/7 reliable energy. Its use of alternate fuels overnight and on cloudy days avoids the cost of thermal energy storage and battery storage. It also avoids the need for fossil fuel backup power stations.
  The fossil fuel lobby’s claims that renewable energy is unreliable and needs costly backup from fossil fuel power stations are now nonsense. Aora’s Tulip System can use multiple fuels and solar energy to generate elecricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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JAPAN CLOSER TO HARVESTING SOLAR ENERGY FROM SPACE

Since 2008, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) has been working hard to develop technologies to transmit electricity wirelessly. The goal of the Space Solar Power Systems (SSPS), is to be able to transmit energy from orbiting solar panels by 2030. On March 12th, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) successfully conducted a ground demonstration test of “wireless power transmission”, a technology that will serve as the basis for the SSPS.

In the test, 10 kilowatts of electricity was successfully transmitted via a microwave unit. Power reception was confirmed at a receiver located 500 meters away. LED lights on the receiver confirmed the transmission. This marks a new milestone in transmission distance and power load (enough to power a set of conventional kitchen appliances). The test also confirmed the success of the advanced control system technology that is used to direct the microwave beam so that it stays on target.

The new test results promise to lead to way to terrestrial applications like the SSPS, and will hopefully eliminate the need for traditional cable connections. Potentially, a solar battery in orbit (36,000 kilometers above earth) could generate power which would then be transmitted to earth via microwave/laser, without relying on cables. JAXA anticipates that this new technology could become a mainstay energy source that will simultaneously solve both environmental and energy issues here on Earth.

Concept Photos:

Watch the video:

Read the MHI Press Release
Photo Credits: Japan Space Agency, NASA

Could this be the start of a new space race? Leave your comments below…

• Linda Roe
  This is the most scarey news yet. We will be fried alive!!
• Andy Hadley
  On the day of an eclipse… this is scary, but also seems pointless. Until we have collected more of the significant energy already falling on the planet, why would it make sense to litter the skies with orbiting panels, that might sometimes shade, or sometimes burn ? And what is the efficiency of the wireless transmission compared to a wired connection ? It suggests that 10KW of power was transmitted, at what loss ?
  • Jorge Fernandez
    I thought the same thing, however I imagine not efficient. 10KW over 500m is not far in comparison to the distance from the surface of Earth to inner Earth orbit. What trouble me most about this are the implications of having microwaves through the atmosphere. What is a plane goes through. The people might get cooked
  • Joseph Herbert
    The only advantage I see — which didn’t occur to me until I saw the

    picture — is that a platform closer to the sun will absorb a more
    intense collection of energy… because the rays spread out / decrease
    in intensity (picture a circle, with radial angles traveling out from
    the center — it’s more diffuse the farther out they go).

    …. So the solar rays are more concentrated closer to the sun.

    That’s the only advantage I see.

    ….
    And, yes, all the other points are valid. It’s not clear to me what the
    cost-benefit is here, nor why it’s being considered in the first place
    (unless they think the cost-benefit is really that substantial).

    And
    then, of course, there are potential safety-hazard scares, as others
    have mentioned below. (Maybe this wouldn’t be so much of an issue for
    humans, if it were a geosynchronous satellite. Still plenty of other
    unaddressed safety/environmental concerns though.)
• Pieter Siegers
  As we are already warming the planet, why not add some energy from space directly? And add to the climate change problem, not with fossil fuels but with clean energy? Hm, looks like we human beings will never understand… big sigh here.
  It’s really simple. Say those 10KW is converted into heat to produce some products. How on Earth are we going to return that 10KW back to space?
  I think this project is potentially dangerous stuff for our planet (apart from taking into account any losses during transmission).
• PlayStation4Life!
  it’s a cool concept but only in fiction. Realistically, this is just dumb af.

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APPLE ELECTRIC CAR: CONCEPT PHOTOSElectric Cars | Future Technology | Transportation

Recent rumours that suggest Apple may be working on an electric car have inspired the website carwow to produce some concept images of what the vehicle may look like. Speculation that Apple may be in talks to purchase electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors inspired the illustrations to have a similar resemblance. Apple obviously has the capabilities to produce such a vehicle, so we’ll just have to wait and see if the rumours prove valid. An electric vehicle would certainly fit Apple’s image. Scroll down for the photos.

The concept photos feature a futuristic interior, large navigation displays, a separate front passenger screen, and of course, a center-mounted iPhone docking station. We can only assume an Apple car would be focused on multimedia. The idea also suggests some sort of autonomous driving capabilities and incorporated apps throughout. Some imagined specifications include:

• 250 horsepower
• 400 Nm torque
• 4 hour recharge
• 310 mile range
• 3 colors

Analysts believe such a car could be available by 2020. Considering Apple has no experience manufacturing roadworthy cars, it seems some sort of merger with Tesla or another vehicle manufacturer would be necessary for success.

Photos:

Photo Credits: carwow

Do you think this is a realistic possibility or just wishful thinking? What would they call it? The iCar? Leave your thoughts and comments below…

• EM Jardin
  I like Apple-Core.
• Just Jer
  For the one percent, no doubt this will be no attempt to inspire a mean idyl migration away from fossel fuel use.
• KIRKSAUCE
  Sounds pretty sick!!!! i don’t think i’ll be able to wait 5 years though
• AcerTheWestie
  omg i love it!!!!
• Marijan Rodin
  Apple*s primary target for acqisition will most likely be Tesla Motors; but Foxconn is in the game , too.Though, to utter surprise, the real ace and a chance for a great bargain would be Proton. Apple*s morph move ..
• jockmoron
  It will look nothing like these fanciful illustrations. Nor will it have anything like the power of the Tesla, which is totally excessive. If Apple do make a car, it will be a bit more like the BMWi3. Carbon body shell, or other formed thermoplastic, or formed foamed alloy and space frame, lowest possible drag coefficient and a promise of 200 miles on a single charge. It will also, like any Apple product, be obsolescent within five years of purchase!
  • Miles Harding
    Beware of the i-car 6 with bendy chassis 🙂

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