Substituting Ethanol chemicals instead of Methanol chemicals Doubles the electrical energy that can be stored in a Flow Battery. This is a very Rare discovery. A Flow battery can act like a fuel cell or like a rechargeable battery.

Compound could transform energy storage for large grids

In order to power entire communities with clean energy, such as solar and wind power, a reliable backup storage system is needed to provide energy when the sun isn't shining and the wind doesn't blow. One possibility is to use any excess solar- and wind-based energy to charge solutions of chemicals that can subsequently be stored for use when sunshine and wind are scarce.

From wikipedia, (A flow battery, or redox flow battery (after reduction–oxidation), is a type of electrochemical cell where chemical energy is provided by two chemical components dissolved in liquids contained within the system and separated by a membrane.^[2][3] Ion exchange (accompanied by flow of electric current) occurs through the membrane while both liquids circulate in their own respective space. Cell voltage is chemically determined by the Nernst equation and ranges, in practical applications, from 1.0 to 2.2 volts.

A flow battery may be used like a fuel cell (where the spent fuel is extracted and new fuel is added to the system) or like a rechargeable battery (where an electric power source drives regeneration of the fuel). While it has technical advantages over conventional rechargeables, such as potentially separable liquid tanks and near unlimited longevity, current implementations are comparatively less powerful and require more sophisticated electronics.

The energy capacity is a function of the electrolyte volume (amount of liquid electrolyte) and the power a function of the surface area of the electrodes.)

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From article, (In order to power entire communities with clean energy, such as solar and wind power, a reliable backup storage system is needed to provide energy when the sun isn’t shining and the wind doesn’t blow.

One possibility is to use any excess solar- and wind-based energy to charge solutions of chemicals that can subsequently be stored for use when sunshine and wind are scarce. At that time, the chemical solutions of opposite charge can be pumped across solid electrodes, thus creating an electron exchange that provides power to the electrical grid.

The key to this technology, called a redox flow battery, is finding chemicals that can not only “carry” sufficient charge, but also be stored without degrading for long periods, thereby maximizing power generation and minimizing the costs of replenishing the system.

University of Rochester researchers, working with colleagues at the University at Buffalo, believe they have found a promising compound that could transform the energy storage landscape.

In a paper published in Chemical Science, an open access journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry, researchers in the lab of Ellen Matson, assistant professor of chemistry, describe modifying a metal-oxide cluster, which has promising electroactive properties, so that it is nearly twice as effective as the unmodified cluster for electrochemical energy storage in a redox flow battery.

“Energy storage applications with polyoxometalates are pretty rare in the literature,” says lead author Lauren VanGelder, a third-year PhD student in Matson’s lab. “There are maybe one or two examples prior to ours, and they didn’t really maximize the potential of these systems.”

“This is really an untapped area of molecular development,” adds Matson.

The cluster was first developed in the lab of German chemist Johann Spandl, and studied for its magnetic properties. Tests conducted by VanGelder showed that the compound could store charge in a redox flow battery, “but was not as stable as we had hoped.”

However, by making what Matson describes as “a simple molecular modification”— replacing the compound’s methanol-derived methoxide groups with ethanol-based ethoxide ligands—the team was able to expand the potential window during which the cluster was stable, doubling the amount of electrical energy that could be stored in the battery.

Says Matson: “What’s really cool about this work is the way we can generate the ethoxide and methoxide clusters by using methanol and ethanol. Both of these reagents are inexpensive, readily available and safe to use. The metal and oxygen atoms that compose the remainder of the cluster are earth-abundant elements. The straightforward, efficient synthesis of this system is a totally new direction in charge-carrier development that, we believe, will set a new standard in the field.”)

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The Problem with Cancer is that it grows very fast, not giving anti-cancer drugs time to work. What if a chemical could stop Cancer growth, and then kill it with other drugs? That is what this article claims.

Vitamin B2 deficiency puts cancer cells into hibernation

Cancer stem cells can be put into "hibernation" by a little-known drug called diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) according to researchers from the University of Salford, UK. DPI effectively switches off the cancer stem cells, preventing their proliferation. "It's extraordinary; the cells just sit there as if in a state of suspended animation," explains Professor Michael Lisanti, Chair of Translational Medicine and lead investigator.

 From article, (Cancer stem cells can be put into "hibernation" by a little-known drug called diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) according to researchers from the University of Salford, UK. DPI effectively switches off the cancer stem cells, preventing their proliferation.

The discovery is significant because the drug halts the propagation of cancer stem cells without causing the toxic side-effects normally associated with more conventional chemotherapy."It's extraordinary; the cells just sit there as if in a state of suspended animation," explains Professor Michael Lisanti, Chair of Translational Medicine and lead investigator.

Reporting their laboratory findings in the journal Aging, the team observed that addition of DPI to a mixed population of cells eliminated the tumour initiating cancer stem cells. However, the drug was non-toxic for "bulk" cancer cells, which are not thought to be cancer-forming. The authors describe how DPI targets more than 90 protein enzymes which feed mitochondria and help generate the cell's energy. Specifically, DPI works as an inhibitor of vitamin B2 – riboflavin – starving the cells of the energy.

"Our observation is that DPI is selectively attacking the cancer stem cells, by effectively creating a vitamin deficiency," explained Professor Lisanti. "In other words, by turning off energy production in cancer stem cells, we are creating a process of hibernation.

"The beauty of this is that DPI makes the cancer stem cells metabolically-inflexible, so they will be highly susceptible to a many other drugs".)

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Tesla is soliciting quotes from suppliers for parts for the Model Y. Could start production in March 2020. (So far, a Rumor.)

Tesla Model Y Production To Begin March 2020 (Rumor)

Autonomous Vehicles If you think consumer demand for the Model 3 is strong, think what it will be for the Model Y, the (sort of) affordable compact crossover/SUV-type vehicle Elon Musk has up his marketing and engineering sleeves. According to E. W.

From article, (If you think consumer demand for the Model 3 is strong, think what it will be for the Model Y, the (sort of) affordable compact crossover/SUV-type vehicle Elon Musk has up his marketing and engineering sleeves. According to E. W. Niedermeyer of The Daily Kanban, Tesla has begun soliciting quotes from suppliers who might be interested in providing parts for the Model Y. They tell Niedermeyer that the company is telling them the start of production is currently scheduled for March of 2020. Previously, Musk indicated Tesla would start building the Model Y in 2019.

 One question on everyone’s lips is, what will the Model Y look like? Elon started out be saying it would be built on an entirely new chassis. Then during an earnings call last July, he walked that back. “I think in a prior call, we publicly had said that Model Y, or our compact SUV — it’s called Model Y — it may or may not be, would be a totally new architecture,” he said. “Upon the council of my executive team — thank you, thanks, guys — who reeled me back from the cliffs of insanity, much appreciated — the Model Y will in fact be using a substantial carryover from Model 3 in order to bring [it to] market faster.”

Crossover SUVs are the sweet spot to the new-car market globally, a fact Elon is well aware of. “People prefer an SUV,” he says. “And in fact, the SUV market is larger. It’s the biggest single product I believe in the world.”)

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UK is building the World's Largest Offshore Wind farm.

World's largest offshore wind farm starts construction

The world's soon to be (2020) largest offshore wind farm has begun construction. The project, being developed by the largest offshore wind power developer - Ørsted - is located 74.5 miles off the coast of Yorkshire, UK. The wind farm is named Hornsea Project One.

 From article, (The world’s soon to be (2020) largest offshore wind farm has begun construction. The project, being developed by the largest offshore wind power developer – Ørsted – is located 74.5 miles off the coast of Yorkshire, UK.

The wind farm is named Hornsea Project One. Hornsea Project Two will follow a few years later, and Hornsea Project Three is in early planning stages.

The 1.2GW project will be constructed of 174 7.0MW turbines. The turbine model being installed – SWT-7.0-154 (PDF) – is manufactured by Siemens. The site will generate 4.1TWh of electricity per year.

According to Ørsted, an 8MW turbine – the MH1 by Vestas – generates enough electricity in one revolution of the turbine blades to power a house for 29 hours. Production isn’t necessarily proportional with turbine size, but if it just happened to be – these 7MW units will generate 25 hours of electricity with a single rotation.

The individual blades are 75 meters long and the total area covered when the blades spin is, 18,600m2 (4.6 acres).

Currently, the world’s largest off shore wind farm is called the London Array. The project is 630MW. The world’s largest wind project is the Gansu Wind Farm Project in China. The project has a current capacity of 8GW(!), with a planned capacity of 20GW.)

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Another Senior, Republican, Congressman, Announces Retirement, as his District Leans Democrat.

Frelinghuysen Exit Adds To House GOP Retirement Woes

New Jersey Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen is the latest veteran Republican to announce his retirement, opening up another competitive district as the GOP braces for what could be a brutal midterm cycle. Frelinghuysen is chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee - a perch he just took over last year.

From article, (New Jersey Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen is the latest veteran Republican to announce his retirement, opening up another competitive district as the GOP braces for what could be a brutal midterm cycle.

Frelinghuysen is chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee — a perch he just took over last year. Under internal House GOP rules, he could serve up to six years in that post. His early departure from Congress signals that Frelinghuysen was likely worried about a tough re-election campaign in an already competitive district that President Trump only narrowly carried by 3,362 votes.

The 12-term Republican has also been critical of some of Trump's policies, includinghis proposal to ban some people from Muslim countries from coming into the U.S. But he had still largely voted in line with the president and his party, spurring protests in his district from activists after he supported a bill last year to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Member station WNYC also reported that Frelinghuysen had written a fundraising letter to the employer of one protester who says it led to pressure from her bosses that caused her to resign.

With Frelinghuysen's decision, a record 33 Republicans will now leave Congress in 2018. He is also the eighth committee chairman to announce retirement plans this year. While Hillary Clinton only narrowly lost his suburban Morris and Essex County district, there are six other Republicans from districts the Democratic nominee did carry who aren't seeking re-election.

"This district has been held by a Republican since the 1980's, and we plan to keep it that way in November," Stivers said in a statement.

But Democrats pointed to the congressman's exit as growing evidence that Republicans are worried about running in competitive races and adding to the possibilities of the 24 seats they need to flip the House.)

SpaceX has encouraged a Chinese space company, Linkspace, to reuse its, while smaller, first stage rockets as well.

Chinese space company Linkspace takes step towards resuable rocket with landing test

Chinese private space company Linkspace has taken a step in its development of a reusable orbital rocket with a successful vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) test. VTVL has allowed US company SpaceX to launch, land and reuse its Falcon 9 rocket first stages, and will next week attempt the same with the new Falcon Heavy launch vehicle.

 From article, (Chinese private space company Linkspace has taken a step in its development of a reusable orbital rocket with a successful vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) test.

VTVL has allowed US company SpaceX to launch, land and reuse its Falcon 9 rocket first stages, and will next week attempt the same with the new Falcon Heavy launch vehicle.

The breakthrough by Linkspace will be used for its own, much smaller rockets which will aim to provide low-cost access to space for clients looking to launch small satellites.

The NewLine-1 rocket, with a reusable first stage, will be capable of carrying 200 kg of micro and nanosats to Sun-synchronous orbit up to an altitude of 500 kilometres.

Linkspace is aiming for the maiden flight to take place in 2020.)

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Why the Model 3 will save Tesla.

Tesla's Next 5 Weeks

I detail how certain events may unfold over the coming five weeks and why they may cause the share price to move upward. Short interest for the first two weeks of January is about to publish. Tesla short interest last June 30 was 27.34 million shares.

 From article, (An Electrek article discusses deliveries of Model 3s to the East Coast. The new car just went on display in NYC and Boston. Tesla showrooms have been experiencing crowds of people coming in to sit in the car. Many are people who ordered the car, and others are coming to see whether they want to place a new order.

The excitement is indicative that in addition to the half a million Model 3 pre orders, Tesla is likely to win many more orders, even before it catches up with the backlog it already has. Some people have apparently been waiting to place an order until the car was actually out on the roads.

Some Tesla showrooms are limiting customers to two minutes in the car because lines are so long.

The original goal was to build a production line to assemble 5,000 units per week, first. Then, the goal was going to be to increase production to 10,000 units per week by the end of 2017.

Last June, the vast majority of the production stations worked according to plan. A few, however, did not. The entire production line could only move as fast as the slowest stations, and that was very slow at a few tens of cars per week.

The focus of the media has been on production delays. But no attention has been paid to what Tesla has been doing with all of the engineers who built all the production stations that did work.

For all of the engineers tasked with building their individual stations that worked, it would make sense that Tesla shifted them to the original plan and had them work to double the production capacity to 10k per week for their stations. They should be finished by now.

Only the battery assembly stations are holding the entire production line up and that's being worked on as fast as they know how.

I expect Tesla [will stick ]with its original plan to get to 10k per week and will reach that rate as soon as the battery bottleneck problems are resolved. This would explain the delivery estimates by Tesla staff.

If so then Tesla would be targeting gross sales on the Model 3 line of around $22B rate once they reach that production later this year and the gross profit would potentially grow to $5B once all stations are moving smoothly.

Most of the engineers working on stations other than the battery packs should by now be finished doubling production for their Model 3 line stations to 10k units per week. The next logical thing to assign them to would be the design and construction of an assembly line for the Semi trucks and the Roadster 2.

Clearly Tesla has the staffing and it would make no sense to lay them off or have them twiddle thumbs when there's so much work to be done. Rather it would make sense for Tesla to quietly go about accomplishing things no one expects them to be capable of.)

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Waymo buying thousands of additional, Autonomous, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Minivans. Does this mean driverless Taxi Cars are around the corner?

Waymo strikes a deal to buy 'thousands' more self-driving minivans from Fiat Chrysler

Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent Alphabet, has reached a deal with one of Detroit's Big Three automakers to dramatically expand its fleet of autonomous vehicles. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced today that it would supply "thousands" of additional Chrysler Pacifica minivans to Waymo, with the first deliveries starting at the end of 2018.

 From article, (Waymo, the self-driving unit of Google parent Alphabet, has reached a deal with one of Detroit’s Big Three automakers to dramatically expand its fleet of autonomous vehicles. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced today that it would supply “thousands” of additional Chrysler Pacifica minivans to Waymo, with the first deliveries starting at the end of 2018.

Neither Waymo nor FCA would disclose the specific number of vehicles that were bought, nor the amount of money that was trading hands. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the 2018 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivan starts at $39,995. A thousand minivans would cost $40 million, so this was at the very least an eight-figure deal.

Waymo’s self-driving Pacifica minivans have been tested in 25 cities in the US (most of which are in California) and are currently on the road in five main cities: Atlanta, San Francisco, Detroit, Phoenix, and Kirkland, Washington. Last November, Waymo began test-driving its minivans on public roads in Phoenix without a driver at the wheel. And it has said that it will begin offering rides to members of its Early Rider program in its “fully driverless” minivans in the months ahead.)

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Vitamin D3 should definitely be part of your daily vitamin regimine. It can restore damage to the circulatory system from: Atherosclerosis, Diabetes, and Hypertension. Meaning? D3 consumption can reduce your chances of suffering a Heart Attack or Stroke.

Vitamin D3 could prevent and repair cardiovascular damage

A new study by researchers at Ohio University found that Vitamin D3 could prevent and restore damage caused by several cardiovascular diseases.

 From article, (The researchers tracked the effects of Vitamin D3 on single endothelial cells (the cells that line the blood vessels of the cardiovascular system), using nanosensors which were about 1,000 times smaller in diameter than a human hair.

They found that vitamin D3 is a powerful stimulator of nitric oxide (NO); a signaling molecule involved inthe prevention of blood clots in the cardiovasculature system and the regulation of blood flow. Furthermore, vitamin D3 could significantly reduce the level of oxidative stress in the circulatory system.

The study also showed that treatments involving vitamin D3 could significantly restore damage to the circulatory system caused by various diseases, including atherosclerosis, diabetes, and hypertension, thereby reducing the risk of heart attack.

The studies were performed on cells from Caucasian Americans and African Americans and showed obtained similar outcomes for both ethnic group.)

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3D Printing: What is it? And how is it being used?

How 3D printing is disrupting the architecture and design industry

What is 3D printing? The technology of 3D printing was invented by Chuck Hull, an American engineer. He initially called the new process stereolithography and patented it in 1986. The technique links molecules using laser light to form polymers into solid shapes. Initially, industries such as automotive manufacturing used the technology for what became known as rapid prototyping.

 From article, (The technology of 3D printing was invented by Chuck Hull, an American engineer. He initially called the new process stereolithography and patented it in 1986. The technique links molecules using laser light to form polymers into solid shapes.

Initially, industries such as automotive manufacturing used the technology for what became known as rapid prototyping. The advantage was that no molds were required and there was no waste, unlike in milling, where a shape is cut and the material around it is discarded. In 3D printing, objects are constructed layer by layer. The idea stems from printing with ink; in that process, the ink lies on top of the paper. If the process was repeated time and again, but with more solid materials and a slight shift to create movements in the layers, a 3D printing effect would occur.

Materials used in 3D printing range from the more common synthetic resins and plastics to steel and concrete. Some are experimenting with natural materials such as bamboo, wood and natural stone waste. Small versions of 3D printers are finding their way into designers' studios, schools and private homes.

In Amsterdam, though, DUS Architects is in the process of printing a canal house, layer by layer, using bioplastics made from 80 percent vegetable oil. The project, which aims to be renewable and sustainable, is slated for completion in 2017.

"There are also houses being printed in China," says Jane Burry, associate professor at the Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory at RMIT in Melbourne, Australia, "though [they are] relatively crude at this stage." She is referring to a project by Chinese company Winsun, which has printed houses made from concrete and recycled construction materials in China. It's one of the most cited examples of the technology in this context. The manufacturer reports considerable savings: 60 percent less material, 70 percent less time and 80 percent less labor compared with average house construction. The printer is set up in a factory and has gigantic proportions: 20 feet (6.1 meters) tall, 33 feet (10.1 meters) wide and 132 feet (40.2 meters) long.

"The question is how you define 3D printing," says Benedikt Hotze, media and communications consultant for the Bund Deutscher Architekten (Association of German Architects). When it comes to 3D printing in architecture, he is less than euphoric. "The idea to print houses all in one go is a childish fantasy; it's not going to happen," he says. "What will happen, however, is that we will have digitally controlled manufacturing of building components in a factory that will then be transported to the construction site. 

British architecture firm Foster + Partners, together with the European Space Agency, might disagree with Hotze about [building structures, especially, on the moon]: It's developing ideas for 3D-printing a lunar base station for a project called Lunar Habitation, which could be completed as early as 2024.

In a collaboration between the University of Naples and cutting-edge technology company WASP (World's Advanced Saving Project), the beauty of Italian architecture is meeting modular building techniques.

WASP, founded in 2012 by Italian entrepreneur Massimo Moretti, pushes sustainable construction methods and in-house fabrication processes. With the University of Naples, it has developed a concrete support that could be made on a 3D printer and used in building projects.

"The beam is printed in individual pieces," Asprone says. "Once the concrete pieces are hardened, reinforcing steel bars [rebar] are externally installed to strengthen the beam and lock the pieces into a monolithic element."

The WASP experts have already printed a reinforced concrete beam about 10 feet (3 meters) long. For this purpose, they used a lower-viscosity concrete. "We are standing on the shoulders of more than one century of concrete technology history," Asprone says. "We are merely adapting this technology to 3D printing. We use cement and other binders, such as eco-friendly, clay-based versions or geopolymers that are waterproof and can be used for wastewater systems."

Russian manufacturer Specavia likewise uses 3D concrete printers in the construction industry, with most of its clients building contractors. Chief Executive Alexander Maslov describes the complex components his printers are already able to create.

"The 06044 series printers can print individual building components with a length of up to [40 feet, or 12.2 meters]. It's quite sufficient for printing complex shapes for all kinds of towers, arches, dwarf partitions and other decorative elements for a house. We've been printing various decorative landscaping elements, even a small pond and a children's town. The printer can be used for printing stoves, fireplaces, barbecue sets and other fireproof products using kaolin mixes.")

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California was the model for NYS Clean Energy and Storage plan, now, NYS is the model for Arizona, on its Clean Energy and Storage plan.

Arizona Regulator Proposes Biggest Storage and Clean Energy Target Yet

Andrew Tobin, a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, proposed a clean energy overhaul that would put the state at the front of the pack. The Energy Standard Modernization Plan aims to produce one of the cleanest energy mixes in the nation, while lowering prices for consumers and improving grid reliability.

 From article, (Arizona is setting out to prove clean energy leadership doesn't exist solely in coastal states like California and New York.

Andrew Tobin, a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, proposed a clean energy overhaul Tuesday that would put the state at the front of the pack. The Energy Modernization Plan aims to produce one of the cleanest energy mixes in the nation, while lowering prices for consumers and improving grid reliability.

That means not only tackling the issue of clean baseload power, but also figuring out how to supply peak power in a cost-effective and clean way. Peak hours drive increasing expenses for utilities and their customers, a challenge that intermittent wind and solar alone cannot address. As such, Tobin's plan includes an 80 percent clean energy target by 2050 coupled with a 3,000-megawatt energy storage procurement target for 2030.

That would leapfrog the state ahead of California and New York, which have dominated the grid modernization discussion so far. They both have 50 percent renewable energy targets on the books for 2030, and storage targets of 1,300 megawatts and 1,500 megawatts, respectively.

"We’re not trying to get on the train; we're trying to be the engine in the train," Tobin told GTM. "This is Western people doing things and setting lofty goals and reaching them.")

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China is using its economic might, and $360 Billion dollars, on Clean Energy Projects to help its Citizen's Health.

China's latest energy megaproject shows that coal really is on the way out

The Chinese province of Anhui built a massive floating solar farm on top of an abandoned coal mine. An even larger floating solar plant will come online by May 2018. Due to rising concerns surrounding air pollution-related deaths, China is trying to invest more heavily in renewable energy projects.

From article, (China has some of the worst air pollution in the world. In several cities, thick layers of smog are common, resulting in thousands of deaths every year.

According to a 2016 study, the top contributor of air pollution-related deaths in China is the burning of coal. The team of Chinese and American researchers behind the study said that pollution from coal caused 366,000 premature deaths in 2013.

To improve the country's air quality, the Chinese government vows to spend at least $360 billion on clean energy projects and create 13 million new renewable energy jobs by 2020. China is already one of the world's biggest investor in alternative energy sources like solar, wind, and hydropower.

China's latest energy megaproject — a giant floating solar farm on top of a former coal mine in Anhui — may get the country closer to that goal. 

 In 2017, workers turned on the 166,000-panel array, which can generate 40 megawatts of power — enough to accommodate 15,000 homes, according to the South China Morning Post. It's currently the world's largest floating solar project and will operate for up to 25 years.

Local energy company Sungrow Power Supply developed the farm on a lake that was once the site of extensive coal mining. After an explosion caused the mine to collapse, a lake formed and flooded it.  As The Guardian notes, building solar plants on top of lakes and reservoirs can protect agricultural land and wildlife on the ground. The water also cools the solar panels, helping them work more efficiently.

In December, a unit of China Three Gorges Corp. started building an even larger floating solar farm, which is expected to come online by May 2018. Also in Anhui, this $151 million plant will produce up to 150 megawatts of power for approximately 94,000 homes.)

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A Battery Company is making Tomorrow's Rechargeable Batteries, Today.

A New Lithium-Metal Battery Takes Flight in Drones

SolidEnergy Systems, a spin-out from MIT, has developed a battery that it says has double the energy density of current lithium-ion batteries. That means that a battery from SolidEnergy Systems could be half the size of a standard lithium-ion battery and hold the same amount of energy, or it could be the same size as a lithium-ion battery and hold twice as much energy.

From article, (A Massachusetts-based startup says it’s doing something that no other company has been able to pull off: selling lithium-metal batteries commercially.

And they’re appearing first in drones.

SolidEnergy Systems, a spin-out from MIT, has developed a battery that it says has double the energy density of current lithium-ion batteries. That means that a battery from SolidEnergy Systems could be half the size of a standard lithium-ion battery and hold the same amount of energy, or it could be the same size as a lithium-ion battery and hold twice as much energy.

 The company, founded in 2012, has raised $50 million to date. That’s not a lot of capital to get a battery from the lab into a factory. The new funding will be spent on improving the battery tech and expanding manufacturing.

SolidEnergy System’s energy storage innovation is packed into a thin lithium-metal foil for the negative electrode, replacing the graphite that is commonly used in lithium-ion batteries.

The company’s batteries also use a semi-solid material for the electrolyte, replacing the flammable liquid usually found in lithium-ion batteries. The two-part breakthrough creates a battery with an energy density of 450 watt-hours per kilogram and 1,200 watt-hours per liter.

A recent report in the journal Nature, written by government scientists, suggests that the combination of the lithium-metal battery and a solid electrolyte could lead to a successor to the lithium-ion battery. The paper predicts that such batteries are at least a decade away.

However, SolidEnergy Systems is already selling batteries in low volumes today. Hu said the Nature paper is focused on the “perfect” battery, while batteries that are “good enough” are already arriving.

SolidEnergy System’s battery is more expensive than a lithium-ion battery. That’s largely because the new batteries are made in small volumes, said Hu. But drone makers are paying the premium in order to boost their flying times.

Down the road, Hu said the company’s lithium-metal battery will be the same cost as a lithium-ion battery. The Nature paper finds that with the right low-cost parts, lithium-metal battery cells could reach a cost of $100 per kilowatt-hour.)

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If you have competition from other Electric Car Makers, what is Tesla to do? Tesla is trying to Corner the Market on Chile's Lithium.

Tesla may get into the lithium business in Chile as the price of battery ingredients soar

While showing off Tesla's Gigafactory in the Nevada desert last year, its designers showed journalists a curious thing: One side of the factory's massive wall could be opened up to received lithium ore one day. Tesla said that the facility had been built with an eye toward receiving raw lithium material on one side and...

 From article, (While showing off Tesla’s Gigafactory in the Nevada desert last year, its designers showed journalists a curious thing: One side of the factory’s massive wall could be opened up to received lithium ore one day. Tesla said that the facility had been built with an eye toward receiving raw lithium material on one side and producing a finished battery pack on the other. The only operating lithium mine in the US is about 200 miles away in Clayton Valley, Nevada.

But Tesla is hedging its lithium bets. The Finanical Times reports (paywall) Tesla is in talks with Chile’s largest lithium producer Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) to invest in a processing plant. Reuters quotes Chilean officials saying the two companies are “exploring” agreements for “important volumes” of lithium hydroxide, a key battery ingredient. Chile, Australia, and China are the largest producers, although Chile is the cheapest source (and Chilean officials recently agreed to up production quotas for an SQM site).)


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Saving money with Climate Change Resilience

Society saves $6 for every dollar spent on climate change resilience

In financial terms, 2017 was the worst year for natural disasters in American history, costing the country $306 billion. Scientists agree that hurricanes, floods, and fires are now turbo-charged by climate change, which the president and many top Republican leaders still refuse to acknowledge.

 From article, (In financial terms, 2017 was the worst year for natural disasters in American history, costing the country $306 billion. Scientists agree that hurricanes, floods, and fires are now turbo-charged by climate change, which the president and many top Republican leaders still refuse to acknowledge. But even while the federal government fails to address the root of the problem, there are ways to limit the damage from these increasingly frequent events — in property, and, more importantly, in human life.

A new report from the National Institute of Building Sciences finds that for every dollar spent on federal grants aimed at improving disaster resilience, society saves six dollars. This return is higher than previously thought: A 2005 study by NIBS found that each dollar from these grants yielded four dollars in savings.

 NIBS, a nonprofit group authorized by the U.S. Congress, took into account grants from FEMA, HUD, and the Economic Development Administration, whose staffs collaborated with NIBS to produce the report. $27 billion spent in mitigation grants over the past 23 years has yielded $158 billion in societal savings, they found. Many of the interventions the grants funded were simple, like installing hurricane shutters, replacing flammable roofs, and clearing vegetation close to a structure.)

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The new Reuse Plastic Economy. Using recycled Ocean Plastics for new products. Now, what is needed, is to fish out the used plastic bottles, etc., already poluting the ocean, for these products.

Keeping Plastic Out of the Ocean by Giving it a Second Life

It is estimated that since 1950, more than 9.1 billion tons of plastic have been produced. Of that, 7 billion tons are no longer in use. While some of that was recycled or incinerated, the majority has made its way into landfills and oceans.

From article, (It is estimated that since 1950, more than 9.1 billion tons of plastic have been produced. Of that, 7 billion tons are no longer in use. While some of that was recycled or incinerated, the majority has made its way into landfills and oceans. According to a recent study, more than 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year.

The ever-growing deluge of plastic pollution in our oceans has a tremendous impact on human health and on the health of our natural environment. The ocean provides oxygen, absorbs carbon dioxide that would otherwise be absorbed by the atmosphere, and is a source of food for people across the planet. Pollution reduces the amount of oxygen the ocean can provide, limits the amount of carbon dioxide it can absorb, is dangerous for wildlife, and contaminates fish and seafood. Recycling and repurposing plastic keeps it out of the ocean and helps to mitigate many of these issues.

 At Humanscale we have three core missions about which we’re passionate: providing functional high performance work tools, making people healthier, and achieving a net-positive impact on the earth. Thus, the ocean plastic problem is a core area of concern for us. We’re eager to divert plastics out of the waste stream that leads to the world’s oceans and into our supply chain instead. To achieve this goal, we’re excited to be working with companies including Dell, GM, and others as a founding member of the Next Wave Initiative. Led by the non-profit Lonely Whale, this consortium is developing a distribution web that would support the reuse and repurposing of plastic before it ever reaches the ocean.

We first joined the initiative after forming a partnership with Bureo, a California-based company that collects plastic fishing nets from the ocean (comprising roughly 10 percent of ocean pollution) and repurposes the material to be used in new products such as skateboards and sunglasses. When Bureo and Humanscale both achieved Living Product Challenge certification in 2016, we started working together with the aim to develop ergonomic office tools made of plastics from Bureo’s fishing net recycling program. 

Following the debut of a prototype we showcased at NeoCon in 2017, we will be introducing a new task chair made from plastic fishing nets this spring. Our goal with Bureo is groundbreaking, as there are few manufacturers incorporating ocean plastics, such as discarded fishing nets, into their products. We want to help other companies figure out how to use this material in their manufacturing processes and help the group to find new ways of addressing the crisis.)

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Brackish Water Desalination: How is it different than Ocean Desalination? And is Brackish Water easier to desalinate into drinkable water?

California water supply gets $34.4M boost: 8 desalination projects get grants

California water officials have approved $34.4 million in grants to eight desalination projects across the state, including one in Antioch, as part of an effort to boost the water supply in the wake of the state's historic, five-year drought.

From article, (Water experts say it’s not surprising that the state is throwing more money behind projects that don’t rely on seawater.
“More communities are looking at brackish deals because it’s less expensive, it can have fewer environmental impacts and it isn’t limited to coastal communities,” said Heather Cooley, water program director for the Pacific Institute, a nonprofit research organization in Oakland.
Three projects were awarded $10 million each to help with construction. Among them is the Antioch Brackish Water Desalination Project, which is estimated to cost $62.2 million. The city already takes water from the San Joaquin River on the Antioch waterfront as it is flowing from the Delta into San Francisco Bay and uses it as part of the water supply for 110,000 people. But in the summer and fall months, when less Sierra snow is melting and less freshwater is flowing into the Delta, the water becomes too salty to drink.
In brackish desalination, salty water from a river, bay or underground aquifer is filtered for drinking, rather than taking ocean water, which is often up to three times saltier and more expensive to purify. Brackish desalination is growing faster. As of 2013, there were roughly 24 brackish plants in California, which produced about 96,000 acre-feet of water a year. Another three were in design or under construction, with 9,000 acre-feet more, and 17 were proposed with 81,000 acre-feet capacity.

The Alameda County Water District opened a brackish desalination plant in Newark that has been desalting about 14,000 acre-feet of water a year since 2013 — about 20 percent of the district’s supply.

“Technological advancements are happening all the time,” said Kelley. ” And the cost of water keeps going up, so the cost of desalinated water isn’t as out of proportion.”

Under the plan, the city would build a desalination facility at its existing water treatment plant to generate 6 million gallons a day of freshwater. The 2 million gallons of brine left over each day would be sent through a new 4-mile-long pipeline to the Diablo Wastewater Treatment Plant near Pittsburg, where it would be blended with treated sewage that already is pumped back into the bay.

The other projects that received $10 million each are the Doheny Ocean Desalination Plant in Orange County, which would drill slant wells under the ocean floor at Dana Point and is estimated to cost $110 million, and the North Pleasant Valley Desalter Project, a $32 million brackish water project in Camarillo, in Ventura County.

State officials still have $58 million in Proposition 1 funds to award for desalination projects. Among the projects looking for funding in the next round is a proposal by Cal-Am Water in Monterey County that state officials said needed more detail. The plan would drill slant wells under the sandy beach at Marina near a sand mining plant to generate drinking water.)

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