Britain's most famous inventor, Sir James Dyson, is working on a project that could lead to the creation of a fast, green car.
Engineers at his research laboratory in Wiltshire are developing a powerful lightweight motor that could enable electric cars to zoom along for hundreds of miles without causing pollution. Solar panels on their roofs or in garages would charge them with renewable energy.
In an interview with The Independent on Sunday, the scientist forecast that electric cars would be "the future" of transport, and predicted they could outnumber petrol vehicles in as little as 10 years' time.
"They're quiet and they're pollution free," enthused Sir James, whose bagless vacuum cleaner cemented his reputation as an innovative risk-taker and earned him an estimated £700m fortune.
The 61-year-old inventor also expressed his belief that the cars could overcome their current drawbacks – their short range and slow speed. "An electric car doesn't go far enough. It could do. Electric motors can do that," he said, adding that there were "fantastic opportunities" to make electric vehicles lighter.
"At the moment, electric cars are seen as city cars and to go 30mph is quite enough, but in the future that will change. An electric motor can go to very high speeds."
full article
Sunday, 22 June 2008
Friday, 20 June 2008
To fix or not to fix - that is the question
With the daunting prospect of further energy price hikes this year, some Brits may wish to take a gamble to fix now and be quids in later. However, price comparison website moneysupermarket.com, urges people to consider their actions carefully, as making the wrong move could prove costly.
‘Fixed' and ‘capped' tariffs offer customers the financial security of knowing their energy costs will not rise above a set level. Four of the big six UK utility providers offer these tariffs, with the latest offerings from British Gas Price Guarantee December 2009 tariff available from 1st June and Scottish Power Fixed Price 2009 tariffs available from 4th June.
At £1071 a year, British Gas Price Guarantee December 2009 is more than £200 more expensive than the cheapest online dual fuel tariff from British Gas, Click Energy 5 at £845.
Scott Byrom, utilities manager at moneysupermarket.com said: "Fixing your energy tariff, could be an excellent option for those looking to protect their payments against future price hikes. However, there will be a premium to pay for this peace of mind
"Brits looking to stay on the cheapest deal available should consider dual fuel online products. We have already seen rises of 15 per cent this year; customers should note that it would only take a 20 per cent increase in energy prices by the end of next year for the cheapest online dual fuel deal to become more expensive than the fixed options currently available."
Bill payers should be aware that fixed price tariffs may charge a termination fee and, as the table above shows, this can be as much as £75.
full article
‘Fixed' and ‘capped' tariffs offer customers the financial security of knowing their energy costs will not rise above a set level. Four of the big six UK utility providers offer these tariffs, with the latest offerings from British Gas Price Guarantee December 2009 tariff available from 1st June and Scottish Power Fixed Price 2009 tariffs available from 4th June.
At £1071 a year, British Gas Price Guarantee December 2009 is more than £200 more expensive than the cheapest online dual fuel tariff from British Gas, Click Energy 5 at £845.
Scott Byrom, utilities manager at moneysupermarket.com said: "Fixing your energy tariff, could be an excellent option for those looking to protect their payments against future price hikes. However, there will be a premium to pay for this peace of mind
"Brits looking to stay on the cheapest deal available should consider dual fuel online products. We have already seen rises of 15 per cent this year; customers should note that it would only take a 20 per cent increase in energy prices by the end of next year for the cheapest online dual fuel deal to become more expensive than the fixed options currently available."
Bill payers should be aware that fixed price tariffs may charge a termination fee and, as the table above shows, this can be as much as £75.
full article
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Soaring fuel prices spark LPG boom
The spiralling cost of standard fuels is driving a ten-fold increase in the number of people asking about conversion to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
While individual car owners and public bodies such as the police and councils try to identify ways of cutting fuel bills, the option of LPG is becoming increasingly popular.
Cromer business Jaymic Systems, which provides conversions and distributes equipment nationwide for other businesses involved in conversion, has been on the frontline of the peak in interest.
"We have gone from about 10 phone calls a week from people asking about conversions to about 100 a week," said company director Martyn Soer.
"The reasons are pretty simple, you can achieve an approximate 40pc saving in your fuel bill and reduce your carbon footprint by around 20pc. The emission gains don't seem to be the thing which gets people to do this. It is the financial saving which makes the real difference. When there is a financial crisis, people look to how they can save and going to LPG is an obvious option."
A one-off bill of between £1,500 and £2,000 is the typical cost, but Mr Soer said the easier way to view the cost was to realise that at a yearly 15,000 mileage, it would take 18 months to "get your money back".
Further savings can be had, with the London congestion charge allowing certain vehicles to drive into the charge areas free if they run on LPG and many permit-parking schemes in cities across the country also operating similar discounts.
The reason even more people were not going got for LPG conversion was because the process had a historic - but now incorrect - reputation as having serious flaws, said Mr Soer.
"The old systems weren't up to scratch, there were problems of unreliability, people said you had to service the systems all the time and the set-ups could damage the exhaust valves. But the technology now means it is way ahead of where it was just half a dozen years ago and these problems simply don't happen."
It was vital to use professional converters approved by the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association, said Mr Soer. He added that only petrol cars were suitable for conversion, and although diesel technology existed, it wasn't a route he would suggest.
The current price of LPG is about 53p a litre, although using the fuel leads to a loss of about 15pc economy per litre.
About 130,000 vehicles in the UK operate on LPG. The figure in Italy is 1.6 million and in Germany a million.
full article
While individual car owners and public bodies such as the police and councils try to identify ways of cutting fuel bills, the option of LPG is becoming increasingly popular.
Cromer business Jaymic Systems, which provides conversions and distributes equipment nationwide for other businesses involved in conversion, has been on the frontline of the peak in interest.
"We have gone from about 10 phone calls a week from people asking about conversions to about 100 a week," said company director Martyn Soer.
"The reasons are pretty simple, you can achieve an approximate 40pc saving in your fuel bill and reduce your carbon footprint by around 20pc. The emission gains don't seem to be the thing which gets people to do this. It is the financial saving which makes the real difference. When there is a financial crisis, people look to how they can save and going to LPG is an obvious option."
A one-off bill of between £1,500 and £2,000 is the typical cost, but Mr Soer said the easier way to view the cost was to realise that at a yearly 15,000 mileage, it would take 18 months to "get your money back".
Further savings can be had, with the London congestion charge allowing certain vehicles to drive into the charge areas free if they run on LPG and many permit-parking schemes in cities across the country also operating similar discounts.
The reason even more people were not going got for LPG conversion was because the process had a historic - but now incorrect - reputation as having serious flaws, said Mr Soer.
"The old systems weren't up to scratch, there were problems of unreliability, people said you had to service the systems all the time and the set-ups could damage the exhaust valves. But the technology now means it is way ahead of where it was just half a dozen years ago and these problems simply don't happen."
It was vital to use professional converters approved by the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association, said Mr Soer. He added that only petrol cars were suitable for conversion, and although diesel technology existed, it wasn't a route he would suggest.
The current price of LPG is about 53p a litre, although using the fuel leads to a loss of about 15pc economy per litre.
About 130,000 vehicles in the UK operate on LPG. The figure in Italy is 1.6 million and in Germany a million.
full article
Saturday, 14 June 2008
Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol
“Ten years ago I could never have imagined I’d be doing this,” says Greg Pal, 33, a former software executive, as he squints into the late afternoon Californian sun. “I mean, this is essentially agriculture, right? But the people I talk to – especially the ones coming out of business school – this is the one hot area everyone wants to get into.”
He means bugs. To be more precise: the genetic alteration of bugs – very, very small ones – so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as woodchips or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil.
Unbelievably, this is not science fiction. Mr Pal holds up a small beaker of bug excretion that could, theoretically, be poured into the tank of the giant Lexus SUV next to us. Not that Mr Pal is willing to risk it just yet. He gives it a month before the first vehicle is filled up on what he calls “renewable petroleum”. After that, he grins, “it’s a brave new world”.
Mr Pal is a senior director of LS9, one of several companies in or near Silicon Valley that have spurned traditional high-tech activities such as software and networking and embarked instead on an extraordinary race to make $140-a-barrel oil (£70) from Saudi Arabia obsolete. “All of us here – everyone in this company and in this industry, are aware of the urgency,” Mr Pal says.
What is most remarkable about what they are doing is that instead of trying to reengineer the global economy – as is required, for example, for the use of hydrogen fuel – they are trying to make a product that is interchangeable with oil. The company claims that this “Oil 2.0” will not only be renewable but also carbon negative – meaning that the carbon it emits will be less than that sucked from the atmosphere by the raw materials from which it is made.
Chris Ayres
full article
He means bugs. To be more precise: the genetic alteration of bugs – very, very small ones – so that when they feed on agricultural waste such as woodchips or wheat straw, they do something extraordinary. They excrete crude oil.
Unbelievably, this is not science fiction. Mr Pal holds up a small beaker of bug excretion that could, theoretically, be poured into the tank of the giant Lexus SUV next to us. Not that Mr Pal is willing to risk it just yet. He gives it a month before the first vehicle is filled up on what he calls “renewable petroleum”. After that, he grins, “it’s a brave new world”.
Mr Pal is a senior director of LS9, one of several companies in or near Silicon Valley that have spurned traditional high-tech activities such as software and networking and embarked instead on an extraordinary race to make $140-a-barrel oil (£70) from Saudi Arabia obsolete. “All of us here – everyone in this company and in this industry, are aware of the urgency,” Mr Pal says.
What is most remarkable about what they are doing is that instead of trying to reengineer the global economy – as is required, for example, for the use of hydrogen fuel – they are trying to make a product that is interchangeable with oil. The company claims that this “Oil 2.0” will not only be renewable but also carbon negative – meaning that the carbon it emits will be less than that sucked from the atmosphere by the raw materials from which it is made.
Chris Ayres
full article
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