‘Clean, affordable energy to power the world’ — This is the challenge of MIT contributing towards the environment. Listed below are some examples of the MIT research projects that will be sponsored and developed by the Energy Research Council.
* Solar cells made from spinach!
It is tapping the proteins from spinach, making organic solar cells. Its efficiency could easily outstrip today’s best silicon photovoltaic arrays.
* Silicon superstrings!
It is making conventional silicon photovoltaic arrays by pulling the chips in stringy ribbons out of a molten stew like taffy and not slicing them from silicon ingots.
* Laptop-powered hybrids!
It is using a new generation lithium-based batteries that can help cut the price and charge-time of hybrid and electric car batteries.
* Carbon nanotube-made lightweight, high-capacity battery!
It is using carbon nanotube-made ‘super-capacitors’ for storing charge. It eliminates the usual chemical reactions powering most batteries — resulting in a lightweight, high-capacity battery, which could someday give even the laptop battery a run for its money.
* Computer-aided A/C energy-efficiency!
It is optimizing air and heat flow on a new computer-aided design system, thus cutting the building’s air conditioning costs by as much as 50 percent. The optimization is to be done before a building’s construction begins.
* Plasma-powered turbo engines!
It is turbo-charging an automobile engine with plasma from a small ethanol tank! This reportedly increases fuel efficiency almost to the level of a hybrid.
* Photo-electrically produced car electricity!
It is generating electricity of a car photo-electrically – i.e. using a gas-powered light and a small, specially designed solar panel – and not mechanically, using an alternator. This substantially increases fuel efficiency.
* Algae-based biofuel fattened on greenhouse gas!
It is bubbling exhaust from a coal-fired power plant through a tank of algae. The algae are been bred to siphon off much of the exhaust’s carbon-dioxide. Further, in the process, the algae are fattened and can be harvested as bio-diesel.
