Briefly Noted: EC Bio-Energy Action Plan The European Commission has released what's described as a detailed action plan to increase the use of energy from biological materials, according to a Dec. 8 report by the online Environmental News Service.
Briefly Noted: World Renewable Energy Assembly Following its late-November meeting in Bonn, Germany, the World Renewable Energy Assembly (AREA) last month adopted its final communique, "The Human Right to Renewable Energy."
Briefly Noted: Penn State Subsurface Hydride Sites A team of scientists at Pennsylvania State University have, for the first time, manipulated hydrogen atoms underneath the surface of a palladium crystal, creating subsurface hydride sites that are believed to play important roles in catalysis, metal embrittlement, hydrogen storage and fuel cells.
Briefly Noted: RPI's PBI Membrane Advances Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY have launched a research project to develop a better high-temperature PEM-type membrane based on polybenzimidzole (PBI).
Briefly Noted: Hythane Co. in China The Denver, CO-based Hythane Co. LLC says it has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with five major Chinese cities to begin demonstrating low-emission i.c. engine technologies using Hythane™.
Briefly Noted: European Young Investigators Award A 29-year-old Irishman, Angelos Michaelides, is one of 25 winners of the 2005 European Young Investigators Awards for his investigation of how water interacts with solid surfaces. Interactions "play a crucial role in the activity of fuel cells, the chemistry of the troposphere, global warming, corrosion, catalysis.
Briefly Noted: Polyfuel Membrane PolyFuel Inc., the Mountain View, CA-based developer of advanced fuel cell membranes, says it has developed a new 45-micron-thin membrane that delivers the highest power levels yet for passive direct methanol fuel cells.
Briefly Noted: ITM's Composite Membranes A small UK-based fuel cell developer, ITM Power, says it has developed two entirely new fuel cell technologies that "may be fundamental" to advancing fuel cell commercialization. irect electronic control of the fuel cell by incorporating a control grid into the junction between the two layers of such a composite membrane.
Briefly Noted: Ballard-Ebara Kerosene Fuel Cells Vancouver-headquartered Ballard Power Systems reports that its Japanese partner, EBARA BALLARD Corp. (EBC), Tokyo, plans to deliver up to 100 1 kW kerosene-fueled fuel cell cogeneration units for homes in the Tokyo, Hokkaido, Tohoku and Hokuriku regions.
Briefly Noted: S. Korea-U.S. Nuclear Center A joint South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Hydrogen Joint Development Center in Daejeon, South Korea, was formally opened in early December.
Briefly Noted: Hypersonic Scramjet A hypersonic scramjet-powered small test vehicle made a successful test flight zooming along at more than five times the speed of sound before dawn in early December.
Briefly Noted: Green Coast Foundation Blog The Green Coast Foundation, a non-profit group seeking to accelerate clean, renewable energy in California, has launched the Green Coast Post, the state's first online blog-type forum for what it hopes will be constructive debate on green energy.
