Cement Batteries, Tri-Winged Planes and even smaller semiconductors.

May 27

This week we are looking at Cement Batteries. Will our high rise buildings one day become a store of energy? We also discover a new process that turns waste plastic into Jet Fuel in under an hour and a new tri-wing plane that uses 70% less fuel that similar sized jets. Finally we examine a new breakthrough in computer chip design that will make chips smaller, our computers faster and batteries last much longer.

Cement based Batteries

We have previously spoken about the potential for batteries to be made from the humble house brick, now a breakthrough by researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden may enable cement based batteries.

Adding small amounts of short carbon fibers, increases the conductivity and flexural strength of the concrete. The researchers then added a metal coated carbon fibre mesh which used iron for the anode and nickel for the cathode of the battery.

The resulting battery can be recharged and has an energy density of 7 watts/hour per square meter of material. This capacity is much smaller than current commercial batteries however the sheer size of many city buildings may make them suitable as a store of renewable energy. Adding windows that double as solar panels and we have a self powered building. The technology is still in the early stages of development.

Plastic Jet Fuel

There are several technologies that can turn waste plastic into fuel for cars and trucks. Researchers at Washington State University have developed a new technology that can turn plastic waste into jet fuel in an hour.

The majority of plastic recycling melts and reshapes plastic for a secondary use. The quality of the plastic degrades during this process meaning that recycled plastic can only be used for a lower grade of plastic. This reduces the economic value of the recycled plastic and generally makes the process marginally economic.

The researchers used ruthenium (atomic number 44) on a carbon catalyst combined with a common solvent to convert approximately 90% of the plastic waste into jet fuel. The process can be carried out at 220 degrees celsius which should make commercialization easier.

Whilst this process does not remove plastic and carbon from the system it does provide a secondary use for used plastics that will reduce the impact and remove polluting plastic from our seas and landfills.

Tri Winged Plane

Whilst we are talking about Jet Fuel, a new tri-wing airplane design made from a single piece composite fuselage will consume 70% less fuel than other jets of a similar size. The plane can travel roughly 16,900 kilometers with at top speed of 690mph.

Developed by SE Aeronautics, the SE200’s extra wings provide more lift which shortens the takeoff and landing range of the aircraft. This allows smaller airports to accommodate this type of plane. Fuel is not stored in the wings allowing a more streamlined design.

The aircraft can carry 264 passengers It has dual rear engines with 64,000 pounds of thrust. Time will tell if the design makes it into commercial flight however given the fuel cost advantage, it is clear that revolutionary aircraft designs will be coming to an airport new you in the coming years.

Even smaller Semiconductors

The pace of development in the semi conductor space is relentless. A few weeks ago IBM announced a new 2 nanometer design for computer chips. Most current chips are produced down to the 3 nanometer scale. This would have allowed 50% more chips to be inserted into the same amount of space.

This week researchers from MIT, National University of Taiwan and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) have announced a process using the semi-metal bismuth (atomic number 83) that will allow the manufacture of semiconductors below the 1 nanometer level.

IBM’s claim was that their new chip would quadruple smartphone battery life, enable greater laptop speeds and a wider range of heavy computing applications. The new chip will no doubt greatly improve that performance.

Roads that charge your car

Last week we talked about a breakthrough that will enable a highway to recharge an electric car efficiently. This week Italy is launching their first highway that will recharge electric cars (however they will be using an older technology).

Israeli company, ElectReon Wireless is building a 1 kilometer long stretch of highway that is capable of charging electric vehicles. The test is being carried out between Milan and Brescia. Copper coils will be laid along the side of the road to transfer energy to the car battery via magnetic induction.

Trials have shown an average transfer rate of 70 kilowatts. Trials have previously been undertaken in Israel and Sweden. Sweden recently opened its’ first electric road near the Stockholm Airport.

Paying it Forward

If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and feature the startup in this newsletter. Also if any startups need introductions please get in touch and I will help where I can.

If you have any questions or comments please email me via my website craigcarlyon.com or comment below.

I would also appreciate it if you could forward this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested.

Till next week.