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Laser Power Systems is Developing Cars Fueled by Nuclear Power

Posted: Sun, 04 Sep 2011 06:44:47 +0000

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There may finally be a way to power your car forever — the only catch is that the fuel would be radioactive. Charles Stevens of Laser Power Systems (LPS) is working on creating an emissions free turbine/electric generator powered by nuclear thorium lasers. Though thorium is gaining a reputation as the “safe” nuclear element, with all the recent controversy surrounding nuclear power, we at Inhabitat wonder if it’s worth the risk.

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: electric car, Laser Power Systems, laser powered, nuclear power, nuclear powered car, thorium, thorium laser

TEST DRIVE: The Chevy Volt vs. The Plug-in Prius

Posted: Sun, 04 Sep 2011 06:00:13 +0000

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: alternative transportation, chevy volt, electric car, fuel efficiency, green automotive design, green transportation, hybrid vehicle, Laura K. Cowan, plug-in hybrid, plug-in Prius, prius hybrid, range-extended EV, test drive

Smart’s Forvision EV Concept Features a Futuristic Yet Funky Form

Posted: Fri, 02 Sep 2011 21:54:04 +0000

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: basf, electric car, green car, green transportation, International Motor Show, OLEDs, plastic wheels, smart car, smart forvision, Solar cells

Solar-Powered Biketower BT 20-112 is a Multi-Story Parking Lot for Bikes!

Posted: Fri, 02 Sep 2011 21:24:24 +0000

If you’re a cycler in the city, you know that trying to find a place to lock up on a busy sidewalk can often be as difficult as finding a spot to park a car. A short supply of bike racks and strict lock-up restrictions are a growing problem for some  cyclists in crowded cities, but enter the Biketower – a sweet multi-story, solar-powered, automated parking lot designed specifically for bicycles!

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: bicycle design, bicycle parking lots, bicycle safety, bicycle storage, bicycle theft prevention, bike parking lot, bike racks, bike tower, Biketower BT 20-112, E-bike Mobility, euro bike awards, green transportation

The UK Will Open the First Civilian Airport for Drones

Posted: Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:30:30 +0000

Drones, or unmanned aircrafts, are becoming more common and more affordable — and as a result, they’re not just for the military anymore. To meet growing interest, the UK’s Civilian Aviation Authority will soon open the world’s first airport dedicated to drones, located in Southern Wales.

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: air space, air transport, civilian air transport, civilian airports, civilian manned airplane, civilian manned planes, Design, drone airport, drones, environmental monitoring devices, green design, military technology, Technology, UK, uk airport, UK airports, unmanned aircraft, Wales, wales airport

Vycon Plans to Tap Speeding Subway Trains for Immense Amounts of Kinetic Energy

Posted: Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:58:05 +0000

London, New York, Paris – what do they all have in common? Apart from being among the world’s most energy-hungry cities, they all have underground subway systems. These public transport systems help millions of people each day to get to and from work, but what if they could also be used to help power these metropolises? Vycon Energy, who makes industrial flywheels, believes that they can tap the immense amount of kinetic energy carried by moving subway trains to subsidize city power systems. Not only would this reduce emissions, but it would also help to avoid peak power emergencies.

Read the rest of Vycon Plans to Tap Speeding Subway Trains for Immense Amounts of Kinetic Energy

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: harness energy, kinetic energy, regenerative braking, subway kinetic energy, subway systems kinetic energy, subway trains, vycon energy flywheels, vycon energy regenerative braking, vycon energy subways

Magneter: Magnetic Highway Harvests Kinetic Energy From Cars To Generate Electricity

Posted: Thu, 01 Sep 2011 19:58:17 +0000

Using highways to generate kinetic energy from cars is not a new idea, but designer Fang-Chun Tsai has put a twist on it. He proposes using the kinetic energy from speeding cars to change a magnetic field to generate electricity. The system could be easily installed in existing cars, and it could pave the way towards a self-sufficient energy grid.

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: car kinetic energy, Fang-Chun Tsai, Fang-Chun Tsai Magneter, highway generating electricity, magneter electricity generation, magneter kinetic energy, magneter kinetic energy highway, magnetic highway, magnetic kinetic energy highway

Audi Offers a Sneak Peek of Its Futuristic Electric Urban Concept Car Before Frankfurt Motor Show

Posted: Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:31:11 +0000

Audi will soon be revealing a super futuristic concept car with a staggered 1 + 1 seating arrangement, entry through the rear tailgate, a body composed of ultra-lightweight carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, a sliding canopy roof, and propulsion from a pair of in-wheel electric “e-tron” motors backed up by a lithium ion battery. We can’t wait to see the real deal at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, but for now we’re happy to ogle these renderings of the one-of-a-kind Urban Concept car which were just released.

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TMG EV P001 Becomes First EV To Break the Nurburgring 8-Minute Speed Record

Posted: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:14:19 +0000

Toyota’s TMG EV P001 just became the first electric car to shatter the 8-minute barrier at the Nurbirgring racetrack in Germany, with a blazing new time of 7 minutes and 47.794 seconds. Toyota Motorsport GmbH knocked an entire minute off the speed record for an EV at the ‘Ring’. The car handily beat the Peugeot EX1′s already amazing April record of 9 minutes and 1.338 seconds, which shows that the technology behind electric vehicle motors is really taking off.

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: alternative transportation, electric car, electric supercar, electric vehicle, EV lap record, green automotive design, green transportation, Nurburgring electric record, Nurburgring EV record, Nurburgring lap record, TMG EV P001, toyota motorsports gmbh

Cyclists Rejoice: PumpTire Is the World’s First Self-Inflating Bicycle Tire

Posted: Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:25:22 +0000

Where has this invention been all our lives? San Francisco-based startup PumpTire has just created the world’s first self-inflating bicycle tire, which uses the spinning motion and weight of your bike to keep its tires perfectly inflated at all times. So how does it work?

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: alternative transportation, Benjamin Krempel, bicycle tire, green bike design, green transportation, PumpTire, self-inflating bicycle tire, world's first

Brown Goes Green: UPS Purchases 100 EV Delivery Trucks for Its Next-Gen California Fleet

Posted: Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:12:53 +0000

UPS has just purchased 100 electric delivery vehicles from EV provider Electric Vehicles International in Stockton, California, for the company’s California fleet. The decision makes UPS’s California fleet of delivery trucks its largest EV fleet and it will replace 126,000 gallons of diesel fuel used every year by UPS trucks with green electric power. The trucks will have a 90-mile range and presumably will use DC quick chargers to juice up on the go.

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: alternative transportation, electric truck, electric vehicle, Electric Vehicles International, EV fleet, EVI, green fleet, green logistics, green transportation, UPS, UPS fleet

Equinox Brewing’s Keg Trike Delivers Fresh Brews

Posted: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 22:20:33 +0000

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: beer bike, beer trike, bike beer delivery, brewery keg bike, co brewery, Colorado micro brewery, Equinox Brewery, Fort Collins bike, Fort Collins Brewery, green delivery, keg bike, keg delivery bike, Keg Trike, kegbike, micro brewery bike, Micro Brewery keg

Electric OSCar Gears up for Grueling Race Across South America

Posted: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:01:38 +0000

In the movie “The Dilemma,” Vince Vaughn and Kevin James are challenged with the task of making hybrids sexy – namely, they must create a system that makes electric vehicles growl like muscle cars. Now a team of Latvian engineers are seeking to do

something similar — but they’re not making something that sounds like a sports car. They’re making a vehicle that performs like a sports car. The OSCar eO will drive through deserts and over some of racing’s roughest terrain in an international race for electric recognition. Read on for more about the eco-car that’s not afraid of epic deserts!

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: dakur, electric car, electric racecar, electric vehicle, ev, green design, international car racing, Latvia, Latvian engingeers, OSCar eO, race car, racecar, speed racing, sustainable design, sustainable transportation

Madella Simone’s Tesla E-Max Bike Converts Pressure To Power

Posted: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:19:15 +0000

The Tesla E-Max bike by Madella Simone is not just a pretty electric face. This motorcycle is covered in piezoelectric material that converts compression strength to power. And that’s not all. A second layer of Halite fabric also converts the heat of a human body sitting on the bike into extra electricity.

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Electric Killacycle Killajoule Aims To Be The Fastest Motorcycle Ever – Of Any Kind

Posted: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:09:30 +0000

Electric motorcycles are fast, but until now they were only raced amongst themselves, separating the land speed records of traditional motorcycles and electric motorcycles into two groups. The land speed record for electric motorcycles stands at 216 miles per hour, while the record for any kind of motorcycle stands at 367 mph. The electric Killacycle Killajoule aims to break down those barriers by breaking not just the electric record, but the overall record, to become the fastest motorcycle ever–of any kind. Can they do it?

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: alternative transportation, bonneville salt flats, electric motorcycle, green automotive design, green motorcycle design, green transportation, Killacycle Killajoule, land-speed record, motorcycle speed record

INTERVIEW: Edison2′s Chief of Design Ron Mathis

Posted: Sat, 27 Aug 2011 06:00:16 +0000

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: 100 MPGe, automotive x-prize, eco design, edison2, green design, green transportation, interview, progressive automotive x-prize, ron mathis, x-prize, x-prize competition

Zvezdan Nedeljković’s ParaMoto Trike Is the World’s First Paragliding Motorcycle!

Posted: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:58:55 +0000

Have you ever dreamed of riding a motorcycle down a mountainside and jumping off a cliff to paraglide over the ocean? Yes? Well, we’ve got just the vehicle for you, James Bond. The ParaMoto Trike by Zvezdan Nedeljkovic combines the designer’s love of flying, motorcycle riding and designing in an ultra-light electric trike that converts to a powered paraglider.

Read the rest of Zvezdan Nedeljković’s ParaMoto Trike Is the World’s First Paragliding Motorcycle!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: alternative transportation, electric bicycle, electric motorcycle, electric trike, green automotive design, green transportation, paragliding motorcycle, ParaMoto Trike, Zvezdan Nedeljkovic

Engineers in Africa Are Building A Space Shuttle In Their Garden

Posted: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 20:00:16 +0000

For a nice inspirational story in the midst of all of this hurricane madness, let’s travel to Africa. While most of the world (including the US) is downgrading their space fleets - opting to either privatize or let the Russians do it all – the African Space Research Programme is constructing their very first space shuttle. The crazy thing is that the African Space Research Programme is made up of pretty much one man, Chris Nsamba and a team of volunteer engineering students. Oh, and they’re making a space shuttle in his garden.

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: African Space Research Programme, African Space Research Programme design, African Space Research Programme funding, African Space Research Programme home made shuttle, African Space Research Programme plane, chris nsamba African Space Research Programme, chris nsamba home made shuttle, home made space shuttle

INTERVIEW: We Talk to Bicycle Library Founder Karta Healy

Posted: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 04:05:11 +0000

Last week, we showcased the Bicycle Library, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, and it was so unusual that we had to get in touch with its founder and pick his brain. We needed to know what makes a person wake up one morning and want to start a library where people take out bikes instead of books – and in a revamped double decker bus, no less?! So we caught up with Karta Healy, the driving (or should we say cycling?) force behind this mobile resource, and found out the answers to those questions and more – read on to see what he said.

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: bicycle library, bike library, bike rental, Eco Architecture, eco design, green architecture, green design, inhabitat interview, INTERVIEW: We Talk to Bicycle Library Founder Karta Healy, karta healy, recycled double decker bus, rent a bike, repurposed double decker bus, sustainable design, the bicycle library

Oliver VTOL’s Hexplane Proves Six Engines Are Better Than Two

Posted: Thu, 25 Aug 2011 22:26:12 +0000

Would you believe that six engines on a plane are not only more efficient than two, but also safer? It sounds a little crazy, but that’s the claim made by Oliver VTOL. This new VTOL “Hexplane” concept packs six engines and three wings, which apparently make the craft so reliable that you could lose any one engine or even an entire wing section without compromising the craft’s ability to fly to your destination.

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Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: aircraft safety, airplane concept, alternative transportation, green aircraft design, green transportation, Hexplane, Oliver TOL, six-engine plane

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