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Aeromine Technologies claims that its new rooftop bladeless wind energy unit provides the same amount of power as up to 16 solar panels. Could it become a game changer for generating clean energy on commercial buildings?

Aeromine Technologies says its motionless system, which was validated through joint research with Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque and Texas Tech University, easily installs on the edge of a building and can generate up to 50% more energy at the same cost as rooftop solar.

It’s designed to sit on buildings with flat roofs such as warehouses and distribution centers, manufacturing facilities, office buildings, multi-family residential developments, and big box retail.

The company says its patented rooftop wind product is currently being piloted by BASF Corporation – the largest chemical producer in the world – at BASF’s manufacturing plant in Wyandotte, Michigan. 

Aeromine explains how its rooftop bladeless wind energy unit works:

Aeromine is motionless. The technology leverages aerodynamics similar to airfoils on a race car to capture and amplify each building’s airflow. Requiring just 10% of the roof space needed by solar panels, the stationary, silent, and durable Aeromine unit generates around-the-clock energy in any weather.

Aeromine systems consist of 20-40 units installed on the edge of a building facing the predominant wind direction. Designed to work seamlessly with a building’s existing electrical system, the combination of Aeromine’s wind solution with rooftop solar can generate up to 100% of a building’s onsite energy needs, while minimizing the need for energy storage.

It can also be paired with existing solar, so it isn’t necessary to disassemble already-installed solar panels to install the wind unit.

Electrek’s Take

The first thing I do when I come across innovations like this is look to see if there’s any commercial interest. If BASF is piloting this product, then that signals potential.

Aeromine Technologies’ rooftop wind unit is one I’ll be keeping an eye on. If it turns out to be a success, it could be scaled up and installed quickly on commercial buildings. The built environment generates nearly 50% of annual global CO2 emissions, according to Architecture 2030, so this solution is desperately needed.

The one thing that stuck in my craw about this company is its marketing pitch. In order to pump itself up, it talks about how its unit doesn’t kill birds in its press release, talks down other clean energy generators on its website, and CEO David Asarnow says that his company’s product mitigates “legacy constraints posed by spinning wind turbines and less efficient solar panels.” 

Mr. Asarnow, it’s neither necessary nor wise to use climate denier language to promote your product, which your company says is limited to commercial buildings anyway. It’s not like you’re going to float this on the sea or put it on household rooftops, so you’re not competing with offshore wind or utility-scale solar. Don’t feed the trolls. We need every clean energy tool we can get to reduce emissions.

Read more: A turbine prototype just broke a 24-hour wind power world record

Photo: Aeromine Technologies


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CATL unveils new EV battery that charges as fast as pumping gas

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CATL unveils new EV battery that charges as fast as pumping gas

China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) has unveiled its latest battery cell technologies, which charge as quickly as filling up a gas tank while potentially lowering costs without compromise.

CATL has quickly become the world’s largest battery manufacturer by a wide margin. It is one of, if not the biggest, force for advancing electric transportation.

A big part of CATL’s success is due to its advancements in lithium-iron phosphate battery cells, also known as LFP. LFP cells are cheaper than nickel-rich batteries, but they used to have much lower energy density.

The Chinese battery manufacturers managed to close the gap somewhat while maintaining lower costs, resulting in LFP cells becoming popular for entry-level EVs.

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Now, CATL is looking to do the same with sodium-ion batteries.

Like LFP cells, sodium-ion battery cells have the potential to be cheaper than more common Li-ion cells, but they also offer potential for superior performance, particularly in terms of faster charging and longer lifecycles.

CATL has unveiled today Naxtra, its new sodium-ion battery cells, and it claimed some truly impressive specs.

The new cell reportedly achieves an energy density of 175 Wh per kg (385 Wh per lb), on par with the higher-end of LFP battery cells.

The new cells also offer potential for significant safety improvements.

CATL shared several intense stress tests, including drilling into a cell and even cutting it in half without any thermal event:

The next-gen sodium cells could help further lower the cost of electric vehicles without compromising performance, and while increasing safety.

On top of the new Naxtra cell, CATL has also unveiled its next-gen Shenxing LFP battery cells.

Its charge rate is truly impressive. CATL shared several examples of cars charging at around 1,000 kW and maintaining over 500 kW at over 50% state of charge:

The new cell is being described as capable of adding 300 miles (482 km) of range in about 5 minutes – depending on the EV model.

That’s virtually as quick as filling up a tank of gas.

CATL says that the Shenxing will be in 67 electric vehicle models by the end of the year.

The next-gen cell was unveiled after BYD, CATL’s biggest competitor, also unveiled its latest technology, capable of charging electric vehicles at extremely high speeds.

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New York adds $30 million more to its EV rebate pot

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New York adds  million more to its EV rebate pot

New York State has announced an extra $30 million for point-of-sale rebates to lease or buy more than 60 new EV models.

The rebates are available to consumers through New York’s Drive Clean Rebate program, which offers a point-of-sale rebate off the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of an EV at participating car dealerships in New York State.

The rebate is available in all 62 counties, with the highest rebate of $2,000 available for EVs with a greater-than-200-mile range. (For a 40- to 199-mile range, the rebate is $1,000.) The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) runs the program.

NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “Converting to EVs reduces the total cost of vehicle ownership through lower fuel and vehicle maintenance costs, and NYSERDA is proud to help provide New Yorkers with more purchasing power through these rebates.”

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The Drive Clean Rebate program has issued over 190,000 rebates to consumers since 2017, contributing to the more than 280,000 EVs on the road in New York State. 

NYSERDA also boosted its EV charging incentives. Through the Charge Ready NY 2.0 program, the state is boosting the cash available for Level 2 charger installations at apartment buildings, workplaces, and hotels from $2,000 to $3,000 per port. And if the chargers go into disadvantaged communities, that amount jumps to $4,000 per port.

New York has racked up over 17,000 public EV chargers, making it second only to California for charger count. On top of that, there are more than 4,000 semi-public stations tucked into workplaces and multifamily buildings across the state.

Read more: New York awards $60M to Revel to install 267 DC fast chargers


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ArcBest Freight and logistics company deploys 14 electric terminal tractors

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ArcBest Freight and logistics company deploys 14 electric terminal tractors

LTL carrier ArcBest Freight (ABF) announced plans to add five new Orange EV electric terminal tractors to its existing ZEV fleet, bringing its total deployment of these battery electric HDEVs to 14 … with even more to come.

LTL stands for “Less than Truck Load,” and basically means that, since whatever you’re shipping won’t take up a full container, you can share the costs of shipping with other customers with goods going the same way. You save a little more money and the shipper makes a little more money, making it a rare win-win scenario in the shipping space. And that’s important, because LTL containers amount to a massive 15% of total US shipping.

ABF has been putting Orange EV yard dogs to work in their LTL traffic terminals since their initial deployment of four trucks in June 2022. The company added five more a few years later, and just purchased five more — further underscoring their confidence in the benefits of transitioning their fleet to electric power.

“The Orange EV terminal trucks meet our operational requirements and expectations for safe, reliable, and affordable service and performance,” explains Matthew Godfrey, ABF Freight president. “We’re committed to responsible environmental management, and our investment in EVs aligns with our continuous efforts to enhance efficiency while maintaining exceptional service standards.”

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ABF joins other large logistics companies like YMX and DHL in deploying the Orange EV terminal trucks, which have logged hundreds of thousands of hours of service for their customers.

Electrek’s Take

Over at The Heavy Equipment Podcast, we had a chance to talk to Orange EV founder Kurt Neutgens ahead of last year’s ACT Expo for clean trucking. On the show (embedded, above), Kurt explained how his experience at Ford helped inform his design ideology, and that the Orange EV was designed to be cost competitive with diesel options, even without subsidies.

Give it a listen, then let us know what you think of the big yard dogs in the comments.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Orange EV; via PR Newswire.

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