Cost and Efficiency
With Stellaris’s technology, solar-power systems can produce the same amount of electricity as other systems, using only one-third of the photovoltaic material, according to Mr. Ward. He predicts the technology will result in an overall cost savings of about 40 percent.
Instead of crystalline solar photovoltaic cells, the concentrators use thin-film solar cells. Thin-film cells contain little or no costly polysilicon, which is especially advantageous during a polysilicon shortage (see Solar’s Going Thin).
Stellaris’s technology is compatible with any thin-film technology, according to Mr. Ward.
Mr. Parker of the Cleantech Venture Network said the technology is interesting, but added that there is a lot of competition in the space. One challenge will be getting warranties for the new technology, as thin-film cells have historically degraded more quickly than crystalline cells, he said.
“It’s a matter of taking a lab test and proving it out in the real world,” he said. “Degradation has been a problem with thin film. It’s got to be plug and play. A concentrator adds a whole new level of complexity, depending on how it’s embedded in the product.”
He believes it may take some time for Stellaris to capitalize on its recent triumph.
“It’s one thing to win a business plan competition, but there’s a lot of pilot work that’s got to be done before this is a successful company,” said Mr. Parker. “There’s a long way to go
"Skim over the existing hot political air". Innovation is the life blood of every nation. We encourage an idea exchange on any topics that is break through technology-simple or complex.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Beware of wireless security systems
Gone in 60 seconds--the high-tech version
By Robert Vamosi Senior editor, CNET ReviewsMay 5, 2006
Let's say you just bought a Mercedes S550, a state-of-the-art, high-tech vehicle with an antitheft keyless ignition system. After pulling into a Starbucks to celebrate with a grande latte and a scone while checking your messages on a BlackBerry, a man in a T-shirt and jeans with a laptop sits next to you and starts up a friendly conversation: "Is that the S550? How do you like it so far?" Eager to share, you converse for a few minutes, then the man thanks you and is gone. A moment later you look up to discover your new Mercedes is gone as well. Now, decrypting one 40-bit code sequence can not only disengage the security system and unlock the doors, it can also start the car--making the hack tempting for thieves. The owner of the code is now the true owner of the car. And while high-end, high-tech auto thefts like this are more common in Europe today, they will soon start happening in America. The sad thing is that manufacturers of keyless devices don't seem to care.
By Robert Vamosi Senior editor, CNET ReviewsMay 5, 2006
Let's say you just bought a Mercedes S550, a state-of-the-art, high-tech vehicle with an antitheft keyless ignition system. After pulling into a Starbucks to celebrate with a grande latte and a scone while checking your messages on a BlackBerry, a man in a T-shirt and jeans with a laptop sits next to you and starts up a friendly conversation: "Is that the S550? How do you like it so far?" Eager to share, you converse for a few minutes, then the man thanks you and is gone. A moment later you look up to discover your new Mercedes is gone as well. Now, decrypting one 40-bit code sequence can not only disengage the security system and unlock the doors, it can also start the car--making the hack tempting for thieves. The owner of the code is now the true owner of the car. And while high-end, high-tech auto thefts like this are more common in Europe today, they will soon start happening in America. The sad thing is that manufacturers of keyless devices don't seem to care.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Fast electric car from New Zealand Inventor
A car that could save the planet—fast
Silicon Valley's big brains think they can beat Detroit and Tokyo and save the planet - all while doing 0 to 60 faster than almost anything on the road.
By Michael V. Copeland, Business 2.0 Magazine senior writer
May 5, 2006: 7:25 PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) - Ian Wright has a car that blows away a Ferrari 360 Spider and a Porsche Carrera GT in drag races, and whose 0-to-60 acceleration time ranks it among the fastest production autos in the world. In fact, it's second only to the French-made Bugatti Veyron, a 1,000-horsepower, 16-cylinder beast that hits 60 mph half a second faster and goes for $1.25 million.
The key difference? The Bugatti gets eight miles per gallon. Wright's car? It runs off an electric battery.
Before creating the X1, Ian Wright designed routers and switches for Digital Equipment and Cisco.
The X1 recently challenged -- and beat -- the Ferrari 360 Spyder (in red) at the Infineon Raceway in northern California.
Play video
Wright, a 50-year-old entrepreneur from New Zealand, thinks his electric car, the X1, can soon be made into a small-production roadster that car fanatics and weekend warriors will happily take home for about $100,000 - a quarter ton of batteries included. He has even launched a startup, called Wrightspeed, to custom-make and sell the cars.
(For a photo gallery of what's under the X1's hood, click here.)
But Wright isn't some quixotic loner. He's part of a growing cluster of engineers, startups, and investors, most of them based in Silicon Valley, that believe they can do what major automakers have failed at for decades: Think beyond the golf cart and deliver an electric vehicle (EV) to the mass market.
Indeed, the race for the new consumer EV has already begun: Just a year ago, Wright was working for his Woodside neighbor Martin Eberhard, co-founder of Tesla Motors, a startup that has 70
Silicon Valley's big brains think they can beat Detroit and Tokyo and save the planet - all while doing 0 to 60 faster than almost anything on the road.
By Michael V. Copeland, Business 2.0 Magazine senior writer
May 5, 2006: 7:25 PM EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Business 2.0 Magazine) - Ian Wright has a car that blows away a Ferrari 360 Spider and a Porsche Carrera GT in drag races, and whose 0-to-60 acceleration time ranks it among the fastest production autos in the world. In fact, it's second only to the French-made Bugatti Veyron, a 1,000-horsepower, 16-cylinder beast that hits 60 mph half a second faster and goes for $1.25 million.
The key difference? The Bugatti gets eight miles per gallon. Wright's car? It runs off an electric battery.
Before creating the X1, Ian Wright designed routers and switches for Digital Equipment and Cisco.
The X1 recently challenged -- and beat -- the Ferrari 360 Spyder (in red) at the Infineon Raceway in northern California.
Play video
Wright, a 50-year-old entrepreneur from New Zealand, thinks his electric car, the X1, can soon be made into a small-production roadster that car fanatics and weekend warriors will happily take home for about $100,000 - a quarter ton of batteries included. He has even launched a startup, called Wrightspeed, to custom-make and sell the cars.
(For a photo gallery of what's under the X1's hood, click here.)
But Wright isn't some quixotic loner. He's part of a growing cluster of engineers, startups, and investors, most of them based in Silicon Valley, that believe they can do what major automakers have failed at for decades: Think beyond the golf cart and deliver an electric vehicle (EV) to the mass market.
Indeed, the race for the new consumer EV has already begun: Just a year ago, Wright was working for his Woodside neighbor Martin Eberhard, co-founder of Tesla Motors, a startup that has 70
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