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"Donald Sadoway: The missing link to renewable energy Tweet this talk! (we'll add the headline and the URL) Post to: Share on Twitter Email This Favorite Download inShare Share on StumbleUpon Share on Reddit Share on Facebook TED Conversations Got an idea, question, or debate inspired by this talk? Start a TED Conversation, or join one of these: Green Home Energy=Hydrogen Generators-alternative sources Started by Kathleen Gilligan-Smith 1 Comment What is the real missing link in renewable energy? Started by Enrico Petrucco 8 Comments Comment on this Talk 60 total comments Sign in to add comments or Join (It's free and fast!) Sort By: smily raichel 0 Reply Less than 5 minutes ago: Nice smily raichel 0 Reply Less than 5 minutes ago: Good David Mackey 0 Reply 3 hours ago: Superb invention, but I would suggest one more standard mantra that they should move on from and that is the idea of power being supplied by a centralised grid. This technology seems to me to be much more beneficial on a local scale, what if every home had its own battery, then home power generation becomes economically more viable for everyone. If you could show that a system like this could pay for itself in say 5 years then every home would want one. Plus for this to be implemented on a large scale requires massive investment that could be decades away. Share the technology and lets get it in homes by next year. Great ted talk. Jon Senior 0 Reply 1 hour ago: I agree 100%. Localised energy production would also make energy consumers more conscious of their consumption and encourage efforts to reduce it. We can invent and invent all we want, but the fast solution to allowing renewable energies to take centre stage is to reduce the base energy draw. With lower baseline consumption, smaller "always on" generators are required to keep the grid operational. Town and house-l

These are heady times for the thin-film solar industry. The sector's dominant player, First Solar, has been on a tear of late, recently announcing it would build a second 10 megawatt power plant in Nevada, while Miasole, once thought to be ailing, has staged an impressive comeback, raking in an eye-popping $220 million. Nanosolar has developed a new ultra-fast solar cell printer, and even giants like IBM and Applied Materials have gotten in on the game. In the face of such intense competition, how will HelioVolt, a well-funded outpost of CIGS manufacturing in Texas, fare? The company hopes a new hybrid, super fast CIGS process it has developed in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which combines its patented FASST process and NREL's non-vacuum deposition technique, will help even the odds. The Austin, Texas-based company licensed NREL's non-vacuum deposition process, which allows for the quick application of liquid precursors onto a printing plate and substrate, to manufacture its solar cells with a 12.2 percent conversion efficiency at a fraction of the regular cost and in record time - under 6 minutes. Another advantage is that the substrate can be made from a variety of building materials, including glass, metals, plastics and roofing materials.

Unlike most metals, "amorphous metals" known as bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) do not form crystal structures when they are cooled rapidly after heating. Although they seem solid, they are more like a very slow-flowing liquid that has no structure beyond the atomic level - making them ideal for molding fine details, said senior author Jan Schroers of the Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science.

The first superconductor transmission cable in a commercial power grid was installed on Long Island last year-and the next stop is New York City. Project Hydra (the code name for the Manhattan grid upgrade scheduled to start in 2010) will use American Superconductor's liquid-nitrogen-cooled Secure Super Grid cables, which can transfer 10 times more power than conventional copper cable, with lower impedance.

Tokyo, Japan, Apr 25, 2008 - (JCN Newswire) - Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) plans to end production activities at JVC Manufacturing UK LTD. (JMUK) at the end of July 2008 as part of restructuring television business operations. JMUK has manufactured cathode-ray tube (CRT) televisions, liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions and related products primarily for UK and other European markets as a UK subsidiary of JVC.

The German copper cathode and semis fabricator, Aurubis, has reported its concerns over the Federal Government's decision to phase out nuclear power. Aurubis said that the new legislative package, which involves the decommissioning of seven base load power plants, does not ensure that electricity will remain secure and affordable for the company. As such, it believes that power supply now represents a significant downside risk to its operations. In the event of a momentary power failure, the company would suffer a half-day cathode production loss. A sustained power shortage or blackout could cause substantial damage to plant equipment as liquid melts solidify. Aurubis said that steps were required to be taken to expand the power grid and increase power plant capacities. The company currently uses 1Bn KWh/y, approximately the same amount as 600,000 inhabitants.

It looks ordinary, like a razor-thin metal ribbon. But the high-temperature superconductor power transmission cable the Long Island Power Authority recently installed in Ronkonkoma revolutionizes how electricity is delivered, utility and federal officials said. The cable -- which is a fraction of the size of a traditional copper wire but can carry three times the power -- made its ceremonial debut yesterday with officials from LIPA, the U.S. Department of Energy and officials from the company that makes the cable. It went online April 22, the world's first use of the new technology in a commercial power grid. Utilities around the world are looking at superconductivity to improve efficiency of their grids and make them less vulnerable to blackouts. LIPA has buried three 2,000-foot wires in its right-of-way, and it will be installing a second generation of the wire in the same area as a test. "We view superconductor power cables as an important option that will help us further enhance the reliability of our grid as we meet our customers' increasing demands for electric power," LIPA chief executive Kevin Law said. He said the new cable allows the utility to increase capacity where its system has bottlenecks while increasing reliability and longevity and lowering costs. The wire, manufactured by American Superconductor Corp., conducts 150 times the electricity of the same sized copper wires, strand-for-strand. This means transmission cables can be far smaller and still conduct as much as three to five times more power in a smaller right-of-way.

Chinese imports of refined copper fell by 19% m-o-m to 196,926 tonnes in January 2010, in line with earlier expectations of industry participants. However, the figure rose by 9% from January 2009. Despite the recent liquidity tightening in China, signals still show robust copper demand growth.

Ningbo Kangqiang Electronics reported that despite the recent liquidity tightening in China, their copper demand expectations remain optimistic. The company, which uses copper plate and strip, said that copper demand will peak in March and April, when Chinese copper fabricators traditionally increase production. It was reported that Chinese copper semis manufacturers will see demand for their products rise after the Lunar New Year (February 14th).

Hussey Copper Ltd., the US based manufacturer of copper and copper alloy rolled products, rods and electrical bar, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 27th September following a liquidity problem attributed to sustained high copper prices. It is also reported that Kataman Metals, a trading firm involved in the primary and secondary copper markets, agreed to purchase assets belonging to the company. Kataman is believed to have supplied materials to Hussey in the past. The sale is expected to take a further 60 to 90 days.