Major Advances with Motor Control Centers (MCCs)
First Hybrid-Electric Plane Takes Flight Over Maui
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser – In a demonstration flight, the Electric EEL flew from Maui’s airport to Hana and back entirely on a single hybrid-electric charge. The company says the plane is like a Prius in the sky, and it’s the first of its kind. For the first time, a hybrid-electric plane has taken to the skies above Maui.
Ampaire Inc., a Los Angeles-based company focused on electric aviation, conducted its first, 20-minute demonstration flight in its Electric EEL—a hybrid-electric plane — from Maui’s Kahului Airport to Hana and back on Nov. 22 on a single charge.
Ampaire said it is the first to complete a demonstration flight of a hybrid-electric aircraft along an actual airline route. Ampaire is now flying the route regularly as part of a one-month demonstration program in partnership with Mokulele Airlines. Mokulele is one of 15 airlines around the world that signed a letter of interest with the company.
“We’re following the successful path of hybrid-electric automobiles in transforming ground transportation by taking that model to the sky, ” said Ampaire CEO Kevin Noertker in a news release. “By upgrading current aircraft with hybrid-electric propulsion we can enter the market quickly and take advantage of existing infrastructure for fixed-wing aviation.”
Funding boost to put Orbex on Scottish launchpad
The Engineer – Plans by Orbex to launch small satellites from Scotland have received a boost following a $24m funding round led by BGF and Octopus Ventures.
The latest investment puts the Forres headquartered company on course to the first launch from Scotland’s Space Hub Sutherland spaceport.
“Orbex is an impressive UK company which is developing a strongly differentiated and innovative launch solution for the rapidly-growing small satellite market,” saidKeith Barclay, investor at BGF. “In Europe, they are a recognised leader with an experienced team, substantial institutional support, a growing customer list and patented technology. The private space sector remains a key future industry for both Scottish and UK governments.”
Scottish space firm unveils world’s largest 3D printed rocket engine
Lockheed Martin to assist UK in developing vertical launch spaceport in Scotland
Orbex’s Prime rocket uses bio-propane that is claimed to cut CO2 emissions by 90 per cent compared to kerosene-based rocket fuels. Designed to be recoverable and re-usable, Orbex Prime is intended to leave no debris in the ocean or in orbit around the Earth. The company’s rocket vehicle for low-cost orbital launches is being built at factories in Forres, near Inverness, and Copenhagen in Denmark.
Will Future EVs Double the World’s Need for Electricity?
(The Truth About Cars) – While electric automobiles have numerous advantages over internal combustion vehicles, we’ve often wondered when their disadvantages would be offset to a point that would make sense to have them become the dominant mode of transportation. While there are multiple issues that have to be addressed, one of the largest involves finding a way to source the kind of energy needed for the world to recharge them on a regular basis.
An EV-dominated society likely means elevated energy prices and peak demand hours that could easily overtax national energy grids. Renewable energy sources may also prove insufficient in providing the kind of power necessary — potentially requiring countries to double down on plants reliant on coal, oil, and natural gas if nuclear facilities are not approved. Counter-productive takes like that are often downplayed, however, so industrial giants can continue proclaiming the technology as largely trouble-free.
But what happens when EV royalty starts making similar claims about our collective energy needs?
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, stated that the world’s electricity consumption would likely double as EVs become the norm.
What Makes 5G So Fast? – (All About Circuits)
(All About Circuits) – With 5G rolling out more quickly as we approach 2021, it may be helpful to touch on the key technologies that make 5G such a speedy success.
In a recent article, we discussed the basics of 5G technology—a discussion that is no longer in the realm of the hypothetical with 5G now being deployed in practice. One of the key talking points of 5G, at least from the consumer perspective, is its blazing-fast speeds. But what exactly makes 5G so fast?
While the hardware-level details of 5G speed are extensive, this article will briefly discuss the basic building blocks that bump 5G speeds from 4G and LTE rates.
As the name suggests, the 5G new radio (NR) requires a new kind of radio technology, antenna, and carrier tower design to achieve speeds of one gigabit per second with latency less than 10 milliseconds. The actual performance would depend on the design of the 5G products and the environment in which they operate.
‘Air-Gen’ Device Generates Electric Power from Ambient Humidity (by Sci-News)
(Sci-News) A thin-film device made from nanometer-scale protein wires harvested from the microbe Geobacter sulfurreducens can generate continuous electric power in the ambient environment, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.
“We are literally making electricity out of thin air. The Air-gen generates clean energy 24/7,” said Dr. Jun Yao, an electrical engineer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
“It’s the most amazing and exciting application of protein nanowires yet,” added Professor Derek Lovley, a microbiologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
The Air-gen device can generate power even in areas with extremely low humidity such as the Sahara Desert.
“It has significant advantages over other forms of renewable energy including solar and wind, because unlike these other renewable energy sources, the Air-gen does not require sunlight or wind, and it even works indoors,” Professor Lovley said.
The device requires only a thin film of protein nanowires less than 10 microns thick.