Every 2 months Environment Technology Newsletters provide details of developments in technology which impact on climate change - see the 2008 Newsletters and the 2009 Newsletters which make reference to over 100 developments. There are, in addition, some general issues.

The World in 2030

Ray Hammond has written a non fiction book for PlasticsEurope - the trade association of the European Plastice Industry. This book, titled The World in 2030, is available in electronic format and has over 400 Internet links. It is positive that accelerating technological change will successfully address global warming and indicates, in depth, the most important technologies that will emerge.

Balanced production of biofuels

Many initiatives are emerging across the world to grow energy crops for the production of biofuels. Problems are emerging in developed parts of the world in balancing the use of land for food or energy crops. Food prices have already been affected.

Developing countries, however, have millions of hectares of land, currently unused, marginal, waste or degraded, that is suitable for growing energy crops. Rural unemployment and poverty are key problems in the developing world and energy crops provide the opportunity to impact poverty by providing farming jobs and rejuvenating agriculture and rural communities. Energy crops from these sources have the potential to restore balance to the agricultural trade between the developed and the developing world and need not compete with vital food crops for good agricultural land.

One of the companies pioneering the development of balanced biofuel production is a new, UK based, company D1 Oils. This company is building a global supply chain network by developing the science, planting and production of inedible vegetable oils in developing countries; designing, building, owning, operating and marketing biodiesel refineries; and trading the inherent commodities.

Their primary biodiesel feedstock is Jatropha curcas which grows on non-arable, marginal and waste land in developing countries, currently in Africa.

In June 2007 D1 Oils entered into a joint venture with BP who will invest at least £32m to accelerate planting of Jatropha.

Solar Panels

The development and marketing of solar panels to generate electricity for houses or commercial premises is accelerating exponentially.

This is being led by research which is producing thin film solar panels which use far less raw material and generate electricity more efficiently, particularly in daylight only environments. The substantial reduction in material content is reducing the costs of manufacture and in the US some manufacturers have already reduced prices by 70%. The next generation of solar panels is already under development with plastics replacing expensive silicon.

To date the relatively high costs of solar panels has restricted market growth but the new technology will enable every household, including those in developing countries, to access cheap solar panels within a few years.

Across the world new solar panel manufacturing plants are coming on stream. One estimate is that the solar panel manufacture and installation will be a $25 billion industry by 2010.

Electric cars are emerging as the replacement for the internal combustion engine

The world-wide financial problems of 2008 which have reduced purchases of new cars by an average of 40% has stimulated significant research and investment by all car manufacturers in cars which have much lower, or zero, emissions.

The key breakthrough is in battery technology where lighter lithium ion batteries are leading the way to electric cars with acceptable ranges on a single charge. Plug-in hybrids which also have a traditional internal combustion engine are acting as a halfway technology.

Mainstream manufacture of electric cars in volume is to be expected from 2011. A potential problem, however, is the limited availability of lithium. Further research and development of battery technology will be essential if high volume electric car manufacture is to be maintained.

Pioneering hydogen technology as an alternative

Hydrogen is beginning to emerge as an alternative fuel to replace fossil fuels and to electric cars. Several major vehicle manufacturers are developing and testing this technology, and hydrogen production and distribution networks are beginning to emerge.

This technology is already being developed on a much smaller scale for use in remote areas that are not serviced by electrical grid systems. It may have wider application.

The PURE (Promoting Unst Renewable Energy) project on the island of Unst, the most northerly island in the British Isles is a demonstration project to show how wind power and hydrogen technology can be combined to provide the energy needs of a remote rural industrial estate.

Electricity from wind turbines is used to produced hydrogen from an electrolyser. It is stored at high pressure and dispensed into hydride cylinders. The cylinders are used in a hydrogen fuel cell/battery hybrid vehicle and other hydrogen applications as an alternative to fossil fuels. This car is one of the first carbon free vehicles in the UK.

The 3 founding Directors of the Pure Energy Centre, who have been described by international hydrogen industry experts as pioneers in this technology, offer training courses and consultancy to share the knowledge and expertise that they have accumulated, to date.

Another innovative hydrogen initiative is being developed by Hydogen Solar Ltd. The patented Tandem Cell is a self-contained unit which directly splits water molecules into high-purity hydrogen and oxygen using the energy from sunlight. No external electricity is required. The process is renewable and produces no carbon dioxide or other emissions. By using a modular design, an array of Tandem Cells can be built to an infinite variety of sizes thereby making it suitable for a wide range of potential industrial and energy applications.

In 2007 Honda introduced its 4 seat, hydrogen-powered, fuel cell car with a top speed of 95 mph and a range of 270 miles. This car will be marketed on a limited basis in 2009. To address the lack of hydrogen re-fuelling points Honda is also developing a home energy station to not only produce the hydrogen for the car but to also power the home.