Innovation or Over-the-top?
At Lionshead Energy we love to see innovative, successful deployment of alternative energy technology. Four noteworthy clean technologies to be in the news recently are the Toyota Mirai, the Solar Impulse II, the Ecocapsule by Nice Architects, and the SmartFlower.
Toyota recently just released the Mirai (which means “future” in Japanese). Now, like it or not, (we like it) the Mirai might get pretty good market traction. The Mirai can to get up to a 300-mile range, refuel in 5 minutes and can give drivers a great ride while emitting only water out the tailpipe. Although there is still a lot of work to be done in making hydrogen cars to market, we have to start somewhere. If you think about it, there was once a time when gas stations weren’t as commonplace as they are today too.
At Lionshead we are also all big fans of the Solar Impulse plane. This unique aircraft was built to show the effectiveness of photovoltaics, by making a trip around the world fueled only by solar energy. Containing 17,000 solar cells built into its huge 72-meter wingspan, the Solar Impulse harnesses energy from the sun and transforms it into electricity used to power its propellers.
The Ecocapsule, by Nice Architects, is fully self-sufficient, thanks to a high capacity wind and solar-powered battery, and water filtration system. At 120 square feet, the Ecocapsule can "comfortably" house two adults. And lastly, an Austrian company has come up with a new type of solar array that we think is intriguing, beautiful and hopefully efficient. Although it’s still a concept, the SmartFlower is a solar structure that tracks the sun during the day; and at night or during stormy weather, it folds its solar “petals” away until the sun comes back up or the storm passes. Whether the SmartFlower will successfully compete with standard pv modules is unknown (and dare I say unlikely) but there is an upside is, they sure are artsy… which we think is pretty cool.