You'd
expect to find something called the
CleanTech Forum in San Francisco,
and there it is, taking place this
week. The three-day conference is
dedicated to the melding of ideas
behind
technology and concern for the
environment.
Among the highlights so far:
Smart Glass, which is coated
with a special emulsion that turns
dark in bright sun or becomes clear
when darkness falls. You the
executive can even flip a switch and
change the tint. According to John
Petraglia, the CEO of SPD Control
Systems, one of the main makers of
the new technology, companies can
slash their electricity bills by up
to 20 percent because of the
increase (or decrease, as the case
may be) of sunlight streaming in.
Synthetic gasoline, created
by ClearFuels, a company out of
Hawaii. The idea is to take dried
biomass and turn it into an
intermediate product, which can be
made into ethanol, which can be
mixed with traditional gasoline.
Eric Darmstaedter, the CFO of
ClearFuels, said his company could
make 200 gallons of synthetic gas
from a ton of biomass, which is
double the amount that can be
produced using traditional methods.
Extengine, an exhaust system
add-on for diesel trucks and buses
that uses ammonia to convert exhaust
nitrogen and oxygen into nitrogen
and water vapor, making the ultimate
exhaust far less harmful to the
environment. With the increasing
focus on stricter emission
standards, this invention is sure to
catch on.
Ice energy, which is an old
idea given new life. The company is
named Ice Energy, and the company's
Ice Bear system manufactures ice in
huge quantities and stores it in a
copper tub lathered with insulation,
for distributing of cool air via a
storage module that consumes much
less power and is more eco-friendly
than traditional air conditioners.
Large companies that have installed
this system have seen their fuel
bills drop by 15 percent.
Street light power cut. A
company called Metrolight has
developed equipment that can replace
control systems in streetlights and
industrial light fixtures. The idea
is to streamline the amount of
electricity going to these lights.
Metrolight founder Yigal Yanai is
targeting the so-called electricity
"waste" that occurs when a flood of
electricity is thrown at a light
fixture or streetlight without
regard to how much power that light
needs. Metrolight aims to more
accurately predict and deliver how
much power is needed, thereby
cutting "waste" and, of course,
costs
You'd
expect to find something called the
CleanTech Forum in San Francisco,
and there it is, taking place this
week. The three-day conference is
dedicated to the melding of ideas
behind