US physicist Dr. Ashok Gadgil was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement award last night at the Zayed Future Energy Prize in Abu Dhabi for his humanitarian work in Darfur and pioneering efforts to develop a safer and more efficient cooking stove. Gadgil has also made strides in developing a technology to inexpensively disinfect drinking water in developing countries.

Dr. Gadgil, who received $500,000 for the prize heads up the Environmental Energy Technologies Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.

"We have never been in this place before," Dr. Gadgil said in a post-awards interview with Earth & Industry, referring to the climbing global population of over 5 billion people and its associated energy demand,

"We are on a collision course and we cannot continue in the old way otherwise we are toast," Gadgil said.

Gadgil's comment during the ceremony that "We are a wholly-owned subsidiary of the environment," was particularly striking considering the broader business context of the World Future Energy Summit going on this week in Abu Dhabi, an event also sponsored by the Abu Dhabi government, the backers of the Zayed Future Energy Prize.

Gadgil, who didn't even know he had been nominated for the prize until he was contacted by the selection committee in 2011.

"Just to be part of the finalists group is such a distinction," Dr. Gadgil said, "but I am overwhelmed to be selected as the winner."

When asked if he had any plans for the prize money, Gadgil did not even pause to blink, saying that the money would go directly to two projects.

Citing the one million annual deaths attributed to unsafe indoor cookstoves, Gadgil said the money would be invested back into the clean cookstoves project. Traditional cookstoves, he explained, which burn biomass and animal dung not only pose a major health threat, particularly to the women and children closest to the stoves as they burn indoors, in the case of wood, they also pose a major threat to the health of global forests. In Ethiopia, for example, forest cover has gone from 50 percent to 5 percent in the last half century and 80 percent of the population is still burning wood for cooking heat.

The second project Gadgil will use the prize money for addresses the problem of arsenic in drinking water. In what the physicist called "the largest mass poisoning in the history of mankind," huge numbers of people in Bangladesh are drinking arsenic-laced water "because they have no other choice."

Gadgil's lab has developed a process which removes arsenic from drinking water at a cost of roughly 4 cents per liter.

Other winners on Tuesday included the French energy management technology firm, Schneider Electric, in the corporate category. The UK-based Carbon Disclosure Project, which works with business and communities to reduce water and energy use, won in the NGO category.

“These are people that had the foresight to recognize that investing in the future is based on long term vision and the ability to innovate the technologies that the world so urgently needs,” added Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Director General of the Zayed Future Energy Prize.

The $3.5 million Zayed Future Energy Prize recognizes and rewards innovation, leadership and longterm vision in renewable energy and sustainability.

You can learn more about Dr. Gadgil's projects at www.darfurstoves.org and www.arsenic.lbl.gov
Disclosure: Tim Hurst's travel expenses to Abu Dhabi were covered by summit host, Masdar.

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Follow Nick Chambers on Twitter at @ecochambers.

Disclaimer: My travel to the 2012 NAIAS was provided by Ford Motor Co. but all opinions expressed here are my own. Nick Chambers' travel was not provided by Ford.

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Installing solar panels is like hoisting $50,000 on your roof and leaving it there for all the world to see. A new security brings peace of mind to those worried about theft and vandalism.

Every time fuel prices start pushing $4 per gallon in the U.S., there are smattering of stories about people who wake up to find the contents of their gas tank have been poached during the night.

Stealing a solar panel off a roof is hardly as easy to execute, but apparently, with solar leasing and large, remote installations on the rise, manufacturing and installation companies feel that potential for theft is great enough to prompt the creation of a specialized security product.

There were many viable options when it comes to solar security, including fences, alarms or video surveillance systems, but the the extra maintenance and monitoring costs involved are often prohibitive. Also, if an alarm goes off at a solar array 50 miles from town, chances are the thieves will be able to finish the job before authorities arrive.

SnapNRack is a mounting system designed to quicken installation, cover up exposed wires, give an overall smooth look, and meets wind and snow loading requirements. When combined with the Key-Rex fastener, which is designed to repel all tools and vice grips on the market, the solar mount becomes virtually impenetrable.

The Key-Rex fastener is made with millions of unique keyways, so no two customers own the same screw.

Recently, the fastener-rack combo was installed at a large remote ground mount project on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, where they will power about 300 Kauai homes per year. If theft should occur, the thief will have to break the panel.

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On one end of the horseshoe-shaped ADNEC convention center in Abu Dhabi, the location of last week's World Future Energy Summit, was my home for the week, and on the other side of the horseshoe was the main conference entrance. Handy, huh? While I could have walked through the massive horseshoe from my room to the conference, never even stepping foot outdoors, what fun would that have been? So on my first trip cutting across the horseshoe I happened to notice a large Daimler demonstration installation in the middle of said parking lot. I made a mental note of the demonstration area and vowed to return to take one of the EVs for a spin on the streets of Abu Dhabi.

As the official transport partner of WFES 2011, Daimler was on hand to showcase the company’s range of electric vehicles, including the smart Fortwo Electric Drive, the BlueZERO F-CELL, the Mercedes-Benz F 800 Style and the S 500 Plug-In Hybrid.

"This level of participation allows the company to demonstrate its globally unparalleled expertise in sustainable mobility - be it the smart fortwo electric drive city car, the SLS AMG E-CELL super sports car or the Vito E-CELL urban van," the automotive manufacturer said.

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class E-CELL — a car which a Daimler engineer told me the company has no intention of releasing in the U.S. — was also readied for viewing. And thankfully it was also the car Daimler engineers recommended I take for a spin.

With five doors, five seats, the same luggage compartment volume as in the internal combustion engine A-Class, and an impressive 155 mile (250 km) range per charge, the A-Class E-CELL meets all the requirements for an everyday family car.

After powering-up the car and acquainting myself with the controls, we quietly zipped out of the ADNEC parking lot and into the gasoline-dominated streets of Abu Dhabi. I asked my companion from Daimler if he could turn off the air conditioning so I could hear the drivetrain purr, he did, and I found the motor to be about as quiet as any EV I have experienced.

Traffic was pretty heavy and since I really didn't know where I was going, I drove a relatively tentative lap around the neighborhood, but as we neared the entrance to ADNEC, my host asked me with a chuckle whether I wanted to go again (knowing full well I would probably say yes).

On the next lap, as if I had been driving it my whole life, I opened up the A-Class EV a little bit to see what it could do — and I was not disappointed. With a peak output of 70 kW (95 hp), a continuous power rating of 50 kW (68 hp) and a high maximum torque of 290 Nm, the A-Class E-CELL held its own, easily passing cars when it needed to on the busy three-lane road.

In the mild weather in which I test-drove the A-Class EV on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, the car would probably get pretty near its 250 km range. But in the intense heat that grips the area for several months a year, the need for air conditioning would likely reduce battery performance significantly, not to mention the efficiency reduction caused by the temptation to punch the accelerator.

To deal with warmer ambient temperatures, the A-Class E-CELL is equipped with a special thermomanagement system that keeps the 36-killowatt-hour Tesla-made battery pack cooled to operate within an optimum temperature window. In very high ambient temperature conditions, as would be the case most of the year in Abu Dhabi, the battery cooling system is boosted with the coolant circuit of the air-conditioning system.

One of the most practical features on the A-Class E-CELL is that it can be either recharged at public charging stations or plugged into an ordinary (European) household power socket.

Considering there were only 500 A-Class E-CELLs made in the first production run, driving this car through the streets of Abu Dhabi was a pleasure. And even though Daimler has no intention of releasing the A-Class in North America, something tells me we'll see some iteration of this top-notch EV on this side of the Atlantic in the future.

Disclosure: My trip to Abu Dhabi was covered by Masdar.

All photos by Adrian Dorofte at Mercedes-Benz-Blog

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The Prius hybrid came to America in 2000 as "a misunderstood concept struggl[ing] for acceptance".  Now, with nearly 1 million sold, the Prius is just 1 of 30 models of hybrids offered by 13 automotive brands.  As more consumers prioritize fuel-efficiency, it makes sense for Toyota to continue their commitment to hybrid technology and the American customer by expanding their offerings.

First up, the Prius v"ersatility". The Prius v answers consumer demand for a more spacious interior (34 cubic feet or 60% more than the 3rd generation) and commendable fuel-efficiency (40mpg combined).   The 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine gallops with 98hp and 105 lb-ft of torque all with a footprint that is 66% less than the average new vehicle.  It will be one of the first Toyotas to be equipped with the Entune media system and the first with the option for a moonroof and retractable sunshades.  Available for purchase in late Summer 2011.

Toyota added a Lithium-ion battery for approximately 13 miles of electric driving capability.  It will reach 60mph and can be fully charged in 3 hours on 110V (100 minutes hours on 220V).  The Prius Plug-in "is a perfect car for someone like me who commutes 7 miles a day" said Mr. Toyoda.  It will be available to the 14 coastal states that hold most demand for the current model before becoming Nationally available next year.

Over the next two years, this family is set to spawn 7 new models and 4 next generations (including hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery-electrics).

DISCLAIMER: Ford Motor Company paid for my travel and accommodations at the 2-day Driving Green Technology event. I was not compensated in any other manner for my time. My opinions posted here are my own.

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As the size of commercial wind turbines continues to grow, designers are being pushed to develop lighter turbine blades that allow the larger turbines to efficiently convert wind energy to usable electricity -- and to do so without breaking.  Seeing an opportunity in the turbine material sector, Owens Corning (NYSE: OC) recently announced it will begin selling a high-performance reinforcing fabric for use in the manufacture of wind turbine blades that will allow designers to reduce the weight of 2-megawatt wind turbine by one metric ton.

The fabric, called Ultrablade, will be finished with an epoxy resin to establish the strength and rigidity required in a wind turbine blade.

“Ultrablade fabric solutions give designers much more freedom in developing longer blades for today’s large turbines,” says Dr Chris Skinner, director of global technical marketing for OCV Technical Fabrics, a division of Owens Corning.

As compared to traditional E-glass blades, Ultrablade reduces spar weight by 18 percent, allows increase in blade length by 6 percent and improves blade stiffness by up to 20 percent.

According to Skinner, "designers can use a combination of several improved properties in different areas of a blade. They can choose to increase blade length for any given weight while keeping the thrust constant and assuring sufficient tower clearance."

Lighter blades also mean turbines will be able to spin and generate electricity with greater efficiency at lower wind speeds.

"At lower wind speeds, weight-saving Ultrablade fabric solutions can help increase a blade’s aerodynamic lift, torque and energy output. The end-result will be higher annual energy production from optimised blade designs using high-performance fabrics.”

The company is using distinctive pink stitching to market the product to buyers familiar with the “Pink Panther” Owens Corning fiberglass insulation. Ultrablade fabric will be commercially available beginning in January 2011.

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As it turns out, the leaders from most of the teams competing in the Alternative Side-by-Side class hand-drafted an agreement stating that whichever team won the $2.5 million portion of the overall $10 million X PRIZE for a motor vehicle achieving better than 100 m.p.g. would keep only $1.7 million and share the rest with the non-winning teams. The winner, the document stated, would then give $400,000 to the runner-up and $200,000 to the teams after that.

But as Mike Soraghan of Greenwire points out, not all of the teams signed on to the hastily-drafted contract. “One of the finalists, RaceAbout Association of Finland, did not sign the agreement. RaceAbout came in second in the competition, but is not sharing in the prize money.”

There was no doubt the RaceAbout team put together a vehicle with more than a long shot at taking home the $2.5 million prize for the Alternative Side-by-Side Class of the contest. In fact, many thought the vehicle would take the division.

“It was a clear favorite from the beginning,” said Bob Larsen, senior adviser for technical operations at Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE. Larsen said the vehicle was probably the most powerful vehicle in the group, referring to it as “a tour de force of engineering prowess.”

Graciously, the RaceAbout team posted congratulatory remarks on their website in announcing the second place showing. “RaceAbout wants to thank all the other competitors and congratulate them. Keep up the important work you are doing,” the statement reads.

Although they finished second and walked away empty handed, I have a feeling this will not be the last we hear of the Electric RaceAbout.

Watch a video about the Electric RaceAbout:

Photo: Electric RaceAbout

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