At age 17, Elon Musk left his home in South Africa and moved to Canada, where he enrolled at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. During his freshman-year in the fall of 1990, Musk befriended Navaid Farooq while living in the same dorm, according to the book “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future,” by Ashlee Vance.
Farooq, a Canadian who grew up in Geneva, bonded with Musk over their backgrounds abroad and their interest in strategy games, according to the book. Living in such close quarters, Farooq learned a lot about Musk, including what Farooq sees as his defining trait.
“When Elon gets into something, he develops just this different level of interest in it than other people,” Farooq said in Vance’s book. “This is what differentiates Elon from the rest of humanity.”
Unlimited Clean Energy with The Wavestar machine. Harness the Power of Wave Energy with the World’s Strongest Wave Power Concept. Oceans cover more than 70% of Earth’s surface and ocean waves carry enormous power. By utilizing the largest source of untapped clean energy, it could supply a substantial part of the world’s electricity. Wave energy is more predictable compared to wind power, the waves come and go slowly and can be forecasted 24 hours ahead. Also the production continues 6–8 hours after the wind settles. This makes wave energy an ideal complement for wind turbines and could satisfy the continuously increasing demand for renewable energy in the grid.
The concept was invented by sailing enthusiasts Niels and Keld Hansen in 2000. The challenge was to create a regular output of energy from ocean swells and waves that are 5–10 seconds apart. This was achieved with a row of half-submerged buoys, which rise and fall in turn as the wave passes, forming the iconic part of Wavestar’s design. This allows energy to be continually produced despite waves being periodic.
The machine’s unique storm protection system, one of the many patented aspects of the design, guarantees the machine’s sea survivability and represents a real milestone in the development of wave energy machines. Wave energy will play a crucial role in securing our energy future, but only machines that can withstand the strongest storms will survive.
Environmental issues demand swift diversification to multiple renewable sources in order for us to fulfill our future energy needs. Wavestar will work in harmony with other clean energy methods to support the alternative energy movement and ensure a continuous supply of clean energy. Imagine what we can do together.
Tesla is scrapping plans for a bargain Model Y SUV because of its short range on a single charge, CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet over the weekend.
Earlier this year, the electric car maker began producing its pricier, dual-motor all-wheel drive version of the Model Y, which starts at $49,000.
Tesla had planned to roll out a cheaper version of the Model Y — expected to be priced under $40,000 — with a single engine, rear-wheel drive and smaller battery. But Musk tweeted that the range on that vehicle would have been “unacceptably low” at less than 250 miles on a single charge.
Chemists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and their collaborators have created a highly efficient and long-lasting solar flow battery, a way to generate, store and redeliver renewable electricity from the sun in one device.
The new device is made of silicon solar cells combined with advanced solar materials integrated with optimally designed chemical components. The solar flow battery, made by the Song Jin lab in the UW-Madison chemistry department, achieved a new record efficiency of 20 percent. That bests most commercially available silicon solar cells used today and is 40 percent more efficient than the previous record holder for solar flow batteries, also developed by the Jin lab.
As sales of electric vehicles start to soar, the thorny issue of what to do with end-of-life lithium-ion batteries isn’t going away. We look at the problem and explore the solutions.
To say that the legacy of today’s electric vehicles is set to be a mountain of lithium-ion battery waste would be kind. In 2017, when worldwide sales of electric vehicles exceeded one million cars per year for the first time, calculations from UK-based University of Birmingham researchers revealed stark figures. These vehicles alone are destined to leave some 250,000 tonnes of unprocessed battery waste when they eventually reach the scrap heap in 2027. This is just the beginning.
Latest modelling from the Paris-based International Energy Agency indicates the number of electric cars on the road will lie between 125 million and 220 million by 2030. Given this, come the middle of this century, the 250,000-tonne waste figure looks meagre against the tens of millions of tonnes of waste that could follow. And to make matters worse, recycling is playing catch-up.
Elon Musk has come to hint about his wish to set up Tesla’s second gigafactory in Asia. As he responded to queries on the Twitter handle, he indicated that the location of the second outlet won’t be necessarily inside China.
The soaring market
At present, the third gigafactory in China happens to be the electric carmaker’s only operational facility across the globe, producing Tesla Model 3 sedans and stands on a 9,300,000-square feet ground. On the other hand, the company aims to expand its lineup in the country with a locally built Model 3 sedan which is expected to offer a longer driving range. The next goal under the plan lies in producing a brand new Model Y.
Scientists have made a battery that can be directly charged in sunlight without needing an external solar panel. Clever design of the battery electrodes facilitates photo-rechargeable zinc-ion batteries that could find applications as cheap devices for off-grid solar farms.
Solar energy is often stored in rechargeable batteries for later use. Currently, this process requires separate solar cells to harvest the energy, and batteries to store it. Now, a team led by Michael De Volder from the University of Cambridge in the UK has engineered a battery cathode that can take the place of the solar cell and recharge the battery without requring an external energy harvester.
SHANGHAI/BEIJING — U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc is “very close” to achieving level 5 autonomous driving technology, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Thursday, referring to the capability to navigate roads without any driver input.
Musk added that he was confident Tesla would attain basic functionality of the technology this year, in remarks made via a video message at the opening of Shanghai’s annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC).
The California-based automaker currently builds cars with an autopilot driver assistance system.
