Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Category: sustainability – Page 522

“Unplugged Performance thoroughly reworks the suspension with a custom race valved adjustable coilover suspension kit, along with billet adjustable front upper control arms, billet adjustable rear camber and toe arms and a beefier 3 way adjustable front/rear sway bar set with uprated bushings. The highly adjustable suspension and handling capabilities pair with massive 6 piston 15.5” uprated brakes and competition brake pads. Unplugged Performance 20” wheels shod with Michelin Cup 2 tires are then fitted. The wheels are custom machined out of 6061-T6 billet APP forgings, the same forgings used by Koenigsegg and Lamborghini, and every set is FEA optimized and specifically engineered to the specific build’s desired spec and use. Wheel weights range from 19.6–21.0lbs in 20” with tire sizings up to 305mm wide.”

While Tesla is working on a track-focused Model S, the Model 3 Performance is getting its own street-legal racing treatment from Unplugged Performance.

We previously reported on Unplugged Performance (UP), which is one of a few aftermarket accessories and performance upgrade companies focused solely on Tesla vehicles.

They are also the company behind ‘Tesla Corsa’, a new Tesla-only race track experience where owners get to safely explore the limits and performance of their vehicles.

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While some high – end electric vehicles ( like the most expensive Teslas ) are starting to approach those kinds of ranges, it still takes around 50 minutes for a full charge using the most powerful superchargers available. That’s a long time to hang around if you’re doing a cross-country trip that requires multiple pit stops.

The result is range anxiety, where people worry about running out of juice and facing delays due to the long time it takes to recharge their car s. There are two ways to tackle the problem: building higher-capacity batteries or charging existing ones faster.

Bigger batteries are a tricky problem, because vehicles face a balancing act between weight an d capacity. After a certain point the extra weight of batteries cancels out the boost in power they provide. There’s plenty of work into batteries with better energy density—how much charge they can hold for a specific weight—but there aren’t any major breakthroughs on the horizon.

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From raindrops rolling off the waxy surface of a waterlily leaf, to the efficiency of desalination membranes, interactions between water molecules and water-repellent “hydrophobic” surfaces are all around us. The interplay becomes even more intriguing when a thin water layer becomes sandwiched between two hydrophobic surfaces, KAUST researchers have shown.

In the early 1980s, researchers first noted an unexpected effect when two hydrophobic surfaces were slowly brought together in water. “At some point, the two surfaces would suddenly jump into contact—like two magnets being brought together,” says Himanshu Mishra from KAUST’s Water Desalination and Reuse Center. Mishra’s lab investigates water at all length scales, from reducing water consumption in agriculture, to the properties of individual water molecules.

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Researchers at the University of Sussex have developed a glue which can unstick when placed in a magnetic field, meaning products otherwise destined for landfill, could now be dismantled and recycled at the end of their life.

Currently, items like mobile phones, microwaves and car dashboards are assembled using adhesives. It is a quick and relatively cheap way to make products but, due to problems dismantling the various materials for different recycling methods, most of these products will be destined for landfill.

However, Dr. Barnaby Greenland, Lecturer in Medicinal Chemistry, working in conjunction with Stanelco RF Technologies Ltd and Prof Wayne Hayes at the University of Reading, may have found a solution.

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Capturing infrared light for solar cell applications.

Invisible infrared light accounts for half of all solar radiation on the Earth’s surface, yet ordinary solar energy systems have limited ability in converting it to power. A breakthrough in research at KTH could change that.

A research team led by Hans Ågren, professor in at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, has developed a film that can be applied on top of ordinary , which would enable them to use in energy conversion and increase efficiency by 10 percent or more.

“We have achieved a 10 percent increase in efficiency without yet optimizing the technology,” Ågren says. “With a little more work, we estimate that a 20 to 25 percent increase in efficiency could be achieved.”

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In what is believed to be a transit industry first in the United States, TriMet’s all-electric buses will be powered by 100 percent wind energy. TriMet and project partner Portland General Electric made the historic announcement on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. As Oregon’s largest transit provider, TriMet has committed to a non-diesel bus fleet by 2040. The initial journey toward a non-diesel fleet now begins with battery-electric buses that will be powered by PGE’s Clean Wind℠ renewable energy program.

“Today, we are riding the winds of change. TriMet’s commitment to a zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040 and support of wind power put the agency and our region at the forefront of a cleaner future.”

“We are proud to support TriMet’s work to electrify transportation across our region. Powered by wind, this all-electric bus line is a sustainable transportation option for the community and another step closer to a clean energy future for Oregon.”

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