" Ten energy-busting Low Carbon Zones across London have gone ‘live’ to help residents, schools and businesses to go green, to save money and create job opportunities at the same time. These Zones have each been awarded a share of ￡3million by the Mayor of London to cut carbon by 20.12 per cent by 2012.
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" -Radical Change in Mobility to Address Growing Urbanization Issues
-Convergence of Electricity and Connectivity Redefines Automobile DNA
-EN-V Concepts to be Showcased at World Expo 2010 Shanghai
By 2030, urban areas will be home to more than 60 percent of the world’s 8 billion people. This will put tremendous pressure on a public infrastructure that is already struggling to meet the growing demand for transportation and basic services.
General Motors and its strategic partner, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group (SAIC), share a common vision for addressing the need for personal mobility through a radical change in personal urban transportation. They are exploring several solutions for tomorrow’s drivers. Among the most promising is a new vehicle form called EN-V.
A Promising Solution
EN-V, which is short for Electric Networked-Vehicle, maintains the core principle of personal mobility ? freedom ? while helping remove the motor vehicle from the environmental debate and redefining design leadership. EN-V is a two-seat electric vehicle that was designed to alleviate concerns surrounding traffic congestion, parking availability, air quality and affordability for tomorrow’s cities.
Three EN-V models were unveiled today in Shanghai. They represent three different characteristics that emphasize the enjoyable nature of future transportation: Jiao (Pride), Miao (Magic) and Xiao (Laugh). The concepts will be showcased from May 1 through October 31 at the SAIC-GM Pavilion at World Expo 2010 Shanghai. Shanghai is expected to become one of the epicenters for the establishment of personal mobility solutions for the future.
“EN-V reinvents the automobile by creating a new vehicle DNA through the convergence of electrification and connectivity. It provides an ideal solution for urban mobility that enables future driving to be free from petroleum and emissions, free from congestion and accidents, and more fun and fashionable than ever before,” said Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group.
" EN-V Concept Spec Sheetより
Dimensions:
Jiao (Pride) 1,500 mm (L) x 1,425 mm (W) x 1,640 mm (H)
Xiao (Laugh) 1,540 mm (L) x 1,420 mm (W) x 1,770 mm (H)
Miao (Magic) 1,520 mm (L) x 1,405 mm (W) x 1,635 mm (H)
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Body Construction:Painted carbon fiber
Closures:Front access (single door, with polycarbonate glazing)
Seating:2 passengers side by side, fixed bucket seats
Chassis Construction:Magnesium casting (lower chassis)
Aluminum box (battery and gearbox housings)
Stainless steel (guide rails)
Wheels and Tires:MC 120/70R17 on 17” x 4” wheels
Performance
Top Speed:40 km/h [25 mph]
Range:40 km [25 miles]
Energy Consumption:70 Wh/km [125 Wh/mile]
Turning Radius:1.74 m [68.5”] wall to wall diameter
Propulsion System
Motor Type:Brushless DC motors for propulsion, braking and steering
Power:440 Nm (max. torque) and 18 kW (max. power)
Battery Type:Lithium-ion phosphate (air cooled)
豪華な空の旅、大量の水素ガスを内部に蓄え、その水素を使って燃料電池駆動で電源を得ることができる、さらに太陽電池や風も利用する飛行船。そんなスカイクルージングをSamsung Construction and Trading (C&T)の依頼でSeymourpowell社が形にしました。題してシーモアパウエルのエアークールーズコンセプト Seymourpowell Aircruise Concept。
そこで提案されているのは、乗客百名のための378tもある高さ265mの巨大な空の城です。水素ガスは、上下に移動する浮力調節と搭載された燃料電池で電源の確保を可能にします。フレキシブルな外殻にとりつけらえた太陽電池も電源を供給し、風の助けをかりて飛行することもできます。まさに、ゆったりとした滞空経験を約束する巨大な空のホテルです。最大飛行高度は12,000 feet（3600m）、飛行速度は時速100-150kmで、ロンドン-ニューヨーク間を37時間の豪華な空の旅で結ぶことが可能だということです。
"Cruising speed without tail or headwind is 100 - 150 Km/hr. This equates to journey times that are appropriate to the cruise experience: London to New York in 37 hours; Los Angeles to Shanghai in 90 hours."-----以下リリースより
" Visionary concept work for Samsung C&T explores the future of travel and transport.
Leading design and innovation company Seymourpowell is today unveiling full details of its visionary transportation concept, Aircruise - a giant, vertical airship powered by natural energy and designed to carry travellers in style and luxury.
Originally a self-generated project, Seymourpowell's Aircruise is the concept design for a hotel in the sky, with low passenger numbers and huge internal spaces offering room for living, dining and relaxing, as well as scope for dramatic and inspirational public spaces. The initial design proposes a bar/lounge zone, four duplex apartments, a penthouse and five smaller apartments.
The concept subsequently captured the imagination of Korean giant Samsung Construction and Trading (C&T). Driven by its interest in new materials for building, Samsung C&T appointed Seymourpowell to refine the idea and produce a detailed computer animation of the proposed experience to illustrate this visionary approach to the future. The video can be viewed here:
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP15Vgt55Gk
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Lifted by hydrogen and powered by solar energy, the Aircruise concept also has obvious environmental benefits. Seung Min Kim, design director at Samsung C&T commented, "This was a dream concept project for us, helping to realise a future of sustainable buildings combined with innovative and luxury lifestyle. In an age when environmental impact is a key consideration for architecture, we are keen to extend this vision of the future by searching for solutions that can be realised by 2015 - the year that many futurologists foresee as the turning point for the future."
Although only a conceptual proposal, the transportation design team at Seymourpowell developed a detailed and achievable technical specification for the craft. See below for further technical details.
Proposed conceptual specifications for Aircruise as follows:
From the docking rig at the base to the tip, the ship is 265 metres tall. Hydrogen, the lightest gas, is used as the lifting gas, and is capable of lifting around 1.2Kg per cubic metre of volume. Large PEM hydrogen fuel cells will provide on board power and some drinking water.
The volume of the main envelope in the ship is calculated at 330,000 cubic metres, which equals 396,000 Kg of available lift at sea level (1,000Kg = 1 Tonne (t)).
Estimated weights:
Primary structure, envelope and systems 270t (reference - around the same weight as an airbus A380 super jumbo, empty weight)
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People (estimate max 100 people on board) 15t
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Total load factor 378t
Available lift excess is therefore 18-20t or 20,000kg of lift.
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" Welcome to LowCarbonWorld: Connecting global activities & organisations to accelerate progress towards Low Carbon Economies. Select a country from the map or list below to get started... "
" The internet is successfully facilitating a transition from traditional so called "brown" business models to new green growth strategies. The "Low Carbon World" website, a web-based communications platform - www.LowCarbonEconomy.com - was officially launched today (Thursday) in Bali, Indonesia at the United Nations Environment Programme's annual Governing Council.
The new website, a joint project between Low Carbon Economy.com and the United Nation's Climate Neutral Network (CN NET) http://www.unep.org/climateneutral/ aims to facilitate the move to global low carbon economies, a necessary imperative if we are to combat dangerous and escalating climate change.
The new website will assist knowledge transfer and simplify access to information and tools that can be difficult to trace. www.LowCarbonEconomy.com will list every country's carbon policies, commitments, historical performance, future projections and opportunities, as well as country-specific marketplaces, networks, associations and standards which are relevant to government departments and investment agencies.
.......... "
" Today we're excited to introduce the Google PowerMeter API on code.google.com, for developers interested in integrating with Google PowerMeter. This API will allow device manufacturers to build home energy monitoring devices that work with Google PowerMeter. We're launching this API in order to help build the ecosystem of innovative developers working towards making energy information more widely available to consumers.
In today's launch of the API on code.google.com we are highlighting the core design principles towards integrating with Google PowerMeter.
.......... "
" It was a little later than 3 pm when the largest solar-powered boat in the world was unveiled to the press and to the partners of PlanetSolar in the dockyard in Kiel.
At the end of the official ceremony, the lucky people present had the opportunity to inspect the futuristic lines of PlanetSolar.
The PlanetSolar team invites you to click on the multimedia tab in order to relive this historic moment. Here you will also find exclusive photos of the boat taken on the 25th of February in Kiel.
We are already thrilled about the next step in this great adventure. This will be the launch of the boat, planned for April. "
" SunPower Solar Cells Exclusively Used to Power the Catamaran
At the HDW Shipyard, PlanetSolar unveiled the world's largest solar boat, which will be powered exclusively by high-efficiency solar cells from SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA, SPWRB), a manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems. In late March, PlanetSolar will launch its catamaran for testing, and then embark on its round-the-world tour in early 2011.
...........
Designed by a team of international engineers, it will be powered by approximately 38,000 of SunPower's next generation cells, each cell offering an efficiency of at least 22 percent, the highest efficiency solar cells commercially available. The catamaran is expected to be the fastest solar boat to cross the Atlantic Ocean and the first to cross both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Stopovers include Hamburg, London and Paris in Europe, New York and San Francisco in the U.S., and Singapore and Abu Dhabi. The solar boat will be available for public display during each of its stops, offering an educational opportunity to all visitors.
..........
About PlanetSolar
PlanetSolar will achieve the first round-the-world sea voyage powered by solar energy. The world tour will be made on board a revolutionary 30-meter long catamaran covered with 500 square meters of photovoltaic solar panels. The first solar-powered round-the-world voyage - scheduled for April 2011 - will run from East to West, along an equatorial route.
.......... "
2012年に世界初の試みとなるソーラープレーン、ソーラーインパルス Solar Impulseによる世界一周飛行に向けて準備を進めているスイスの冒険家を中心としたチームは、チューリヒ近郊の 軍の飛行場デューベンドルフ(Dubendorf)で短いテスト機による飛行を終えたあと、同機をペイエルン Payernenに移送しました。そこで、3月中にもテスト機の本格的な飛行実験行う準備に入ったようです。
-----image : 同パンフレットカバー
と、Moveを意味する動きのある曲線
を組み合わせて明るい未来、幸福感を想像させるスマイルマークを表現。
-----image : 同リリースより
