Eco Factor: Low-emission supercar designed to be powered by a gas/electric hybrid engine.
Kepler Motors has announced the development of a hybrid supercar, which will be unveiled at the 2009 Dubai International Motor Show. Dubbed the Motion, the hybrid car features Ford’s new Ecoboost engine, which uses a twin-turbo direct injection 3.5-liter V-6 engine to power the rear wheels, and an electric motor that drives the front set.
Eco Factor: Ecofriendly lamp designed to run on pedal power.
Industrial designers Ignacio Ojanguren Alvarez, Christina Perdikaki, Hafsteinn Juliusson have unveiled the “Ride it to Light it Bike Lamp,” which doesn’t consume electricity from the grid, but has all the systems that can convert your unwanted calories into precious watts.
Eco Factor: Fuel-efficient car to run on a hybrid engine.
After Rolls Royce and Ferrari, Nissan might also be dreaming about a hybrid car. According to rumors a hybrid version of the GT-R might be somewhere in the pipeline for Nissan. Supposedly, the plan is to drop the current 480hp twin-turbine V6 by 40hp and add a 160hp electric engine, bringing the total output to about 600hp.
Eco Factor: Limestone caves used to naturally cool data centers to save energy.
Of the total amount energy used by data centers, a major percentage goes into power hungry cooling systems. Iron Mountain is thinking of the possibility to stack data centers in underground limestone caverns, because by nature limestone can absorb 1.5 BTUs per square foot without using any energy in the process.
Eco Factor: Plan to develop a sustainable zoo with renewable energy harvesting capabilities.
JDS Architects have unveiled the design of a sustainable zoo they’re proposing to be built on the South Korean island of Dochodo. The architecture would serve as a tourist region where nature and structures function in equilibrium. The landscape is ideal for such a development, as it features natural peaks and valleys that could house animals and be treated as nature reserves.
Eco Factor: Solar-powered water purification system.
Since the water cycle is overloaded by human intervention, water found in every spot of the world can be contaminated with pathogens and other substances. While there is no dearth of water purification systems on the market, most of them are energy-intensive.
Eco Factor: 26-hectare site to be converted into an eco-village that harnesses renewable energy.
A section of Lafarge Cement is likely to be sold to Durham County Council for just £1 as part of a plan to build an ambitious “Eco-Village.” The council’s cabinet has to approve the transfer of ownership, which requires a sun of £1 to be legally binding.
Eco Factor: Synthetic enzyme to help capture CO2 from coal plant emissions.
While researchers are trying to find the best places to safely store carbon dioxide underground, there are some who are working to refine the initial processes of carbon capture. New Jersey-based Carbozyme is taking help from human blood to develop a system to capture CO2 from mixed gas emissions for later sequestration.
Eco Factor: Energy-saving processors to boost computing power consuming negligible energy.
Not so long ago our computers relied on single-core chips that had to be boosted for performance, which eventually turned the machine into a heating system, requiring loads of energy to keep churning the bits and bytes. Researchers at IBM Research Lab, EPFL and ETH Zurich are working on ecofriendly chips that are much more powerful but consume a negligible amount of energy.
Eco Factor: Sustainable office building gets powered by solar energy.
The world’s largest solar-powered building has been unveiled in Dezhou, Shangdong Province in northwest China. The 75,000-square-meter office building is based on the sun dial structure and marks the urgency of seeking renewable energy to replace polluting fossil fuels.
Eco Factor: Ecofriendly service station captures solar energy and saves water.
The Emirates National Oil Company is planning to open the Middle East’s first ecofriendly service station that will be equipped with state-of-the-art environmental systems, including a solar array to power lighting systems and a waterless car-washing system.
Eco Factor: LEED Gold-certified residential building.
The Cherokee Lofts by Pugh + Scarpa Architects is the first LEED Gold-certified mixed-use or market-rate multifamily building in Southern California. The five-story building features 2800-square-feet retail space on the first floor, and it has 12 lofts located on the second, third and fourth floors.
Eco Factor: Solar farm to generate 80MW of renewable power.
Enbridge Inc. and First Solar have announced an agreement to expand the Sarnia Solar Project in Canada from its current generation capacity of 20MW to 80MW. The upgrade would cost about CDN $300 million. Once completed, the project would provide enough energy to power about 12,800 homes.
Eco Factor: Concept lamp designed to run on solar energy.
With the world looking for possible ways to fuel our future generations with clean energy, industrial designers are leaving no stone unturned to show us a glimpse of a green world where everyday gadgets will make be powered by renewable electricity.
Eco Factor: Renewable energy to power Tivoli Amusement Park.
With the UN Climate Change Conference already in full swing in Copenhagen, the city is setting an example in sustainable technologies with its famous amusement park, Tivoli, announcing efforts to go carbon neutral. The park has already made strong efforts at recycling and energy efficiency, and is now looking for ways to go carbon neutral.
Eco Factor: Demonstration project for containerized housing.
Danish architecture firm MAPT has unveiled a stunning COP 15 pavilion that has been entirely constructed from recycled materials including shipping containers, to coincide with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In addition to old shipping containers, the pavilion also reuses other surplus products from the wood and wind-turbine industries.
Eco Factor: Wind farm expected to generate 845MW of renewable power.
GE Energy has announced that the company will be supply 338 wind turbines to Caithness Energy, which will be used to drive one of the largest wind farms in the world located in Oregon at Shepherds Flat. GE Energy will also be servicing these units for a period of 10 years.
Eco Factor: Mobile home built using 40-foot shipping containers.
All those who have any experience in either living or constructing shipping container homes, know that the limiting factor is not the length but the width, which makes the home look cramped, cold and rectangular. However, the Mobile Dwelling Unit or simply MDU is different – it’s wide, comfortable and elegant on the inside.
Eco Factor: Concept fruit cooler relies on water evaporation.
While refrigerators have replaced traditional means to keep fruits and veggies fresh, the rise in demand for appliances that conserve energy has tempted industrial designers to go through some history books and bring devices that were long lost and forgotten into the 21st century.
Eco Factor: Two-seat all-electric trike.
Myers Motors showcased it all-electric two-seat trike, the NMG2, which is a face-lifted version of the NMG Sparrow, in October, and is already preparing to take pre-orders with some attractive discounts as well. The company is planning to deduct the car’s base price of $29,995 by $5000 if a thousand people drop $250 on a pre-order.