A Tour of the U.S.'s Clean Energy Future [Slide Show]
The third annual ARPA-E summit showcases potentially transformative energy technologies
A Tour of the U.S.'s Clean Energy Future [Slide Show]
- ARTIFICIAL PHOTOSYNTHESIS: Sunlight kicks off a chemical reaction that splits water, releasing oxygen and hydrogen, which can be used as a fuel--just as plants use sunlight to split water to make carbohydrates. Sun Catalytix hopes to turn its sunlight-and-water system into a cheap source of power for homes... © David Biello
- SEMICONDUCTOR REFRIGERATOR: Without hydrofluorocarbons or compressors, Sheetak technology employs semiconductors to refrigerate--and may enable cheap cooling for the poorest people in developing countries. "It will enable people who never had access to refrigeration in their lives to use refrigeration to preserve food and medicine," said ARPA-e director Arun Majumdar, noting the company has a deal with a distributor in India to make such coolers... © David Biello
- SOLAR-THERMAL ENGINE: This Rankine cycle engine from Cyclone Power Technologies can run on everything from sunshine to syngas derived from garbage at temperatures as low as 260 degrees Celsius. The engine employs heat—or waste heat—from these sources to create the steam that powers the engine... © David Biello
- CAPTURING CARBON: "The U.S. has the largest reserves of coal in the world and we ought to be able to use it in a sustainable way," ARPA-E director Arun Majumdar argued. To that end, the agency is funding work on making carbon capture and storage cheaper so that it can be implemented at coal-fired power plants... © David Biello
- ALTERNATIVE FUELS: Biofuels remain one of the most promising options to reduce oil use in another transportation sector—aviation. The oil derived from the weedy flowering plant known as c amelina can be refined into a bio–jet fuel that has already been used to power commercial and military flights... © David Biello