15 years ago no one was talking about self-driven cars, at least not in such a realistic tone as we use to describe the option today. The same can be said about our energy sources. Yes we have solar energy, which is being highly underused (that’s a political/economical issue for another day). If you were to ask an average Joe what are our options for energy sources 10 years from now, most would say solar energy – if even that. Fortunately, solar panels and wind farms are not the only future sources of energy we can hope to see in the next 10-20 years. We won’t kid ourselves – solar energy is probably the large-scale future of energy for the next 20-30 years, but it doesn’t hurt to look into a few of the future energy sources we may be able to enjoy.
Earlier this week, it was announced that the government would launch the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) to help expand the commercial impact of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) research. Why do we care? According to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz
The Office of Technology Transitions will give the Department the opportunity to increase the American people’s return on investment in federally-funded science and energy research.
Hopefully this is one tiny step that needed to be made in order to start getting serious about bringing future energy sources closer to us all. There are dozens of potential sources, but here is a rundown of a just a few of the possibilities.
Nuclear Fusion
This is by no means a new idea, as it was first introduced in the 1920s by British physicist Francis William Aston. With fusion power we could have limitless carbon-free power without producing dangerous nuclear waste. The greatest source of current fusion power is located in the sun, as it generates its energy via nuclear fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium. In its core, the Sun fuses 620 million metric tons of hydrogen each second. Our success, or chances of using fusion power are dependent on the scientists ability to mimic the same kind of atomic reaction that occurs at the center of the sun – but in a controlled environment.
Unfortunately, it appears that this option won’t be available for at least another 20-30 years (more likely the later), as Lockheed Martin races to keep its lead in the search for this rare, and safe form of energy. This past October the company developed a mini-version that they hope will be able to produce at least 100 megawatts of power in the years to come.
Here is one physicists explanation and optimism.
Body Heat
Maybe the most simplistic form of “future energy”, however it could also become one of the more efficient forms of energy as well as cost-effective. Fortunately, it also is not that futuristic, as this past year, a team of researchers at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology University) headed by Professor Cho of electrical engineering were able to create a flexible thermoelectric (TE) generator that allows you to recharge electronic devices from your own body heat. The device is suitable for recharging heart monitors, smartglasses and other wearable technology, experts claim.
Back in 2013 we also saw a body-heat powered flashlight created by Ann Makosinki, so now the question is just how soon until the rest of us have the opportunity to purchase products that will enable us to use our body to create energy.
Sugar
Make no mistake about it, there is a new use for sugar, so the next time someone tells you not to buy sugar just tell them you are going to create energy. Researchers at Virginia Tech have successfully created sugar-powered fuel cell that has an energy storage density of 596 amp-hours per kilo – approximately 10 times stronger than the batteries we use now, and in addition to being stronger the new sugar-powered fuel cell is refillable with a solution of maltodextrin (type of food additive). The last bit of good news, environmentally speaking, is that the only by-products would be…electricity and water.
For those that really understand science and technology, here is how it’ll work (more or less):
From: http://www.rsc.org/
Solar Wind
We’ve all seen a wind farm or two while driving through rural areas (saw them plenty on my drives to Palm Springs,CA). Well, NASA is looking into using wind, but a different type. Did you know: There are solar winds that bounce off the sun in various directions at speeds of plus/minus 400 kilometers/second, equivalent to 1 million miles/hour. It does not appear that this will be a source of our energy any time soon though. NASA knows of its existence, however there is still a lack of understanding as to how exactly it works and its tendency to go in different directions. The ACE Explorer is currently out in space monitoring the winds.
NASA has been getting some assistance though, as a physicist – Brooks Harrop – of Washington State University and Dirk Schulze-Makuch of the Earth and Environmental Science School have hypothesized that the solar wind can be captured with a copper-wire satellite (the Dyson-Harrop Satellite) that orbits the sun could produce a magnetic-field perfect for snagging the electrons in the solar wind. How exactly that energy would then be used on earth seems a bit far-fetched like something from Star Wars – the electrons would be sent to us via an infrared laser (infrared is not be affected by the planet’s atmosphere).
From http://inhabitat.com/
This won’t be going into space tomorrow, and we doubt to see it going into space and actually working for a few more years, but who know.
Feces
Probably your least favorite source on this list. Do you remember hearing about Bill Gates drinking water created from sludge? Not only does the technology create clean water, but also electricity!
Offshore wind
When you are in a coastal area, you’ll notice that the closer to the shore you go the stronger the wind. Why are the waves bigger father out than 1 foot from the sand? That is not due to just 1 factor, but wind does have something to do with that, so almost makes perfect sense to place wind farms in the middle of the ocean. With a wind farm placed at sea the energy of winds, like with solar wind, we can get energy from faster winds – they can reach speeds at least twice as those near land.
In October, 2011, Principle Power deployed a full-scale prototype WindFloat 5 kilometers off the coast of Aguçadoura, Portugal.The structure was completely assembled and commissioned onshore before being towed some 400 kilometers along the Portuguese coast. Check it out:
Like body heat, and sugar, this could become a more common form of energy sooner rather than later, unlike carbon fibers, nuclear energy, and vibrations (although the latter also has short-term potential).
Geothermal Energy
Taking body heat from the ground, and several feet below it, is also something that has been analyzed by quite a few scientists over the last few years in hopes of it competing with solar energy. In short (very short), geothermal heat pumps can suck into our natural resources below our feet to pump heat that we have under our feet to heat up buildings, while doing the exact opposite process in the summer to cool buildings.
Earlier this week Alstom was awarded a contract worth over €61 million by PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy to supply and install a 30 MW geothermal plant for the Karaha Power Plant in West Java, Indonesia. Alstom will design, supply, install and commission the entire power plant. If the results are prosperous, this could be lead the way to even more contracts for other global companies to help countries extract natural energy.
What’s the key to bringing the future of energy to us before our time passes? It’s all a matter of incentives, so we hope to see more VCs and government grants focusing on technology that can help every single person – and for more time – than on gimmicks that are one-hit wonders. But that is just our opinion. What’s yours?
