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We’ve seen Toshiba’s SCiB (super-charge ion batteries) before at last summer’s Consumer Electronics Show, where they were providing the power storage for a battery-assisted bike. SCiB batteries are useful for a wide range of functions, from electric bicycles and hybrid and electric vehicles, to industrial equipment and renewable energy storage. Toshiba has now opened a US-based technical support center to aid in developing the SCiB, particularly for vehicles, grid storage, and wind and solar power applications.

The SCiB has characteristics that make it very appealing. It performs like an ultracapacitor with rapid charge times, reaching 90% charge in about 5 minutes. It is good for thousands of cycles without extensive capacity loss, and it has a life span of 10 years or more. And, of potentially particular interest for vehicle manufacturers, it is able to perform even at low temperatures down to -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit).

The SCiB batteries are based on lithium chemistry, as are many other batteries currently in use. However, according to Toshiba, in addition to the other beneficial features the SCiB offers, they also have an internal structure which helps prevent short circuits and avoid “thermal runaway” even if they do develop a short circuit.

Link: Toshiba

via: NA Windpower

Happy Friday! It’s another week of picks, selected by Mac Games and More of fun casual games you might not have heard of. The selection includes a gripping adventure with Sherlock Holmes, a delicious sim, Mai Tai’s beach side and more.

Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet – Step into the shoes of the [...]

Aimed at upper class middle-aged couples, the “50′ Catamaran” by designer Francis Fave incorporates everything to increase water safety and camaraderie on the yacht. Incorporating four bedrooms two baths and a large kitchen/living room, this Cat easily accommodates children, friends or business associates for a party floating on the waves. The sleek, sweptback craft essentially focuses on the back deck for socializing. The Kitchen being open to the back deck via a bar allows for conversation between occupants inside and out.

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In diesem Schuh steckt Geschichte; der Nike Vandal High Supreme Vintage. Ein Re-Release eines absoluten Nike-Klassikers. Nylon Obermaterial mit farbvollem Velcro-Strap. 325317-072

We haven’t slept. It all started with a late afternoon surf. The wind breathing a touch onshore. The setting sun burning hotter than it should this time of year. Flawless. And it hasn’t ended. The groupies, who play future dystopic groupies in the film, are here, draped over the black/white leather Kartell Pol sofa pushed up to the sliding glass wall.

If you’ve been yearning to own a Tesla Roadster, but can’t afford the six-figure price tag, the car company will start leasing their popular electric sports car for a minimum of $1,658 a month, meaning you probably still can’t afford it.

The three-year, 30,000-mile contract requires $12,453 at signing, which includes a $9,900 down payment and a $895 acquisition fee.  Then at the end of the lease you’ll need to pay a $350 disposition fee and $.25 for every mile you go over the 30,000 mark.  Plus you’ll owe for any wear and tear on the vehicle.

So, what could possibly be the perks of this fee-laden lease agreement?  During the lease, you have full access to the Tesla Ranger service squad that will make house or office calls to perform inspections, firmware upgrades and maintenance, and you have the chance to drive the sexiest EV on the planet before they halt production in 2011.

Could those reasons make a car lease that costs as much as a mortgage worth it?  Well, that’s up to you.

via Earth2Tech

The Boxee beta is finally available for Apple TV.
Boxee is Apple TV done right. It’s a great, Net-connected, “social” media player that allows you to play video from all over the Web as well as files from file-sharing networks. It streams content from sites like Netflix, Pandora and Last.fm, and makes it easy to get [...]

Conceived by designer Hao Huang, here is a mouse concept that removing the extravagant casing of a regular mouse presents a minimal, though revolutionary, design for the ease of use as well as transportation. Comprising two buttons for right or left click, which when not in use can be attached to each other with magnetic force, the button mouse works wirelessly as it comes integrated with signal emitter & storage battery that transmits power to the buttons. Ideal for both the left and the right hand user, the trendy mouse buttons lies parallel on the desktop on off mode and needs to be pressed simultaneously for scrolling. Not too sure about the comfort or practicality of the device concept, but the button mouse definitely breaks away from traditional mice to present a refreshing design.

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Get the behind the scenes look into the 2010 Swimsuit Issue in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

For those in the wind power business, or those considering jumping in, last week brought some big news.  A new study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that the U.S. could theoretically generate 37 million gigawatt-hours of wind power per year, triple the amount previously thought.

The last study of wind power potential, completed in 1993, came up with an energy potential of about 10.8 million GWh.  According to NREL, the reason for the dramatic jump is better wind technology (taller and more powerful turbines) and better data used in the assessment.  In case you’re wondering, environmentally-protected areas were not included as potential sites.

The new number is over 12 times the amount of energy we consume each year.  Americans consume 3 million GWh of electricity each year and in 2008 only 52,000 GWh came from wind.

The study offers great new maps of wind energy potential across the country, highlighting areas with high wind speeds, access to transmission lines, cheap land and other major factors for would-be wind farm developers.  The maps, created by Truewind, have a resolution of 650 feet, less than the spacing between turbines, so developers could use them not just to located the best area for an entire farm, but for each machine.

via Wired

Here in Arizona, the general rule is to keep our hands away from anything that sounds like it has even the remotest chance of being prickly or having fangs. Strange then, that my fingers seem magnetically drawn to the triadic snake emblem on the palmrest of Razer’s Orochi Bluetooth mouse. The little sleek black gadget is [...]

Chair or a seat becomes a luxury at camping or picnic in a beach or an isolated location, and if it comes integrated with storage, one cannot ask for more than that. The “All-in-1 Chair” is a multifunctional furniture unit that other than placing you comfortably outdoors can also be used as a cooler. All you need to do is add the waterproof liner to the storage underneath and fill it with ice to chill your beverages. Finished in lightweight steel frame with polyester fabric, the chair also integrates two armrest drink holders and side pocket, and hold up to 225 lbs in the storage bag. Priced at $60, the All-in-1 Chair becomes a handy accessory for your short outings.

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The clean tech news of the week is going to be dominated by Bloom Energy‘s emergence from stealth. I can hardly believe that it was almost four years ago that I first wrote about Bloom. Reading that 2006 EcoGeek article, I’m proud to say that we got got the broad picture right, but the details are still tantalizing.

Bloom Energy’s current product is a relatively inexpensive and versatile fuel cell that can power roughly 100 American homes. The devices cost $700,000 a piece an are roughly twice as efficient as natural gas power transmitted through the grid. They’ve sold a bunch of these boxes (with hefty federal and state subsidies) to a bunch of large businesses in California, including Google, eBay, FedEx, WalMart and Staples. The boxes are busy creating “clean” energy as we speak.

Bloom has finally opened the doors to its operation to the press, allowing 60 Minutes a walk-through of their facility as well as providing interviews with the CEO of eBay and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. But I put “clean” in quotation marks because, despite the fact that the words “carbon dioxide” are never mentioned, Bloom Boxes still pump CO2 into the atmosphere, albeit far less than a traditional grid-scale natural gas plant would.

Bloom’s energy is certainly cleaner energy, but while they’re busy comparing themselves to solar power and wind, they’re not true clean energy unless they use bio-gas. I applaud them for using bio-gas when they can, but there simply isn’t enough of the stuff to power Bloom Boxes on a significant scale.

But let’s not spend too much time arguing about whether “cleaner” counts as “clean.” In my book, this is certainly good enough.

Bloom’s true potential is in super-charging the distributed power system. Bloom (very optimistically) wants to shrink its box (in size and cost) so that every American can have one in their basement for around $3000. The box would power the entire house, basically making a connection to the grid a convenience, not a necessity. This may not seem important until we realize that up to half of the power produced at a power plant is lost in transit.

Bloom Energy might also help power the developing world without expensive power infrastructure just as cell phones have created a cheap communications infrastructure.

Bloom’s goals are lofty and it may be that distributed power is going to be a long time in coming if it comes at all, but while they’re doing a great job of making this revelation sound more important than it is in the short term, the chance remains that this could actually be a very big deal.