Qichao Hu is Cofounder, President and interim CEO of SolidEnergy, a battery company with a different technology and a unique business plan. According to his company’s web site, he “Cofounded SolidEnergy while a PhD student at MIT, and led it through early stage business plan competition, fundraising, licensing and collaboration negotiation, and technology development. 2012 Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy, and is a graduate of MIT and Harvard University.” His team was also the Deployment and Infrastructure Category Winner in the 2012 MIT Clean Energy Prize competition. In his presentation to the eighth annual Electric Aircraft Symposium on April 25, Hu told about his Waltham, Massachusetts startup’s strategic partnership with A123, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory. The firm’s laboratory and intellectual depth enables creating a battery that is safer, lighter and smaller, as Hu told attendees at the Symposium. Solid Energy Systems Corp. is now affiliated with A123 Venture Technologies Corp. This allows Hu and his …
Archaeopteryx Elec’teryx Now Flying
The Archaeopteryx is more than just a good word for spelling bees, it’s a high-end hang-glider – and now, depending on your bankroll and perspective, a low-end electric motorglider. Its low weight (54 kilograms or 118.8 pounds in its most basic state) and high performance (around 25:1 lift-to-drag ratio) has helped this Swiss marvel achieve things like the 498 kilometer (308.76 mile) goal flight by Peter Eicher in Australia last October; or a 407 kilometer (252.34 mile) flight around the Swiss Alps in 2012. A flier can hop off a hill with the lightest and most basic form of Archaeopteryx, which features self-connecting controls, a rocket-deployed full-airplane rescue system, and a wheel brake. Pilots wanting less local soaring and the option of visiting distant climes can opt for the “Race” model, a fully-faired version with trap doors, a wheel “spat,” and since you’re going to be going places, side and rear luggage bags. Archaeopteryx has now been outfitted with a …
Copper Catalyst Makes Room Temperature Ethanol
We’ve written a great deal about ways of making so-called “bio-fuels,” those ethanol, methanol and even diesel substitutes that avoid the high toxicity and environmental harm of fossil fuels. Often though, these substitutes require the diversion of foodstocks or the use of exotic catalysts and high energy inputs to trigger the appropriate mechanisms. Scientists as Stanford University may have found a way to use copper, though, to make ethanol without corn or other plants. They’ve “created a copper-based catalyst that produces large quantities of ethanol from carbon monoxide gas at room temperature.” Matthew W. Kanan, Assistant Professor at Stanford, has been working toward this kind of biofuel production for many years. His University profile contains the following: “The ability to convert H2O, CO2 and N2 into fuels using renewable energy inputs could in principle provide a viable alternative to the current dominance of fossil fuels. This prospect faces great technical challenges, the foremost of which is the lack of efficient …
Dr. Ajay Misra Leads Off With a Hit at EAS VIII
Not to indulge in hyperbole, but people who missed the eighth annual Electric Aircraft Symposium will, like the laggards mentioned in Henry V’s speech, “think themselves accurs’d they were not here” (Shakespeare, Henry V, act 4, scene III). After the Friday morning introductions by Dr. Brien Seeley, founder and president of the CAFE Foundation, things immediately went into high gear with the presentation by Dr. Ajay Misra, NASA Glenn Research Center. A member of the Senior Executive Service, he is Chief of the Structures and Materials Division in the Research & Technology Directorate. In this position, Dr. Misra has the responsibility for planning, advocating, coordinating, organizing, directing and supervising all phases of Division research and business activities. His degrees in metallurgy, an MBA degree and a doctorate in materials science and engineering demonstrate the high intellectual skills necessary to manage the 120 employees and 100 contractors in Dr. Misra’s Division. His discussion on “Nano-Magnets and Additive Manufacturing for Electric Motors” …
Sunseeker Duo Makes Test Flights from December 17 to Earth Day
Eric Raymond announced today that his Sunseeker Duo, the world’s first solar-powered two-seat aircraft, has been making test flights since last December 17, the 111th anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight. The Duo was built by Eric and his wife Irena, and is Eric’s third solar-powered airplane. His first, Sunseeker I, flew across the United States in 1990, making 21 hops from San Diego, California to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Sunseeker II flew from Friedrichshafen, Germany across the Alps to Italy, then toured around Europe. In Eric’s announcement today, he claims that, “The Duo is the most advanced solar powered airplane in the world and the first that might be suited to production. It is also the first solar powered airplane with a passenger seat.” “Solar Flight’s mission is to lead the way for the future of sport aviation using the most advanced technologies in the world. Irena says, ‘We are working very hard to have the airplane tested …
FES Installs Sustainer on German Sailplane
Luka Žnidaršič of FES (Front Electric Sustainer) directed your editor to the following. His company displayed at Aero 2014 in Friedrichshafen, Germany during that stellar event, showing off the latest sailplane to use their integrated power system. “We are glad to inform you that during Aero 2014 we presented our new Ventus 2cxa FES. We performed installation in cooperation with Schempp-Hirth manufacturer. This is first FES system installed on German type of sailplane. Luka adds, “We made this development in cooperation with Schempp-Hirth who also recognized potential of the FES system. The new Ventus 2cxa FES is available for about 100.000€+VAT taxes and options.” “Pictures show more than words!” Both Luka and his father Matija started as model aircraft builders and transferred that love of aircraft to real sailplanes; Luka has over 2,200 hours in more than 30 sailplane types, and Matija has about 3,000 gliding hours. They used their considerable talents and degrees to help design their own motors, controllers, …
Fuel from Seawater
The ancient mariner may have been surrounded by water unfit to drink, but the U. S. Navy sees its ships as surrounded by seawater that could be converted to fuel for its fleet or aircraft. This long-time ambition is possibly being fulfilled by researchers at the U. S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Materials Science and Technology Division, who recently flew a radio-controlled model airplane on seawater-derived fuel. Dr. Heather Willauer, NRL research chemist, explains, “In close collaboration with the Office of Naval Research P38 Naval Reserve program, NRL has developed a game changing technology for extracting, simultaneously, CO2 and H2 from seawater. This is the first time technology of this nature has been demonstrated with the potential for transition, from the laboratory, to full-scale commercial implementation.” The process is able to convert the recovered gases to liquid hydrocarbon fuel. Dr. Willauer’s team recently flew a replica of a WWII P-51 Mustang in the red-tail colors of the Tuskeegee Airmen. The craft’s two-stroke …
Solar Impulse 2 Ready to Take on the World
Even while the first Solar Impulse was scaling the Alps, traversing the Moroccan desert, and crossing America, skilled craftsmen and women were designing and building Solar Impulse 2, a larger, heavier solar-powered airplane rolled out this week. Its next challenge, that of flying around the world, will test the limits of even this seasoned team. As shown on the first Solar Impulse’s flights, “Flying the Solar Impulse aircraft is quite different from being at the commands of any other airplane. Flight tactics, piloting skills, aerodynamics had to be re-learned from scratch.” Part of the difference comes from the aircraft’s huge size and light weight. Solar Impulse shares this: “Here’s a fun fact for you to understand how special this aircraft is: the wingspan of Si2 is bigger than that of a Boeing 747, but the former’s weight is just slightly more than 1% of the latter (remember: the weight of a car)!” This jumbo-jet sized craft has all the performance of …
Chip Yates Charges Up for New Records
Whether the marketing department at Chip Yates’ Flight of the Century enterprise chose an eponymous 235-horsepower Piper “Charger” to carry the inflight recharging batteries for upcoming tests, the name reflects Yates’ own driven personality. He’s set a world’s record for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, soaring uphill on a UQM-powered motorcycle, used the same bike to set Bonneville Salt Flats records, then pulled the bike’s motor, popped it into a Long-Eze, and proceeded to set speed and time-to-climb records. He’s announced plans to cross the Atlantic Ocean, duplicating Lindbergh’s flight with an electric airplane and the added and unprecedented technology of mid-air recharging. This will require extensive testing of the battery pack, tethering, docking and shuttling technology and the attendant software development. The Long-ESA (Electric Speed Altitude) Yates has flown to his records serves double duty as the Silent Arrow, an unmanned hybrid aerial vehicle (UAV) development for the Navy, which has made its China Lake test facilities available …
Silent Falcon in Production
Bye Aerospace has announced initial production its small unmanned aircraft system, the Silent Falcon™. Produced by Silent Falcon UAS Technologies (SFUAS), a former subsidiary of Bye Aerospace, Inc., the Silent Falcon is a mere 25 pounds, but is able to perform six- to 12-hour missions on a mix of battery and solar power. The airplane, of all composite construction, will serve both military and civilian markets, with its small size and quiet operation able to serve well in either capacity. Its size and weight are virtues in a competitive market, giving “unprecedented performance and value… ready for the market place,” and already in “low rate initial production,” according to John Brown, President of SFUAS. He adds that “sales teams are targeting domestic, Latin and South Asia region trade shows in the next few weeks.” Small enough with carrying case to fit in a Pelican case (the same type in which professional camera operators carry their gear), the airplane can be …