ENVIRONMENT

Replacing batteries:  Popular Science -   Researchers from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia believe they may have come up with a solution: a thin, flexible, and cost-effective film that converts body heat into power. That energy source, the researchers argue in a study published today in Science, could then be used in lieu of batteries to power next generation wearable tech. The study builds off other recent research showing how small thermoelectric devices can essentially turn the human body into a mini geo-thermal reactor ... It’s still early, but researchers are hopeful the film, if scaled properly, could help bring about more useful smart clothing and longer lasting wearable medical devices that could potentially function without batteries.

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 Obrist Group -   Inventor and entrepreneur Frank Obrist refutes the occasional counter-argument that green methanol production is uneconomical. "Solar energy is almost free in the earth's sun belt. If we set up methanol factories there, the cost of this renewable energy source, at just under 6 cents per kilowatt hour, will be significantly lower than all fossil fuels, even when transport costs are included," he says.

The German-Austrian industrial group is planning to build so-called Gigaplants, a type of giant solar park that will not supply electricity, but green methanol. Almost four million tons of methanol are to be produced per year on an area of around 280 square kilometers. At today's energy prices, this corresponds to a sales volume of around 4.3 billion US dollars per year. The annual operating costs are estimated at around 340 million dollars, leaving a gross profit of almost four billion dollars a year. The construction costs for a Gigaplant, calculated at 18.6 billion dollars, would therefore be recouped in less than five years, which corresponds to an annual return on capital cost of over 21 per cent.

“The high profitability is key to attracting investors,” explains Frank Obrist. “Every investor should recognize that entering the Gigaplant business today is comparable to investing in Apple 20 years ago or Tesla 15 years ago in terms of financial potential.” Beyond the impressive return on investment, the climate impact is even more significant: a single Gigaplant is projected to remove over 6.2 million tons of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. According to estimates, 2,700 Gigaplants could entirely replace the world’s reliance on fossil fuels.