Cool Biodiesel Vehicles!

The Earthracer BioDiesel Experimental Racing Ship

February 24, 2007 in Watercraft, Bio-Fuel Vehicles, Fuel Tech by G Monkey

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This is our first time covering the Earthracer, a racing ship using Biodiesel as fuel, as it attempts to circle the globe. We are covering it now because a friend and one of our first G Living Live host, Ziya Tong, did a show on the ship and its crew for the Canadian Knowledge Network.
Watch the Show

Revolutionary Design
Earthrace is a 78 foot wave piercing trimaran designed by New Zealand navel architect Craig Loomis Design Group and was built by Calibre Boats. To ensure the lowest weight and highest strength possible, the hull is constructed of carbon fiber with a top layer of Kevlar. Earthrace has concluded its sea trials and Skipper Pete Bethune is confident the boat is structurally sound to circumnavigate the globe.
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Race Modifications
Earthrace was craned from the water January 23, 2007 for modifications in Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is where Cummins Mercruiser, a primary sponsor of Earthrace is located. While there OSI applied a Teflon coating to the underside of the hull; this product is a substitute for typical anti-foul coatings, many of which are toxic. Also carbon propellers which are designed by a German, Air Fertigung Gnbh were fitted to Earthrace; they are 36 inches in diameter and feature three interchangeable blades that flex under pressure increasing speed and fuel efficiency. Phil Ross, from Calibre Boats, designed Kevlar socks that can be placed on the bow and sponsons with silicon during the race if these tips are to become damaged. Lastly the bow was converted to a fuel tank from a 2.5 ton fresh water ballast tank allowing Earthrace to hold another 800 gallons of biodeisel making the boats total fuel capacity 3800 gallons.
Not only is the vessel be in prime shape for the race but the crew has also been physically preparing; they have swapped beer for milk, naps for rugby, chai lattes for green tea, and fish and chips for tofu. The more they prepare the easier the waves of stress will be both physically and mentally during the race.
Biodiesel
Biodiesel was formulated in 1895, chemically it is methyl ester, a renewable fuel made from plant oils and animal fats, it is biodegradable, and produces 78.5% lower carbon dioxide emissions than petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel that runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engines and is a proven fuel with over 20 years of use in Europe and is now being explored as an alternative energy source within the United States.
If you have time, head over to Canada’s Knowledge Network and watch some of the show about the world we live in.

The Flexible and Adaptable Spider Ship or WAM-V

February 24, 2007 in Watercraft by G Monkey

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The odd but very “G” new thinking behind this odd styled water craft called the WAM-V or Wave Adaptive Modular Vessels. This spider looking vessel has many “G” features, some of the coolest ones we think are that the entire thing packs into a shipping container, uses very little fuel, runs shallow, and can be configured for many different uses. This isn’t your one function vessel, it can reconfigured in a very short time to take on a new mission. To use re-thinking tech to be smart is what “G” is all about.
Checkout the amazing details behind this craft. The specially designed pontoons by several components that actually move in relation to one another. Springs, shock absorbers and ball joint articulate the vessel and mitigate stresses to structure, payload and crew. Two engine pods, containing the propulsion and ancillary systems, are fastened to the hulls with special hinges that keep the propellers in the water at all times.
The WAM-Vâ„¢ -Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel- is a new class of watercraft based on a patented technology that delivers a radically new seagoing experience. These ultralight flexible catamarans are modularly designed to allow for a variety of applications and to fit the requirements of specific users, missions or projects.
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Unlike conventional boats, the hulls of a WAM-Vâ„¢ conform to the surface of the water…. She utilizes flexibility to adapt her structure and shape to the water surface. Instead of forcing the water to conform to the hull, she gives and adjusts; she “dancesâ€? with the waves.
A superstructure is flexibly connected to specially designed pontoons by several components that actually move in relation to one another. A WAM-Vâ„¢ has springs, shock absorbers and ball joint to articulate the vessel and mitigate stresses to structure, payload and crew. Two engine pods, containing the propulsion and ancillary systems, are fastened to the hulls with special hinges that keep the propellers in the water at all times. The payload to be switched with a different one in less than an hour. In most versions, the payload is a self-contained craft that can lower to the surface, detach and operate under its own power. From the main hulls and can be switched to other pods with a different propulsion system. Alternatively, two sets of identical engine pods keep the vessel operational at all times, even when engines have to be serviced or repaired.
WAM-Vsâ„¢ can be built in different lengths to match specific applications. Marine Advanced Research, Inc. has designed, manufactured and tested 8 ft radio-controlled models, a 50 ft personal watercraft and a full size 100 ft prototype. A full size WAM-Vâ„¢ has ocean crossing capabilities with a range of up to 5,000 miles. Once she has reached destination, her low draft allows operations in river deltas, shallow littoral waters and lagoons. Users with limited experience can learn to pilot her quickly because she has the responsiveness and maneuverability of a small powerboat.
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The WAM-Vâ„¢ technology is environmentally friendly by its very nature and design. In spite of the large size necessary to negotiate the open ocean, the WAM-Vâ„¢ produces a minimum wake. Being ultra light, its anchors are those of a much smaller vessel, thus decreasing disruption to the ocean floor. Fuel consumption is significantly less than that of other vessels with comparable characteristics. The WAM-Vâ„¢, with her light weight, very low draft and soft hulls, is kind and forgiving to everything she comes in contact with. Anchor the superstructure out and berth only the cabin…. Change cabins and take a group of friends for dinner in Porto Cervo. Your WAM-Vâ„¢ is the ultimate personal watercraft, the means to a new extreme sport experience.

To see more about this craft checkout the extensive site at WAM-V: Marine Advanced Research, Inc.



Pure Future eXasis Transparent Vehicle

February 27, 2007 in Emerging Tech, Cars by G Monkey

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When you first see this shimmery almost glowing transparent vehicle you instantly think, I could get use to that. The eXasis, yes that is what they called it, is the perfect summer car to go along with your ipod pounding out Le Disko by Shiny Toy Guns as you cruise to beach to hit the surf. That is of course if you live in one of those perfect weather places and global warming doesn’t catch up to you and spoil it all. So, lets imagine everything is perfect, the weather and this car. Click to the next page to see this car in action!

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This car is a concept thought up by Rinderknecht in collaboration with the experts from Bayer MaterialScience AG – one of the largest plastics producers in the world – Â*to mark his company’s 30th anniversary: a drivable "glass" car with a completely transparent body and floor made of Makrolon®. Once again, this Rinspeed creation has been built by the Swiss engineering specialists Esoro, and will be shown to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show (March 8-18, 2007), 40 years after Bayer presented the first "all-plastic car" at the K67 Plastics Fair in Germany in 1967
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“Everyone who sees the eXasis for the first time raves about the glass car, but they actually mean our transparent high-tech plastic,” says Ian Paterson, the member of the Bayer MaterialScience Board of Management responsible for Innovation, describing the typical reaction to the prototype. In any case, the third vehicle to emerge from the cooperation between the two companies differs fundamentally from the other two: the futuristic-looking "Senso" and the pure-blooded "zaZen" sports car. The eXasis is a completely new development, in other words it is not based on a production-line vehicle.
The insect-like, shiny yellow body with the exposed wheels looks like a mix of the legendary Auto-Union racing cars from the first half of the last century and an off-road vehicle, offering room for two people, one behind the other. The two transparent indicator and function displays are an absolute delight, both technically and optically.
They seem to hover on both sides in the driver’s field of vision. By touching them, various functions can be displayed and controlled. Each of the touch-panels is made of a transparent CD/DVD Makrolon® blank that has been coated with electrically conductive Baytron® from H.C. Starck to trigger the switch functions. The displays were developed by the Swiss safety and closure system specialists, Kaba. The personalized access system to the car is also be integrated in the touch panels.
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The Hightex/Sellner Group, which is specialized in interior design, was responsible not only for the futuristic seat coverings and the design of the fabric-covered steering wheel, it has also added a number of other stylish highlights.
The "eXasis" is powered by an extremely lightweight, 150 bhp Weber engine driven by CO2-emission-reducing bioethanol. In view of the fact that the car weighs only 750 kg because of its lightweight plastic construction, one horsepower has to shift only 5 kg – and that is about the same as a very nippy Porsche.
Rinspeed was also able to persuade some state-owned companies and government departments to become involved in the eXasis project. The fuel is provided by Alcosuisse, the profit center of the Swiss Alcohol Board, while the Swiss Federal Office of Energy has chosen the eXasis to take part in a study on the subject of lightweight construction and ecology.
The second reason for the SFOE’s involvement in this project concerns the fuel the vehicle uses: E85. This is a mixture comprising 15 percent petrol and 85 percent ethanol. Ethanol is a renewable bio-fuel that is largely CO2 neutral when burned. In the future it will become especially attractive once it can be marketed as a second-generation bio-fuel (i.e. use of the entire plant instead of just its fruit). Thanks to its high octane level, E85 can also be used in engines with a high compression ratio, and this in turn increases the engine’s level of efficiency.
Reduction of CO2 with bioethanol
By signing the protocol of Kyoto, Switzerland engaged to reduce the emission of climate affecting gas. Our law on CO2 requires that the emissions up to the year 2010 get reduced for 10 % compared with 1990. The use of bioethanol as fuel may be a contribution to reach this objective. During its project Etha+, Alcosuisse – a profit centre of the Swiss Alcohol Board – analyses the use and the competitive ability of ethanol blended petrol in Switzerland.
Bioethanol means ethyl alcohol obtained by fermentation of sugars in plants. The chemical formula of bioethanol is the same as for traditional ethanol (C2H5OH). Ethanol may only be named as bioethanol if it is produced from vegetable raw material like for example wood, beets, corn and grass. These renewable energy sources we know also as biomass.
Under the leadership of the renowned Swiss design- and concept creator Rinspeed and the Hightex / Sellner Group, who are the experts regarding innovative and unusual design concepts using novel materials and surfaces, the interior concept was created with a vision of a holistic approach where shape- and design language act as catalysts for the design of a specific world.
The Swabian company offers a complete suspension range from motorsport to street use to all their customers worldwide – from sports springs and sport suspension kits to KW coilover kits “inox-line� in three damping variants to KW competition race suspension kits. The seat has a special purpose as the material between the passenger and the car. As an original pioneer of automobile seating, Recaro focuses on a seat shell reminding on a backbone carcass made of makrolon®, a “flying� fabric cover and a head rest cushion made of transparent Technogel.
Despite the attractive sweeping contours that blend smoothly into the car’s transparency, the eXasis is ‘edgy’ and definitely has a character of its own. But everybody who has the pleasure of driving it is agreed on one thing: glancing down through the transparent floor while the car is moving gives a very special kind of thrill
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See more images and videos of the eXassis at RINSPEED WEBSITE

The Top 5 Sexiest Cars (For Real)

September 8, 2007 in Hybrids, Bio-Fuel Vehicles, EV Vehicles, Cars by Andrew Moyle

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Sexy is as sexy does, Forrest Gump said. Maybe those weren’t his exact words, but you get the idea. Concepts are pretty, but it’s the tangible outcome that counts. So it oughta be with sexy “G” vehicles.
That’s why the latest sexy Alt-vehicle lists over at Treehugger and Inhabitat both ring like unholy mishmash comparisons between Jessica Biel and Jessica Rabbit, or between George Clooney and George of the Jungle.
So, here’s my sliced-and-diced take: the top 5 sexy and trimmed-guilt cars you will actually be able to drive in the near couple years (given, ahem, the resources), to be followed in my next post by the top 5 sexy G concept cars your long-abandoned Second Life avatar would drool over, had he not been cast into the phantom zone of your forgetting.
Ladies, Gentlemen, start your lusting…
5. ZAP-X Crossover
Sure, ZAP is responsible for its demented clown car, the Xebra, whose 3-wheel jellybean looks border on an attempt to sabotage the altcar movement. But they’re also on the verge of cranking out the ZAP-X Crossover, an aluminum-bodied, 644-horsepower 5-seater.
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Supposedly capable of 155mph and with a cruising range of 350 miles (reputedly), this American consumer-friendly crossover promises to be the sexy G vehicle you can share with your friends. Sharing is caring is sexy, right?
4. Toyota FT-HS
As a gas-electric hybrid, the Toyota FT-HS is the least guilt-free (most guilt-laden?) in our top-5 rundown.
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Despite the added weight of a driver’s petro-shame, the FT-HS – the most concept-y of the bunch with a production date of 2009 – is touted to churn out around 400 horsepower to get it up to 60mph in around 4 seconds. Not bad for a ’Yota. But this is a sexiness contest, and despite its lack of a name that sounds as cool as those in our top 3, this baby is sure to treat us right in the looks department.
3. Venturi Fetish Roadster
Glance at the Venturi Fetish, and you’ll realize this puppy is appropriately named. Currently it’s the only one of our top 5 to actually roll off the assembly line, although “assembly line” may be the wrong term with the intended model run still standing at just 25 units.
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Performance takes a back seat to looks with Monaco-based Venturi’s offering, with this slick beast topping out at just 100mph and pulling the 0-60 trick in around 5 seconds, but so what? Sexy doesn’t do 150mph. Sexy cruises.
2. Tesla Roadster
I know the Tesla is real ’cause I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger drive one on da TV. Seriously, despite a management shakeup at the company and some tweaks to the Roadster’s specs that will drop the total range to around 200 miles instead of 250, the Tesla roadster is still the baby of the altcar movement.
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Photo ops aren’t hard to find and everybody’s read about the “reach for the radio” trick. Behind the hype, there’s meat: Handling will be roughly synonymous with its Lotus Elise platform, top speed will be right at 130mph, and delivery is still expected next year. And just look at it, won’t you?
1. Lightning GT
This snub of the second-place Tesla may come as altcar blasphemy, but when I imagine James Bond sitting behind the wheel of an EV, it has to be the Lightning GT.
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Like the majority of the cars above, the GT is also expected for delivery in 2008, and when it arrives, it’s promised to do 130mph with a cruising range of 250 miles. It’s also powered by the much-hyped Altairnano Nanosafe battery that is powering Phoenix Motorcars’ SUTs and SUVs. Cross-platform testing is good. Although the UK-Based Lightning Car Company says it’s working to get the car certified to run across the pond, the possibility that you won’t be able to drive it stateside just makes me want it that much more. And one last stat: 700-plus horsepower. See? Numbers can be sexy, too.

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Enertia Accelerates Toward Takeoff

September 28, 2007 in Motorbikes, EV Vehicles, Bikes by Andrew Moyle | No comments

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No offense to well-meaning electric scooter boys and girls out there, but Brammo’s Enertia may finally be the real deal when it comes to electric two wheelers. It seems appropriate, if unfortunate, that it also comes at a very real-deal price Read the full story / more photos »
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New EV Super / Bike Car The VentureOne

February 19, 2007 in Hybrids, Companies, Motorbikes, EV Vehicles, Emerging Tech by G Monkey | 8 comments

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Venture Vehicles plans to initially offer two propulsion packages for the VentureOne: the hybrid E50 and Q100, and all-electric Venture EV model. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Prices (MSRP) will range from $18,000 for the E50, to $23,000 for the all-electric EV model with a wide range of accessories available for each. A Must See is the Carver in Action in a series of videos on the Venture Vehicles site, here is a direct link.
All three classes will incorporate the patented Dynamic Vehicle Control system, or DVC, developed by Carver Engineering, which allows the vehicle to tilt up to 45 side-to-side at a rate of 85 per second. Read the full story / more photos »

Rocket Speed, Fly Comfort, Over The Ocean

February 23, 2007 in Watercraft, Emerging Tech by G Monkey

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Without all that resistance of the water to contend with, the SeaPhantom can rocket along at 120 mph using just a fraction of the V-10’s 625 horsepower with radically-improved fuel consumption. This is the “G” factor, sleek design, stylish, comfortable, extremely fast, and yet, very efficient use of fuel. The craft isn’t fighting the resistance and power of the ocean.
Fast boats have their appeal, but hard pounding and massive fuel consumption would leave them useless as practical maritime surface transport - nor much fun for our landlubber friends. Maritime Flight Dynamics’ solution is to fly just above the wave crests, on proprietary shock dampened ‘foils’…. A lifting-body airfoil design carries the craft above the sea surface in ground effect, radically reducing hydrodynamic drag.
Checkout the SeaPhantom in Action in the Test Run Videos
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Many of the new breed of high-performance boats can travel at triple-digit speeds over the water. Our objective is to make this kind of speed practical, safe, comfortable and efficient - ultimately to make maritime transport a viable alternative to our crowded skies and highways. Imagine: direct travel, city centre to city centre, directly from one waterfront downtown to another; faster than the taxi ride to and from your local airport…. To stretch the imagination to its wildest limits and to create one of the ocean’s most advanced power craft concepts to date.
Basically, the craft’s built-in stability systems - including automated computer controlled gyroscopic feedback- means the craft may be operated by anyone familiar with high performance offshore powerboat operation.
Several computers operate quietly in the background sampling the vessel’s attitude 400 times per second, automatically balancing the craft until manual override steering inputs are registered…. Ultimately, however, safety does not rely not on e-control systems, but instead is based on the passive stability incorporated into the craft’s design.
Outboard, Jet Turbine, or Diesel/Gas Inboard Power: still in the developmental prototype stage is the five passenger proof-of-concept craft: 30′ length overall x 12′6″ beam overall, with an estimated cruise speed of 85 mph, on just under 300 horsepower. The main body flies approximately four feet above average wave crests on three-point shock dampened foils…. Race lower unit, race propeller, low water pick-up, and race style low back pressure exhaust through Mercury racing mid-section.
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They will be ideally suited for jet-turbine power driving through counter-rotating stern drive, straight inboard, or experimental water jet…. The first production models will have approximately the same dimensions as the prototype: 30′ loa x 12′6″ boa and can have an optional inboard piston.
The following image illustrates the cleverly minimized exterior glazing, which is designed to mitigate potentially catastrophic wave impact area - yet allow maximum visibility to Mclaren F1 style center-seated pilot.
Future designs will scale our proprietary technology to the size of 1930’s DC3s: 18 - 24 passenger models with projected cruise speeds of 150 knots, flying 8 to 12 feet above the average wave crests, making scheduled travel with impunity, across, for example, the Gulf of Mexico, Coastal US routes, island-to-island throughout the Caribbean, or South Pacific Islands…
The company’s catchcry “Helicopter speed, powerboat priceâ€? explains how effective it is, but the devil is in the detail and this toy is a combination of several technologies, each of them adding a significant dimension to the capabilities. At low speeds, it’s just like a boat, then as it transitions to medium speeds, it lifts out of the water on proprietary shock dampened ‘foils’ which are outboard on each side and are the marine equivalent of a desert race car suspension – long travel and capable of withstanding massive impacts. This is a very serious suspension system with non-corrosive fiberglass leaf springs and billet-aluminum airbags tested to 60,000 pounds for dampening the wave impacts. At these speeds SeaPhantom is like a trike with two wheels (the foils) at the front and one driving wheel – in this case a 625hp Ilmor V-10 running through a propulsion system adapted from an offshore race boat. Once there’s clear water in front of it, tweak the speed and the lifting-body airfoil design picks it off the water in ground effect, radically reducing hydrodynamic drag. Without all that resistance of the water to contend with, the SeaPhantom can rocket along at 120 mph using just a fraction of the V-10’s 625 horsepower with radically-improved fuel consumption.
The number one long-term concern of the US Navy SEAL operative during small boat insertion operations is the accumulative effect of the constant pounding on his body. The average SEAL will complete his career one inch shorter than his enlistment height, due solely to the endless wave impact loads on his spine. Many admirable approaches have been made to mitigate shock loads to small boat combatants at the seat base, but the more logical approach would be to intercept the problem at its source: the sea-surface interaction zone.
Water transportation built the foundations of the modern world but its sedate pace has seen it sidelined as a serious transport alternative for anything but vacations and as a short haul ferry.
The SeaPhantom is considerably faster than an automobile, making it a viable transportation alternative particularly suitable as a watertaxi with a viable range of several hundred kilometres, for police and emergency response teams, and of course, many military applications.