Giant futuristic batteries to power 2,000 households

Renewable energy like solar and wind may help to save the planet, but a key challenge is storing the power they generate for dark or low-wind periods.
One approach for large-scale energy storage systems are redox flow batteries, which are basically large tanks with flowing electrolytes.
Researchers from several Fraunhofer Institutes are working jointly to develop these scalable fluid batteries with a goal of one day building a handball-court-sized battery installation with a capacity of 20 MWh – enough energy to provide power to roughly 2,000 households through a long winter’s night or an overcast day.
They still have a long way to go. Currently, they have a working demo based on a 2-kW plant that is on display at the Hannover Messe conference this week. A 20-kW plant is scheduled to go into operation at the end of next year and the researchers hope to cross the megawatt threshold in roughly five years.

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Toyota Teams Up With Microsoft on In-Car Tech

Ready for a talking car?

TORRANCE, Calif. -- One of the world's largest technology companies just linked up with one of the world's biggest car makers.
Toyota announced Wednesday a $12 million partnership with Microsoft aimed at building out the Japanese auto makers’ in-car technology.
The initial investment was a pittance compared to the overall size of the vehicle “infotainment” market, but it was “an important step in developing” the burgeoning technology, according to Toyota President Akio Toyoda.

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State Department Builds A Panic Button App

Sorry I haven't blogged lately, I had to take care of some personal things.


Anyway, imagine you are a pro-democracy protester on the streets of a repressive government. You’ve got your cellphone and you are messaging your friends. In the crowd near you, the police start making arrests. Fearing the government will confiscate your phone and investigate your contacts, you push a “panic button” on your phone. It deletes the contacts in your address book and sends out an alert. Such an app wasn’t readily available so the U.S. State Department, acting as a venture capitalist, decided to build one.
The State Department tells TechCrunch government funded work is underway to build an Android version of this “panic button” app. No release date has been set. Another version designed to work on low-cost Nokia phones, more common in the developing world, is being considered. No iPhone app is planned for now.

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