Energy Technology

Energy Technology — page 7 — Elon Musk 1971 a lon Musk thinks about big problems When I was in university I thought about what are the problems that are most likely to affect the future of the world or the future of humanity o he said He decided it was extremely important to have sustainable energy and transportation so civilization as we know it can continue to progress Musk has certainly reached that goal His company Tesla Motors makes electric cars SpaceX sends rockets into space and SolarCity where he is chairman of the board develops solar energy Growing up in South Africa Musk was bullied at school But that did not stop him from dreaming He founded the company that became PayPal a service that helps people send money online Musk made a fortune when Internet auction site eBay bought PayPal for 1 5 billion in 2002 He poured his money into space travel and electric cars Since then his vision has transformed both industries Tesla's cars have won numerous awards and the company has developed improved battery technology SpaceX reduced the cost of rocket travel and won a contract to send astronauts to the International Space Station 10

Energy Technology — page 8 — Other gases 1 Petroleum 1 Geothermal Biomass Solar 17 0 4 84X Wind 44 US Electricity or Generation by Source 20154 Hydropower Coal 39 Nuclear 19 Natural gas 27 ultracapacitors are similar to rechargeable batteries Both technologies store and release electricity The difference is that capacitors recharge extremely quickly in as little as 16 seconds The problem is that a supercapacitor has to be much larger than a battery to hold the same amount of energy If researchers find a way to reduce their size and cost they could prove useful for EVs Hydrogen fuel cells are another technology that can power electric cars A fuel cell combines hydrogen gas with oxygen from the air to make electricity This chemical reaction gives off water and heat so it does not pollute the air Instead of plugging in the car to recharge drivers pump in hydrogen gas Some prototypes can travel approximately 300 miles 480 km before refueling 11

Energy Technology — page 9 — ELECTRIC CAR CHARGING AN IEID Diffon

Energy Technology — page 10 — New charging stations have been In 2007 General Motors provided seven interested and enthusiastic people with built around the country allowing fuel cell cars to drive for free as a test of the technology One of the drivers said We people with electric cars to drive farther and to feel like we re contributing to something important to drive a car with no gasoline more destinations that contributes nothing to pollution and global warming She won her spot after participating in General Motors online forums discussing fuel cell vehicles Toyota Honda and Hyundai all planned to begin selling fuel cell vehicles to the public starting in 2015 and 2016 Cheap and efficient EVs are cleaner than gas powered cars whether they are powered by batteries supercapacitors fuel cells or some other technology that has not been imagined yet However people need energy for much more than only transportation Our civilization requires a steady supply of fuel and electricity To get electricity we rely on a network of power lines stations and power plants This infrastructure is known as the electric grid In the coming decades climate change and a dwindling supply of fossil fuels will lead to a change in the types of energy we rely on Researchers and engineers are working to come up with the energy technologies for tomorrow To hasten the speed of this change new energy technology will need to be cheap and efficient enough to compete with fossil fuels No matter how innovative a new source of energy may be it is unlikely to enter widespread use unless it produces a large amount of power at a low cost Gas powered cars continue to outsell electric ones for the simple reason that they are cheaper and more convenient to refuel 13

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