Technology Trending: Solar-powered clock, hydrogen production, hypersonic flight

A solar-powered wall clock, how natural biological enzymes are helping hydrogen production and hydrogen-powered hypersonic flight are on this week’s technology radar.

Solar powered clock

French clockmaker Bodet Time has partnered with Germany-based PV company Asca to develop a solar-powered analogue wall clock.

The clock, which is designed for installation in public and private facilities, is the result of the eco-design approach carried out by the group to reduce the environmental impact of its activities, according to a statement.

With the Asca solar solution, energy autonomy under artificial or natural lighting conditions is assured for at least 10 years, the company says.

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The Profil 930L is light in weight with its parts made from recycled and recyclable thermoplastics, while the PV solution also is completely recoverable, without any rare or toxic components.

Power is from two Asca solar cells, which are designed to be particularly effective in low-light environments. As such, the clock is operational from 100 lux, corresponding to the European standard for the minimum illumination level for indoor circulation areas.

The clock also has radio synchronisation, eliminating the need for any wiring.

“We considered all the possibilities in order to reduce the environmental impact of this clock, be it during the different steps of the manufacturing, during use, until its short-circuit recycling,” says Anthony Boigné, Product Manager at Bodet Time.

“Each component has been selected for its low carbon footprint while maintaining a high level of performance. The completion of this approach is the first step and we want to keep using the energy harvesting process for our future products…”

How biology is helping hydrogen production

The ancient biological enzyme, nickel-iron hydrogenase, may play a key role in producing hydrogen for a renewables-based energy economy, according to University of Illinois chemists.

Careful study of the enzyme has led the chemists to design a synthetic molecule that mimics the hydrogen gas-producing chemical reaction performed by the enzyme.

Currently, industrial hydrogen is usually produced by separating hydrogen gas molecules from oxygen atoms in water using platinum as the catalyst. However, the expense and rarity of platinum make it unattractive for the anticipated increasing demand for hydrogen.

The key to the nickel-iron hydrogenase enzyme is the nickel and while chemists have made synthetic nickel compounds that produce hydrogen for over a decade, the challenge has been to maximise the efficiency.

Mimicking the nickel-iron hydrogenase enzyme, the chemists designed an organic molecule that was able to replicate its functioning with one of the keys a carbon-hydrogen bond near the nickel centre that is broken and re-formed during catalysis process.

With this and future work, further insights are expected on the chemistry and thus the production of hydrogen.

Destinus – 4 hours from Europe to Australia

Staying with hydrogen, the Switzerland-based hydrogen-powered aviation startup Destinus has been awarded funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science for further research and development of its hypersonic flight concept.

The funding, which will involve Spanish universities and companies, is to support research into liquid hydrogen-powered propulsion and to construct a test facility for air-breathing hydrogen engines.

Destinus, which also has facilities in Germany, France and Spain, towards the end of last year completed flight tests of its second prototype ‘Eiger’, fitted with a bank of sensors, guidance navigation satellite system receivers, an inertial measurement unit, air data system and angle vanes along with other instruments and cameras for data recording.

With this, the company is now streamlining work on the design of the next prototype, which is planned to serve as a testbed for supersonic flight and hydrogen propulsion by the end of this year.

The eventual goal is hypersonic travel at velocities more than five times the speed of sound, i.e. more than 6,000km/h, reaching an altitude above 30,000m, which would enable travel from one side of the world to the other in a time of 3-4 hours.