Nanotech Could Lessen Dependence on Oil
Published Apr 15, 2006
Nanotechnology involves development and application of technology on a small scale, such as this X-ray machine at Albany Nanotech that measures atomic structure and dimension of very thin films.
Concern over the cost and supply of oil has made the quest for alternative energy sources a foremost area of research.
Its hub is the Capital Region, where a number of companies are discovering new ways to power our cars, our homes and even our Palm Pilots.
DayStar Technologies is removing the material, cost and supply issues that have hindered broad adoption of solar energy. Most solar cells are silicon based, but DayStar’s are made of a material called photovoltaic foil that is both lighter and more flexible, and will be cheaper to produce. DayStar went public in 2004 and moved from California to Halfmoon on an $11.2 million relocation package from New York State. It is currently developing a manufacturing process that will churn the cells out as quickly as the market can absorb them.
With investors including Gillette and Dupont, Albany’s MTI Micro Fuel Cells has developed a rechargeable direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) power pack for use in portable electronic devices instead of batteries. MTI’s Mobion packs run up to ten times the life of traditional lithium ion batteries and aren’t recharged through a power source – one simply replaces small methanol cartridges. MTI Micro Fuel Cells believes DMFCs eventually may replace batteries in many consumer products such as cell phones and anything else that requires power.
Plug Power, founded in 1997, develops 5 kilowatt GenCore hydrogen fuel cells at its 50,000-square-foot Latham manufacturing facility. Hydrogen fuel cells emit only water, and are used as backup power for the telecommunications industry (cell phone towers), utility substations and other public and commercial uses.
Under the 2005 energy bill signed by President Bush, fuel cell purchasers are eligible for a sizable tax credit. And in that same bill, New York legislators pushed for a $3.7 billion spending authorization for hydrogen and fuel cell research and development over the next 10 years.
Story by Jeanne A. Naujeck
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