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Tag Archives: Energy

Innovation, Basic Research, Clean Energy – Obama’s State of the Union Vision

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in Cleantech; Patent

President Obama delivered his state of the union address tonight. He hit many points of interest to those of us monitoring the high tech ecosystems: innovation, start-ups, basic research, federally-financed labs, universities, clean energy, etc. etc.

Killing cancer cells but leave healthy ones, he said. Sounds like nanotech.

Lightweight vests for cops and soldiers that can stop any bullet, he said. Sounds like advanced materials and/or nanotech.

Curious it was to hear him say that public research dollars were used to develop the technologies to extract natural gas from shale rock. Really? Not sure about that one. We can research more but am dubious from patent literature surveys.

Finally, do not forget his high tech batteries – more nanotech.

Also, the OSTP webpage on the State of Union speech noted more about Dr. Hiroyuki Fujita’s achievements with high tech companies QED and eQED.

The patent system apparently was not stated – a disappointment. Patent system’s regulations in view of reform are increasing heavily these days, which is at odds with his concept to cut regulation. 

Nevertheless, the vision is a good one for cleantech and nanotech.  Time to make it happen; cut through it time. Vision not enough.

New Book on Hanford a Good Summer Read for Energy/Environment/Government Issues

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in Book Reviews

Beating the odds at a bookstore is a treasure.  One picks up a book randomly while perusing the shelves and, unexpectedly, finds that a book hits "close to home."  Buy it without hesitation. 

For example, I found this new book the other day: Atomic Frontier Days, Hanford and the American West, by John M. Findlay and Bruce Hevly (University of Washington Press), 2011.  In 271 pages, they tell the story of Hanford in remote territory in south central Washington state (along the Columbia River).  The site was set up for production of plutonium during World War II, and then maintained for same during the cold war that followed.  The Tri-Cities area grew up below the Hanford site with its own, unique culture and set of social issues (the cities are Richland, Kennewick, and Pasco).  Now, 60 plus years later, large clean-up issues remain, and the area has evolved.  In sum, a good summer read to supplement the novels, for those interested in EEG (energy, environment, and the government).  The authors clearly worked very hard on this book, condensing vast material into readable form with a nice touch of photos and maps.

For me, in addition to connecting with EEG interests, the treasure of the book also stems from my first scientific research experience.  During college, I spent a summer at Hanford doing research with supercritical fluids.  The memories are good, and this remote area remains unique in my memory.  The book deepens those memories with color and context, if that is possible.

The energy that went into Hanford should not be forgotten in our modern cleantech times.

Bob Walker’s Resignation Fuels Fuel Cell Prioritization Debate

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in Cleantech; Patent

Former Congressman, Robert S. Walker, resigned this month from the federal government’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee (HTAC). Walker’s resignation letter was frank. The resignation was, perhaps, not surprising as a prior member had already resigned (Byron McCormick) and the HTAC’s March 2011 message to the Department of Energy was submitted with "some dismay." The stated concern is that the Obama Administration is cutting funding and publicly questioning the viability of making fuel cells a priority, suggesting they are a "distant dream." Some leaders in the electric vehicle industry have also been critical of fuel cell viability. However, other countries seem to continue to push ahead on fuel cell vehicles. So will the United States fall behind in this sector?

Nanotechnology is an integral technology for both batteries and fuel cells. 11% of the class 977 patent publications as of April 14, 2011 mention batteries, although only 4% mention fuel cells. Nevertheless, fewer fuel cell patent publications (141) mention the term in the abstract, title, or claims compared to battery patent publications (215). Both are clearly important applications of nanotechnology in the cleantech space.

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Price Break, Less Red Tape Announced by DOE for Licensing Federal Government Patents

Posted by J. Steven Rutt on Posted in Cleantech; Licensing; Patent

The Department of Energy has announced a new initiative, “America’s Top Energy Innovator”.  The gist is an applicant can get a “price break” and less “red tape” in licensing patents from the federal government which are not currently licensed, focusing on start-ups.  The program begins May 2, 2011 and apparently will have a cut-off date of December 15, 2011 

In particular, the goal seems to be to make it easier for start-up companies to license. Critical issues over the value and costs of exclusive versus non-exclusive licensing were not noted.

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Smart Grid

Posted by Bruce Wu on Posted in Cleantech

With a growing number of ways to harvest electrical energy from cleaner sources, which can highly depend on the geographical locations, we now face the problem of how to distribute these different types of energies while minimizing waste. In other words, when our southwest neighbors have excess electricity generated from wind or solar power, it would be a waste not to transmit the excess to another region that could use that power. Hence the term "smart grid."

The development of smart grids has faced several challenges, but many research teams have attempted to overcome these challenges. A recent article in The Technology Review provides a report on some recent development at this front.