VoloCity, the world's first operating electric air taxi

VoloCity electric air taxi (Source: CleanTechnica)

Volocopter has produced an electric aircraft that can take off and land vertically (an eVTOL). Volocopter has called this one the VoloCity Air Taxi, which is the first-to-fly certified air taxi. Volocopter is based in Germany but has trialled VoloCity in Stuttgart, Helsinki and Singapore.

It is expected that VoloCity will be operational in two to three years. Bookings are available now anywhere in the world for the first public flights of 15 minutes duration.

Read more: 

- Volocopter opens world's 1st electric air taxi flight reservations. CleanTechnica, September 16, 2020. 

- Volocopter: https://www.volocopter.com/en/

A new way to have windows as see-through solar panels

 

See-through solar glass (Source: UbiQD)

UbiQD, a materials manufacturer in the US, developed a layer of nanoparticles glued between two layers of glass that can collect solar energy. The combination is transparent with a slight tint that can be brown, blue or greyish. It is difficult to distinguish these windows from traditional ones as seen in the image above. The innovation will help to collect solar energy in cities where rooftops are limited.

Two glass panels are glued together with a thin polymer which contains the nanoparticles known as quantum dots. These quantum dots are tiny semiconductors that manipulate light. They are non-toxic and relatively cheap to produce.

When exposed to UV light, the quantum dots are excited and release photons that travel to the edges of the window panel. The perimeter is fitted with solar cells which convert the photons into electrical current. These solar cells are within the window frame and therefore out of sight.

The efficiency of the most transparent windows is 3.6 percent. This may seem low but there are many windows on a skyscraper! However, windows can be custom-made to produce more power but transparency is reduced in a linear relationship. Windows of one square metre are soon to be tested in buildings in the US and the Netherlands.

References: 

- Nanoparticles turn windows into see-through solar panels. New Scientist, September 12, 2020, page 15. 

- Windows become transparent solar panels with added nanoparticles. UbiQD, September 7, 2020. 

- Journal reference: ACS Applied energy materials: DOI:10.1021/acsaem.Oc01288.

Nissan dealers in the UK to provide EVs with green-flash number plates

 

Source: CleanTechnica

“Nissan dealers [in the UK] are preparing for the arrival of a new kind of numberplate this autumn.

The plates are being brought in especially for electric vehicles and have an eye-catching green flash on the left-hand side to highlight the fact that EVs are emission-free.

As 70-plate models are introduced at Nissan dealers, trial green number plates have been fitted to show electric vehicle customers how they could look when they hit the road later this year.

The initiative was announced by Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, in June as part of a wider plan to drive a ‘green economic recovery’ after the turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic.” 

Read more: New Nissan plates to identify emission-free cars in UK. CleanTechnica, August 28, 2020.