FROM THE INDUSTRY
Artificial
photosynthesis
Refinery for synthetic fuels
Generating biomass from water, sunlight, and
CO2 – a unique quality of plants. Scientists
at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology,
ETH Zurich, are now competing with them.
Their solar mini-refinery extracts CO2
and water from the ambient air. Sunlight is
amplified with a parabolic mirror. At around
1,500 degrees, water and CO2 are split and
synthesized into syngas. It can be used to
produce fuel.
The test facility is already operating on
the roof of the machine laboratory in Zurich.
A second system is being tested in Spain. This
plant is part of the EU-funded Sun-to-Liquid
project.
Hydrogen on track
1,000 km range from a fuel cell
sun-to-liquid.eu
In brilliant blue, the Coradia
iLint train wooshes through the
countryside on the regional link
between Cuxhaven and Buxtehude
in northern Germany. The
train can accommodate up to
300 passengers. It has covered
more than 180,000 kilometers in
its 530 days in service.
The train, developed by
Alstom, has it all: A fuel cell
is the heart of the drive. It
converts hydrogen into electrical
energy, which then charges
lithium-ion batteries in the train
car floor. And these, in turn,
supply their energy to electric
motors that accelerate the
high-tech commuter train to
140 kilometers per hour.
The hydrogen tank is located
on the roof. With one tank of
fuel, the train can travel around
1,000 kilometers, enough for a
whole day’s operation. Starting
in 2021, the infrastructure is
supposed to be expanded
in such a way that 14 more
hydrogen trains ordered by the
German state of Niedersachsen’s
regional public transport
company can start operation.
alstom.com
The mountain calls
While the Old World is still just talking about it – 5G conquers Mount Everest
While in Germany talking
about cell signal dead zones is
normal and Telekom is proudly
reporting that individual 5G
cell towers are being built in
Potsdam or Cottbus, the new
standard has already been
introduced on Mount Everest.
This is because Huawei and a
Chinese cellular network
provider have erected 5G
masts at an altitude of over
5,000 meters.
On the one hand, this gives
mountaineers access to a
fast cellular network. This
can be vital, because up until
now extreme climbers have
had to carry
heavy satellite telephones.
However, the technological
quantum leap is even more
important for scientists and
land surveyors, who are
re-measuring Mount Everest
using 5G.
The three transmitter
masts, installed at altitudes of
5,300, 5,800, and 6,500 meters,
are initially intended to only
be temporary. 150 employees
worked on the construction
of the 5G facilities, including
laying 25 kilometers of fiberoptic
cabling at the icy heights.
huawei.com
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