The One With The Tesseract

Crusades For The Tesseract

-Enterprises in the Field of Energy Production & Conservation

 

Ignition

                                   A source of energy that can produce gargantuan amounts of energy ad infinitum is the fabric of which the dreams of energy consumers and conservationists are woven. However while the first law of thermodynamics plays truant to their desire, several conglomerates have taken up the energy challenge in attempt to solve the world’s energy crisis. These enterprises represent humanity’s hope for more efficient methods to produce  energy on a larger scale and design mechanisms to ensure its conservation and lead the human race to a brighter future.

                                  It is in the interest of humanity that their crusades for the tesseract attains fruition.

Bamboo Farm

                      The growth of any civilization is characterized by an increasing demand for energy and the human race is no different. Since the invention of the commercial lightbulb by Edison to the invention of the electric car, mankind’s energy consumption has increased significantly . Mankind is now at a stage where reliance on fossil fuel non cognitas is not an option due to environmental issues and the fact that its replenishment takes millions of years. Thus alternative sources of energy are the need of the hour and the energy sector, having witnessed the emergence of several enterprises working on novel ideas in the field of energy production and conservation, is growing faster than bamboos on a bamboo farm.

                                  Entrepreneurial ventures associated with the energy sector are either involved in the development of new techniques for the production of energy or in the conservation of available energy to ensure optimum usage of available resources.

Autotrophs

                                 Enterprises committed to the development of new avenues for the production of energy are akin to the autotrophs in an ecosystem.  Their development and success is crucial so as to obtain a solution to the world’s energy crisis.

                                  These are some of the most promising ventures in the field of energy production:

Ø SEaB Energy

                                “One man’s waste is another man’s treasure’’.

  SEaB Energy, founded by Sandra Sassow, has brought this maxim into the practical world by the creation of products that convert organic waste into energy. The start-up designed and produced the “Flexibuster” and the “Muckbuster” which convert organic food waste and farm refuse, respectively, into energy. Offering a solution that simultaneously solves the problem of waste disposal and energy generation, it is little wonder that the enterprise has extended its operations to 13 countries.

 

Ø Kite Power Systems

Simon Heyes must have been very fond of kites as a child for the energy crisis solution his enterprise, Kite Power Systems, has come up with is based on them!!

Two kites working in tandem fly in the pattern of an eight and turn the turbine to which they are tethered- thereby producing energy in a manner analogous to a wind turbine. The advantage such a kite system has over the a conventional wind mill is that kites can fly high and reach higher winds. They also simplify the logistics involved in transportation and construction.

The company has proposed the commercialization of a 500 kW kite which is currently in the development phase.

Ø Husk Power Systems

Husk Power Systems is a start-up based in Bihar and founded by Manoj Sinha, Gyanesh Pandey and Ratnesh Yadav. It provides power by means of a technology that generates electricity using biomass gasifier that uses rise husks as fuel which is easily procurable as refuse from farms in the region. Each plant can supply power to 400 rural households in the region which saves 42,000 litres of kerosene and 18,000 litres of diesel per year. Apart from an ecological impact, the firm has had a massive impact in the social sphere with the villages in the region now being able to receive electricity throughout the day. The establishment of their plants in rural regions has led to the creation of several jobs in the region which has mitigated the problem of unemployment in the region.

Ø Oxford Photovoltaics

Oxford photovoltaics is revolutionizing the field of solar energy. By coating the silicon solar panels with a thin layer of perovskite, they have increased the operational efficiency by 33%  (Absolute efficiency is 28%) with an increase in development cost of only $1 per square metre. Their operations have resulted in the fastest ever growth in the efficiency of solar technology since the first testing of photovoltaic properties in 2009.

Ø Constructis

Constructis headed by Jim Niggs is a company built on the maxim – “If you cannot beat them, join them.”

The enterprise is leading the kinetic energy  revolution with a view to building a zero carbon emission roadway power system. Their product – Roadway Energy X (REX) – is a rumble strip box which when buried in a roadway can harvest up to 1,100 W for every 2 axles of a car that passes over it by the conversion of “mass energy” – which is otherwise wasted during breaking - into rotational energy which is converted into electricity by internal alternators.

Though the energy produced is not sufficient to replace existing sources, once implemented on all roadways, it could ,in theory, produce 30 MW-hr of energy per 4 lane roadway per year – which can meet the energy requirements of 6 households over an entire year. 

REX V 4.5

Thus the future of the energy production sector is in good stead with the emergence of several start-ups that have taken up the challenge of meeting the world’s growing energy requirements.

           

          Preservationists

                                 While the autotrophs aim to create an alternative source of energy for its large scale production, another way to solve the energy crisis is by using available resources efficiently and ensuring  maximum conservation of energy. The preservationists are as crucial a crux of the future of the energy sector as the autotrophs are.

                                 

Ø Green India Building Systems And Services (GIBBS)

GIBBS, founded by Arun Shenoy and Mandar Kaprekar, in April 2010 is associated with the building and maintenance of geothermal cooling systems across institutional, industrial and commercial settings. The advantage of using geothermal systems for cooling are both financial as well as environmental. Geothermal systems are 60-65 % cheaper than conventional air-conditioning systems and are eco-friendly as they save electricity and 100% of the water used in conventional cooling systems.  They plan to introduce co-generation systems for the heating of water and the use of LED lanterns and induction technology in lighting along with the incorporation of supply side solutions such as solar energy to enable the construction of Zero Energy buildings.

According to the World Wide Fund, geo-exchange solutions, if employed extensively in tropical countries like India, can reduce the national electricity demand by 35% , industrial water demand by 30% and greenhouse gas emissions by 22 million metric tonnes!!!  Thus the geothermal energy market bears immense potential and if implemented effectively, geothermal solutions can reduce electrical energy consumption by a large amount.

Ø Claro Energy

                                   Founded by Kartik Wahi in 2011, Claro Energy , focusses on meeting the energy requirements of the rural population of India. Having identified that a significant amount of energy is used in pumping water, the company has developed off-grid solar pumping solutions for the same. These reduce the electrical consumption of the rural population and enable them to become self sufficient in terms of energy.

Ø Breezi

                      Founded by Tim Seaton, the firm has designed and mass produced AirPulse – a gadget that serves as a fitness tracker for HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning) systems. The gadget which can easily be inserted into any part of the HVAC system uses audio sensors and artificial intelligence to systematically evaluate the performance and efficiency of the system so as to suggest measures to preserve the filter and ensure optimum utilization of power.  The firm is now designing CoolPulse – a gadget similar to AirPulse for refrigeration systems. Their innovations can aid in the reduction of power consumed by air-conditioning and refrigeration systems – two of the most power intensive utilities in modern life.

Atlas

                The burden of meeting the world’s dynamically skyrocketing energy requirements is as cumbersome as that which had to be borne by the mighty Titan Atlas. The International Energy Agency approximated the world’s total energy consumption per year to a mind-boggling figure of 5.67 x 10²⁰ Joules. This is equivalent to covering 2.08 x 10¹⁶  square feet

of the Earth’s surface area with Oxford Photovoltaics’ 250 kW solar panels – even with their increased efficiency – which amounts to an area greater than that of the Earth’s surface!! For Constructis to be able to bear the brunt of the world’s energy requirement, it must bring about 5.4 x 10⁹  4-lane roadways under its scheme which is again logistically impossible!!

Thus while the Autotrophs are perfectly poised to reduce humanity’s dependence on non-renewable sources of energy by providing alternate sources , the emergence of a source of energy that can meet the world’s energy requirements on its own is a long way off. Congruently the Preservationists must develop radical methods of energy conservation so as to bring down the energy demand to a level which can be tackled by the Autotrophs.

Thus the success of the Autotrophs and the Preservationists will determine the future of the human race with respect to energy production and consumption and consequently the rate of development and progress of mankind as well.