Smart Panels. How Smart Are They?

Mark D’Antonio, Zondits staff, 2/28/2023 There is a growing mantra amongst climate change advocates to “electrify everything”; predicated on the assumption that the power generation mix will increasingly become cleaner as fossil fuel use declines and is replaced with low-carbon sources. The residential sector is one segment targeted to be “electrified” with burgeoning technologies such … Read more

Practical Nuclear Fusion Energy – One Giant Step Closer

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 12/15/2022 U.S. Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, has announced a scientific breakthrough at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that may pave the way for commercial nuclear fusion reactors. In 1980, I was managing a solar energy training program for a branch of the DOE. At the same time, my physicist brother was … Read more

And Now, Electric Flying Boats

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 10/28/2022 Zondits has posted numerous articles covering the transition of transportation from diesel and gasoline powered vehicles to hybrid and all-electric power. Trains, trucks, ferry boats, airplanes, motorcycles, and of course automobiles have all been featured. And now, we are able to report that an all-electric “flying boat” has been successfully … Read more

Technology Update: Electric Passenger Airplane Gets Off the Ground

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 10/17/2022 Late last March, Zondits reported that the all-electric passenger plane Eviation Aircraft Alice had completed engine testing and was being prepared for its first test flight. As often occurs with groundbreaking technology, there have been delays. But now Alice has been successfully test flown and Eviation Aircraft is moving forward … Read more

And Now – EVs With a Magnetic Personality 

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 10/7/2022 In 2018, George Sassine, Vice President of Large Scale Renewables at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), posted an article entitled Forget Electric Cars, The Future is Magnetic (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/forget-electric-cars-future-magnetic-georges-sassine/). Prior to that, Volkswagen experimented with magnetic hover cars. Now, researchers at a Chinese university are testing … Read more

Do Cool Pavements Lower the Urban Heat Island Effect?

girl near pavement

Frank-Eric Ngamassi, Zondits guest, 7/28/2022 As cities across the world are experiencing escalating temperatures, cool pavement approaches are being considered to reduce what is known as the urban heat island effect. Nearly 40% of American metropolitan towns are covered with pavement,1 most of which are made of impermeable materials that absorb and retain solar heat … Read more

Formula E – A Racing Testbed for Electric Vehicles

formula E

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 6/27/2022 For proponents of clean energy, the sport of automobile racing has always been a controversial subject. For some, it is a waste of precious energy resources, but others view it as contributing valuable research and development (R&D) for improving the efficiency of automobiles. That discussion has recently taken on a … Read more

Charge While You Drive: The Rx for Range Anxiety?

on-road charging

Angie Ziech-Malek, Zondits staff, 6/17/2022 In what is sure to be a scene repeated in many households in many countries over the next few years, my husband and I recently sat down to discuss if we were ready to go all-electric for our next vehicle. Our 15-year-old car had lost its reliability and, given that … Read more

Alia, The “Flying Battery,” Flight Tested

clouds from airplane window

Brian McCowan, Zondits staff, 5/6/2022 Last month, Zondits reported on Alice, an electric commuter airplane that is currently under development and is now scheduled to be flight tested this summer. A second airplane, named Alia, has joined the mission to bring clean energy to aviation. Alia, developed by Beta Technologies, is intended for cargo service … Read more

Electric airplane, Alice, set to begin test flights

30-second-time-lapse-of-airplanes-1

Brian McCowan, Zondits Staff, 3/24/2022 Zondits has recently reported on electric snow blowers, mowers, and motorcycles. And now, here comes an electric airplane. CNN Business News reports that Eviation, a start-up firm based in Israel is in the final testing stages of their all-electric commuter aircraft named Alice. Alice’s engine was tested in January at … Read more