Engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have achieved a breakthrough in the use of a one-atom thick structure called “graphene” as a new carbon-based material for storing electrical charge in ultracapacitor devices, perhaps paving the way for the massive installation of renewable energies such as wind and solar power.

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British firm Axon Automotive has combined a 500cc engine with a low-weight body to create an affordable 100mpg carbon composite passenger car.

The company has replaced the steel or aluminium traditionally used for vehicle frames, with recycled carbon fibre composites, which are as strong as steel, but 60 per cent lighter. Using carbon materials throughout the car body has a huge impact on the power-to-weight ratio, it means acceptable overall performance can be achieved with a much smaller, lighter and more frugal engine.

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University of Surrey researchers have found a way to make ultra-small, pure carbon crystals formed entirely from the spherical carbon ‘buckyball’ molecule C60.

The method involves mixing two liquids together – one of which contains C60, at low temperature. Lozenge shaped crystals can be quickly obtained with widths down to 80nm – around 100,000 times smaller than the width of a pencil, and much smaller than previously thought possible with this method.

The electronic properties of the C60 molecules that make up the small crystals are particularly important to the development of new nanoelectronic devices such as solar cells and gas sensors. It is therefore possible this advance could allow researchers to accelerate the development of these nanotechnologies based on this simple method of creating high purity, ultra small C60 components.

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An important component of early genetic material found in meteorite fragments is extraterrestrial in origin, according to scientists.

The scientists, from Europe and the USA, say that their research, published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, provides evidence that life’s raw materials came from sources beyond the Earth.

The materials they have found include the molecules uracil and xanthine, which are precursors to the molecules that make up DNA and RNA, and are known as nucleobases.

The team discovered the molecules in rock fragments of the Murchison meteorite, which crashed in Australia in 1969. They tested the meteorite material to determine whether the molecules came from the solar system or were a result of contamination when the meteorite landed on Earth. Analysis revealed the nucleobases contain a heavy form of carbon which could only have been formed in space. Materials formed o

A carbon free minibus, powered by three different green technologies, is the first of its kind in Europe.

The emission free tribrid bus is the result of an international collaboration, led and co-ordinated in Wales by the University of Glamorgan with funding from the Energy Savings Trust.

The minibus, which will be a commercially available prospect in the near future, benefits from three types of power delivery – hydrogen fuel cell, lead acid battery technology and ultra-capacitators.

The fuel cell system provides the low to medium constant power delivery, whereas the lead acid battery provides medium constant power. Finally the ultra-capacitors delivery the massive, instantaneous power demands, which is ideal for high load acceleration and regeneration of braking power.

Intelligent power switching methods then allow the charging strategy to be mapped to the fuel cell’s optimal performance which results in the vehicle automatically using the most appropriate form of power and level.

The vehicle is emission free and has a range of approximately 150 miles based on a city centre drive cycle and a top speed of 55mph.