New Thinking
GNS Science reports massive geothermal systems have been discovered along with remnants of the Pink and White Terraces, raising the prospect of power generation at Lake Rotomahana.
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They are silent, produce no emissions when operating and create electricity - they are photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. NIWA Nelson has just installed 56 Jiawei 185W solar modules onto its rooftop to generate electricity.
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Boosting the global uptake of high temperature superconductors (HTS), a revolutionary technology transforming a wide range of industries, was the goal of an influential line-up of international industrial and scientific heavyweights who gathered in Wellington in February.
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A consortium comprising a Wellington-based company and Crown research institute Industrial Research Ltd intends installing an experimental wave energy converter at a site off the Waitara coast.
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A group of IRL physicists is at the cutting edge of research into high-temperature superconductors.
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Crown Research Institute Scion hosted a high profile delegation recently to discuss US-NZ research collaborations in bioenergy. The workshop was part of the wider programme of the New Zealand-United States Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) on Science and Technology Cooperation.
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World-leading physicist and IRL Group Manager, HTS Conductors and Devices, Dr Bob Buckley has won 2009 Wellingtonian of the Year in the Science & Technology category.
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The drive to run New Zealand on 100 per cent renewable power could get a boost if GNS Science geologists discover pockets of energy they suspect are buried between 5km and 7km deep.
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Dr Gareth Edwards-Jones, Principal investigator on a study of the comparative merits of consuming vegetables produced locally and overseas speaking with Radio New Zealand's Kim Hill.
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New Zealand is far from a star when it comes to tapping our world-class solar resources, says a senior IRL scientist.
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New Science
A wave power device designed and developed by IRL and Power Projects Ltd has won a prestigious grant totalling more than NZ$2 million from the US Department of Energy for a project to deploy its device in the United States.
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In a union of art and science, IRL scientists are combining smart materials with robotic technologies to make Maori kowhaiwhai (painted designs) come alive.
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The 2009 IRL prize for the best demonstration in robotics or automation has been awarded to final-year Auckland University Mechanical Engineering students Dzulfadli Ibrahim and Luqman Kamarudin.
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Tim Kemmitt, a senior research scientist with IRL, has won a Sustainable Electricity Association of New Zealand (SEANZ) Industry Award for his work on photovoltaics (PV) for solar power generation.
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Energy from 'low temperature' geothermal sources is a huge and largely untapped resource. A new research programme led by GNS Science is designed to make this form of energy more accessible.
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CRL Energy, a NIWA subsidiary, is working on the final stage of technology to convert NZ's low-rank coal into high-purity hydrogen for fuel cells developed by IRL.
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With nightly winter fires nearly over for 2007, Rotorua home owners are being urged to consider switching to clean burning wood pellet burners before next winter. A study carried out by Crown Research Institute Scion has shown that using pellets, rather than wood, could significantly cut emissions of PM10 and help improve air quality in the city.
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Scientists at Industrial Research have produced a breakthrough industrialised cryogenic refrigerator, or cryocooler, that is set to have a major impact on the HTS industry.
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The successful launch of an experimental wave energy converter involving a partnership between IRL, NIWA and Power Projects Ltd has paved the way for a pre-commercial device to be operating within 18 months.
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NIWA scientists searching for exotic life forms living around seafloor methane seeps have also recovered chunks of frozen methane from along the edge of the continental shelf.
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New Value
The town of Kawerau in the Eastern Bay of Plenty (EBoP) is unique. It boasts the world’s largest application of geothermal energy for industrial use, and provides the ideal environment and support for companies pursuing a sustainable way of operating.
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A wide range of new geoscience information has become instantly available to the petroleum exploration industry with the culmination of a two-year project by a team of researchers at GNS Science.
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A wave power device, designed and developed by a NZ consortium that includes IRL has been awarded Statement of Design Feasibility certification by an international certification agency, Det Norske Veritas (DNV).
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The IRL spin-off company making high-temperature superconducting wire has engaged WelTec to scale up production for overseas clients.
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Harnessing tidal power for electricity generation will be a landmark in broadening New Zealand's already impressive renewable energy portfolio, a marine energy conference is to be told.
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IRL scientists have created “superconductor” wires that carry up to 10 times the current of copper wires of the same size, without losing energy.
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More than two million cycles of vertical flapping at IRL's Parnell site in Auckland has resulted in a level of certification for Windflow Technology's 16 metre blade which no other turbine in the world has achieved.
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The world's first synchrotron magnet fitted with HTS coils is poised to be shipped from IRL in New Zealand to the prestigious Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York.
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Industrial Research has come up with a process to turn fragile HTS wire into robust cable and opened the way for the wider application of HTS in industry...
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Dr Tom Richardson, chief executive of Crown Research Institute Scion, is this week presenting New Zealand research into the role of forestry in producing renewable energy, at the U.S. Government hosted Washington International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC 2008).
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