Hasta La Gadget!

In an announcement let loose today by Tesla Motors, they’ve made it clear that they’re claiming to be “the only American car company to have fully repaid the government.” As over the past several years it’s been a big subject of controversy that the government gave “bailout” funds to companies in many different industries, it’s important to note that this particular loan was not part of the so-called “bailout” rounds given to GM and Chrysler.

Instead, Tesla was part of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program, a program signed into law by Bush in 2008. The loan funds were awarded under the Obama administration in 2010 as well as “in the years that followed”. Tesla has made clear that both GM and Chrysler were given bailouts because they were bankrupt, while the ATVM program was only available to Tesla Motors because they were in good financial health.

According to Elon Musk:

“I would like to thank the Department of Energy and the members of Congress and their staffs that worked hard to create the ATVM program, and particularly the American taxpayer from whom these funds originate. I hope we did you proud.” – Musk for Tesla

This move to repay the loans given to Tesla by the Department of Energy has made Tesla once again a totally privately funded organization. This is the first time since 2003 that the company has been funded entirely with private funds, mind you, and and this final payment was made using “a portion” of the approximately $1 billion raised last week by the company.

UPDATE: Clarified by a helpful reader, it’s not since 2003 that the company was entirely privately funded – instead it was privately funded from 2003 until 2010, then between 2010 and 2013 (now), it was funded in part by this government loan – now again it’s entirely privately funded.

This $1 billion came from a concurrent set of offerings of common stock and convertible senior notes – and $100 million of common equity was purchased by Elon Musk himself. Today’s payment – the final one, at that – equaled nearly a half-billion at $451.8M in all. This repays Tesla’s loan cash in full, with interest.

For those of you wondering – both GM and Chrysler have paid back their loans, too. But that’s not all the cash they got from the government, depending on how you look at it. Back about a year ago, President Obama mentioned that both company’s loans had been repaid in full.

According to Politifact, while the companies that were formed when the bailouts were made did, indeed pay that money back, the “old” Chrysler and “old” GM have not necessarily made that move – it may be that, all things considered, there will be no complete payment by the auto industry back to the government. But again, it’s all about your point of view.

Tesla becomes “only American car company to have fully repaid the government” is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Scientists from the University of Manchester have discovered that by combining Graphene, a one-atom thick layer of graphite, with the transition metal dichalcogenides, a material that can react to light, they are able to create a product that can generate electricity from sunlight. They can form thin sheets of the product that can be placed on buildings to absorb sunlight and turn it into electricity.

The product can give solar panels a run for their money, but the scientists aren’t going to stop there. They intend to find a way to use this technology to produce a paint that can be used for homes, as well as other objects. However, Professor Kostya Novoselov, one of the scientists who discovered graphene, stated that the development of the paint isn’t going to happen until much later in the future.

The graphene paint can be used to power a number of devices, with one emphasis being on mobile phones. The scientists believe that graphene paint would bring in a “new generation” of mobile phones that are solar powered and are ultra-thin. Not only can graphene paint be used to power objects, scientists believe that they will be able to make it change colors on-demand as well.

The scientists are optimistic about the development of graphene. Not only is the material harder than diamond, and able to conduct electricity, there are many more possibilities for it as well. Professor Novoselov stated that they would be able to use graphene to develop different types of products with a variety of properties other than producing solar powered energy. He states,

“We have been trying to go beyond graphene by combining with with other one atom thick materials. What we have been doing is putting different layers of these materials one on top of the other and what you get is a new type of material with a unique set of properties. It is like a book – one page contains some information but together the book is so much more. The implementations would go much further than simple solar powered cells”

[via Telegraph]

Graphene paint aims to solar-power future homes and electronics is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Now that you’re all about dressing up and heading out to your local Avengers movie opening – Iron Man 3 coming up quick(!) – you’ll want to know how to make a prop that’s above and beyond the pale. This week a custom-made and home-made Thor’s Hammer has appeared amongst the DIY ranks, bringing with it 80,000 volts of electricity to boot. All it takes is some foam and teeny tiny tesla coil!

The hack you’re about to see comes straight from Caleb Kraft over at Hack A Day who, loving the greatness of the hammer, aka Mjolnir, decided it was time – finally – to create on of his own. This creation was initiated when he met up with the folks at ArcAttack and decided the time for electricity was nigh.

The creation you’re seeing above is not one your everyday average comic book film lover is going to be able to build. Instead you’re going to need to create a tesla coil yourself, make sure it’s perfectly sized to fit in the head or the arm of the hammer, and you’ll want to be at least a bit of a refined sense of 3D crafting style to boot. The coil created for this project was made by Staci Elaan and is shown in the video below. This coil is entirely battery powered!

The hammer itself isn’t entirely ready for high-action films – in this form it’s still a bit fragile – but it’s certainly ready to be taken to your local movie opening. Then again, it could very easily be considered a dangerous weapon, so watch yourself. Using this at home to impress the kids is probably as far as you should go – but again, don’t let them grab hold of it for too long – the insides may very well come out.

DIY Thor’s Hammer blasts 80,000 user-friendly volts is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed new microbatteries that are extremely small in size, but pack a huge amount of power. Not only do they pack a huge punch, but they recharge “1,000 times faster than competing technologies”, according to the research team. The team wanted to find a solution to the dilemma that afflicts current power sources, where power sources can either have a lot of power, or have a lot of energy, not both at the same time.

William P. King, Bliss Professor of mechanical science and engineering at the University of Illinois, and the leader of the research team, says,

“If you want high energy you can’t get high power, if you want high power its very difficult to get high energy. But for very interesting applications, especially modern applications, you really need both. That’s what our batteries are starting to do. We’re really pushing into an area in the energy storage design space that is not currently available with technologies today.”

The microbatteries feature an internal three-dimensional microstructure. Batteries have two main components: the plus side (cathode) and the minus side (anode). Using the fast-charging cathode design developed by Professor Paul Braun and his research group, King’s group developed a matching anode design and integrated the two together at the microscale to create microbatteries with extreme performance. The batteries are so powerful, they can recharge 1,000x faster than other batteries, broadcast radio signals 30x farther, and drive innovations for devices that are 30x smaller.

The new batteries are said to “out-power the best supercapacitors” and would drive new innovation in technology. The team believes that a cell phone powered by these microbatteries would be able to jump-start a dead car battery, and still have enough energy to recharge a phone “in the blink of an eye”. The research team is now planning on integrating these microbatteries with other devices, and are also trying to figure out a way to manufacture these at a low cost. Liz Ahlberg, Physical Sciences Editor for the University of Illinois, says,

“Imagine juicing up a credit-card-thin phone in less than a second. In addition to consumer electronics, medical devices, lasers, sensors, and other applications could see leaps forward in technology with such power sources available.”

[via University of Illinois]

New microbatteries can jump-start your car battery and still charge your phone is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

With the Cadillac ELR we saw the company blend luxury with electricity in a vehicle ready for sale in early 2014 – this week we’re being introduced to the vehicles Regen on Demand feature. This feature allows you to regenerate energy and store it as electricity for later use in the vehicle’s battery pack. This is done with the vehicle’s paddle shifters, an alternative to traditional performance vehicles use of steering wheel mounted paddles for upshift and downshift of their mechanical transmission.

With this new system, the driver will be taking part in the driving experience like never before – imagine being able to extend the length of time you’ll be able to drive without stopping to refuel or re-charge your car while you’re driving. How unimaginably far we’ve come from the crank-start cars of the past – how long until we just hop in and the car brings us wherever we want to go, no effort included?

“Regen on Demand enables ELR drivers to actively re-capture energy when slowing down, such as when approaching slower traffic or setting up for a tight turn. This allows the driver to take more active role in the electric vehicle driving experience.” – Chris Thomason, ELR chief engineer

Engaging Regen on Demand is simple: the driver simply takes his or her foot off of the accelerator and presses one of the vehicle’s two steering-wheel paddles. These paddles both generate energy and begin to decelerate the car – Regen on Demand will not bring the car to a full stop, but this feature is meant for coasting or, as Thomason mentions, setting up tight turns. This is also known as regenerative braking.

“Pulling back on the paddle to slow down allows the ELR driver to keep their foot close to the throttle, ready to accelerate. It provides a more engaged, satisfying driving experience, and when you consider the added benefit of re-capturing energy, it’s also a smart thing to do.” – Thomason

In addition to the Regen on Demand paddles on your steering wheel, you’ve also got a blended regenerative braking system. With this system you’ll be recapturing energy when your brakes are applied and your vehicle slows. At the point at which you need a massive amount of brake power, this vehicle blends in friction brakes so you can stop quick.

The Cadillac ELR works with an estimated range of about 35 miles (56 km) of pure electric driving and uses an advanced electric drive unit capable of 295 lb-ft of instant torque (400 Nm). The energy is stored in a lovely T-shaped battery pack, this pack charged up by the Regen on Demand system you’re reading about today, a standard 120V electrical outlet, or a dedicated 240V charging station. Depending on outside temperature, you’ll be able to completely recharge your battery in about 4.5 hours using a 240V outlet.

Have a peek at our Car Hub as well as the timeline below for more Cadillac excellence through the future – and keep on regenerating that electricity with the power you already generate. Let nothing go to waste!

Cadillac ELR introduces “Regen on Demand” for extended electric range is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.