Storing Wind Power in a Giant Flow Battery

A 100 m tall wind turbine is being erected at the German Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) test facility. Once construction is completed the testing of one of Germany’s largest batteries can begin.

Under the header of RedoxWind project, ICT has been developing a large-scale redox-flow battery. The aim is to use the battery to store wind energy. The 2 MW power and 20 MWh capacity battery can supply the power needs of a village for up to ten hours. An industrial hall at the test facility in Pfinztal, Baden-Württemberg houses 45,000 liter tanks to store electrical energy in liquid electrolytes.

The tanks have been waiting patiently for the arrival of the custom-build wind turbine. The ICT scientists, however, are less patient. They have been planning the project for years. Now, finally, large trucks have been arriving at the facility to deliver the components of the 2 MW wind turbine. Once the turbine with its 82 m rotor diameter has been erected, they can finally get their hands on the real thing.

Industrial scale

Energy storage is the missing link in the transition to renewable energy. It is the necessary component to integrate intermittent sources like wind and solar into the grid at a large scale. With the RedoxWind project, ICT is building a generator-storage unit that can contribute to balancing power generation and demand, or function as a stand-alone device in remote areas.

The goal of RedoxWind project is twofold: to scale-up redox-flow battery technology so that it can be manufactured at an industrial scale. And, secondly, to tweak the wind turbine to find the optimal mode of operation for the battery. The battery will be connected directly to the intermediate DC circuit of the turbine. Compared to a grid connection, This direct connection eliminates the need for an additional conversion step in power transfer, and reduces the investment costs needed for the conversion technology. (sumber)

Indonesia Invites Qatar to Defence Expo

Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar, Marshal (Retd) Muhammad Basri Sidehabi invited the Leader of Strategic Studies Centre (SSC), Qatar Armed Force, Brigadier General Dr Hamad Mohammed Al Marri to visit Indonesia in order to enhance bilateral relations particularly in defence cooperation, said a press release.

Dr Hamad Al Marri welcomed the invitation and will consider a visit to Indonesia to study Indonesian military industry as well as to attend the Indonesian defence industry exhibition, Indo-Defense 2017 in Jakarta.

Ambassador Basri gave a presentation about the development of Indonesia Industrial defence equipment, particularly the Indonesian companies which produced various military equipment such as PT Pindad, PT Dirgantara Indonesia, PT PAL, PT Sritex for military uniform. Their products have been exported to various countries particularly Asean nations and African countries.

The envoy told Al Marri that Indonesia also produces and exports various aircraft such as CN-235 and CN-295. Besides, Indonesia also produces light tanks, amphibious light tanks, military weapons such as rifles and pistols. The former Indonesia Member of Parliament also invited Dr Hamad to visit the Indo- Defense 2017 in Jakarta which includes defence, aerospace and marine exhibition and seminar.

According to Boy Dharmawan, over 800 companies from 20 countries attended the exhibition which showcased the latest technology and systems last year. (source)

Undersea Electronic Spiesto to Nab Oyster Bed Raiders

Electronic spies come in all shapes and sizes, but none is as funny looking as an oyster impersonator called the Flex Spy now infiltrating the waters off western France.

Looking for all the world like the bivalves it is protecting, the plastic imposter is fitted with a circuit board that allows it to snitch on thieves.

Invented by French start-up Flex-Sense, the device has been on the market since September.

After the first prototypes were tested in Vietnam, the gadgets are now making their (undercover) appearance in the oyster beds off France’s Atlantic coast, with a major deployment planned in February.

Several dozen tonnes of oysters are stolen each year out of France’s total production of 100,000 tonnes.

“It may not be a big proportion, but it is a lot for the operator who is robbed” after seeing much of his production wiped out by a mystery disease for the past several years, said oyster farmer Gerald Viaud, president of the national shellfish farmers’ association.

Theft is a “real problem” in the sector, which is “always on the lookout for solutions”, from surveillance cameras to ground, sea and air patrols, he said.

One quirkier approach is to fill an oyster shell with cement stamped with the farmer’s phone number in the hope that a vendor who finds it among stolen oysters will contact the victim.

Enter Flex-Sense, which was founded some 18 months ago specialising in wireless telemetry in complex environments.

Initially it was interested in offering shellfish farmers a way to monitor water temperature, salinity and oxygen concentration from a distance to enable them to limit the mortality rates of their mussels and oysters.

But customers were also interested in ways to prevent thefts, which spike ahead of the holiday season.

After months of development, the electronic oyster was hatched.

‘You have to innovate’

Infiltrated into an oyster bed, the waterproof, pressure-resistant Flex Spy is equipped with an antenna, a simple motion detector, a buzzer and a frequency modulator, said Sylvain Dardenne, co-founder and commercial director of Flex-Sense.

The user pulls out a pin — think hand grenade — before setting the energy-efficient device among the oysters.

The electronic spy kicks into action if it detects suspicious movement, transmitting an alert to the oyster farmer’s phone or computer.

The user can then track the oysters’ movements for up to a week.

If left to “sleep” without the need to report intruders, the Flex Spy can lurk in its watery field of operations for 60 months with no need for recharging — more than 20 times more than any geo tracker, notes Dardenne.

“Since you can’t monitor the entire shoreline, you have to innovate,” Viaud said. “The electronic oyster may not be the ideal solution, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

It is too early to judge the device’s effectiveness, however, since no thieves have yet been caught.

So far Flex-Sense claims around 50 clients who pay 10 euros (dollars) a month for each Flex Spy, Dardenne said.

The company wants to go on to adapt the device for use in the construction industry, he added. (source)

Defense: The Next-Generation Rockets That Japan Could Use To Protect Itself

Uncertainties about U.S. policy in Asia will affect the security postures of allies in the region. Japan, for one, is going to tilt even more toward its own national security space ventures. As the country’s defense minister Tomomi Inada urged recently, the time is ripe for Japan to reevaluate how best to protect itself.

At a practical level, space assets are going to loom large in any reevaluations about protecting Japan’s security. Two are worth watching, both of which I wrote about at early stages last year. As 2016 comes to a close, both have progressed and are worth a reassessment in the new geopolitical context for Japan.

Back to Orbital Debris

The first involves spacecraft, wrapped up in the familiar saga of orbital debris. The space technologies for getting rid of orbital debris can also serve national security purposes. In my July 2015 column, I drew attention to a leading Japanese company, Nitto Seimo, whose roots go back over a century to 1910 when it started off making fishing nets. Nitto Seimo has been collaborating with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to extend some of its knotless net technology business to outer space.

On December 10, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and JAXA notified the public of the successful launch of the H-IIB rocket, carrying the Kounotori cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS). After four days, it docked successfully with the ISS and began unloading its cargo.

Its return journey is of significance. Normally, the cargo ship reenters the atmosphere and burns up; this time, however it is going to carry out a KITE experiment, short for Kounotori Integrated Tether Experiment. If all goes well, a 700 meter electrodynamic tether will unfurl and attempt to deorbit especially large pieces of debris, considered hazardous for space safety. A depiction for how this might work is available for viewing at Nitto Seimo’s website, the company that built the “conductive net tether” for the forthcoming experiment.

Earlier, I wrote that if Japan could deploy a net in partnership with a company to capture space junk it sends a signal that it can also trap functional space objects belonging to others. Or if Japan could develop electrodynamic tethers to slow down and drag non-functioning objects into the atmosphere, it could also shackle or debilitate the working spacecraft of others.

So while cleaning up space debris is a worthy goal, these national security realities in orbital cleanup must be kept firmly in mind.

Forward to Epsilon

The second thing to keep an eye on is the fate of Japan’s advanced solid rocket, Epsilon. The three-stage Epsilon rocket is a descendant of the M-V that is widely hailed as one of the top solid-propellant rockets in the world. In another column in May 2015, I drew attention to Epsilon’s significant implications for Japan’s national security directions.

Epsilon’s successful maiden flight in 2013 is being followed up at the end of this year, and the countdown to its launch date has begun. The company involved in the design and manufacture of Epsilon is IHI Aerospace, with the stated goal of launching small satellites. Both IHI Aerospace and JAXA have touted the rocket’s technical advances geared toward faster and more efficient launches, such as an autonomous on-board checkout system and remote mobile control via a few personal computers.

Epsilon still has to establish a track record. Whether it can allow Japan to break into the small satellite launch market remains to be seen. But it has a dual use. This is because as I noted earlier like virtually all space technologies, it can cut across both commercial and military realities. The logic with which Japan cautions the world about other countries advancing or testing ICBM technologies under the guise of civilian space development also applies with equal force to the development and testing of the Epsilon. Its predecessor, the M-V that was retired in 2006, was marked as having capabilities similar to the U.S. MX Peacekeeper. The Epsilon continues Japan's independent technology strides in solid-propellant rocketry, and can significantly affect the prospects for the country's ICBM capabilities.  Down the road it can give Japan whole new ways of deterrence and defense options under its control.

Poised to Pivot

Japan’s national security space gambit makes sense from the perspective of a militarily weaker power in a world in flux. Japan is also being called upon to do more for its own defense by the incoming U.S. president, Donald Trump.

Next-generation space technology, unlike the nuclear option, allows Japan to do just that while also balancing its domestic pacifist orientations. Japan’s leadership is poised to pivot more openly toward strategic space-based means of deterrence and coercive diplomacy. These moves should be of keen interest to the country’s allies and rivals in the years ahead. (source)

N-219 Aircraft to be 70th Anniversary Gift for Indonesia

PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), the Indonesian aerospace company, is optimistic about completing the assembly of two N-219 aircraft, which will be a gift for the 70th Anniversary of Indonesia in 2015.

"We are optimistic the N-219 aircraft, which is a product of PTDI, can be completed in August 2015 and become a gift for the 70th Anniversary of Indonesia," President Director of PTDI Budi Santoso said here Saturday.

He added that after completing two N-219 aircraft, PTDI seeks to market the propeller plane in 2015-2016.

According to Budi Santoso, the aircraft, which is to be sold for pioneer flights, was designed by Indonesian engineers.

"We want to prove to potential users about the advantages of this plane. If the market's response is positive, PTDI will manufacture 12 to 18 planes per year," Budi Santoso said.

The aircraft, with a capacity for transporting 19 passengers, is to be sold for US$5 million. The price is competitive in its class, he noted.

PTDI is experienced in aerospace technology and has become equal partners with aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing, Eurocopter and others.

"The N-219 has a potential market. It is able to serve aviation pioneers with short runways," Budi said.

He explained that the domestic market is quite open, since domestic flights, which serve operations in Kalimantan and Papua, use small aircraft.

N-219 is a multi-purpose twin-engine aircraft designed to operate in remote areas and to carry passengers or cargo.

The aircraft, which meets the FAR (Federal Aviation Regulations) part 23 requirements, has the largest cabin in its class and flexible doors to carry passengers and cargo.

N-219 is a development of NC-212 that has been manufactured by PTDI under CASA's license.

In addition, PTDI manufactures the CN-235 MPA and civilian model. PTDI is a holder of the marketing license for N-295 in the Asia Pacific region. (antara)