Clean Water Using Solar and Wind: Outside the Power Grid (Persian Translation)

Solar photo-voltaic (PV) and wind offer to bring both clean energy and clean water to remote regions and peri-urban areas in the world, outside the conventional electric grids. One out of seven people has no electric power available that would bring light to the home, cook the food, pump to access water and purify or re-use it. Off-grid systems are scalable and can be designed to any size, from household to village and community levels. The renewable energy cost development is remarkable and can make electric power affordable also for the poorest. Renewables promise an end to the era where energy security is closely related to geopolitics. The expenditure is up-front capital cost while “fuel” is free. With renewables, there is no geopolitical pressure where one country has deposits of a fossil fuel while another does not. This book aims to show how clean water and clean energy are reachable for all while contributing to both a better climate and a healthier life. ISBN: 9781789062953 (eBook)

Comparing Metrics for Scenario-based Robustness Assessment of Building Performance

To decrease greenhouse gas emissions of the Swiss building stock, effective retrofit strategies are necessary. Due to the long-term operation of buildings, future developments and uncertainties need to be considered, which calls for assessing the robustness of retrofit decisions. Existing studies propose robustness metrics for decisions under deep uncertainty to be coupled with a scenario-based simulation approach. We review these metrics and present a simulation approach that includes current and future operational energy, emissions, and costs. We apply the seven identified metrics to retrofit decisions of a multifamily house located in Zurich, where future scenarios in terms of climate, occupancy, decarbonization, and cost development are included. The metrics are based on different assumptions and positions towards risk. We further find that the discriminatory power is different, confirming the Minimax Regret metric to be most suitable for the building context when looking at individual buildings. For the case study, we find that deep retrofit seems to be a robust decision from an environmental perspective. From a cost perspective, the electrification of the heating system with heat pumps and the installation of PV without a complete envelope retrofit proves to be most robust.

Research on NEV Platform Development Strategies for Automotive Companies

Developing new energy vehicles (NEVs) is essential for China’s automotive industry to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. The development of a NEV platform is an effective means for automotive companies to balance the development cost, development time, and product performance of NEVs. However, there is no clear solution to choosing new energy vehicle platform development strategies and models for automotive companies. This paper mainly studies the significance of NEV platform development, the classification and characteristics of NEV platforms, and the development strategies and trends of NEV platforms for automotive companies. The study results found that choosing a new dedicated electric platform (NDEP) is inevitable for the latest automotive companies, such as TESLA Motors. An adapted electric platform (AEP) is a temporary solution that meets the dual credits policy. It lacks competitiveness and has been gradually eliminated for the traditional automotive companies. The new dedicated electric platform is a long-term development solution when comprehensively considering the market, technology, and policy. The compatible platform (CP) is a transitional solution when considering the development trend of automotive powertrain, the market size of NEVs, and the platform technology of NEVs. Besides, joint development and shared use is the primary development model for the automotive enterprise in the future. Finally, companies should increase their research and development efforts on NEV architecture platforms to maximize platform-based development’s scale effect and application value. The research can provide strategic guidance for automotive companies to develop NEV platforms.

Prospects of Neutralizing Nanobodies Against SARS-CoV-2

Since December 2019, the SARS-CoV-2 has erupted on a large scale worldwide and spread rapidly. Passive immunization of antibody-related molecules provides opportunities for prevention and treatment of high-risk patients and children. Nanobodies (Nbs) have many strong physical and chemical properties. They can be atomized, administered by inhalation, and can be directly applied to the infected site, with fast onset, high local drug concentration/high bioavailability, and high patient compliance (no needles). It has very attractive potential in the treatment of respiratory viruses. Rapid and low-cost development of Nbs targeting SARS-CoV-2 can quickly be achieved. Nbs against SARS-CoV-2 mutant strains also can be utilized quickly to prevent the virus from escaping. It provides important technical supports for the treatment of the SARS-CoV-2 and has the potential to become an essential medicine in the toolbox against the SARS-CoV-2.

Introduction to Plastics Engineering

Industrial and consumer products made of plastics are ubiquitous in our daily lives. Converting raw plastics into useful parts is a scientific and technological challenge that has been progressively overcome in the past several decades. This expansive monograph authored by one of the leading experts with vast experience as an academic at IIT-Kanpur and a practitioner while at GE Corporate R&D tackles this huge subject by expounding aspects of transforming modern plastics into useful day-to-day items based on principles of mechanical engineering and engineering mechanics. It weaves together complex issues related to the mechanics, mechanical design, fabrication, and assembly of engineered plastics. In doing so, the book distinguishes itself from others by emphasizing not just the material science and ‘build-and-test’ approach embraced by the plastics industry, but by adopting approaches from engineering science and materials science synergistically to address practical issues of part design, size, cost, development cycle, and assembly, among others.

Electric Vehicle Market Diffusion in Main Non–European Markets

Electric vehicles (i.e., battery and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) are seen as one promising technology toward a sustainable transport system as they have the potential to reduce CO2 emissions. The forecast of their market penetration depends on various factors including the cost development of key components such as the electric battery. This chapter focuses on the impact of experience curves on the battery costs, and consequently on the electric vehicles’ market penetration, which is simulated by coupling two system dynamics transport models: ASTRA, representing Europe, and TE3, representing key non-European car markets. The results of the TE3 model show that the consideration of global endogenous learning curves has an impact on the battery costs and therefore, the development of the electric vehicle stock (“feedback loop”).