Sustainable Manufacturing in China

Yeasterday I watched the Speak Out for Engineering Presentation Competition (for more information on the event click here ).

The three UNNC Science & Engineering students delivered absolutely fantastic presentations in the contest’s China Mainland Finals. Unfortunately none of them won the competition. However, the jury announced that it was an extremely close call.

A second point, that made me quite proud is the choice of topics of our UNNC students:

• - Wind and Windturbines
• - Low Carbon Technologies
• - Aerodynamics in Formula 1

The first two are directly related to green engineering. The third one, though related to Formula 1 Read the rest of this entry »

Islands of Excellence: Time to Bridge the Gaps?

Richard Farr

Researchers in ‘green’ manufacturing sometimes encounter a great new idea, or a fantastic piece of technology that might one day contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle. Examples that I’ve seen include business practices that have slashed energy bills, and others where a company uses the waste from a neighbouring business as their raw material, to achieve what is called ‘industrial synergy’. Elsewhere, energy-efficient products are being developed, as are ‘low carbon’ manufacturing processes and recycling techniques that recover useful material from low-grade, mixed waste.

There are scores of such examples: some were reported by practitioners at the recent ICRM 2010 conference, and it was a delight to spend time with so many people who are working to protect our shared future. I think of these examples of sustainability as islands of excellence. They’re important stepping-stones on our way to a greener lifestyle… but they are still islands, and this is something of a mystery. Why do these isolated islands of excellence exist at all? If a practice really is sustainable and profitable, shouldn’t it soon be replicated, all over the world? Read the rest of this entry »

I have been made aware of the availability of funding for travelling to China to pursue doctoral research or to present at conferences (Science and Technology is mentioned as one of the priority areas):

The Great Britain-China Educational Trust invites applications for its student awards.  Awards are normally granted between £500-£5000.

From their webpage:

Who can apply?

• - Chinese (from the PRC inc. Hong Kong) studying for a PhD in any subject at a UK university. They must have started their second year before they are eligible to apply.  (But see Han Suyin award above where eligibility differs slightly.)
• - British postgraduate students (i.e. UK citizens only) giving conference papers in China, or travelling to China to pursue essential doctoral research.

The deadline for the next application is Monday 12 April 2010.

http://www.gbcc.org.uk/chinese-student-awards.aspx

…there was a lecturer at UNNC who used to blog…

I even had to check when I posted the last article. Anyway, the New Chinese Year of Tiger has just started and my Chinese New Year’s resolution is to restart blogging  on regular basis…

Happy Chinese New Year.

I have just received an email making me aware of this new 4 minute video placed on Euronews.net. It deals with the research and teaching and learning we provide here at our Campus in Ningbo.

Originally I was hoping to get some of my friends who are working in the German automotive sector to provide a report about their experiences made at the IAA. For various reasons none of them went to the IAA this year – incredible. Anyway, instead of providing a firsthand experience, I have put something together based on what I have seen in the news:

The IAA closed on 27 September with a total number of more than 800.000 visitors. A range of concept studies dealing with how resource efficient and environmentally benign automotive transportation could look like in the (near) future were presented at the IAA. This fact was underlined by Matthias Wissmann President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA):

“This IAA has the headline “A Moving Experience.” It has also shown what the path of the “mobility of tomorrow” will be like: a plethora of options has been presented at the IAA, with the range going from the mild hybrid and the plug-in hybrid to the all-electric car, the fuel cell and hydrogen propulsion. There is also great potential in the continuing optimization of the classical internal combustion engine, where there is still the possibility of reducing consumption by 25 to 30 per cent. One thing has become clear here at the IAA: there is no “silver bullet” for mobility. We are therefore working on a “broad-based strategy” that keeps all the options open. The bottom line is that we have been able to organize an IAA so exciting that there was no way round Frankfurt for anyone who is interested in cars.” (the full speech is available here)

With regard to the current trend towards electric cars I read this interesting article that asks the question “Will the Electric Car Ever Make It to the Mass Market?”

An interesting approach towards Eco-cars is displayed below. It shows a remake of the Trabant, a car that could prove to be immensely popular in Germany because of associations with the German Reunification. The car is equipped with an electric engine, lithium-ion-batteries, and a solar-cell roof. Investors are still needed to realise volume production, however, there seems to be a chance to see the car on the streets within the next 3-5 years. The price could be up to 25000 Euros (source).

Spiegel.de has observed that most concept studies at the IAA follow the trend of „down-sizing”. The visions presented show cars that are reduced to a minimum. However, this future can be both sensible…

…and exciting-looking as the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics study proves (3.8l/100km, hybrid – 2electric and 1 diesel engine):

PS: When using google’s blog search I found this post describing a visit to the IAA including a range of pictures taken by the author.

Today the world´s leading automotive fair, the IAA, opens in Frankfurt, Germany. I am going to review a couple of interesting studies and concepts that deal with the environmentally friendlier cars as presented at the world’s biggest car fair. I will also try to present  one or two news articles that examine the IAA from the ‘green perspective’.

I have been at the IAA before and I spent an amazing time there. Unfortunately it is a bit too far to go for me now. Anyway, the picture below gives a little impression…though perhaps not the greenest solution to get from A to B.

Apologies for not posting during the summer break! 1^st I was travelling and 2^nd I managed to lose my login-data…

I am back in Ningbo now and looking forward to writing interesting articles for my blog!

This week’s link for the weekend contains case studies published by BestPractices on the bases of implemented and completed projects. BestPractices takes part in projects to demonstrate ways of energy saving in an industrial context:

Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »