Space Solar Power (SSP): Bring it on!

There seems to be a buzz about the announcement from SSP company PowerSat from Everett, Washington about two new technologies for which they have filed patents.

Keith Johnson at Environmental Capital discussed the nuts and bolts of the operation.

See PowerSat's official announcement here:

News Release Copy

PowerSat Files Patent That Accelerates Viability Of Space Solar Power (SSP) Satellite Systems

Two advanced technologies reduce the cost of developing a new base load generation system from space by roughly $1 billion

EVERETT, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PowerSat Corporation (www.powersat.com), a pioneer in safe and reliable energy generation from space, today announced the filing of U.S. Provisional Patent No. 61/177,565 or “SPACE-BASED POWER SYSTEMS AND METHODS.” The patent includes two technologies, BrightStar and Solar Powered Orbital Transfer (SPOT), which enable the reduction of launch and operation costs by roughly $1 billion for a 2,500 megawatt (MW) power station.

“This patent filing is a watershed moment not only for PowerSat but for a renewables industry that, until now, could neither compete economically nor generate power at the base load scale of oil or coal,” said PowerSat CEO William Maness. “Today, the convergence of technology and energy demand, combined with the political will to wean us off of fossil fuels, enables space solar power (SSP) to fill a widening clean energy supply gap.”

SSP is a clean, viable solution to our world’s growing energy problems. Not limited by weather or geography, SSP solves the intermittency problems of earth-based renewables by providing a reliable and flexible energy source that is available 24/7. The underlying technology components are proven and systems will be deployable within a decade. Solar energy is captured via solar power satellites (known as powersats) and transmitted wirelessly to receiving stations at various points around the globe. Thousands of megawatts can be harnessed and shifted between receiving stations thousands of miles from each other—all in a matter of seconds.

PowerSat Corporation’s first patented technology, BrightStar, allows individual powersats to form a wireless power transmission beam without being physically connected to each other. This “electronic coupling,” conceptually similar to cloud computing, effectively eliminates the need to handle large (gigawatt) levels of power in a single spacecraft. Because of BrightStar, one transmission beam may now come from hundreds of smaller powersats. Another advantage of Brightstar is increased reliability. If any of the individual component satellites fail they can be easily replaced without significantly affecting the performance of the system, thus establishing much greater reliability.

The other technology being patented by PowerSat, Solar Power Orbital Transfer (SPOT) propels a spacecraft to an optimal, Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) using electronic thrusters that are powered by the same solar array that is eventually used for wireless power transmission. Until now, all satellites have had to use chemical propulsion or a chemically fueled “space tug” to move from Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is 300-1,000 miles in altitude to GEO, which is 22,236 miles in altitude.

SPOT technology also decreases the weight of a powersat by 67%, dramatically reducing launch costs, and enabling PowerSat modules to fly on rockets to LEO, deploy their solar powered electronic thrusters and then fly themselves out to GEO. GEO, the orbit for most communications satellites, is optimal because it allows a powersat to harvest the sun’s energy continuously.

About PowerSat
PowerSat Corporation is a pioneer in generating safe, clean, reliable energy from space based in Everett, Washington. Solar energy is captured via satellites (known as powersats) and transmitted wirelessly to receiving stations at various points around the globe. Thousands of megawatts can be harnessed and shifted between receiving stations thousands of miles from each other—all in a matter of seconds. At a cost comparable to a large hydropower project, PowerSat seeks to leverage gigawatts of untapped solar energy and is motivated by a vision of legitimate energy independence and a truly clean energy portfolio. PowerSat Corporation is partnered with PowerSat Limited in London, and is a subsidiary of PowerSat International which is based in Gibraltar. For more information please visit www.powersat.com.


Media Contact:
Aaron Lindenbaum
alindenbaum@rasky.com
617-443-9933 x343 (office)

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Mascoma Announces Major Cellulosic Biofuel Technology Breakthrough

Biofuels Digest , TreeHugger and Edmunds.com Green Car Advisor all have reported on today's impressive news from Mascoma!


Mascoma Announces Major Cellulosic Biofuel

Technology Breakthrough


Lebanon, NH - May 7, 2009: Mascoma Corporation today announced that the company has made major research advances in consolidated bioprocessing, or CBP, a low-cost processing strategy for production of biofuels from cellulosic biomass. CBP avoids the need for the costly production of cellulase enzymes by using engineered microorganisms that produce cellulases and ethanol at high yield in a single step.


“This is a true breakthrough that takes us much, much closer to billions of gallons of low cost cellulosic biofuels,” said Michigan State University’s Dr. Bruce Dale, who is also Editor of the journal Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefineries. “Many had thought that CBP was years or even decades away, but the future just arrived. Mascoma has permanently changed the biofuels landscape from here on.”


In a recent Forbes article, biofuels expert Helena Chum of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, commented on CBP, saying “This is the golden dream. All of the processes in one super-organism. That would be the lowest cost possible.” A prominent DOE/USDA research agenda states that “CBP is widely considered to be the ultimate low-cost configuration for cellulose hydrolysis and fermentation.”


Multiple research advances presented by Mascoma Chief Technology Officer Dr. Mike Ladisch at the 31st Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals in San Francisco provide proof of concept for CBP. These include advances with both bacteria that grow at high temperatures, called thermophiles, and recombinant cellulolytic yeasts such as:


Thermophilic Bacteria

· Production of nearly 6% wt/vol ethanol by an engineered thermophilie, an increase of 60% over what was reported just a year ago;

· The first report of targeted metabolic engineering of a cellulose-fermenting thermophile, Clostridium thermocellum, leading to a reduced production of unwanted organic acid byproducts; and

· Selected strains of C. thermocellum that can rapidly consume cellulose with high conversion and no added cellulase, and grow on cellulose in the presence of commercial levels of ethanol.

Recombinant, Cellulolytic Yeast

· 3,000-fold increase in cellulase expression;

· A significant 2.5-fold reduction in the added cellulase required for conversion of pretreated hardwood to ethanol; and

· Complete elimination of added cellulase for conversion of waste paper sludge to ethanol.


“These advances enable the reduction in operating and capital costs required for cost-effective commercial production of ethanol, bringing Mascoma substantially closer to commercialization,” said Jim Flatt, Executive Vice President of Research, Development and Operations at Mascoma. “Our results go a long way toward establishing the feasibility of the processing concept that we have built our company around - so this is a big day for us.”


In February 2009, Mascoma announced that its pilot facility in Rome, NY had begun producing cellulosic ethanol. The demonstration facility, which was constructed with the generous support from the State of New York through the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, has the flexibility to run on numerous biomass feedstocks including wood chips, tall grasses, corn stover (residual corn stalks) and sugar cane bagasse. The facility will provide process performance engineering data sufficient to support construction of 1/10th scale and commercial scale biorefineries in Kinross, MI, with support from the Department of Energy and State of Michigan.


About Mascoma

Mascoma Corporation is an innovative biofuels company committed to developing environmentally sustainable, low cost, low carbon biofuels from cellulosic biomass. The company’s Consolidated Bioprocessing method converts non-food biomass feedstocks into cellulosic ethanol through the use of a patented process that eliminates the need for costly enzymes and additives. The company’s corporate office and R&D laboratories are based in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Mascoma is producing cellulosic ethanol on a demonstration scale at its facility in Rome, New York. Its affiliate, Frontier Renewable Resources, is developing a commercial scale production facility in Kinross, Michigan. For more information, visit www.mascoma.com.


Media Contact:

Kate Casolaro
617-443-9933 x338 (office)
617-312-4964 (mobile)
kcasolaro@rasky.com