Commercialization partners and investment are now needed for new technologies, which have been supported by government development agency Enterprise Ireland.
One such project is the eternal lantern which is solar-powered, an energy efficient radiator, and membrane technology that uses carbon nanotubes and has the potential to provide light for the developing world. Ireland’s Trinity College Dublin revealed 15 of its newest technologies last week with a few qualifying as cleantechs and are now ready for commercialization, according to the university’s case manager for physical science Graham McMullin. “The technology is best suited for off-grid communities, so the likes of sub-Saharan Africa, China and some parts of India where people don’t have electricity coming into their homes,” McMullin said.
The research has been funded to date by Enterprise Ireland, which supports indigenous companies and academic research. Each of the projects received about €100,000.
Another invention called Carbopower is related to the preparation of semi-permeable membranes that can be used as pressure-retarded osmosis membranes in salinity power generation. The membranes are fabricated using carbon nanotubes that make them good conductors of electricity, McMullin said.
In power generation plants where membranes typically become clogged, current could be run through the carbon nanotubes to de-clog the membranes, offering an advantage over currently available membranes, according to McMullin.