Hyundai: The solar roof on the car

The new Hyundai Sonata hybrid car has solar cells built into the roof. If the sun shines on them all day, they can extend the vehicle's range by 5 to 8 km. “Sonata Hybrid solar panels have a capacity of 204 W; this means that panels exposed to the sun in good sunlight will produce 200 Wh of electricity, ” Hyundai writes on its website. The value of 200 W is not negligible, but in the context of electric cars, it is not very impressive either.

The high-speed home charger can charge with an output of 9.6 kW - almost 50 times faster than small solar cells built into the roof. According to Hyundai, "charging 5.8 hours per day adds 1300 km per year to overall driving distance."

If we recalculate, with a little luck, you will add 4 km per day to your range. However, there are many people who drive less than 4 km per day. And even if you don't add a lot of kilometers to your car, it would be welcome if the vehicle had the same battery condition after a few days of inactivity as when parked or slightly higher.

In a world where average drivers drive 16,000 km a year, 1,300 km of free driving means a reduction in fuel consumption of around 8%. Wherever someone offers you an 8% discount on anything, you take it. 

It is difficult to say whether the additional costs and complexity of the roof will actually save money (or even the environment) in the long run. But in principle, every car has some area that is not used for anything "useful", e.g. on the boot, roof, and bonnet. If it can reduce total energy consumption by 8-10%, it already makes sense.

Methane-consuming bacteria could help us slow down climate change

Bacteria that consume methane, called methanotrophs, are considered a theoretical method of slowing down climate change. However, scientists did not fully understand how this process actually works. 

A group of researchers from Northwestern University now claims to have found the key to a better understanding of exactly how methanotrophs process methane. Their research would allow the bacteria's ability to convert methane to methanol, which could then be used to power vehicles instead of oil.

This process would not only help the world reduce oil consumption. "Enzyme-treated bacteria could be used to extract methane from fracking sites or to clean oil slicks," explained Amy Rosenzweig, lead author of the article. 

The process that microscopic organisms perform was very difficult to understand because the enzyme responsible for making the transformation is actually embedded in the cell membrane of the bacteria. Its extraction for the closer study will stop its activity, making it essentially unusable for researchers.

The team used a new approach to studying the enzyme: it created a synthetic bacterial membrane into which the enzyme can be inserted after it has been removed from the bacterium. 

Since then, they have been able to observe down to the atomic level exactly how this process works. We are not yet at a stage where we can use the ability of methanotrophs to process methane. 

Now that researchers have figured out how to manipulate and test this process outside of a living organism, this methodology will need to be examined in great detail.