BACK TO WORK - BUT NOT YOU JOHN

Last night Boris Johnson appeared on national television and told the UK that wherever possible, everyone in the country apart from people furloughed, people who can work from home, people with children not at school, people in a high risk group, people who rely on public transport and my colleague John should go back to work.

As a result, the clear message that lockdown is over, kind of, in a distancing sort of way for some people although ideally everyone should stay at home especially my colleague John was apparent in the cars, vans and lorries visible on the roads this morning.

Well done BJ – a classic example of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

PRISENCOLINENSINAINCIUSOL

The Race - Yello - Walk the Dinosaur - Was Not Was

H2 ORKNEY

Scotland’s Orkney Islands produce more clean energy than their inhabitants can use. Their next step? Hydrogen. Here’s why that matters – and what the rest of the world could learn.

I’ve seen thousands of petrol pumps in my life, but this is my first encounter with a hydrogen refuelling station. It sits by the road in the Orkney Islands, an archipelago off the north-east coast of Scotland where residents have big dreams: they want to have their cars, ferries and boilers all running on hydrogen.

But Adele Lidderdale, a hydrogen project officer at the Orkney Islands Council, is a little nervous: one of her van’s sensors has been malfunctioning lately, she says, and might not accept fuel from the nozzle. Now, she plugs the nozzle into her van and steps back to the screen at the other end of the black hose. She looks relieved as the charging process starts with a hydraulic mumble from within the dispenser.

Three minutes later, the 1.4kg tank full, we drive off – all without using one single drop of petrol - link

RIP - HILLARD SWEET PEA ATKINSON

"He was the most flamboyant character I ever met," Was said. "It was three in the morning and we walked out into the hallway and he's wearing this orange ensemble - hat, shirt, socks and shoes all matched the exact same shade of orange". link

MEMORIES OF KRAFTWERK

Growing up with an older brother I was forced to listen to whatever he was listening to; initially the charts on a Sunday evening on radio one then later various heavy metal offerings. 

As such, at an early age I had a good understanding/repertoire of music I didn’t like.

Then in 1975 I heard Autobahn and discovered my genre within which I’ve remained to this day in the form of OMD, Depeche Mode, Simple Minds et al all of whom would either be a lot different or not exist if it weren’t for Kraftwerk.

Thank you, Florian Schneider and Kraftwerk, – RIP – a truly original man - link

PEROVSKITE CELL LEAF

Researchers from Rice University have built a simple new solar-powered device that can create hydrogen for fuel by splitting water. The system is very similar to other “artificial leaf” designs, but the team says it’s self-sufficient and relatively cheap to produce.

The system is made up of a perovskite solar cell, hooked up to electrodes made of a catalyst that electrolyzes the water. When sunlight hits the solar cell, it produces electricity that powers the catalyst, which then splits the water into oxygen and hydrogen. These bubble up to the surface where they can be collected for use.

The sunlight-to-hydrogen efficiency sits at around 6.7 percent, which is relatively high for these types of systems. But the most useful feature, the team says, is just how self-contained the new design is.

The solar cell and the electrodes are all in one unit – the solar cell components are encased inside a polymer shell that protects them from water damage while still letting sunlight through. The electrodes sit on the outside where they can split the water - Link

FLORIAN SCHNEIDER - A TRUE ORIGINAL

Florian Schneider, co-founder and keyboardist of the influential German electronic music group Kraftwerk, has died at the age of 73. Link

RIP FLORIAN SCHNEIDER

Florian Schneider, a founding member of the pioneering group Kraftwerk, has died, according to reports.

No official statement has been given by the band, although news of his passing has been confirmed by Billboard. Schneider, who was 73, co-founded Kraftwerk in 1970 alongside Ralf Hütter and went on to help shape the sound of popular music. He parted ways with the band in 2008.

Beginning as part of Germany’s influential krautrock scene, Kraftwerk would go on to help popularise electronic music. Their work with drum machines and synthesisers played a huge part in influencing the sound of pop music in the 1980s and beyond, as well in the origins of dance genres such as techno.

Schneider’s cause of death is not immediately known - link

GREEN TOMATO CARS

If you’ve ever been moved to test a car’s reliability, you could do worse than giving it to a cab driver – high mileages and intensive duty cycles tell you an awful lot about a vehicle. 

So where better to test a fleet of hydrogen fuel-cell cars than in that unforgiving environment?

Since 2015 a fleet of Toyota Mirai cars has been through just such a wringer with Green Tomato Cars (GTC), an ethical car company based in west London. Its 50 Mirais, which comprise 15 per cent of its total fleet, have covered well over a million miles between them.

“Certainly we broke a million miles last year,” says GTC founder Jonny Goldstone. “We must be well on the way to two million now.” - link

1984 OR 85

SOCIAL DISTANCING

E-FAN X CANCELLED

An Airbus and Rolls-Royce project to develop an experimental hybrid-electric aircraft, has been cancelled ahead of it ever making its maiden flight.

E-Fan X was launched in 2017 to explore the potential of hybrid-electric propulsion for commercial aviation and was due to take off next year 2021.

It was to use a 2.5MW power generation system – comprised of a gas turbine driven power generation system and high power electronics – integrated and flown on a 100-seater Bae146 airliner by the end of 2021 - Link

FIRST ATTEMPT - COVIS LOAF

Trust me; they're not as flat as they appear to be.

TESLA APPLIES TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY

Tesla has applied for a licence to generate electricity in the UK, documents show.

The US company, known for its electric vehicles, also has operations in battery energy storage and solar panel and solar roof tile manufacturing.

The application was made to the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority by Tesla Motors Co. It did not make clear why the firm had applied for the licence.

It was filed on Tuesday and signed by Evan Rice, Tesla's energy products sales director - Link

SAINSBURYS 02/05/2020