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Super Secret Perovskite Solar Cell Company Bursts Out Of Stealth Mode
February 29th, 2020 by Tina Casey

For the past six years, a major US oil and gas holding company has been collaborating with the National Renewable Energy Lab on new breakthrough perovskite solar cell research. What a twist! The effort has been conducted through a relatively new division of the firm and it hasn’t attracted much attention, except that earlier this month they finally let something slip on the newswires and now the cat’s out of the bag.

HPT has collaborated with NREL on perovskite ink for solar cells, like this one developed by NREL researcher David Moore (Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL).

Oil Company Hearts Perovskite Solar Cells
The holding company in question is Hunt Consolidated, Inc., parent of the 80-year-old privately held global oil and gas leader Hunt Oil and of a somewhat lesser known entity called Hunt Perovskite Technologies.

So, why has a major fossil fuel company been collaborating with NREL on cutting edge research leading to the next generation of low cost solar cells?

After all, other global oil and gas stakeholders are venturing into renewable energy. However, they are mainly focused on market-proven technologies that don’t disrupt their fossil fuel business, at least not for the time being.

Hunt’s new perovskite research is a whole ‘nother kettle of fish. It could have a profound, widespread impact on the energy marketplace and accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewables.

That’s because perovskite technology can push down solar costs far below today’s costs. Perovskite solar cells are also lighter and more flexible, which means they have a greater range of application.

For a bonus, perovskite solar cells can be “printed” with a relatively conventional high-volume manufacturing process.

Perovskite solar cells are only just beginning to edge out of the laboratory, now that researchers have finally worked out the kinks. Once they hit the shelves, they will kick the global solar market into a whole new level of activity.

As for why Hunt, last week Forbes took a crack at the mystery and noted that the current head of the family business, Hunter L. Hunt, spent the past 10 years creating and then spinning off a new high voltage power line company.

That venture, along with the company’s investment arm Hunt Energy Enterprises, indicates that Hunt Oil is looking more holistically at new high tech opportunities in the energy market aside from just digging up stuff out of the ground.

More & Better Perovskite Solar Cells
The main challenge with perovskite as a solar cell material is durability, and researchers have been trying various formulas to improve durability without sacrificing too much solar conversion efficiency.

Hunt Perovskite Technologies launched in 2013 with a focus on the perovskite durability problem, as a corporate partner of NREL.

The work came to fruition late last year, when Hunt was able to demonstrate an ink-based manufacturing process for its new solar cell, to the satisfaction of the International Electrotechnical Commission. According to Hunt, the new solar cell exceeds IEC standards for temperature, humidity, white light and ultraviolet stress while achieving a fairly impressive solar conversion efficiency of 18%.

Ocean Liner Sees Climate Iceberg, Turns Around
Legacy companies like Hunt are not going to shed their fossil fuel interests willy-nilly, but in a press statement Hunter Hunt indicated that his family business is prepping for change.

“We strategically chose to develop perovskite solar several years ago; we envisioned its strategic importance as an innovative new energy technology in addressing the world’s energy needs for the future, as well playing a part in combating climate change,” he said. “As part of the global energy transition that is occurring, our solar team is hoping to make a meaningful contribution.”

Hunt Perovskite Technologies also garnered an endorsement from NREL for its role in shepherding disruptive solar technology out of the lab.

The lab’s senior scientist on its Perovskite and Hybrid Solar Cells Team, Joe Berry, noted that the company has been instrumental in its efforts to launch new clean technology over the “Valley of Death” that often separates high risk, high reward research from commercial application.

“We look forward to continued collaboration with our industry partners as we seek to develop and, ultimately, deploy these promising technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace,” he said.

CleanTechnica is reaching out to NREL for more details about the lab’s collaborative work with Hunt, so stay tuned for more on that.

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Photo (cropped): HPT has collaborated with NREL on perovskite ink for solar cells, like this one developed by NREL researcher David Moore (Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL).

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Tags: Energy, Hunt Oil, Hunt Perovskite Technologies, perovskite

About the Author
Tina Casey specializes in military and corporate sustainability, advanced technology, emerging materials, biofuels, and water and wastewater issues. Tina’s articles are reposted frequently on Reuters, Scientific American, and many other sites. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on Twitter @TinaMCasey and Google+.

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It wasn’t really sad the way they said good-bye
Or maybe it just hurt so bad she couldn’t cry
He packed his things, walked out the door and drove away

And she became the girl from yesterday

He took a plane across the sea
To some foreign land
She stayed at home and tried so hard to understand
How someone who had been so close could be so far away

And she became the girl from yesterday

She doesn’t know what’s right
She doesn’t know what’s wrong
She only knows the pain that comes from waiting for so long
And she doesn’t count the teardrops
That she’s cried while he’s away
Because she knows deep in her heart
That he’ll be back someday

The light’s on in the window, she’s waiting by the phone
Talking to a memory that’s never coming home
She dreams of his returning and the things that he might say

But, she’ll always be the girl from yesterday[x2]

PVC pipe

8" – 21.75 lbs / foot

10" – 34 lbs / foot

12" – 49 lbs / foot

15" – 76.5 lbs / foot

Example: With two pontoons, each 10 feet long (total 20 feet of pipe):

8" x 20′ = 435 lbs flotation

10" x 20′ = 680 lbs flotation

12" x 20′ = 979 lbs flotation

15" x 20′ = 1530 lbs flotation

How to Use These Numbers

Formula: Add the weights of your boat, crew and cargo, then double it – that is the flotation you need. Why? Because you must have at least HALF of your total flotation out of the water.

Let’s Try to Calculate Our Flotation and Pipe Length:

Boat Weight (RebelCat 5): approx 250 lbs
Crew Weight (two adults 150 lbs each) = 300 lbs
Cargo (camping gear, food, water) = 50 lbs

Total Weight = 600 lbs

Flotation Required: 1200 lbs (600 lbs x 2)

How do we create 1200 lbs flotation? We select a pipe diameter and length.

10" diameter x 18′ (x 2) = 1224 lbs flotation (34 lbs/ft x 18′ x 2 pontoons)
12" diameter x 13′ (x 2) = 1274 lbs flotation (49 lbs/ft x 13′ x 2 pontoons

Why Do I Have to Calculate Flotation? Doesn’t the DVD tell me that?

No, because a RebelCat 5 can be made using PVC pipe 10" or 12" in diameter and in any length. Also, you have to decide your total weight, based on boat, crew and cargo.

My suggestions:
1. Build your cat with extra flotation. It is far better to have too much than too little. You might want to have a guest on board or carry more cargo. You may have to rescue someone. Strong wind will always try to push your leeward pontoon under water. In flotation, more is better.

2. Make your cat longer than 10′ (not counting cones). The longer your pontoons, the more gentle your ride. Short boats have to go up and down over each chop and wave. Longer pontoons can ride on two or three chop waves at a time, keeping the boat almost level. If you like rodeo rides, go with short.

My RebelCat 5 is 10" pipe, 21′ long, including cones aft. It rides like a Cadillac. (see video on the Home Page) Sure, it turns slower than a short cat, but I’m not usually in a hurry to turn on a dime. Your call.

If I were to make another RebelCat 5, I would use 12" pipe at about 17′ long. That would give me plenty of flotation for three to four people and enough length for a gentle ride. The reason I used 10" pipe was because I could not find traffic cones 12" in diameter (someone has since informed me that the Home Depot in his city has them that large), and I wanted to use materials that most peopel could buy locally. So I made my RebelCat 5 as a demo for others.

My next RebelCat 5 would be made from 12" pipe, and I would either locate those 12" traffic cones or I would heat-shape the aft end of the pontoons (similar to RebelCat 4 – see RebelCat Evolution here). Traffic cones may appear unprofessional or unusual, but the fact is they perform better than anything I have tried. They allow the water behind the cat to close with very little turbulence or wake, which means that little of the sails power is transformed into swirling water (which required energy). The video of RebelCat 5 sailing fast on the home page demonstrates how well traffic cones work.

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: New cases in South Korea surge by 600
PUBLISHED MON, MAR 2 2020 7:41 PM EST
UPDATED 6 MIN AGO
Weizhen Tan
@WEIZENT
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KEY POINTS
New cases in China continued to decline, according to its latest numbers as of March 2, which showed 125 new confirmed cases, and 31 more deaths.
As cases spread across other continents, new cases in China are falling, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing in Geneva.

People wait in line to buy face masks in front of a store at Dongseongro shopping district in Daegu on February 27, 2020.
JUNG YEON-JE | AFP via Getty Images
This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.

All times below are in Beijing time.

9:15 am: South Korea reports jump of 600 new cases
New cases in South Korea surged by 600 as of Tuesday morning, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It also reported six more deaths, bringing the death toll to 28 fatalities for the country. The total number of cases in the country is now 4,812. — Tan

9:00 am: Twitter ‘strongly encourages’ all employees to work from home
Twitter said that starting March 2, it is "strongly encouraging all employees globally to work from home if they’re able."

"Our goal is to lower the probability of the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus for us — and the world around us," it wrote in an update.

"We are working to make sure internal meetings, all hands, and other important tasks are optimized for remote participation. We recognize that working from home is not ideal for some job functions. For those employees who prefer or need to come into the offices, they will remain open for business," the social media firm said.

Working from home for its employees in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea offices will be mandatory, however, it said. — Tan

8:00 am: China reports 125 new cases, 31 more deaths
New cases in China continued to decline, according to its latest numbers as of March 2, which showed 125 new confirmed cases, and 31 more deaths. The country reported 202 new cases for March 1, and 573 new cases for Feb. 29, according to data from the National Health Commission.

All the additional fatalities in the latest update were from the epicenter of Hubei. Of the new cases, 114 were in Hubei. That brings China’s total to 80,151 cases, and 2,943 deaths. — Tan

7:50 am: WHO says the epidemics spreading outside China are of ‘greatest concern’
As cases spread across other continents, new cases in China are falling, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing in Geneva.

Outside China, the total number of cases topped 8,739 across 61 countries, including 127 deaths, according to WHO data. About 81% of cases outside China are from four countries, he added.

"The epidemics in the Republic of Korea, Italy, Iran and Japan are our greatest concern," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. — Lovelace, Higgins-Dunn

All times below are in Eastern time.

6:38 pm: Washington state governor says people ‘should start to think about avoiding large events’
Washington Governor Jay Inslee said that residents "should start to think about avoiding large events and assemblies" as the coronavirus outbreak in the state worsens. Local health officials are currently not making a request for events to be canceled, Inslee said during a press briefing. "The people should be prepared for that possibility and need to be thinking about it," he added. Earlier in the day, Washington state officials said at least four more patients had died from COVID-19, bringing the total number of deaths in the U.S. to at least six. — Lovelace

6:35 pm: Pence says coronavirus-related travel restrictions may expand
Vice President Mike Pence said the administration’s decision on whether to expand its travel advisories for Italy and South Korea will be based on how many new cases they report. "The action the president authorized this weekend, raising the travel advisory, the American people should know we’re saying you should not travel to certain sections of Italy or South Korea. Those advisories may expand, but we’ll allow the caseload in those countries to define that," he said during a White House press briefing. The Trump administration currently recommends Americans refrain from visiting regions of Italy and South Korea impacted by the virus. —Lovelace, Breuninger

5:09 pm: Consumers buy up survival foods like dried beans and vitamins
Consumers are shopping for more foods with long shelf lives and packaged items as the number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. rises, according to the latest Nielsen data. At U.S. stores, sales of fruit snacks were up by nearly 13%, dried beans were up 10% and pretzels were up 9% in the week that ended Feb. 22, according to Nielsen data that compared the period to the same time a year earlier. Sales of energy drinks, pet medicine, vitamin supplements and first aid kits also saw sales spike. On the other hand, sales of fresh fruit and vegetables have dropped. Mandarins were down 4% and celery was down 16% in the week that ended Feb. 22. —Repko

Read CNBC’s coverage from the U.S. overnight: Seattle reports new coronavirus deaths, CDC released woman who tested positive

— CNBC’s Berkeley Lovelace Jr., Noah Higgins-Dunn, Kevin Breuninger, Melissa Repko contributed to this report.

TRENDING NOW
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Coronavirus live updates: New cases in South Korea surge by 600
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LPita Taufatofua, the ‘Shirtless Tongan,’ just qualified for his third Olympics
By Leah Asmelash, CNN
Updated 3:23 PM EST, Sat February 29, 2020

(CNN)Remember the shirtless, oiled-up Tongan man from the past two Olympics?

Well, he’s coming back.

Pita Taufatofua, the Tongan athlete who received immense attention after going shirtless during the Parade of Nations in the past two Olympics, just qualified for the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.

The qualification came for taekwondo, after winning gold in the M+80kg on Saturday.

The summer will be Taufatofua’s second Olympic appearance for taekwondo. But he told CNN last year that his goal in 2020 is to compete in three unrelated Olympic sports and participate in two different sports in the same Olympics.

Tongan Pita Taufatofua: ‘We were racing not to come last’
At the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in 2018, Taufatofua represented Tonga in cross-country skiing.

So this time, he’s aiming for two sports. Now that he’s qualified for taekwondo, next up is kayaking, which he has been training for about a year.

"I just love being out on the ocean, being out at sea. It’s a sport that excites me. I haven’t learned it yet, but it excites me at the same time," he told CNN last year, about the sport.

As for whether this means we’ll have even more shiny shirtlessness, we’ll have to wait and see.

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Justice Dept. Establishes Office to Denaturalize Immigrants
The department called the decision a move “to bring justice to terrorists, war criminals, sex offenders and other fraudsters,” but some lawyers there feared a broader crackdown.

Critics say the Trump administration’s emphasis on denaturalizations underscores the idea that naturalized citizens have fewer rights than those born in the United States. Credit… Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press
Published Feb. 26, 2020
Updated Feb. 27, 2020, 1:11 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it had created an official section in its immigration office to strip citizenship rights from naturalized immigrants, a move that gives more heft to the Trump administration’s broad efforts to remove from the country immigrants who have committed crimes.

The Denaturalization Section “underscores the department’s commitment to bring justice to terrorists, war criminals, sex offenders and other fraudsters who illegally obtained naturalization,” Joseph H. Hunt, the head of the Justice Department’s civil division, said in a statement.

“The Denaturalization Section will further the department’s efforts to pursue those who unlawfully obtained citizenship status and ensure that they are held accountable for their fraudulent conduct,” Mr. Hunt said.

The move promises to further expand a practice that was once used infrequently, but that the Trump administration has increasingly turned to as part of its immigration crackdown. It has raised alarms among some department lawyers who fear denaturalization lawsuits could be used against immigrants who have not committed serious crimes.