你没听说过的新能源 / 四六文摘

The ancient, arid landscapes of Australia are fertile ground for new growth, says Douglas MacFarlane, a chemist at Monash University in suburban Melbourne: vast forests of windmills and solar panels.

澳大利亚古老而干旱的地貌造就了一片充满希望的沃土：大片风车和太阳能板的林地，道格拉斯.麦克法兰说道，他是墨尔本郊区的莫纳什大学的一名化学家。

More sunlight per square meter strikes the country than just about any other, and powerful winds buffet its south and west coasts.

这里每平方米受到的太阳光照比其他地方都要强，而猛烈的风吹打着它的西部和南部海岸。

All told, Australia boasts a renewable energy potential of 25,000 gigawatts, one of the highest in the world and about four times the planet's installed electricity production capacity.

总体来说，澳大利亚拥有25,000千兆瓦的可再生能源潜力，是世界上最高的，并且是我们的星球上固定发电机装机容量的四倍。

Yet with a small population and few ways to store or export the energy, its renewable bounty is largely untapped.

然而因为人口较少，以及储存和输出能量方法的贫乏，它的可再生能量远远没能得到有效利用。

That's where MacFarlane comes in.

在此，麦克法兰就开始显神通啦。

For the past 4 years, he has been working on a fuel cell that can convert renewable electricity into a carbon-free fuel: ammonia.

过去的四年以来，他一直致力于研究一种能源电池，它可以把可再生电能转换成一种不含碳的能源：氨。

Fuel cells typically use the energy stored in chemical bonds to make electricity; MacFarlane's operates in reverse.

能源电池一般是利用化学键里储存的能量来发电；麦克法兰的操作则是逆向的。

In his third-floor laboratory, he shows off one of the devices, about the size of a hockey puck and clad in stainless steel.

在他的三层楼的实验室里，他展示了其中一台设备，大概是冰球的大小，由不锈钢覆盖。

Two plastic tubes on its backside feed it nitrogen gas and water, and a power cord supplies electricity.

它的背部的两条塑料管提供氮气和水，还有一根电线提供电能。

Through a third tube on its front, it silently exhales gaseous ammonia, all without the heat, pressure, and carbon emissions normally needed to make the chemical.

通过它前面的第三根管道，它会安静地排除气态氨，不需要通常制造这种化合物所必需的加热，加压或者碳排放。

"This is breathing nitrogen in and breathing ammonia out," MacFarlane says, beaming like a proud father.

“这个会吸进氮气，排出氨气，”麦克法兰说道，喜气洋洋的样子就像一个骄傲的父亲。

Companies around the world already produce $60 billion worth of ammonia every year, primarily as fertilizer, and MacFarlane's gizmo may allow them to make it more efficiently and cleanly.

全世界的公司每年已经回生产出价值六百亿美元的氨，一般是作为肥料，而麦克法兰的小发明可以让他们更高效而清洁地制造氨。

But he has ambitions to do much more than help farmers.

不过他的野心远远不只是帮助农民们。

By converting renewable electricity into an energy-rich gas that can easily be cooled and squeezed into a liquid fuel, MacFarlane's fuel cell effectively bottles sunshine and wind, turning them into a commodity that can be shipped anywhere in the world and converted back into electricity or hydrogen gas to power fuel cell vehicles.

通过把可再生电能转换成一种富含能力的气体，而这种气体很容易冷却并被压缩成液态能源，麦克法兰的能源电池可以有效地把阳光和风打包，把它们转换成一种可以运送到世界各地的商品，然后再转换成电能或者氢气来驱动能源电池汽车。