The Swift wind turbine from Renewable Devices is a wonderful example of simple, elegant & sound engineering design.

A beautifully crafted web-site that explores many examples of leading edge design in the renewable energy field.

Fuel Cells hold much promise for the delivery of clean energy; in-particular within urban transportation and localised Combined Heat & Power schemes. This is a good source of information on where the technology is at.

Generation of power from the surfaces of objects that are naturally subject to movement & constant deformation has long been of interest. Here is one really good example of how this can realistically reduce the carbon footprint of everyday devices.

Alongside Fuel Cell developments the use of compressed air to efficiently collect & deliver energy is a really exciting development. We watch with bated breath whether this one company's vision really can break into the mainstream automotive marketplace.

At the other end of the scale this is an example of pure and simple visionary (almost sci-fi) engineering. What's interesting here are the technology spin-offs from a long term project that seeks to solve apparently insurmountable obstacles that stand in the way of 3-dimensional transportation systems.

Here's an example of an innovative compressed-air engine development that's actually found its way into production and demonstrates why the technology holds so much potential.

Not simply a plastic plane, but rather many innovations that have come about by standing back and considering novel approaches rather than just banging out more and more of the same.

Simplicity is often the key. Here is such a great example of simple, sensible & appropriate design to provide a plane with a minimal carbon footprint.

Here's a company that seems to have pushed the design envelope more times that one would think possible in a lifetime. An great example of vision coupled with practical engineering.

Autonomous Fuel Cells & Solar Panels in the sky certainly have the potential to revolutionise many applications that today we rely on satellites & brute force engineering for. Watch this space with interest!

Whilst NASA itself is not necessarily an organisation that inspires, what it does and what it is currently involved in certainly is inspiring. Explore for yourself.

At first sight this seems bizarre & irrelevant to the majority, but it is often these sorts of enterprises that push the envelope and lead to engineering advancements that ultimately yield great benefits.

Exciting, yet at the same time slightly disturbing, the prospect of low-cost, non-governmental access to space can only serve to inspire new ideas & developments along the way.