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Category: sustainability

Green hydrogen, produced through renewable energy sources, is considered a crucial element in the transition towards a cleaner energy future. However, current production methods are costly and energy-intensive, limiting their widespread adoption.

This new reactor uses photocatalytic sheets to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen using a process powered entirely by sunlight. This innovative process has the potential to drastically reduce production costs and make green hydrogen a more economically viable fuel source.

While the technology is still in its early stages, the researchers have successfully operated the prototype reactor for three years under natural sunlight, demonstrating its potential for real-world applications. Despite the promising results, the researchers acknowledge that further improvements are needed. Enhancing the efficiency of the photocatalytic process and ensuring the safe handling of potentially explosive byproducts are crucial steps towards commercialization.

The team remains optimistic that with continued research and development, this technology can revolutionize green hydrogen production and pave the way for a cleaner, more sustainable energy future. This breakthrough is particularly important for Japan, a country actively pursuing a “hydrogen society” and leading the way in hydrogen fuel technology. It could also accelerate the transition towards a hydrogen-based economy and contribute to global efforts in combating climate change.

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A new analysis reveals complex linkages among the United Nations’ (UN’s) 17 Sustainable Development Goals—which include such objectives as gender equality and quality education—and finds that no country is on track to meet all 17 goals by the target year of 2030.

Alberto García-Rodríguez of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One.

In 2015, UN member countries adopted the Sustainable Development Goals with the aim of achieving “peace and prosperity for people and the planet.” However, setbacks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, , and have slowed progress, and more research is needed to clarify the underlying obstacles so they can be effectively addressed.

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Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), have developed an innovative solar-powered method to transform sewage sludge—a by-product of wastewater treatment—into green hydrogen for clean energy and single-cell protein for animal feed.

Published in Nature Water, the sludge-to-food-and-fuel method tackles two pressing global challenges: managing waste and generating sustainable resources. This aligns with NTU’s goal of addressing humanity’s greatest challenges, such as climate change and sustainability.

The United Nations estimates that about 2.5 billion more people will be living in cities by 2050. Along with the growth of cities and industries comes an increase in , which is notoriously difficult to process and dispose of due to its complex structure, composition, and contaminants such as and pathogens.

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Abstract

Agriculture is a sector that plays a crucial role in ensuring food security and sustainable development. However, traditional agriculture practices face challenges such as inefficient irrigation methods and lack of real-time monitoring, leading to water waste and reduced crop yield. Several systems that attempt to address these challenges exist, such as those based on Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G/4G cellular technology; but also encounter difficulties such as low transmission range, high power consumption, etc. To address all these issues, this paper proposes a smart agriculture monitoring and automatic irrigation system based on LoRa. The system utilizes LoRa technology for long-range wireless communication, Blynk platform for real-time data visualization and control, and ThingSpeak platform for data storage, visualization, and further analysis. The system incorporates multiple components, including a sensor node for data collection, a gateway for data transmission, and an actuator node for irrigation control. Experimental results show that the proposed system effectively monitors collected data such as soil moisture levels, visualizes data in real time, and automatically controls irrigation based on sensor data and user commands. The system proposed in this study provides a cost-effective and efficient solution for sustainable agriculture practices.

Smart Agriculture, Internet of Things, LoRa, Power Consumption, Real-Time Monitoring.

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Princeton University and Xiamen University researchers report that in tropical and subtropical oligotrophic waters, ocean acidification reduces primary production, the process of photosynthesis in phytoplankton, where they take in carbon dioxide (CO2), sunlight, and nutrients to produce organic matter (food and energy).

A six-year investigation found that eukaryotic phytoplankton decline under high CO2 conditions, while cyanobacteria remain unaffected. Nutrient availability, particularly nitrogen, influenced this response.

Results indicate that ocean acidification could reduce primary production in oligotrophic tropical and subtropical oceans by approximately 10%, with global implications. When extrapolated to all affected low-chlorophyll ocean regions, this translates to an estimated 5 billion metric tons loss in global oceanic primary production, which is about 10% of the total carbon fixed by the ocean each year.

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Countries worldwide are continuously pursuing green and hygienic technology to generate power from limited natural resources. Power generation from renewable energy sources has reached equality with conventional forms. However, the portability of energy derived from cleaner sources has always been challenging.

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Conventional batteries use elements such as lithium-ion and lead acid, which are toxic, have a serious risk of explosion, and are expensive and harmful to the environment.

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The ultrafast dynamics and interactions of electrons in molecules and solids have long remained hidden from direct observation. For some time now, it has been possible to study these quantum-physical processes—for example, during chemical reactions, the conversion of sunlight into electricity in solar cells and elementary processes in quantum computers—in real time with a temporal resolution of a few femtoseconds (quadrillionths of a second) using two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES).

However, this technique is highly complex. Consequently, it has only been employed by a handful of research groups worldwide to date. Now a German-Italian team led by Prof. Dr. Christoph Lienau from the University of Oldenburg has discovered a way to significantly simplify the experimental implementation of this procedure. “We hope that 2DES will go from being a methodology for experts to a tool that can be widely used,” explains Lienau.

Two doctoral students from Lienau’s Ultrafast Nano-Optics research group, Daniel Timmer and Daniel Lünemann, played a key role in the discovery of the new method. The team has now published a paper in Optica describing the procedure.

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This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG11 Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG12 Responsible Consumption and Production, and SDG 13 Climate Action.

As the global construction industry strives to reduce its environmental footprint, sustainable processes and materials are becoming increasingly vital. Innovation in cement and concrete technologies plays a key role in minimizing resource consumption, lowering carbon emissions, and enhancing long-term resilience. This collection highlights research that advances both sustainable development and application of cement and concrete for the building sector.

Topics of interest include the development of low-carbon cement alternatives, recycling and reuse of concrete materials, 3D concrete printing, and other energy-efficient construction techniques. We welcome contributions from fundamental material research, to applied solutions and large-scale real-world demonstrations.

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Can Tesla REALLY Build Millions of Optimus Bots? ## Tesla is poised to revolutionize robotics and sustainable energy by leveraging its innovative manufacturing capabilities and vertical integration to produce millions of Optimus bots efficiently and cost-effectively ## Questions to inspire discussion ## Manufacturing and Production.

S low model count strategy benefit their production? A: Tesla s speed of innovation and ability to build millions of robots quickly gives them a key advantage in mass producing and scaling manufacturing for humanoid robots like Optimus. + s factory design strategies support rapid production scaling? A: Tesla## Cost and Efficiency.

S vertical integration impact their cost structure? A: Tesla s AI brain in-house, Tesla can avoid paying high margins to external suppliers like Nvidia for the training portion of the brain. +## Technology and Innovation.

S experience in other industries benefit Optimus development? A: Tesla s own supercomputer, Cortex, and AI training cluster are crucial for developing and training the Optimus bot## Quality and Reliability.

S manufacturing experience contribute to Optimus quality? A: Tesla## Market Strategy.

S focus on vehicle appeal relate to Optimus production? A: Tesla## Scaling and Demand.

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