Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
Toggle light / dark theme

Blog

Category: sustainability – Page 111

Chinese automaker launches world’s first EV with ‘semi-solid-state’ battery

In a promising step towards the evolution of next-generation electric vehicles (EV), Chinese car maker IM Motors has launched a car that features a version of solid-state batteries.

The battery pack, dubbed “Lightyear” by IM, is the primary power source for the company’s flagship L6 Lightyear Max, priced at approximately ¥330,000 (equivalent to US$45,600).

LM is a collaborative venture between SAIC and Alibaba, a Chinese internet conglomerate. The brand debuted with the L7 sedan and the LS7 electric SUV.

Tesla is laying off more than 10% of its workforce, memo shows

Tesla is the latest major company to lay off employees.

The company is eliminating “more than 10%” of staff globally, according to an internal memo sent by Elon Musk on Sunday, which was seen by Business Insider. The layoffs have come shortly after the carmaker posted lackluster delivery numbers.

Musk wrote in the email: “There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done. This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth cycle.”

Scientists develop innovative technique to transform plastic waste into powerful clean fuel: ‘[It] could be produced for free’

Battery–electric vehicles have become ubiquitous as more people have realized how much less pollution they produce than traditional gas-powered cars. But another type of planet-friendly vehicle, the hydrogen car, has yet to catch on, for a few different reasons.

Now, a new technique developed by researchers at Rice University in Texas may provide the key to making hydrogen cars — and hydrogen fuel as a whole — more viable.

Hydrogen is incredibly attractive as an alternative to gas and oil — it is a storable fuel that produces no planet-overheating pollution when used. The problem, however, is that it produces a whole lot of planet-overheating pollution when it is made.

Giant battery to be installed underground as deep as Empire State Building is tall: ‘It’s a massive amount of storage’

A small town in central Utah is set to be the home of a new underground “battery” that will store hydrogen as a clean energy source.

According to The New York Times, developers are creating two caverns as deep as the Empire State Building is tall from a geological salt formation near Delta, Utah. These caverns, which are expected to be complete next year, will be able to store hydrogen gas.

The hydrogen will be produced nearby through a process called electrolysis. This will be done using excess solar and wind power in spring and fall, when demand for energy is low. Then it can be stored until peak energy demand hits in the summer — at that time, it would be burned at a power plant as a blend of hydrogen and natural gas.

Cornell researchers develop lithium EV battery that charges under 5 mins

A research team led by Lynden Archer, professor and dean of Cornell Engineering, has developed a new lithium battery that can charge in as little as five minutes. This could help address anxiety associated with the charging time of electric vehicles (EVs) and increase their adoption.

In their bid to reduce emissions from transportation, countries worldwide are looking to electrify various modes of transport. Road-based transport such as cars, buses, and trucks have led this transformation, aiming to even ban the sale of fossil fuel-powered cars in the next decade.

South Korea to tackle CO2 & saltwater with clever tech

An integrated plant that will remove 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year and create new freshwater from salty seawater is planned in the Daesan Industrial Complex in South Korea. When ready, this will be the world’s first such facility.

As countries work on their promises to go carbon neutral in a few decades, there is a strong push for innovative approaches that capture and utilize carbon. Carbon capture facilities work onsite to help reduce the release of carbon into the atmosphere. In contrast, direct air capture (DAC) technology focuses on removing the released carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

North America just got a new recycled Li-ion battery materials plant

Green Li-ion has launched a commercial-scale plant to process unsorted battery waste, or “black mass,” from used lithium-ion batteries.

Within an existing recycling facility in Atoka, Oklahoma, the plant will produce sustainable, battery-grade cathode precursor, lithium, and anode materials – closing the EV recycling loop with the production done all in one plant.

The current recycling process for spent lithium-ion batteries in North America includes sorting batteries before shredding, which are then processed into black mass and further into sulfates. The material is then exported overseas, most often to China and South Korea, for further processing.

Tesla releases more details on Powerwall 3, confirms cheaper stack coming

Tesla has released more details about Powerwall 3, its new generation home energy storage system, and there’s some more good news.

Electrek first reported that Tesla started Powerwall 3 installations in the US despite having yet to launch the product on its website officially back in September.

As we previously reported, the biggest difference with the Powerwall 3 is a higher power output of 11.5 KW continuous and an integrated solar inverter.

The proton engine Einstein predicted, created for the first time: challenges the laws of the universe and makes cars sustainable

Do you know what they’ve discovered? This is the proton engine that Einstein predicted decades ago and that, for the first time, they’ve managed to materialize. The best part? It challenges even the laws of physics and the universe, and it’s going to decarbonize transportation.

Nuclear fusion has long been a sought-after but elusive goal for science. It involves joining atomic nuclei to release energy, the same process that occurs in the Sun and other stars. In fact, it’s a process similar to what we saw two weeks ago with the plasma engine.

Unlike nuclear fission used in current nuclear power plants—which, remember, we are highly critical of due to its lack of being an eco-friendly or renewable option—fusion offers the promise of a virtually inexhaustible and clean energy source.

NASA, Japan Advance Space Cooperation, Sign Agreement for Lunar Rover

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Japan’s Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Masahito Moriyama have signed an agreement to advance sustainable human exploration of the Moon.

Japan will design, develop, and operate a pressurized rover for crewed and uncrewed exploration on the Moon. NASA will provide the launch and delivery of the rover to the Moon as well as two opportunities for Japanese astronauts to travel to the lunar surface.

Today, President Biden and Prime Minister Kishida also announced, “a shared goal for a Japanese national to be the first non-American astronaut to land on the Moon on a future Artemis mission, assuming important benchmarks are achieved.”