Lifeboat Foundation

In an effort to bring clean, renewable energy to some of the world’s more remote islands — many of which are powered by old diesel generators — a pan-European consortium of seven companies has designed a device capable of turning seawater into electricity.

The Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, or OTEC, technology consists of three main parts that are being built all over the world: a cold-water riser pipe, which is being fabricated in Austria, a cylindrical hull, which is being built in the Canary Islands (a Spanish autonomous community, where the OTEC will be assembled and tested), and a gimbal connection point.

Continue reading “Consortium of companies design oceanic energy-creation technology that can bring power to remote islands: ‘The perfect opportunity’” »

A Tesla engineer has given a rare update on the Tesla Semi electric truck program amid new EPA rules that should give it a boost.

Tesla Semi is currently only in low-volume production at a facility outside Gigafactory Nevada.

In January 2023, Tesla announced a massive expansion of Gigafactory Nevada to add production of Tesla Semi trucks and 4,680 battery cells and to finally expand the factory to its originally planned size.

In an era where the quest for sustainable energy sources has become paramount, researchers are tirelessly exploring innovative avenues to enhance fuel production processes. One of the most important tools in converting chemical energy into electrical energy and vice versa is electrocatalysis, which is already used in various green-energy technologies.

Scientists have developed a sustainable method to make high-performance plastics from agricultural leftovers, turning them into valuable materials.

In our rapidly industrialized world, the quest for sustainable materials has never been more urgent. Plastics, ubiquitous in daily life, pose significant environmental challenges, primarily due to their fossil fuel origins and problematic disposal.

Now, a study led by Jeremy Luterbacher’s team at EPFL unveils a pioneering approach to producing high-performance plastics from renewable resources.

Fusion energy has long been hailed as the holy grail because of its potential for limitless amounts of clean energy. But that promise has trailed reality for decades, with billions of dollars in research leading to few breakthroughs. Now there’s optimism that is about to change, partly because of new startups funded by the likes of Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates.

Yahoo Finance went inside the country’s largest magnetic fusion facility for an exclusive look, to explore the challenges of bringing this technology to commercial use for the latest episode of NEXT.

“The race is on to actually see who can develop this and who can get it to the masses the fastest,” said David Callaway, former editor-in-chief of USA Today and founder of Callaway Climate Insights, a news and information service focused on the business of climate change.

Solar energy is vital for sustainable future, but dust and other environmental factors dramatically reduces its energy efficiency.

Japanese carmaker Nissan has announced plans to boost its electric vehicle lineup with an additional 34 models, and is aiming for price parity with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2030.

This week, at a press conference in Atsugi, near Tokyo, Nissan revealed its medium to longer-term business roadmap. The plans, which cover the period from 2024 to 2030, include a dramatic expansion of vehicle electrification, a significant reduction in costs, and a number of technological innovations.

Chinese researchers have allegedly developed a new, powerful Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) using technology found in electric vehicles.

The catapult can launch a 30-tonne projectile from 0 to 230 feet/s (0 to 70 m/s) in around 2.1 seconds.

Continue reading “China’s new EV-based catapult can fire a 30-ton plane in 2.1 seconds” »

We – a team from Rwanda and Germany who work in the field of renewable energy scientific modelling – set out to find the answer by building the Renewable Power Plant Database Africa, the first on the continent. It’s a database of available open access data on hydro, wind and solar energy sources that we’ve analysed.

The database shows that some countries, such as Nigeria and Zimbabwe, have enough projects in the pipeline to potentially transition away from fossil fuels by 2050. And that 76% of all electricity required on the continent could come from renewable resources by 2040. This would happen if the capacity of existing hydro-, solar and wind power plants were fully utilised and if all plants currently on the drawing-board were built.

The 76% from renewables would be met by 82% hydropower, 11% solar power and 7% wind power. Hydropower has been the main renewable energy resource to date, but declining costs for solar photovoltaics (90% decline since 2009) and wind turbines (55%–60% decline since 2010) mean solar and wind have potential to lead sustainable renewable energy options.