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Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 79

Jan 23, 2024

Scientists advance affordable, sustainable solution for flat-panel displays and wearable tech

Posted by in categories: computing, sustainability, wearables

A research team led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed “supramolecular ink,” a new technology for use in OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays or other electronic devices. Made of inexpensive, Earth-abundant elements instead of costly scarce metals, supramolecular ink could enable more affordable and environmentally sustainable flat-panel screens and electronic devices.

“By replacing precious metals with Earth-abundant materials, our ink technology could be a game changer for the OLED industry,” said principal investigator Peidong Yang, a faculty senior scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Materials Sciences Division and professor of chemistry and materials science and engineering at UC Berkeley.

“What’s even more exciting is that the technology could also extend its reach to organic printable films for the fabrication of wearable devices as well as luminescent art and sculpture,” he added.

Jan 23, 2024

Canoo gets real as deliveries of its electric commercial van begin

Posted by in categories: military, sustainability

Walmart-backed EV startup Canoo has announced that deliveries of its all-electric commercial van have officially begun – and the first production Canoo LDV 130 vans are already hard at work.

The first batch of Canoo’s electric vans are reportedly in service now at Kingbee, a national work-ready van rental provider. The company says the delivery of vans to Kingbee is consistent with its previously announced “phased ramp-up manufacturing approach,” and asserts that additional customer deliveries will continue throughout 2024.

Canoo had previously delivered vehicles to NASA, the US military, and the State of Oklahoma (its home state) for testing. The vans delivered to Kingbee, however, seem to be the first that will be accessible to “the public.”

Jan 23, 2024

Electric Car Maintenance: Everything You Need to Know

Posted by in categories: climatology, sustainability

This includes familiar tasks such as rotating the tires, replacing various fluids, and changing out cabin air filters. There are also a number of EV-specific services that drivers of these battery-electric vehicles need to keep on top of.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the United States predicts today’s EV batteries will have service lives between 12 and 15 years if used in moderate climates. This falls to between 8 and 12 years if regular use occurs in extreme environments.

Jan 22, 2024

Lamborghini secures eco-friendly organic lithium-ion batteries for EVs

Posted by in categories: climatology, sustainability

MIT researchers devise new lithium-ion battery material to provide a more sustainable alternative to cobalt-containing batteries for electric cars.


With electric vehicles on the rise in the time of climate change, scientists have been working towards developing more sustainable batteries to prevent excessive waste.

Recently, MIT researchers devised a new lithium-ion battery material that could provide a more sustainable alternative to cobalt-containing batteries for electric cars.

Continue reading “Lamborghini secures eco-friendly organic lithium-ion batteries for EVs” »

Jan 22, 2024

Japan’s historic Moon lander counts on sunlight to overcome battery issues

Posted by in categories: solar power, space, sustainability

Despite this historic feat achieved by the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), challenges persist.

The mission team established immediate communication with the lander post-landing, but concerns arose as the solar cell struggled to generate electricity.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) decided to switch off the Moon lander almost three hours after the historic landing.

Jan 22, 2024

Israel becomes third country to approve sale of lab-grown meat

Posted by in category: sustainability

The global market for cultured meat, currently valued at $2.3 billion, is predicted to experience major growth in the years ahead.


Aleph Farms, an Israeli food technology company founded in 2017, has been granted regulatory approval for ‘Aleph Cuts’, the world’s first cultivated beef steaks to go on commercial sale.

Jan 22, 2024

Cobalt-free batteries could power cars of the future

Posted by in categories: finance, sustainability, transportation

Many electric vehicles are powered by batteries that contain cobalt — a metal that carries high financial, environmental, and social costs.

MIT researchers have now designed a battery material that could offer a more sustainable way to power electric cars. The new lithium-ion battery includes a cathode based on organic materials, instead of cobalt or nickel (another metal often used in lithium-ion batteries).

In a new study, the researchers showed that this material, which could be produced at much lower cost than cobalt-containing batteries, can conduct electricity at similar rates as cobalt batteries. The new battery also has comparable storage capacity and can be charged up faster than cobalt batteries, the researchers report.

Jan 22, 2024

The Green Spark: A Catalyst Transforming Water Into Energy Wealth

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

A stable, reactive, and cost-effective ruthenium catalyst for sustainable hydrogen production through proton exchange membrane water electrolysis.

Sustainable electrolysis for green hydrogen production is challenging, primarily due to the absence of efficient, low-cost, and stable catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in acidic solutions. A team of researchers has now developed a ruthenium catalyst by doping it with zinc, resulting in enhanced stability and reactivity compared to its commercial version. The proposed strategy can revolutionize hydrogen production by paving the way for next generation electrocatalysts that contribute to clean energy technologies.

Electrolysis and Catalyst Challenges.

Jan 21, 2024

Amid controversy, chemical companies bet on plastics pyrolysis

Posted by in categories: chemistry, sustainability

Amid controversy, industry goes all in on plastics pyrolysis.

Chemical companies are fully backing this plastic waste recycling process. To prove their detractors wrong, they will need to make it work.

Jan 21, 2024

How the Mighty Heat Pump Is Helping (but Not Solving) EVs’ Cold Weather Problem

Posted by in categories: climatology, sustainability

But in the past few years, a climate change hero technology has made its way into electric vehicles, one that has improved—but not solved—their cold weather issues: heat pumps. Heat pumps transfer heat from outside the car to help keep passengers warm, and so avoid sucking too much power away from the battery. And yes, heat pumps can still bring warm air into the car even if it’s freezing outside, albeit with mixed success. As counterintuitive as it sounds, there is still a good amount of heat that can be drawn from air that’s, say, 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Today, heat pumps come in many, but not all, new electric vehicles. Teslas have come with a proprietary heat pump tech since 2021. Jaguar’s I-Pace has one built in, as does BMW’s latest i-series cars, Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, Audi’s newest e-Tron, and Kia’s new electrified flagship, the EV9.

“Any electric vehicle that comes out right now and doesn’t have a heat pump is a dinosaur already,” says John Kelly, an automotive technology professor and instructor focusing on hybrid and electric vehicle technology at Weber State University.

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