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Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 199

Feb 3, 2022

NASA’s X-48 Aircraft Test Flights Promise a ‘Green Airliner’ For the Future

Posted by in categories: robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation

Fewer CO2 emissions, more cargo space.

California-based startup Natilus revealed a new unmanned aircraft that it believes will make air cargo more sustainable as well as cost-effective, a report from *NewAtlas* reveals.

The company designed a blended wing body aircraft, similar to NASA’s X-48 “green airliner” concept, which it says allows it to offer “an estimated 60% more cargo volume than traditional aircraft of the same weight while reducing costs and carbon dioxide per pound by 50%.” startup Natilus’ new aircraft promise fewer CO2 emissions and more cargo space.

Feb 3, 2022

Koenigsegg Quark, Terrier Bring Big Power In Small Package To Electric Cars

Posted by in categories: business, particle physics, sustainability, transportation

Koenigsegg has announced new high power, compact motors and powertrains for electric cars.


Christian von Koenigsegg is an inveterate tinkerer who has built a business on his ability to squeeze extraordinary amounts of power out of internal combustion engines. Lately, he has turned his talents to electric motors and drivetrains. On January 31, his company announced two breakthrough products that could transform the world of electric cars.

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Continue reading “Koenigsegg Quark, Terrier Bring Big Power In Small Package To Electric Cars” »

Feb 2, 2022

DaVinci-Style Drone With 600-Year-Old Screw Rotor Design Actually Flies

Posted by in categories: drones, engineering, sustainability

DaVinci penned the aerial screw design in the 1400s, way before air travel was a thing. Now, it’s being put to action with this student-built drone.


Drones aren’t anything new —multi-rotor aircraft are becoming a bigger part of people’s lives every day. From the latest batch of up-and-coming urban air mobility companies to hobby applications, electric aircraft with four or more motors are commonplace, and generally, they use conventional multi-bladed propellers to keep themselves aloft. That’s not what’s going on with this particular drone developed by engineering students at the University of Maryland, though.

Assembled for a student design competition hosted by the Vertical Flight Society, it’s a mixture of old and new. With rotors reminiscent of Leonardo DaVinci’s aerial screw illustrations from the late 1490s, it flies like any other drone would, all while looking extremely bizarre and having interesting flight characteristics.

Continue reading “DaVinci-Style Drone With 600-Year-Old Screw Rotor Design Actually Flies” »

Feb 2, 2022

NASA Hubble Space Telescope Captures Weird Starball 117 Million Light Years Away

Posted by in categories: solar power, space, sustainability

In addition to the beautiful reddish image seen by the telescope, ESA stated that the data gathered from this sort of observation could aid in deciphering riddles surrounding the Universe’s beginning.

About Hubble Space Telescope

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Feb 2, 2022

Michigan finalizing plan to build first-ever wireless charging road for electric cars

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan has finalized a contract to build the country’s first wireless charging road system in Detroit, the state announced Tuesday.

The Michigan Department of Transportation awarded the project to Electreon, an electric vehicle solutions firm that will construct a 1-mile stretch of road open to the public and capable of charging battery-powered cars and trucks in real time.

The road where it will be built hasn’t been selected yet, the state said. It will be located somewhere in Detroit.

Feb 2, 2022

Electreon, Ford Developing In-Road Charging System Near Mobility Tech Hub

Posted by in categories: economics, robotics/AI, sustainability, transportation

Ford Motor Co. is working with Israeli startup Electreon to construct a mile-long road near Detroit’s Michigan Central Terminal that will charge electric vehicles as they travel on it. The pilot program will deploy an inductive in-road charging system in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. “As we aim to lead the future of mobility and electrification by boosting electric vehicle production and lowering consumer costs, a wireless in-road charging system is the next piece to the puzzle for sustainability,” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement. Also supporting the project, which is expected to be operational in 2023, are Next Energy and the Jacobs Engineering Group. Ford purchased the long-abandoned train station and is converting it to be the hub of what it calls its “mobility innovation district,” where software developers and others will focus on making electrified and autonomous transportation more practical.

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Feb 2, 2022

Stelco Enters EV Battery Recycling Market Through Primobius

Posted by in categories: engineering, sustainability, transportation

Stelco, which is a steelmaker producing flat-rolled, cold-rolled, and hot-rolled steel products, has announced that it is entering the electric vehicle battery recycling market through agreements with Primobius GmbH.

The company executed binding licensing and option agreements with Primobius to commercialize Primobius’ EV battery recycling and processing technologies in North America. Under the agreement, Stelco will be able to advance commercial lithium-ion battery feedstock sourcing agreements. It will also allow the company to begin the engineering and approval processes. The agreement enables Primobius the right to acquire between 25% and 50% equity in Stelco’s wholly-owned subsidiary.

The proposed Lake Erie Works refinery will enable Stelco to join the ranks of lithium-ion battery recycling leaders in North America. The integrated shredding and hydrometallurgical refinery will produce up to 18,400 net tons per year of nickel, manganese, and cobalt sulfates, and lithium hydroxide and carbonate. It’s expected to generate up to 40,000 net tons per year of scrap steel that Stelco will recycle into its steelmaking operations.

Feb 2, 2022

Global potential for harvesting drinking water from air using solar energy

Posted by in categories: climatology, mapping, solar power, sustainability

Circa 2021


Mapping of the global potential of atmospheric water harvesting using solar energy shows that it could provide safely managed drinking water for a billion people worldwide based on climate suitability.

Feb 1, 2022

Abandoned Coal Mines Could Be Transformed Into Geothermal Greenhouses

Posted by in categories: food, sustainability

“They’re almost perfect,” she said.

Because the farms are not dependent upon the seasons they can acheive up to 10 crop cycles per year as opposed to 1 to 2 cycles in normal agriculture, producing up to 80 tons of food annually.

Because of this, one indoor acre is equivalent to 4–6 outdoor acres, Riffat says.

Jan 31, 2022

“Game-changing” anode exchange membrane promises cheaper green hydrogen

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability

Electrolysis is a key component of the cost of green hydrogen, and a Korean team says it’s made a huge breakthrough with an anion exchange membrane that’s not only much cheaper than current proton exchange tech, but offers some 20 percent better performance.

Electrolysis is the process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, and when powered by renewable energy, it’s shaping up to be a key step in the production of green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is set to play a substantial role in the race to zero emissions, offering a high energy density that makes it an attractive option in several hard-to-decarbonize activities where batteries just don’t make sense.

Typically, electrolyzers use proton exchange membranes (PEMs), in which an anode and a cathode in an electrolyte material are separated by a membrane designed to allow positively-charged hydrogen ions to pass through as they’re attracted by the cathode. Here they combine with electrons to form hydrogen gas, which is collected, and oxygen is released at the anode.