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Solar power could be gathered far away in space and transmitted wirelessly down to Earth to wherever it is needed. The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to investigate key technologies needed to make Space-Based Solar Power a working reality through its SOLARIS initiative. Recently in Germany, one of these technologies, wireless power transmission, was demonstrated to an audience of decision-makers from business and government.

The demonstration took place at Airbus’ X-Works Innovation Factory in Munich. Microwave beaming was used to transmit green energy between two points representing ‘Space’ and ‘Earth’ over a distance of 36 meters.

The received power was used to light up a model city and produce green hydrogen by splitting water. It even served to produce the world’s first wirelessly cooled 0% alcohol beer in a fridge before being served to the watching audience.

Drive just North of Scottsdale, Arizona, and you’ll find a loose grid of dirt roads known as the Rio Verde Foothills. It’s home to around 2,000 families drawn to rustic desert beauty and the freedom of living outside the city limits, but the town is about to become a symbol of the West’s growing water crisis.

John Hornewer moved to the area 23 years ago. When he discovered his new community didn’t have water service, he began hauling water for himself, along with some of his neighbors.

“As my neighbor saw me coming up the road with the trailer, they were like, ‘Hey, could you stop and drop off a load for me?’” Hornewer said.

face_with_colon_three circa 2020.


“I believe that water will one day be employed as fuel, that hydrogen and oxygen which constitute it, used singly or together, will furnish an inexhaustible source of heat and light, of an intensity of which coal is not capable.” – Jules Verne, The Mysterious Island (1874).

We have come a long way since science fiction writer Jules Verne wrote this visionary sentence, but hydrogen has still not emerged as a major source of energy. ESA is setting out to change this through the latest Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) call for ideas.

Not only are fossil fuels a limited resource, when burned they also pollute the air with greenhouse gases that warm up our planet. In recent years, we have increased our use of renewable energy – from sunlight, wind and waves, for example – but the machines that generate energy from these sources are made from rare materials that we must dig ever deeper underground to find.

Greenfluidics, a Mexico-based startup, promises newer, greener bio panels that can provide fresh oxygen and considerably bring down your power consumption while also delivering biomass-based fuel to you, New Atlas has reported.

With the world trying to reduce carbon emissions, algae have taken quite the center stage in capturing the carbon dioxide being released. From using algal blooms as large carbon capture sites to even powering electronic devices using algae, researchers are trying to use these green organisms everywhere.

Researchers have developed a standalone device that converts sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into a carbon-neutral fuel, without requiring any additional components or electricity.

The device, developed by a team from the University of Cambridge, is a significant step toward achieving artificial photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis is how plants and some microorganisms use sunlight to synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water.

Commercial deployment could be achieved as early as 2024.

Energy Dome, the Italian company that uses carbon dioxide for long-duration energy storage, has now entered the U.S. energy market, Electrek.

Countries around the world are looking to switch to sources of renewable energy in a bid to reduce their carbon emissions. Recently, the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm went online in Norway and will use the harnessed energy to reduce emissions from its oil and gas production facilities.

The community will offer eight different floor plans, ranging from three to four bedrooms and two to three bathrooms. Homes will be powered by rooftop solar panels, include a Ring Video Doorbell Pro, Schlage Encode Smart WiFi deadbolt, a Honeywell Home T6 Pro WiFi smart thermostat and a Wolf Ranch security package.

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Prices are expected to start from the mid-$400,000s.