A new report suggests that Toyota is going to unveil an electric car with a new solid-state battery that enables 10-minute fast-charging capacity next year.
Toyota started working on solid-state batteries back in 2017 with plans to commercialize the batteries inside electric vehicles in the early 2020s.
It’s the two highly problematic trends, that the study relates here, that are important: The comparatively slow, but long-term, continuous human-induced reduction of the global biomass stock vis-à-vis the exponentially growing anthropogenic (human-made) mass,” Krausmann said by email. “Better knowledge about the dynamics and patterns of anthropogenic mass, and how it is linked to service provision and resource flows is key for sustainable development. The big question is how much anthropogenic mass do we need for a good life.
The year 2020 could be the year when human-made mass surpasses the overall weight of biomass — estimated to be roughly 1,100,000,000,000 tons, or 1.1 teratons — a milestone scientists say speaks to the enormous impact that humans have had on the planet.
The analysis was published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature, and was conducted by a group of researchers from Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science.
Tesla seems to have a lot of competition! 😃
Even the Tesla cofounder JB Straubel described the results as “game-changing.”
YesHealth Group and Nordic Harvest have completed the first phase of construction on Europe’s largest vertical farm. It stands 14 levels high in a 7,000 sq. metre facility at Copenhagen Markets, on the outskirts of Denmark’s capital.
A wind turbine shaped like a tree! 😃
This nature-inspired
Credit: New World Wind
wello presented a future vision of mobility at CES 2020 with a solar-powered cross between a bike and an electric car. the réunion-based startup presented its compact tricycle designed specifically for people in urban areas, to help alleviate congestion on the roads by offering an alternative to cars.
Mercedes-Benz announces the next-gen eSprinter electric van that will be built on a new platform with more variants.
It is also coming to North America.
Back in 2018, Mercedes-Benz unveiled its electric eSprinter van and the electric van hit European markets last year.
Serena Corr looks at the science behind batteries, discusses why we are hunting for new ones and investigates what tools we use to pave this pathway to discovery.
Watch the Q&A: https://youtu.be/lZjqiR0czLo.
The hunt is on for the next generation of batteries that will power our electric vehicles and help our transition to a renewables-led future. Serena shows how researchers at the Faraday Institution are developing new chemistries and manufacturing processes to deliver safer, cheaper, and longer-lasting batteries and provide higher power or energy densities for electric vehicles.
Serena Corr is a Chair in Functional Materials and Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield. She works on next-generation battery materials and advanced characterisation techniques for nanomaterials.
This event was generously supported by The Faraday Institution.
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For now, it looks like our best bet for going interstellar is to rely on robotic spacecraft that are optimized for speed.
For countless generations, the idea of traveling to an extrasolar planet has been the stuff of dreams. In the current era of renewed space exploration, interest in interstellar travel has understandably been rekindled. However, beyond the realm of science fiction, interstellar space travel remains a largely theoretical matter.
Between the sheer expense involved, the need for technological developments to happen first, and the nature of spacetime itself, sending people to another star system is something that is not likely to happen for a long time – if ever. But in spite of the challenges, the hope remains.
So will humanity ever go interstellar? Let’s break it down categorically and see how hard it might be. First up, there are the laws of physics, which aren’t too accomodating on this front.
The three-wheeled, two-person vehicle is curvy and lightweight.
Aptera, the company that shuttered in 2011 after failing to secure funding for its three-wheeled electric car, is back with a new solar electric vehicle it claims never needs charging, at least, for most drivers. And it predicts its top model, with a battery of 100 kWh, can get up to 1,000 miles of range.
The new three-wheeled, two-person (or two adults plus pet, as its specs suggest) vehicle has a solar roof array that can provide up to 45 miles of range per day, so if you have that top model and add the charge from the solar panels while it’s parked, then the 1,000 range seems … possible. Although, as Car and Driver points out, the vehicle doesn’t run just on solar power while driving.
“With Aptera’s Never Charge technology, you are driven by the power of the sun. Our built-in solar array keeps your battery pack topped off and anywhere you want to go, you just go,” Aptera co-founder Chris Anthony said in a press release. “Never Charge is built into every Aptera and is designed to harvest enough sunlight to travel over 11,000 miles per year in most regions.”
