Lifeboat Foundation

In 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a historic $10 billion zero-emission vehicle package to speed up the state’s transition to greener technologies. It included $407 million for the California State Transportation Agency to invest in clean tech for its bus and rail infrastructure, and that money has already been put to good use.

The Metrolink commuter rail in San Bernardino County will be moving from diesel-powered trains to new zero-emission hybrid ones that use hydrogen starting later this year, as LAist reported. This is only for a nine-mile stretch between San Bernardino and Redlands, but it will serve as a trial run for further expansion.

Continue reading “Major US city unveils record-breaking train that could be the future of transportation — and you can ride it this year” »

They also found that, although the power achieved by the conventional PSO algorithm was approximately 0.15% higher than that attained by the QPSO algorithm under the same conditions, the QPSO was able to beat the conventional PSO in more challenging conditions.

“Specifically, the quantum algorithm generates 3.33% more power in higher temperature tests and 0.89% more power in partial shading tests,” they emphasized. “Additionally, the quantum algorithm displays lower duty cycles, with a reduction of 3.9% in normal operating conditions, 0.162% in high-temperature tests, and 0.54% in partial shading tests.”

Dartmouth researchers have developed a self-powered pump that uses natural light and chemistry to target and remove specific water pollutants, according to a new report in the journal Science (“A molecular anion pump”).

As water enters the pump, a wavelength of light activates a synthetic molecular receptor designed to bond to negatively charged ions, or anions, a class of pollutants linked to metabolic disruptions in plants and animals. A second wavelength deactivates the receptors as water exits the pump and causes them to release the pollutants, trapping them in a non-reactive substrate until they can be safely discarded.

“This is a proof of concept that you can use a synthetic receptor to convert light energy into chemical potential for removing a contaminant from a waste source,” says the study’s senior author, Ivan Aprahamian, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry at Dartmouth.

Researchers engineer atomically thin molybdenum ditelluride layers to create self-powered photodetectors, advancing low-energy infrared imaging technology.

ChatGPT and other AIs consume as much energy as thousands of US households, and demand is only set to rise, but it’s a fraction of other tech.

A major new player has entered the race toward endless energy.

The “super premium” segment here implies a driving range of around 600 miles per charge. In addition, Samsung will be introducing high-nickel NCS products for the premium segment.

Samsung’s oxide solid-state battery technology boasts an energy density of 500 Wh/kg, nearly double the 270 Wh/kg density of mainstream EV batteries.

Continue reading “Samsung’s 20-year-life EV battery runs 600 miles on 9-minute charge” »

The Sun’s next 11-year solar cycle has been detected in internal sound waves, even though the current Cycle 25 is at its solar maximum and won’t end until mid-2025. This peak period increases sunspots, flares, and coronal mass ejections, sending more electromagnetic energy towards Earth.

Even though the Sun is only halfway through its current 11-year solar cycle, the first rumblings of the next one have already been detected in sound waves inside our home star.

This existing cycle is now at its peak, or ‘solar maximum’ — which is when the Sun’s magnetic field flips and its poles swap places — until mid-2025.

Looking like a set of bridge supports that were accidentally installed on a cargo ship, a new wind-driven system by startup CoFlow Jet promises to reduce ship fuel costs by up to 90% using stationary cylinders with no moving parts.

Between rising fuel costs and increasing government mandates requiring shipping companies to go carbon neutral by 2050, there’s a strong push to increase the efficiency of cargo ships while reducing their emissions. One way of doing this is to take a page from the history books and readopt sails to harness the wind.

Continue reading “Cylinder sails promise up to 90% fuel consumption cut for cargo ships” »