Lifeboat Foundation

Discover how car parks are evolving into solar powerhouses, generating clean energy, reducing costs, and shaping a sustainable future.

Imagine this: a car park with sleek solar panels mounted on jet-black steel supports, harnessing the sun’s energy while providing shade for parked vehicles.

This groundbreaking concept is becoming a reality in car parks across the UK, offering much more than just parking spaces.

Researchers from the UK and China developed a greener battery than the lithium-ion alternative.

The country’s government recently announced a €2 billion fund aimed at tackling its severe drought problem.

Spain hit an impressive renewable energy milestone last week when it was powered solely by renewables for nine hours straight.

Energy generated by solar panels, wind turbines, and hydro energy was able to power mainland Spain from 10 am to 7 pm local time (CEST) on Tuesday, May 16, a report from Spanish newspaper El País reveals.

Competition in the burgeoning electric vehicle market is heating up. Green car enthusiasts are already salivating at the chance to test-drive the Nissan LEAF and the Chevrolet Volt when they hit dealerships late this year. Now, it seems an underdog has stepped out from the shadows to give these big hitters a real run for their money.

At this year’s Detroit Auto Show, Chinese automaker BYD announced plans to break into the North American auto market by selling their all-electric e6 in the United States by the end of the year.

While Chevy and Nissan don’t have much to worry about in the short-term — initial rollout is currently slated for the Southern California market only — BYD has some pretty lofty goals that could spell trouble over the next few years. Specifically, BYD (which stands for “Build Your Dreams”) plans on becoming no less than the world’s largest automaker by 2025.

Electrifying transportation is an essential step towards mitigating climate change. To improve the power, efficiency and safety of electric vehicles, researchers must continue to develop better batteries.

All-solid-state lithium batteries (SSBs), which have a solid electrolyte instead of a liquid, are safer than traditional lithium-ion batteries because they are less flammable and more stable at higher temperatures. They could also have higher energy densities than lithium-ion batteries, allowing for longer lasting batteries in smaller sizes for portable electronics and other applications.

A research team led by Joshua Gallaway of Northeastern University in Boston and scientists at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory recently tested how the composition of thick cathodes affected electrochemical reactions in SSBs. The team used the resources of the Advanced Photon Source (APS), a DOE Office of Science user facility at Argonne. Their discoveries were published in the journal ACS Energy Letters.

Elon Musk is bucking a billionaire trend. He says he doesn’t plan to hand over his companies, which include Tesla, Twitter, and SpaceX, to his kids.

It is fireproof and produces 2,500 fewer tonnes of CO₂ in comparison to traditional buildings.

Singapore is now home to the largest wooden building in Asia. Named after the Greek goddess of Earth, Gaia is a 6-story structure inside the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. Students and the Nanyang Business School faculty will use the 43,500m square-meter facility.

Continue reading “Gaia: Asia’s largest wooden building sets new sustainable standard in Singapore” »

Elon Musk informed the audience via video link at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council event in London: “I will strongly consider England for a future location of a gigafactory.”

Solar panels have long been criticized for their appearance, with some people arguing that the large, opaque panels spoil the look of homes.