Menu

Blog

Archive for the ‘sustainability’ category: Page 178

Oct 2, 2022

This 100% solar community endured Hurricane Ian with no loss of power and minimal damage

Posted by in categories: climatology, habitats, internet, solar power, sustainability

The streets in this meticulously planned neighborhood were designed to flood so houses don’t. Native landscaping along roads helps control storm water. Power and internet lines are buried to avoid wind damage. This is all in addition to being built to Florida’s robust building codes.

Some residents, like Grande, installed more solar panels on their roofs and added battery systems as an extra layer of protection from power outages. Many drive electric vehicles, taking full advantage of solar energy in the Sunshine State.

Climate resiliency was built into the fabric of the town with stronger storms in mind.

Oct 2, 2022

This superyacht design features a 100-year-old technology to sail sustainably

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

The tech is called Flettner Rotors.

A multidisciplinary design company called 3deluxe has revealed a new low carbon-emission superyacht concept called FY.01. The company made the superyacht design public on Friday, and it is sure to wow thanks to its eco-credentials, aesthetics, and usage of cutting-edge technology.


Flettner Rotors were developed over 100 years ago and use rotating vertical pipes to transform wind energy into a highly efficient transversal force. The technology relies on an effect referred to as the Magnus force and it has seen a powerful revival over the years due to the availability of new materials that make it more efficient and viable.

Continue reading “This superyacht design features a 100-year-old technology to sail sustainably” »

Oct 1, 2022

New aerogel could produce 70 times more hydrogen than other methods

Posted by in categories: solar power, sustainability

Hydrogen generation using abundant solar energy together with semiconductor photocatalysts holds significant potential to produce clean and sustainable energy carriers.

ETH Zurich researchers have developed a new photocatalyst made from an aerogel that could enable more efficient hydrogen production. The aerogel increases the efficiency of converting light into hydrogen energy, producing up to 70 times more hydrogen than rival methods.

Aerogels are extraordinary materials that have set Guinness World Records more than a dozen times, including the honorary position of becoming one of the world’s lightest solids. Professor Markus Niederberger from the Laboratory for Multifunctional Materials at ETH Zurich has been working with these special materials for some time.

Oct 1, 2022

Researchers have produced vegetables from human hair

Posted by in category: sustainability

The keratin-based substrate is biodegradable, eco-friendly, sustainable, and could revolutionize urban farming.

Scientists at NTU grew crops from discarded clumps of hair. Hair served as the growth medium instead of soil.

The research is crucial to a more sustainable form of urban farming.

Continue reading “Researchers have produced vegetables from human hair” »

Oct 1, 2022

World’s ‘most advanced’ zero-emissions electric passenger ferry plan unveiled

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

The vessel is claimed to fly above the water thanks to its electric propulsion technology.

Targeting the worldwide high-speed ferry industry, a maritime design and technologies company has presented the plan for its new 100 percent electric EF-24 passenger vehicle.

“Our high-speed passenger ferry provides a cost-effective public transport solution that helps address air pollution, congestion, and noise,” said Dr. Iain Percy OBE, Artemis Technologies founder, and CEO.

Continue reading “World’s ‘most advanced’ zero-emissions electric passenger ferry plan unveiled” »

Oct 1, 2022

Musk Reveals New Cybertruck Features That Will Amaze EV Buyers

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Tesla is expected to start production of its highly anticipated futuristic truck in 2023.

Oct 1, 2022

Tata Motors launches $10,000 electric car

Posted by in categories: sustainability, transportation

Tata Motors, an India-based automaker, has launched a new small hatchback all-electric vehicle starting at just over $10,000.

The Indian auto market has been lagging behind its peers when it comes to electrification.

This is due to many factors, but not the least of which is the fact that the country has strong protectionist laws when it comes to its auto industry and it makes it hard for foreign automakers to launch new vehicles in the country without producing them there.

Sep 30, 2022

The Cybertruck will also be a boat, says Elon Musk

Posted by in categories: Elon Musk, sustainability, transportation

He made the announcement as usual over Twitter.

Over the years, we have watched with excitement as Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed more and more details about the Cybertruck. On Thursday, he took to Twitter to share one more feature of the truck: it will be waterproof enough to briefly serve as a boat.


Tesla.

Continue reading “The Cybertruck will also be a boat, says Elon Musk” »

Sep 30, 2022

Chemists suggest using polymeric ionic liquids in supercapacitors

Posted by in categories: chemistry, physics, solar power, sustainability

A team of researchers from HSE MIEM joined colleagues from the Institute of Non-Classical Chemistry in Leipzig to develop a theoretical model of a polymeric ionic liquid on a charged conductive electrode. They used approaches from polymer physics and theoretical electrochemistry to demonstrate the difference in the behavior of electrical differential capacitance of polymeric and ordinary ionic liquids for the first time. The results of the study were published in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics.

Polymerized ionic liquids (PIL) are a relatively new class of materials with increasing applications in various fields, from the development of new electrolytes to the creation of solar cells. Unlike ordinary room temperature ionic liquids (liquid organic salts in which cations and anions move freely), in PILs, cations are usually linked in long polymeric chains, while anions move freely. In recent years, PILs have been used (along with ordinary ionic liquids) as a filling in the production of supercapacitors.

Supercapacitors are devices that store energy in an electric double layer on the surface of an electrode (as in electrodes of platinum, gold and carbon, for example). Compared, for example, to an accumulator, supercapacitors accumulate more energy and do so faster. The amount of energy a is able to accumulate is known as its ‘’.

Sep 29, 2022

Watch the world’s first hydrofoiling ground effect vehicle take off

Posted by in categories: energy, sustainability, transportation

Regent has released video of its remarkable Seaglider prototype in flight testing. The first machine to combine the efficiency advantages of ground effect and hydrofoiling in a single design, it promises revolutionary speed and range in coastal areas.

Wing-in-ground effect (WIG) aircraft such as the Soviet-era Ekranoplan have shown promise in the past, but they’re yet to take off, so to speak, as a mainstream form of transport. These low-flying birds ride on a cushion of air between their wings and the surface, which gives them a significant lift and efficiency boost over regular planes flying higher in the air – as long as they stay within their own wingspan of the surface beneath. This extreme altitude restriction means that while ground-effect aircraft could fly over land, it’s too dangerous for regular operations, and they typically stay over water.

Continue reading “Watch the world’s first hydrofoiling ground effect vehicle take off” »