Lifeboat Foundation

To produce a cost-effective redox flow battery, researchers based at the South China University of Technology have synthesized a molecular compound that serves as a low-cost electrolyte, enabling a stable flow battery that retains 99.98% capacity per cycle. They published their approach on August 14 in the Energy Material Advances.

Comprising two tanks of opposing liquid electrolytes, the battery pumps the positive and negative liquids along a membrane separator sandwiched between electrodes, facilitating ion exchanges to produce energy. Significant work has been dedicated to developing the negative electrolyte liquid, while the positive electrolyte liquid has received less attention, according to corresponding author Zhenxing Liang, professor in the Key Laboratory of Fuel Cell Technology of Guangdong Province, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, South China University of Technology.

“Aqueous redox flow batteries can realize the stable electrical output for using unsteady solar and wind energy, and they have been recognized as a promising large-scale energy storage technology,” Liang said. “Electroactive organic merit of element abundance, low cost and flexible molecular control over the electrochemical features for both positive and negative electrolytes are regarded as key to developing next-generation redox flow batteries.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=DSvDf9zUYQI

Tesla rival Rivian stock price was valued at over $100 billion after it was publicized at the world’s largest IPO in 2021.

The Rivian stock price was valued at over $100 billion after it was publicized at the world’s largest IPO in 2021. With this, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has given some warning that Rivian may face.

Continue reading “Rivian Stock Price Prediction: Elon Musk Reveals ‘True Test’ for New Tesla Competitor” »

Green energy company Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) is collaborating with MMA Offshore to convert a 75-meter (246-feet) vessel, the “MMA Leveque”, so that it can run almost entirely on green ammonia by 2022, a press statement from FFI explains.

In the same statement, the company reveals that its chairman, billionaire Andrew Forrest, called for an industry-wide push for shipping to reach net-zero by 2040 during a keynote for ‘Transport Day’ at the COP26 conference in Glasgow this week, a United Nations summit aimed at accelerating action on climate change.

The MMA Leveque is one of several Fortescue Metal Group’s vessels and vehicles that will be transformed to operate on green fuels, as the company also says it is gradually working on converting its fleet of trucks, locomotives, and ships. Earlier this year, FFI successfully demonstrated the combustion of a blended ammonia fuel in a locomotive, and it says it will soon be able to power trains on one hundred percent green ammonia.

According to real patent-based renders.

With Apple remaining tight-lipped on the Apple Car, another company decided to bring us the closest thing to an official reveal. Vanarama, a car-lease broker based in the U.K., has developed an incredibly detailed series of renderings of the Apple Car based on real Apple patents, a report from Digital Trends reveals.

The rumor mill surrounding the Apple Car has been going for several years now, though speculation reached new levels last year when reports emerged that the tech giant could produce its own electric vehicle (EV) by 2024. Earlier this year, the announcement of a partnership between EV automaker Fisker and iPhone manufacturer Foxconn added fuel to the fire.

Northvolt announced that it has produced what it claims is the first battery cell with a cathode built “100% from recycled nickel, manganese, and cobalt.”

Northvolt is a battery startup founded by two former Tesla executives who worked on Tesla’s first Gigafactory in Nevada with Panasonic.

The Swedish startup received investments from several companies, including Volkswagen, to build a massive battery factory in Sweden.

Cobalt has been getting a lot of attention lately because it is one of the most expensive materials found in lithium-ion batteries, which power everything from laptops and cell phones to electric vehicles. Cobalt extraction is largely concentrated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it is linked to human rights abuses and child labor, while cobalt refinement is almost exclusively done in China, making cobalt part of a tenuous supply chain. These are some of the reasons why battery manufacturers like Samsung and Panasonic and car makers like Tesla and VW, along with a number of startups are working to eliminate cobalt from lithium-ion batteries completely.

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Continue reading “How Removing Cobalt From Batteries Can Make EVs Cheaper” »

South Korean transportation giant Hyundai has announced the creation of an advanced air mobility (AAM) company, Supernal LLC. The company will pursue the development of next-generation passenger electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, and aims to conduct its first commercial flight in 2028.

“We’re developing a commercially viable Advanced Air Mobility product from the start, designing and manufacturing our vehicle to the highest safety, noise, efficiency, and affordability standards,” said Ben Diachun, Supernal’s chief technology officer. “Our growing team, which includes veterans of aerospace, automotive, and other deep-tech industries, is engineering sustainable vehicles that have the potential to evolve how we live, work, and play.”

The rise in insect farming means questions about insect sentience and slaughter are no longer just philosophical: The well-being of trillions of creatures is at stake.

What is the life of a cricket worth?

Insect farming is a rapidly growing industry, with hundreds of companies worldwide rearing insects at industrial scales. The global value of insect farming is expected to surpass US$1.18 billion by 2023.

Continue reading “More people are eating bugs — but is it ethical to farm insects for food?” »

The same goes for the broader economy. Lower subsidies, higher taxes and pricier labour have eroded some of Saudi Arabia’s traditional selling points for firms. It is unclear what will replace them.

Until the government banned the practice, residents of Abha would chop down juniper trees for firewood, to stave off the winter chill. As part of the regional tourism project, developers plan to plant 1m trees to reforest the mountains. It will be a long time before visitors can appreciate them: they grow just 5cm a year in the region’s dry climate, says Turki al-Bishri, a local guide. For all the talk of rapid change, the slow-growing juniper may offer a better glimpse of Saudi Arabia’s economic future. ■

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “No tourist Mecca”.