Gridstor, a US-based developer and operator of grid-scale battery storage systems, has kicked off construction of its first project in the Texas ERCOT market.
The developer said last week (17 October) that construction is underway on the Hidden Lakes Reliability Project 220MW/440MWh standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) in Texas’ Galveston County.
In a major jump into the era of eVTOL air taxis and multicopter cargo drones, the US FAA has issued new regulations that introduce the first new aircraft category, called “power-lift” aircraft, since modern helicopters were introduced in the 1940s.
According to the FAA and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a power-lift aircraft is “a heavier-than-air aircraft capable of vertical take-off, vertical landing, and low-speed flight, which depends principally on engine-driven lift devices or engine thrust for the lift during these flight regimes and on non-rotating aerofoils for lift during horizontal flight.”
Essentially, this means aircraft that combine the characteristics of both fixed-wing planes and helicopters. In other words, they can take off, hover, and land like helicopters, yet act like fixed-winged craft in horizontal flight. As of now, these include convertiplanes, tilt-rotors, tilt-wings, rotor-wings, tail-sitters, and VSTOL aircraft like the Harrier and the F-35B Lighting II that use vector thrust, lift jets, or lift fans for vertical flight.
Recent findings indicate that gamma-ray emissions from thunderstorms are far more complex and dynamic than previously understood, thanks to observations of new phenomena like Flickering Gamma-Ray Flashes (FGFs).
These flashes, alongside in-depth studies on tropical thundercloud emissions, suggest that our understanding of atmospheric electricity is evolving. This is supported by extensive fieldwork during the ALOFT campaign, which gathered unprecedented data over the Gulf of Mexico and surrounding areas.
Thunderstorm Gamma-Ray Emissions
A new framework bridges a gap in understanding RNA therapeutics by linking the structure of lipid nanoparticles to immune response. It can help scientists and engineers expand the use of RNA medicines beyond vaccines to other therapeutic applications.
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have advanced the understanding of magnetic skyrmions by developing techniques to image their 3D structures.
These nanoscale objects show promise for revolutionizing microelectronics through enhanced data storage capabilities and reduced energy consumption.
A difficult-to-describe nanoscale structure called the magnetic skyrmion holds potential for creating advanced microelectronic devices, including those with vast data storage capacities and significantly lower power requirements.
Researchers at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Lab have developed a new type of optical memory that stores data by transferring light from rare-earth element atoms embedded in a solid material to nearby quantum defects. They published their study in Physical Review Research.
Deposits of ice in lunar dust and rock (regolith) are more extensive than previously thought, according to a new analysis of data from NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) mission. Ice would be a valuable resource for future lunar expeditions. Water could be used for radiation protection and supporting human explorers, or broken into its hydrogen and oxygen components to make rocket fuel, energy, and breathable air.
Prior studies found signs of ice in the larger permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the lunar South Pole, including areas within Cabeus, Haworth, Shoemaker and Faustini craters. In the new work, “We find that there is widespread evidence of water ice within PSRs outside the South Pole, towards at least 77 degrees south latitude,” said Dr. Timothy P. McClanahan of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of a paper on this research published October 2 in The Planetary Science Journal.
The study further aids lunar mission planners by providing maps and identifying the surface characteristics that show where ice is likely and less likely to be found, with evidence for why that should be. “Our model and analysis show that greatest ice concentrations are expected to occur near the PSRs’ coldest locations below 75 Kelvin (−198°C or −325°F) and near the base of the PSRs’ poleward-facing slopes,” said McClanahan.
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology by conducting leading-edge basic and applied research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science.
The world has set its sights on hydrogen to find workable and environmentally friendly means of transport.
Sweden unveils the first-ever green-fueled engine with Volvo’s innovative D17, leading the way for sustainable transportation solutions globally.
