EDITOR'S CHOICE

The Nuclear-Hydrogen Conundrum

02 May 2023 | Synopsis

"The nation's existing nuclear plants already run at more than 90% capacity...Nuclear plants currently earn about $30 per megawatt-hour from energy markets, but Esposito estimates they could earn $60 to $70 per megawatt-hour by producing hydrogen...a world where all of the U.S. nukes pivot to supplying electrolyzers and just print money that way..pulling off 20% of U.S. power, and fossil fuels would be what fill in for that, because we just can't build clean energy fast enough to replace it."

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How Chemists Could Give New Life To Old Wind Turbine Blades

02 May 2023 | Synopsis

"...new work describes a way to recover the main components of wind turbine blades, breaking down the plastic that holds them together without destroying the material's primary building blocks..approach takes aim at chemical bonds that lock the plastic into place and "chews them up."..and liberates those glass fibers...

"One of the possible roadblocks to commercial operation is that the catalyst used in...recycling method relies on an expensive metal called ruthenium."

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Scientists Have Found A Wild New Way to Make Batteries Last Longer and Less Dependent on Lithium

02 May 2023 | Synopsis

"Dutch professor Marnix Wagemaker may have the recipe for a better battery - and it includes five kinds of salt...The sodium cocktail solution inside his prototype has, in limited testing, doubled the lifespan of certain lithium-ion batteries...Since sodium is readily available in seawater, it’s a sustainable way to alleviate the heavily-used metal reserves.

"Adding a diverse group of salts to an already hectic environment of ions and charges results in more chaos - and, ironically - a more stable surface in the battery. The end result is longer battery life."

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Plug Power Charged Up About New Commercial Electric Vehicle Charging Solution

02 May 2023 | Synopsis

Plug Power's "new high-power fuel cell system will be a game changer for the EV industry...Plug's standard 18,000-gallon liquid hydrogen tank combined with its new megawatt-scale PEM fuel cell solution can provide over 60 megawatt hours (MWh) of instantaneous energy - enough to charge more than 600 EVs.

"...significant interest in this new solution from EV fleet owners such as delivery van fleets, rental car companies with battery EVs, and telecom providers with fleets of maintenance vehicles, as well as public charging networks and EV charger manufacturers."

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Swedish Microcar Maker Luvly Wants To Be the IKEA of Tiny Electric Cars

01 May 2023 | Synopsis

"The whole vehicle weighs just 380kg (837 pounds), about a fifth as much as the standard 4,000-pound passenger car..its light weight means that it's tremendously more efficient, with energy consumption on the order of 60Wh/km (96Wh/mi), about two to four times better than 'full-size' electric cars...the Luvly needs a smaller battery to get around, and the standard battery is just 6.4kWh...top speed of 90km/h (55mph)...suitable for quick highway jaunts within a city...

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Volta Expands PredictEV Capabilities That Support the Federal Government's Justice40 Initiative

01 May 2023 | Synopsis

"PredictEV, now offers state and local governments data-driven insight into the travel patterns of disadvantaged community (DAC) residents in the US.

"PredictEV...identify EV charger locations that will maximise convenience and utilisation with more precision. The new feature further ensures infrastructure funds are efficiently and effectively spent...PredictEV has been used by Alabama's Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA)...to develop its Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan [among other government and utility entities].

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The Supreme Court Just Unleashed a Flood of Lawsuits Against Big Oil

01 May 2023 | Synopsis

"...the justices rejected petitions from Chevron, Shell, BP, and other oil companies to move these cases from the state courts where they were filed to federal courts, an arena considered more friendly to the industry...cases in Colorado, Maryland, California, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and more can finally proceed - potentially toward jury trials.

"It’s the industry’s worst nightmare to have to explain their lies in front of a jury."

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The Future of Jobs Is Green: How Climate Change Is Changing Labour Markets

01 May 2023 | Synopsis

"New LinkedIn data in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report shows that hiring for green roles consistently outpaced the overall hiring rate globally four years in a row.

"...global demand for green skills has risen by 40% since 2015, only 13% of the labour workforce actually possess the skills that organisations need and want...India, the US and Germany are some of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, these countries are also seeing some of the fastest growth in green skills in carbon intensive industries."

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Japan's Grand Plan to Power Into the EV Fast Lane

01 May 2023 | Synopsis

"Japanese companies have famously lagged in the electric vehicle (EV) industry but plans to accelerate vehicle assembly and battery, motor and electronic component production could quickly put them in the race.

"Toyota and Honda must convert their large global franchises and popularity with consumers into meaningful shares of the EV market....there is no reason why either shouldn’t be able to get up to EV speed."

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How Many Kilometers Can You Do With An Electric Car For 100 Euros

30 Apr 2023 | Synopsis

"The first thing is to divide the 100 euros between the price of electricity, which will give rise to the amount of kWh that can be paid with the amount...Using our specific example, €100 divided by €0.16531/kWh results in 604.92 kWh of energy...We now divide that figure between the vehicle’s consumption, in our case 20 kWh/100 km, and the result is that you can travel 3,024 kilometres."

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