EDITOR'S CHOICE

MIT Scientists Hit A Major Fusion Milestone In The Quest For Limitless Energy

06 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"Superconducting magnets discovered by MIT scientists in 2021 are finally ready for fusion reactors...The researchers have now published several papers on the discovery, confirming that the magnets can meet the challenging conditions of a fusion power plant....One major difference with these REBCO magnets is that they require less insulation than other superconductor-based magnets...allowing for greater conductivity."

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Olympian Motors Is Making Minimalist EVs for Drivers Sick of Screens

05 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

Two co-founders "connected in 2019 over a shared belief that traditional automakers were trapped in century-old thinking that was increasingly disconnected from intuitive design and customers' actual needs...Olympian leans into old-school controls: numbered dials for the speedometer, tachometer and battery indicator, plus a single knob for climate control."

"Olympian uses a modular approach that it says reduces tooling, machinery and labor costs by 75-80% and production lead time by 60%..."

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There's A Reason Exxon's CEO Says Its Emissions Are Your Fault

05 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"...the 'dirty secret' behind why the world wasn't on track to zero out carbon emissions was that it was simply too expensive. In doing so, he subtly pinned the blame for the emissions created by burning oil and gas on his company's customers...Exxon would rather focus on the direct emissions that come from oil rigs and power plants...the oil giant used rhetoric to shift the blame for climate change onto average people, their customers..."

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Sikorsky's New Tilt-Wing Hybrid VTOL Aircraft Promises 575-Mile Range

05 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"The new HEX program by the Lockheed Martin subsidiary features three hybrid, autonomous rotorcraft..The goal is to combine high speed with a range in excess of 500 nm (575 miles, 926 km)...feature a 1.2 MW-class turbogenerator. In the meantime, Sikorsky Innovations and GE Aerospace are completing a hybrid-electric power systems testbed with a 600 KW electric motor for hover performance tests."

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Over Half Of EV Drivers Rely On Public Chargers, ChargeLab Survey Finds

05 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

While 86% of EV drivers in the US now have access to a home charger, 59.6% still use public chargers weekly.

The findings come in a new survey of 500 EV drivers by US EV charging software company ChargeLab, which says this underscores the need for continued investment in public charging infrastructure...

"There's no shortage of news coverage on the problems with public charging - but what makes us excited about this survey is it reframes the issue as an opportunity,"

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West Texas Orphan Wells Are Leaking With Unknown Harms

05 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

The Texas Railroad Commission is tasked with plugging wells. But the state regulators say their scope is limited.

"The massive pool of salt water on Wight's ranch is the latest man-made disaster resulting from abandoned oil and water wells across the state...the three-member elected body has fought with groundwater districts and landowners about who is responsible for plugging certain wells...the urgency has increased in recent years as orphaned wells in the Permian Basin began to leak salt water and, in some cases, hazardous liquids."

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We Tried Charging A Rivian And Chevy Bolt With Ford's Tesla Adapter

04 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"...can't you use the Ford adapter to charge a Rivian, or a Chevrolet Bolt, or anything else on the Supercharger network now? The answer, unfortunately, is no.

"...this isn't a hardware issue when it comes to charging - it's a software issue. Until Tesla authenticates more vehicles to work on its network, those won't be allowed to charge there.

"After 2025, just about every new EV in the U.S. and Canada will have native access to Tesla

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How Psychology Can Help People Live More Climate-Friendly Lives - Lessons From Around The World

04 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"New research by an international team of more than 250 scientists studied several environmental interventions and the way people responded to them in 63 countries.

"...team tested the effectiveness of 11 strategies designed to increase climate change awareness and climate action around the globe...Overall, 86% of people surveyed believed that climate change is happening, is a dangerous problem and is largely caused by humans."

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Ampaire's Hybrid-Electric Caravan Runs On SAF

04 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"The Eco Caravan replaces the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan’s Pratt & Whitney PT6 turboprop with Ampaire's AMP-H570 AMP Drive hybrid-electric propulsion unit...The Eco Caravan uses a 550-horsepower compression-ignition engine and electric motor in an integrated parallel hybrid, which means both the engine and motor provide torque to the propeller directly...a hybrid-electric system cuts fuel burn by 50 to 70 percent, and using a fuel that?s carbon neutral or carbon negative."

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Scientists Make Breakthrough In Recycling Lithium Batteries Using Fruit Peels

04 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"...scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, may have led to the most environmentally friendly method of recycling these batteries yet. The new method uses fruit peels to extract precious metals from spent batteries, which can then be reused in new batteries.

"NTU team was able to achieve the same results as industrial recycling processes using just orange peels and citric acid, a weak organic acid found in citrus fruits, with no extreme temperatures required."

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Electric Vehicles Outperformed Diesel In This Winter's Extreme Cold

04 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"In Colorado's West Grand School District, electric school buses didn’t perform as well as their diesel counterparts. They performed better.

"Even though it's true that EV experience reduced range in extreme weather conditions, gas and diesel vehicles do, too. And, in the case of diesel, the vehicles might not start at all in Colorado's bitter winter cold...When it's up to 20 below that's good day, and (the electric school bus) has performed extremely well."

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Tesla Superchargers Cost More For Other EVs, Unless You Buy A Membership

03 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"Tesla is charging owners of other EVs roughly 35% more per kilowatt-hour (kWh), according to rates listed on the company's app.

"At some locations, [Tesla charges a] premium of closer to 37%, while at others it was as low as 23% during off-peak hours

"However, Tesla is also offering a $12.99-per-month membership that grants other EV owners the same pricing that Tesla drivers get."

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