The U.S. used to be a global leader in lithium production, but now has fallen way behind. Several domestic projects are in the works, but will it be enough?
Lithium-sulfur batteries have three times the potential charge capacity of lithium-ion batteries, which are found in everything from smartphones to electric cars. Their inherent instability, however, have so far made them unsuitable for commercial applications, with lithium-sulfur batteries undergoing a 78 per cent change in size every charging cycle.
Overcoming this issue would not only radically improve the performance of battery-powered devices, it would also address some of the environment concerns that come with lithium-ion batteries, such as the sourcing and disposal of rare raw materials.
A quasiparticle that forms in semiconductors can now be moved around at room temperature, a University of Michigan-led study has shown. The finding could cool down computers, enabling faster speeds and higher efficiencies, and potentially make LEDs and solar panels more efficient.
Today’s electronic devices rely on electrons to move both energy and information around, but about half of that energy is wasted as heat due to electrical resistance. Excitons, which escape traditional electrical losses, are one potential alternative.
“If you think of the past almost two decades, the computers have always been at two to three gigahertz—they never increase the speed. And that’s the reason. It just gets too hot,” said Parag Deotare, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science and corresponding author of the study.
Located near Austin, Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas is expected to start producing Model Ys for customers before the end of this quarter.
With marine debris a growing concern, innovators are getting creative — designing autonomous boats that act as on-the-water trash-eating machines.
The latest development comes from the Danish company RanMarine Technology. They’ve created an aquadrone called WasteShark that sucks up waste from the water much like a Roomba — consuming up to 200 liters of garbage in a single ride.
In order to come up with their design, MAHLE said it used a state-of-the-art simulation process that allowed it to adjust and combine the parameters of different motor designs incrementally in order to settle on the optimal solution. The company says this new method allows it to “quickly create the necessary technical conditions in order to advance e-mobility in a sustainable manner worldwide.”
Though the new motor design was conceived using the very latest simulation processes, the inception of induction motors dates back to the 19th century when they were invented by Nikola Tesla. A new electric vehicle development, EV-charging roads, similarly builds on the inventor’s early work on alternating currents.
Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk donated more than 5 million Tesla shares in November, days after the U.N. World Food Program outlined a plan to potentially use a $6 billion donation from the world’s richest man.
A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission made public Monday showed the donation, but not the recipient. The Tesla TSLA, +4.48% shares were transferred in batches between Nov. 19 and Nov. 29, as Musk was also selling Tesla stock in preparation for a large tax bill.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk donated over 5 million TSLA shares to an undisclosed charity, according to a SEC Form 5 filed on Monday, February 14, 2022.
The filing reveals that Elon Musk donated approximately 5,044,000 TSLA shares worth about $4.42 billion, considering that Tesla stock is priced at $875.76 as of this writing. Based on the SEC filing, Elon Musk started donating the stocks on November 19, 2021, a time when over 5 million TSLA shares were worth roughly $5.74 billion.
The transaction code for the stock was filed under “G,” which stands for “Gift of securities by or to the insider” or “Bonafide gift.” Under “Explanation of Responses,” the filing reads: “Represent a bona fide gift of the Issuer’s common stock by the Reporting Person to charity.” The charity Elon Musk donated to was not revealed.
The Dominican Republic is home to the largest solar park in the Caribbean. It was built by F&S Solar. The company based in Euskirchen, Germany, has relied exclusively on Lapp for many years.
