Lifeboat Foundation

Nissan has been revealed as the potential savior of Fisker. The Japanese automaker is reportedly talking with Fisker to invest in the company and partner on electric pickup trucks.

Earlier today, we reported on Fisker’s disastrous fourth-quarter results showing that the electric vehicle startup lost $400 million in 2023 and it now has less than $400 million of cash on hands.

The automaker had to admit that it wouldn’t be able to continue operations past next year without a big cash injection.

Until recently, chalcopyrite-based solar cells have achieved a maximum energy conversion efficiency of 23.35%, as reported in 2019 by Solar Frontier, a former Solar Energy company based in Japan. Further boosting this efficiency, however, has so far proved challenging.

Researchers at Uppsala University and at the First Solar European Technology Center AB (former Evolar AB) in Sweden recently attained a higher efficiency of 23.64% in chalcopyrite-based solar cells. This efficiency, reported in Nature Energy, was achieved using two primary techniques, namely high-concentration silver alloying and steep back-contact gallium grading.

“A primary objective of our study was to increase the efficiency of CIGS-based thin-film solar cells to ultimately lower the price per Watt-peak of corresponding large-scale modules,” Jan Keller, first author of the paper, told Phys.org. “Our work makes use of the findings from many research groups around the world, obtained during the last decades.”

A chemical etching method for widening the pores of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) could improve various applications of MOFs, including in fuel cells and as catalysts. Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan and East China Normal University in China developed the new method with collaborators elsewhere in Japan, Australia, and China, and their work was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

MOFs are porous materials composed of metal clusters or ions interconnected by carbon-based (organic) linker groups. Varying the metallic and organic components generates a variety of MOFs suitable for a wide range of applications, including catalysis, chemical separation, and gas storage.

Some MOFs have clear potential for catalyzing the chemical reactions inside fuel cells, which are being explored as the basis of renewable energy systems. Because they don’t use fossil fuels, fuel cells could play a key role in the transition to a low-or zero-emissions economy to combat climate change.

Young urban air mobility (UAM) developer Doroni Aerospace is stepping out of the shadows and into the eVTOL startup with the official reveal of its flagship aircraft – the H1-X. The two-seat eVTOL was showcased during a livestream event today and is damn close to being market-ready, touting some impressive specs.

Doroni Aerospace was founded in 2016 by Doron Merdinger – a lifelong entrepreneur with 25 years of design, manufacturing, and firm management expertise.

To bring his dreams of sustainable aviation transportation to life, Merdinger assembled a team of engineers and technicians working together to democratize flight in a growing eVTOL segment.

Electric vehicles’ price and driving range are probably the two most important factors for most buyers. In today’s post, we will look at the mix of the two parameters—the price per mile of the EPA Combined range.

That may sound complex, but it’s merely a metric that indicates the best value proposition overall, and something that gives us an idea of the “cost” of range. By checking this metric, we can also see whether there is progress over time compared to earlier reports: see February 2022, February 2021 or April 2020. As it turns out, progress is happening on this front, and the cost of the driving range is going down.

Before we jump into details, let’s just explain the basics. There are more than 300 individual EV configurations on sale, including different battery sizes, ranges, powertrain setups, and wheels—all of which directly affect the price and range. We collected numbers for about 300 configurations, that are currently available for order or reservation, some upcoming models, and a few that have been discontinued but may still be found on dealer lots as reference points.

Tesla has made significant strides in improving its supply chain sustainability and human rights practices, as per a new study by environmental group Lead the Charge. This was highlighted by the fact that the electric vehicle giant jumped from ninth to third place in the group’s annual Auto Supply Chain Leaderboard and Report.

Lead the Charge’s Auto Supply Chain Leaderboard and Report analyzes publicly available data from 18 of the industry’s leading automotive manufacturers. The study also provides rankings of automakers’ efforts to eliminate emissions, environmental harms, and human rights violations from their supply chains. In a press release, Lead the Charge noted that its study comes at a crucial time as industry experts are calling for automakers to foster a cleaner supply chain.

Tesla is among the automakers that stood out in Lead the Charge’s study. As per the environmental group, Tesla achieved the largest score increase among its peers in the study, with the company jumping from ninth to third place. Tesla was also the only company to make improvements across all eight of the study’s indicator categories.

Some investors are raising warnings about the amount of money flowing into direct-air-capture companies, given the high costs and limited markets.

There’s a looming problem in the carbon removal space.

Say cheese, get gold.

Many electronic devices, such as smartphones, computers, and televisions, contain small amounts of gold in components like connectors, circuit boards, and integrated circuits, but they are usually considered electronic waste.

Uncover the innovative use of whey protein to extract gold from electronic waste. A sustainable and efficient solution for reducing e-waste.

Continue reading “Scientists extract gold from electronic waste using a cheese byproduct” »

The key revelation from this study is the dual impact of the passivation process.

MIT’s research is set to make solar panels lighter, cheaper, and more efficient by addressing key challenges associated with perovskite solar panels.