Lifeboat Foundation

With new major spending packages investing billions of dollars in electric vehicles in the U.S., some analysts have raised concerns over how green the electric vehicle industry actually is, focusing particularly on indirect emissions caused within the supply chains of the vehicle components and the fuels used to power electricity that charges the vehicles.

But a recent study from the Yale School of the Environment published in Nature Communications found that the total indirect emissions from electric vehicles pale in comparison to the indirect emissions from fossil fuel-powered vehicles. This is in addition to the direct emissions from combusting fossil fuels —either at the tailpipe for conventional vehicles or at the power plant smokestack for electricity generation—showing electric vehicles have a clear advantage emissions-wise over conventional vehicles.

“The surprising element was how much lower the emissions of electric vehicles were,” says postdoctoral associate Stephanie Weber. “The supply chain for combustion vehicles is just so dirty that electric vehicles can’t surpass them, even when you factor in indirect emissions.”

Researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) have recently been exploring a fascinating idea, that of creating humanoid robots that can fly. To efficiently control the movements of flying robots, objects or vehicles, however, researchers require systems that can reliably estimate the intensity of the thrust produced by propellers, which allow them to move through the air.

As thrust forces are difficult to measure directly, they are usually estimated based on data collected by onboard sensors. The team at IIT recently introduced a new framework that can estimate thrust intensities of flying multibody systems that are not equipped with thrust-measuring sensors. This framework, presented in a paper published in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, could ultimately help them to realize their envisioned flying humanoid robot.

Continue reading “Moving toward the first flying humanoid robot” »

This summer Tesla finally decided to jump into the housing market, to provide products for the upcoming homes being built by a home builder called E-home. With the technological advances that Tesla has shown. It will be interesting to see what products Tesla will provide for these homes.

This could be an innovation that might shake at the housing markets and an agreement was made between Tesla and the real estate developer. Tesla would supply Powerwalls electric, Vehicle chargers, and Solar panels to all set E-home Inc, which is a subsidiary of international incorporated.

When interviewed, the corporation stated that the Tesla products will be installed in 20 new single-family homes, which will be at the north park community in porter Texas. Also, E-home is having to build 100 single-family homes by the end of 2021 within Texas.

And it’s a hybrid mix of hydrogen and electric power.

Global mining company Anglo American is experimenting with hydrogen to power the giant mining trucks.

Mining trucks consume 35.3 gallons (134 liters) of diesel per hour with their enormous weight of around 220 metric tonnes and therefore emitting vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Continue reading “A Mining Company Is Using Hydrogen Power in Its Trucks, Cutting CO2 Emissions” »

But could it actually work?

Lighter-than-air spacecraft might one day help explore the clouds of Venus and investigate signs of ancient life on the planet.

Continue reading “Inflatable Planes Could Search for Alien Life in the Clouds of Venus” »

Tesla has launched Free Holiday Supercharging during off-peak hours for the Holiday Season. From December 23 to December 26, Tesla will offer free Supercharging in various locations across the U.S. when charging before 10 AM or after 7 PM.

Tesla will offer the free off-peak Supercharging in eleven states across the U.S.: California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, and Pennsylvania. All four of Tesla’s vehicles will be eligible for the free Supercharging promotion. 75 Supercharging stations will be online for free Supercharging during the off-peak times.

“Avoid the rush this holiday season and charge for free during off-peak hours at Superchargers along select travel routes in the United States,” Tesla wrote on their website. Charging during off-peak hours is usually a less expensive experience, to begin with, because it puts less stress on the grid. However, the Holidays are a high travel time. Despite Tesla’s expansive Supercharger network with over 25,000 locations globally, things will still get pretty congested, especially as AAA estimates that 109.5 million travelers will hit the road to celebrate the Holidays with family this year.

US sanctions have not only made it harder for Chinese aviation companies to buy technology, but they have made financing more difficult too.

Electric-vehicle and battery startups have turned to an elite group of lawyers to ward off regulatory scrutiny while raising capital. Meet them here.

As the electric car revolution ramps up, so does the need for critical minerals used in batteries, such as graphite. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, there will be a global graphite deficit starting in 2022, and demand from the battery sector is expected to rise 30% annually until 2030. The US has no manufacturing plants that can supply automotive-grade graphite at scale. Meanwhile, China controls 84% of the global supply. Electrek spoke with Don Baxter, CEO of Ceylon Graphite, about how graphite is used in EVs, the supply chain issue, and how EV battery manufacturers can successfully source the vital mineral.

Electrek: How is graphite used in battery electric vehicles?

Don Baxter: Processed graphite comprises 95% of the anode (negative electrode) of lithium-ion batteries that power EVs, whereas the cathode (positive electrode) is made up of various materials such as nickel and cobalt.