Europe’s use of coal has been going up, not down, but it’s not all bad news. The trend looks to be short-lived as mammoth wind farms and the DESERTEC international solar project come on line, and now a new EU research consortium based at the University of Aberdeen is looking … [continued]
Now, here’s a first. Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company and Nissan Motor Co. are pushing ahead with an unusual three-way agreement to develop affordable fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs)for the mass market on three continents. Actually, it’s even more expansive than that since Renault is also included under the Nissan-Renault … [continued]
Mazda plans to show off its new Mazda6 “clean diesel” sedan at the Daytona International Speedway’s Rolex 24 endurance race next week, where it will run three high-performance racing versions of the car on renewable, synthetic diesel produced by the company Dynamic Fuels. Since one partner in Dynamic Fuels is … [continued]
The rise of fuel efficient cars has been getting a lot of press lately, and the U.S. Army is not getting left behind in the dust. The Army is on track to decrease fossil fuel consumption in its non-tactical vehicles by 17 percent by the year 2020, which beats the original goal of … [continued]
Imagine a fighting force that can scavenge its own fuel as it marches along, and you’re either thinking about the Continental Army’s march to Yorktown or the U.S. Navy not too many years in the future. Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington are working on a process that … [continued]
How’d this one slip past us? Last week, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced the winners of its Reinvent the Toilet Challenge and the top prize went to a souped up, solar-powered model that produces hydrogen and fertilizer. If you’re thinking this sounds like another pricey high-tech green gadget for … [continued]
The Department of Defense is a major funder behind a new biomimicry-based approach to lighting which harnesses the power of fireflies to create an energy efficient glow. How important could bug-powered light become? Well, as one indicator, the grant came through the U.S. government’s most prestigious channel for supporting … [continued]
Titanium dioxide, better known as a key ingredient in white paint, is beginning to carve out an all-purpose spot for itself in the field of air pollution control. While not yet up to the ShamWow standard for range of applicability, this common substance could be on the verge of playing … [continued]
Researchers from the University of Basel in Switzerland are developing low cost solar cells made with zinc, a cheap and abundant material. Zinc is an uninteresting gray in its natural state, but the team has figured out a way to use it for creating colorful dyes, which could lead to … [continued]
The Department of Defense has just launched a new robot design competition called the Robotics Challenge, setting a $2 million cash prize to sweeten the pot with the aim of developing a humanoid robot for emergency response. The ostensible inspiration has been recent environmental mega-disasters like the Fukushima nuclear meltdown, … [continued]
