Audi commits to cut water consumption in half by 2035
Automotive World says that it takes 39,000 gallons of water to produce a car, with one of the biggest issues being painting.
Germany
Landmark brain cancer vaccine passes first phase of human trials
New data suggests the experimental vaccine is safe and stimulates a significant immune response that slows tumor progression. A larger Phase 2 trial is currently being planned.
Audi abandons combustion engine development
“We will no longer develop a new combustion engine, but will adapt our existing combustion engines to new emission guidelines.”
Ford Europe will sell only all-electric passenger cars from 2030
Beyond 2026, the company will start phasing out production of plug-in hybrids on the road to going all electric by the end of the decade.
185 German actors come out and call for more LGBTQ representation on screen
The actors published a joint #ActOut manifesto on Friday in the leading German newspaper, Sueddeutsche Zeitung. They have also published it online in several different languages, including English.
VW opens a recycling plant for batteries at the end of their lives
Volkswagen expects this process to yield the raw materials needed for new battery production, such as copper, aluminum, lithium, manganese, cobalt and graphite.
German scientists make paralyzed mice walk again
German researchers have enabled mice paralyzed after spinal cord injuries to walk again, re-establishing a neural link hitherto considered irreparable in mammals.
Germany used more renewables than fossil fuels in 2020 for the first time ever
For the first time in history, a combination of wind, solar, and other renewables overtook Germany’s coal, oil, and gas, for use as the country’s fuel source during 2020.
Meat-loving Germany is quickly becoming vegetarian
Researchers found that those who eat meat without any restrictions, are for the first time a minority in Germany.
Berlin opens giant city-run department store for second-hand goods
While the state-run store is meant to redirect useable goods away from landfill sites, the idea is also to use the stores to “anchor the re-use of used goods in urban society” by functioning as centers to educate and spread tips on re-use.