This archive covers technology and innovation breakthroughs that improve lives, protect the environment, and expand human possibility. From medical devices to clean energy tools, the stories here focus on what’s working and who’s making it happen.
Coral has declined up to 80% in some areas around Hong Kong such are Double Island and Sai Kung, over the past decade. The new coral tiles will be used in these area to help restore coral population, create new substrate and attract tourism.
The lightweight metal is chemically the same as the mass-produced version used in products like foil, soda cans, bike frames, and car doors. But it’s made using a different industrial process — one that doesn’t result in the direct release of greenhouse gases.
A new alliance of climate research groups called the Climate TRACE Coalition has launched an effort to make real-time carbon emissions tracking a reality. They’re aiming to have it ready for COP26 in November 2021.
The world’s largest liquid air battery is rising on a former industrial site near Manchester, with enough storage to power 200,000 homes for five hours. Developed by Highview Power, the £85m facility will compress surplus renewable electricity into liquid air, then release it weeks later to spin a turbine when demand peaks. About 200 workers are building it, many transitioning from oil and gas careers into clean energy. Unlike pumped hydro, which needs mountains and reservoirs, liquid air storage can be built almost anywhere — making this Manchester project a potential template for grids worldwide that are racing to keep renewable power flowing even when the wind drops and the sun sets.
The encrypted instant messenger Telegram said on Monday it’s ramping up efforts to develop anti-censorship technologies serving users in countries where it is banned or partially blocked, including China and Iran.
The all-electric Cessna Grand Caravan 208B successfully completed its first test flight—and it is being hailed as a significant milestone in disrupting the transportation industry and accelerating the electric aviation revolution.
The WAG12B freight locomotive is powerful, capable of high speed, and all-electric. India is now the sixth country in the world to join the elite club of producing high horsepower locomotives indigenously.
The Text For Humanity switchboard was originally launched in January to combat online negativity and promote the sharing of positive messages between strangers. To date, more than 83,000 messages of positivity have been exchanged across 85 countries.
While the six-junction III-V technology underlying these new cells is likely too costly at this time to be put to use in everyday rooftop applications, the new cell has great potential for application in concentrated solar panel arrays.
“There’s never been a therapy for treatment-resistant depression that’s broken 55% remission rates in open-label testing,” the team says.
