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Energy & the Environment

22nd April 2025

Laser-cooled chips could transform data centre efficiency

A new laser-based photonic cooling system could reduce the energy needed for cooling in data centres, while improving the performance of computer chips.

31st March 2025

Climate feedback loops could push warming to 7°C by 2200

Even under moderate emissions, global warming could reach up to 7°C by 2200, due to underestimated climate and carbon cycle feedbacks.

12th March 2025

Microplastics threaten global food security

Without action to reduce plastic pollution, as many as 400 million people could be at risk of hunger within two decades, according to a new study.

20th February 2025

New world record for nuclear fusion

The WEST tokamak in France has maintained plasma for 1,337 seconds, a new world record duration for nuclear fusion and 25% longer than a similar effort by China last month.

19th February 2025

U.S. insurance premiums to soar over next 30 years

Due to climate-related risks, the United States could see a nearly $1.5 trillion reduction in unadjusted real estate value over the next 30 years, with insurance premiums rising by up to 322% above current levels by 2055.

15th December 2024

Huge cache of rare Earth elements found in U.S.

Coal ash from power plants across the U.S. may contain up to 11 million tons of rare-earth elements – nearly eight times the amount the U.S. has in domestic reserves.

5th December 2024

Automated inspection of offshore wind farms

A new underwater robot could revolutionise how offshore wind farms are maintained.

27th November 2024

China likely to reach peak coal by 2025

Optimism is rising about China's ability to peak its emissions from coal power, with a majority of surveyed experts now believing this goal can be achieved by 2025.

23rd November 2024

Climate change has made Atlantic hurricanes stronger

A new study concludes that hurricane wind speeds in the Atlantic have increased by an average of 18 mph (29 km/h) as a result of climate change.

3rd November 2024

New material boosts CO2 capture efficiency

A breakthrough material with a highly resilient, porous structure could accelerate efforts to achieve negative emissions.

24th October 2024

Solid-state batteries edge closer to reality

A breakthrough in solid-state battery design could eliminate key barriers to electric vehicle performance, making future EVs safer, more efficient, and longer-lasting.

3rd October 2024

Climate study forecasts Antarctic ice trends to 2300

Scientists have published the first ever multi-century, multi-model forecast of Antarctic ice sheet loss derived from global climate simulations, indicating that the West Antarctic ice sheet has potential to undergo a near-total collapse by 2300.

8th August 2024

400-year temperature record shows Great Barrier Reef is facing catastrophic damage

Scientists in Australia have published a new, 400-year temperature reconstruction for the Coral Sea, showing that recent ocean heating has led to mass bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef.

3rd August 2024

Copper mine is now fully autonomous

Australian mining company BHP has announced that Spence, one of the world's largest copper mines, has achieved 100% autonomy for the last three months without any safety incidents.

15th July 2024

First extinction in the United States due to sea level rise

The Key Largo tree cactus has been declared locally extinct in Florida, the first extinction event in the United States caused by sea level rise.

24th June 2024

One of world's rarest cats is no longer endangered

The conservation status of the Iberian lynx, until recently the world's rarest cat, has been upgraded from endangered to vulnerable, after a surge in their numbers.

10th June 2024

Futuristic battery concepts revealed

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), in partnership with Energy Vault, has unveiled a series of energy storage concepts, including structures that could reach up to a kilometre in height.

5th June 2024

Largest ever solar farm opens in China

A gigantic new solar farm, the first to reach 5 gigawatts (GW), has been connected to the grid in Xinjiang, China. The desert megaproject covers a land area of 200,000 acres.

18th May 2024

Heat from solar energy could decarbonise heavy industry

Solar energy has been combined with synthetic quartz to generate temperatures of more than 1,000°C. This proof-of-concept method shows the potential of clean energy to replace fossil fuels in heavy manufacturing.

13th May 2024

Record-high growth in atmospheric CO2

A record annual increase in Earth's atmospheric CO2 is reported, with a jump of 4.7 parts per million (ppm) compared to a year earlier.

6th May 2024

Lab-grown meat banned in Florida

Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis has signed SB 1084 into law, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and distribution of cultivated meat in the state.

31st March 2024

Nissan plans 30% cheaper EVs by 2030

Japanese carmaker Nissan has announced plans to boost its electric vehicle lineup with an additional 34 models, and is aiming for price parity with internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2030.

20th March 2024

New U.S. vehicle emission standards for 2027–2032

The Biden administration has today announced new vehicle emission standards for 2027–2032, as it pushes for wider adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles.

19th March 2024

Renewable power saw unprecedented growth in 2023

Renewables accounted for 87% of new power capacity installed worldwide last year. Despite this record amount of growth, the energy transition remains "off track", according to a report published today.

4th March 2024

New carbon capture plant will boost capacity by an order of magnitude

A direct air capture facility known as "Mammoth" will remove up to 36,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year – nearly 10 times the capacity of its predecessor. The company involved is aiming for gigatons per year by 2050.

15th February 2024

New cells may cut lab-grown meat costs

A breakthrough in cultured meat has been reported at Tufts University, Massachusetts. Bovine muscle cells can now be made to produce their own growth signals, removing the costly ingredients from the production process.

9th February 2024

New record for nuclear fusion power: 69 MJ

Researchers have successfully generated 69 megajoules (MJ) of energy using the Joint European Torus (JET) – the largest amount ever in a fusion experiment and a new world record.

27th January 2024

World's first cultured eel

Israeli startup Forsea Foods is on a mission to save wild eel populations from extinction by developing cell-cultured seafood.

20th January 2024

Israel becomes third country to approve sale of lab-grown meat

Aleph Farms, an Israeli food technology company, has been granted regulatory approval for "Aleph Cuts", the world's first cultivated beef steaks to be commercially saleable.

1st December 2023

Transatlantic jet uses 100% sustainable fuel

Virgin Atlantic has conducted the first ever transatlantic flight by a large plane using 100% sustainable aviation fuel.

24th November 2023

America's first commercial Direct Air Capture (DAC) facility is unveiled

A new direct air capture (DAC) facility developed by California-based startup Heirloom uses limestone rocks to pull already-emitted CO2 from Earth's atmosphere.

18th November 2023

New record solar cell efficiency

A new record high efficiency of 33.9% is reported for a silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell.

10th November 2023

Carbon budget for 1.5°C will be exhausted by 2029

The world has even less time to shift away from fossil fuels than previously thought, according to a new analysis of global CO2 emissions.

20th October 2023

UK food shortages may trigger civil unrest

A study by the University of York predicts civil unrest in the UK in the coming decades, due to food shortages caused by extreme weather and a range of other factors.

29th September 2023

Supercontinent predicted to make Earth uninhabitable in 250m years

A study on Pangaea Ultima finds that the hypothetical supercontinent will make Earth uninhabitable for most forms of life in 250 million years, due to extreme temperatures.

27th September 2023

Genetically modified bacteria break down plastics in saltwater

A genetically engineered marine microorganism is shown to break down PET in saltwater. This plastic, used in everything from water bottles to clothing, is a significant contributor to microplastic pollution in oceans.

25th September 2023

Palm oil alternative is better for health and environment

A new palm oil substitute called PALM-ALT is shown to be healthier, as well as 70% better for the environment than conventional palm oil and is described as "the holy grail to replace it."

23rd September 2023

Extinction risk for largest flower

The iconic genus Rafflesia, which includes the world's largest flower, is reportedly at risk of extinction due to habitat loss.

19th September 2023

Lithium deposit in U.S. volcano could be world's largest

Geologists report the discovery of what may be the largest known deposit of lithium, located in the crater of a dormant volcano along the Nevada–Oregon border, and estimated to contain up to 40 million tonnes of the metal.

31st August 2023

Huge new offshore wind project approved in U.S.

The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced its approval of the Revolution Wind project. Located off the coast of Rhode Island, it will supply 704 megawatts (MW) of clean energy, more than 16 times the current offshore wind capacity of the United States.

21st August 2023

Wind-powered cargo ship sets sail

New, ground-breaking wind technology has the potential to decarbonise large cargo vessels, which are currently responsible for about 2% of global emissions.

16th August 2023

Megaton-scale direct air capture (DAC) projects announced in U.S.

Two gigantic new DAC facilities are being developed in the U.S., which together could remove millions of metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere each year. These projects are the largest ever investment in engineered carbon removal.

17th July 2023

Gene-edited trees are more sustainable and can boost fibre production

Scientists have used CRISPR gene editing to reduce the lignin content in poplar trees by as much as 50%, offering a potentially more sustainable and efficient method of fibre production.

13th June 2023

First ever beaming of orbital solar power

The California Institute of Technology reports the first successful beaming of solar energy from space down to a receiver on the ground.

12th June 2023

World's first "battery tanker" to debut in 2026

Japanese company PowerX has unveiled the detailed design of the first-ever "Battery Tanker" at the Bariship International Maritime Exhibition.

7th June 2023

New record solar cell efficiency

A new record high efficiency of 19.3% for organic solar cells is reported by Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

11th May 2023

Helion aims for commercial fusion by 2028

Helion Energy has announced that Microsoft will become its first customer, in a deal that aims to supply 50 MW of fusion power by 2028.

26th April 2023

World's first cultivated grouper fillet

An Israeli company has successfully 3D printed the first ready-to-cook cultivated grouper fish product.

19th April 2023

"Condensed battery" could power aircraft

Chinese technology company CATL has today launched a new "condensed battery" with up to 500 Wh/kg. This ultra-high energy density could enable the electrification of passenger aircraft.

17th April 2023

Apple will use 100% recycled cobalt in batteries by 2025

Apple has announced a major acceleration of its work to expand recycled materials across its products, including a new 2025 target to use 100% recycled cobalt in all Apple-designed batteries.

5th April 2023

Antarctic ocean heading for "collapse" by 2050

A study of the deep ocean currents around Antarctica finds they could slow by 40% by 2050, with significant implications for the global climate.

13th March 2023

Huge new oil project approved in Alaska

In a major setback for the environment, Joe Biden today approved the controversial Willow Project. This has the potential to erase all of his planned emission reductions from renewables between now and 2030.

6th March 2023

Channelling of ions can boost solar cell efficiency

The channelling of ions into defined pathways in perovskite materials is shown to improve the stability and operational performance of perovskite solar cells. A research team claims this could boost their efficiency from 25% to 40%.

5th March 2023

Global agreement to protect oceans by 2030

UN member states have agreed on a legal framework for the High Seas Treaty, which aims to protect 30% of the world's oceans by 2030.

17th February 2023

First cultivated beef tenderloin steak

A Swiss company has perfected a new technique that allows the cultivation of thick tender steaks.

13th February 2023

Rising seas will flood twice as much land as previously thought

The first 1 to 2 metres of sea level rise will inundate twice as much land as older elevation models suggest, based on improved data from a NASA satellite.

10th February 2023

Breakthrough in recycling of wind turbine blades

A new chemical process developed by Danish company Vestas can ensure that wind turbine blades are recycled at the end of their life, instead of being abandoned or going to landfill sites.

9th February 2023

CO2 from direct air capture stored in concrete

For the first time, direct air capture (DAC) has been combined with permanent storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) in concrete. This technology could be vital to reducing the climate impacts of the world's building stock, which may double by 2060.

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