Baking bread and roasting peanuts with solar energy in Africa
Solar energy is the backbone of the clean energy future, and it mostly comes through solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays, which produce electricity for homes and businesses. However, in the developing world solar PV is more often still an expensive solution. Solar energy can also directly produce heat Read More...
Japanese engineers plan to introduce flying car at 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Haven’t you thought about it when you were stuck in an endless traffic jam: The flying car. That dream is fast becoming a reality. AeroMobil, a Slovakian company, which unveiled a prototype in 2014, while Terrafugia in the U.S. is aiming to complete its TF-X flying vehicle by 2018. Read More...
No more batteries: Electric cars charged wirelessly by the roads they drive on
Electric cars are the solution for air pollution in cities. But they need batteries that, so far, limit their radius and they are heavy and expensive. But what if the street provides electricity for the car to run? We are familiar with street cars or trams that are powered by cables. The next step Read More...
Biodegradable plastic that solves the methane problem
While we’re exceptionally thorough in making sure our plastic waste fills every corner of the earth, we’re simultaneously shockingly effective in allowing methane gas to burn away the ozone layer. It’s impressive really. But perhaps more impressive is how Mango Materials is tackling both our Read More...
The electric car you can charge next to your phone
Li Xiang was earning 10 times more than his parents from part-time jobs when he left school in 1999 to focus on a website before starting Autohome Inc., China’s premier car-buying portal. Now, he plans to not just sell vehicles, but design and build them too. QuickTake Cleaner Cars Chehejia, Read More...
7 ways to recharge while staying productive
You know what is worse than a bad idea? A good idea with an overwhelmed or stressed founder. There are countless ways in which you can crumble a company, but there is only one way you can guarantee failure: being overworked, overtired and overstressed. When starting my second company*, I was so Read More...
The smart tech startup helping restaurants cut food waste by 25%
Closing time approaches, waiting staff collect plates littered with leftovers and chefs sweep up spoiled ingredients. This routine, repeated in restaurants across the developed world, means $80bn (£56bn) of food is wasted annually. London-based startup Winnow is tackling the problem with its smart Read More...
Ikea vows to be net exporter of renewable energy by 2020
As December’s landmark climate change summit in Paris (COP21) approached, Ikea made a number of major announcements. It pledged to invest €600m (£471m) in renewable energy projects – in addition to an earlier €1.5bn (£1.2bn) cash injection – and a further Read More...
San Francisco nabs significant federal funding for hydrogen and fuel cell efforts
San Francisco’s embrace of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies for local transportation just got a big boost from the federal government. The Energy Department’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) will direct nearly $4.5 million in funding for San Read More...
Global renewable energy employment rose 5% in 2015
More clean energy also brings more jobs. A boom in solar and wind power jobs in the U.S. led the way to a global increase in renewable energy employment to more than 8 million people in 2015, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena). In 2015 almost 800,000 Read More...