Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 32m

Designers are creating shoes made entirely from #bacteria-grown materials (PHAs), with no petrochemicals or glue, so they can fully #biodegrade and leave (almost) no footprint 🌱👟

Step forward the ‘fully biodegradable’ shoe that leaves no footprint

Made from organic materials and designed to return harmlessly to the earth, could this be the end of landfill-bound footwear?

www.positive.news

Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 34m

Germany 🇩🇪 is extending the tax exemption for new battery #electric cars until 2035 to give buyers and the auto industry more certainty and push forward the shift toward greener transportation 🚗🔋

Germany Extends EV Tax Exemption to 2035 in Bid to Accelerate Green Transition

**Berlin, Germany** – In a significant move aimed at further accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and reinforcing its commitment to climate goals, Germany has announced plans to extend...

chronicleai.org

Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 40m

Engineers are developing #solar-powered and #weak-grid-tolerant #refrigerators backed by a new IEC standard to help people in places with unreliable electricity still keep food and medicines cold 🌞❄️

Solar fridges for the developing world

As climate change leads to more electricity blackouts and brownouts, the reliability of everyday refrigeration is at risk. A new IEC Standard, together with solar innovations in Africa and Asia, demon...

www.pv-magazine.com

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 42m

The International Energy Agency says global #renewable power capacity is expected to double by 2030, with nearly 60 % of that growth coming from China 🇨🇳 thanks to a surge in #solar, #wind, and clean tech development 🌍⚡

World renewable power capacity set to double by 2030

Global renewable power capacity is on track to double by 2030, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday, with nearly 60 percent of the growth projected to come from China, whose record-setting ...

www.chinadaily.com.cn

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 1d

Scientists at #Caltech have built a 6,100 #qubit neutral-atom system that works at room temperature and holds quantum #superposition for 12.6 seconds, setting a new record for scalability and coherence in quantum computing. 😮🔬

Quantum record smashed as scientists build mammoth 6,000-qubit system — and it works at room temperature

A new system, made by splitting a laser beam into 12,000 tweezers and trapping 6,100 neutral atom qubits, hit new heights for coherence times.

www.livescience.com

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 1d

Colorado🇺🇸 is launching a “Vehicle Exchange & Clean Cars Colorado” ( #VXC) program that offers up to $9,000 off an #EV (or $6,000 on used ones) for qualifying low to moderate-income residents who trade in a polluting car, as a state level boost after the federal EV tax credit ended. 🚗⚡

Federal EV Credits Disappeared. This State Just Upped Its Own Incentive To Help Replace Them

Forget $7,500 from the feds. How about $9,000 from the state? Colorado plans to step up its EV incentives to keep its momentum in the EV transition.

insideevs.com

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 2d

📮 Australia Post 🇦🇺 didn’t just meet its emissions goals, it overshot them, slashed emissions well past expectations and now powers all its operational sites entirely with #renewable energy 🌿⚡

reneweconomy.com.au

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 2d

Guterres urges countries to ‘seize this historic opportunity’ as renewable energy use grows

With clean energy on the rise, the UN Secretary-General renewed his longstanding call for countries to make the transition from fossil fuels that cause global warming.

news.un.org

Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 2d

#Renewable energy (☀️💨💧) just passed coal as the world’s top source of electricity ⚡, thanks to huge growth in #solar and #wind power across developing countries 🌱🚀

Renewables overtake coal as world's biggest source of electricity

Developing countries lead the historic clean energy charge but the US and EU rely more on fossil fuels than before, a think tank study shows.

www.bbc.com

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 3d

Thanks to a big push in #solar and #wind, Spain🇪🇸 has cut the role of gas and coal in setting power prices: now fossil fuels influence the grid just ~19% of the time (down from ~75% in 2019), making Spain one of Europe’s cheapest electricity markets. 💡⚡🔌

In numbers: Renewables have turned Spain into one of Europe's cheapest electricity markets

Wind and solar met almost half of Spain’s electricity demand in the first half of 2025 (46%), up from 27% in the same period in 2019.

theprogressplaybook.com

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 3d

Researchers at the University of Arizona built a 25-foot #solar drying tower that uses natural heat to dry fruits and veggies in hours (not days), helping cut food waste and #emissions. It even recovers water from the process. 🌞🍏💦

University of Arizona researchers develop solar tower to fight food waste

A 25-foot tower prototype dries fruits and vegtables in hours, cutting emissions and preserving water.

www.kgun9.com

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 3d

Nobel Prize in medicine awarded to trio of scientists for immune discoveries

American scientists Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi from Japan won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

www.usatoday.com

Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 3d

The 2025 Nobel Prize in #Medicine went to Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi for discovering how the immune system uses regulatory #Tcells (via the FOXP3 gene) to prevent it from attacking our own body. A finding that could lead to new treatments for #autoimmune diseases and #cancer. 🧬

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 3d

A Canadian🇨🇦 company called #Voltai just raised about USD 1.3 million to scale up its “top-like” #wave energy converters that can be attached to ships or offshore structures to turn ocean motion into clean power. 🌊

Top-like ocean wave energy tech gets USD 1.3 million funding push

A Canadian company has secured major funding for its top-like ocean wave system designed to power vessels with renewable energy.

interestingengineering.com

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 3d

Illinois drivers can now use Universal #EVChargers’ new system, where every #fast-charging session costs a flat $15 (no surprise fees), regardless of how long you charge. ⚡🔌🚗

Universal EV Chargers debuts $15 flat-rate fast charging across Illinois

Universal EV Chargers brings $15 flat-rate DC fast charging to Illinois, offering simple, affordable fast charging statewide.

electrek.co

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 4d

Japan Just Switched on Asia’s First Osmotic Power Plant, Which Runs 24/7 on Nothing But Fresh Water and Seawater

A renewable energy source that runs day and night, powered by salt and fresh water.

share.google

Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 4d

Japan🇯🇵 has just switched on Asia’s first #osmotic power plant in Fukuoka, which runs 24/7 by mixing #fresh and #salt water💦 to generate about 880,000 kWh annually. That's enough to power around 220 homes 💧⚡️

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 4d

Ottawa announces $5M to install 157 new electric vehicle chargers across Atlantic Canada

The federal government has announced $5 million in funding to install 157 new electric vehicle (EV) chargers across Atlantic Canada.

www.ctvnews.ca

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 4d

The Canadian🍁 government is putting more than $5 million into building 157 new #EV #charging stations across Atlantic Canada (in places like workplaces, housing complexes, and Indigenous hubs) to make it easier for people to drive electric. 🔌🚗

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 4d

Powerful lithium batteries in written-off EVs now hot property at salvage auctions

Demand for secondhand electric vehicle batteries is surging across Australia, as buyers repurpose them for everything from solar storage to off-grid energy

www.theguardian.com

Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 4d

At salvage auctions across Australia🇦🇺, demand for secondhand #EV 🚗 #batteries🔋is surging. Even systems that aren’t useful for a vehicle anymore can help support a home with #solar panels or act as an #off-grid energy #storage system.🦘🔌☀️

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 4d

From restaurant kitchens to commercial jets: The greasy trail of used cooking oil

We followed the trail of grease from the kitchens of Le Diplomate and other D.C. restaurants to the commercial planes using alternative fuels.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 4d

Restaurants are collecting used cooking oil and converting it into “sustainable aviation fuel” ( #SAF ) for jets. It generates up to about 80 % fewer #emissions than conventional jet fuel, though scaling it is tricky because there simply isn’t enough grease to meet all demand ✈️🌱

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 4d

Carrier wants to pair batteries with air conditioners to help the grid

Utilities are struggling to meet demand as AI data centers surge. Equipping air conditioners with batteries could be an easy and hugely scalable way to…

www.canarymedia.com

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Whoa 🤯 in Slow-Mo @0lsi.bsky.social · 4d

Carrier is experimenting with hooking #batteries to home air conditioners so that the AC can run off stored power during peak #grid stress, helping reduce strain (and carbon emissions) on the wider electricity system ⚡️

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