The price of buying an electric vehicle is a big hurdle to widespread EV adoption. California-based startup Autonomy pitches the vision that its EV subscription service will allow anyone to drive electric without the long-term commitment of a traditional loan or lease.
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The Minerals Security Partnership, announced during the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention in mid-June 2022, is an 11-member multinational partnership initiative that aims to bolster critical mineral supply chains. Learn more about who is involved and India’s possible interest in joining the partnership.
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In addition to the health impacts of Europe’s current record-setting heat waves and drought, the weather is leading more houses to experience structural damage as the underlying soil dries and contracts. Subsidence-related damages are a major problem for French homeowners, and insurers and the government have been in talks over how to better handle such damage claims.
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As the European Union prepares to ban the use of titanium dioxide as a food additive starting August 7, the United States Food and Drug Administration has no plans to change regulation of this substance. This situation illustrates the larger picture of how the EU and U.S. differ in their approach to chemicals regulation.
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The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program aims to provide states with nearly $5 billion in funding to strategically deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure. To receive their share of the funding, each state must submit a deployment plan by August 1. Compiled here are links to the plans released so far.
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The global submarine cable network carries about 95% of all global transnational communication data. However, it is vulnerable to disruption by human interference and natural disasters. To ensure continued operation, new monitoring systems and management regulations need to be put in place.
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Adapting to climate change not only requires updating our existing energy systems but also designing new ways of storing and transmitting energy that can better withstand extreme environments. Finnish startup Polar Night Energy just completed the first commercial installation of their new heat storage system, which stores thermal energy using sand.
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Though glass bottles have numerous advantages over plastic bottles, they lack the squeezability factor to easily eject their contents. Two entrepreneurs in the U.K. designed a silicon rubber attachment for glass bottles that gives them the squeezability factor.
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Mining rare earth ores is only the first step in securing the rare earths supply chain. These ores must undergo refining processes, and China controls nearly all of the world’s rare earth processing facilities. Two U.S. mining companies, MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, plan to open domestic rare earth processing facilities within the next year.
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The Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway, demonstrated that countries can work together for the common good through preservation and long-term protection of important societal resources. Two new global vaults making headlines will involve ceramic and glass materials, with the former material being documented and the latter used as a storage medium.
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