Japan opened its first osmotic power plant in the southwestern city of Fukuoka. Only the second power plant of its type in the world, it is expected to generate about 880,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year—enough to help power a desalination plant that supplies fresh water to the city and neighbouring areas.
China is getting ready for the flight test of an airborne power generation system that looks like an airship but generates power like a turbine. It is being projected as a solution for generating and supplying power in remote locations that are difficult to provide power to through conventional means.
On Aug. 5, 2025, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Ultra-Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) Laboratory officially opened. The facility will serve as the cornerstone of the College of Engineering-led focus on III-nitride semiconductors.
SGD Pharma entered into an agreement with Entangled Capital, an Italian private equity firm, to acquire Alphial, an Italy-based manufacturer of tubular vials, ampoules, and ready-to-use glass products.
Critical Metals signed a 10-year agreement to supply heavy rare earth concentrate to Ucore Rare Metal’s U.S. government-funded Louisiana processing facility. The development-stage mining company expects to supply up to 10,000 metric tons of the concentrate annually from its Tanbreez Project in Greenland.
ABET completed a pilot study for its new Recognition of Credentials service—a fully virtual, peer-reviewed process that validates the quality and relevance of short-format, skills-based learning courses. Credential offerings by Siemens Digital Industries Software, Purdue University, and ASCE were evaluated in the study.
Thai Cement Manufacturers Association hosted its flagship event, the “2025 TCMA Technical Conference and Exhibition,” from Aug. 21–22, 2025. The event brought together key figures from the Thai cement industry, global organizations, and leading innovators and technology providers to exchange insights and strengthen collaboration to accelerate decarbonization in the cement industry toward net zero 2050.
The U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy announced up to $60 million in funding for two new technology programs to secure and expand the U.S.’s critical minerals supply chain, strengthen domestic magnet manufacturing, and reduce reliance on foreign-controlled supply chains.
Brown University Professor Timmons Roberts received a letter from a law firm representing Green Oceans, asking him to retract some of his research on opposition to offshore wind. Veena Dubal, a law professor, said the request to take down research and the proposed escalation of the complaint to the Trump administration is “extraordinary.”
The 2010 incident off the Senkaku Islands, where a collision involving a Chinese fishing boat and Japanese coast guard vessels led to an abrupt halt in rare earth shipments, catalyzed a comprehensive and coordinated response that transformed Japan’s supply chain resilience. The U.S. can draw valuable insights from Japan’s multifaceted strategy.
Texas A&M University researchers developed a novel spherical robot called RoboBall that can access places wheeled or legged machines cannot reach—from the deepest lunar crater to the uneven sands of a beach.
