We’ve seen a number of automakers take steps to give their electric vehicle batteries a second life in highway charging stations or storage systems for the home, but at some point these deteriorating devices do reach the end of the road. Volkswagen has just opened a recycling plant for this very scenario, where it hopes to recover the raw materials […]

When the Arctic comes to mind, most think of a frozen tundra with snowy plaines, glaciers, polar bears, and other types of cold weather wildlife. But does the Arctic have a rainforest? Scientists have revealed that layers beneath the ice, there may be a frozen rainforest from hundreds of years ago. “Until recently people have thought of glaciers and ice […]

Scientists at Brown University have demonstrated a promising new water purification technology that takes advantage of the tiny gaps in stacked sheets of graphene to filter out contaminants with great efficiency. The technology overcomes one of the key problems in this area of research, with the team behind it hopeful it can prove useful in a range of settings. Graphene […]

Scientists at Brown University have demonstrated a promising new water purification technology that takes advantage of the tiny gaps in stacked sheets of graphene to filter out contaminants with great efficiency. The technology overcomes one of the key problems in this area of research, with the team behind it hopeful it can prove useful in a range of settings. Graphene […]

The Swedish city of Gothenburg is developing the world’s first large-scale zero-emissions city zone. In collaboration with Volvo Cars, Gothenburg’s Green City Zone initiative will be open to economic activities, allowing people to participate in businesses while supporting a sustainable environment. The developers hope to make the city one of the world’s largest-scale testing grounds for zero-emissiontechnologies. If the initiative works […]

While pest insects can have a devastating effect on crops, pesticides can likewise cause a great deal of damage to the environment. That’s where CropCoat comes in, as it’s designed not to kill harmful insects, but to “hide” plants from them instead. Created by California-based startup Crop Enhancement, CropCoat consists of a proprietary blend of non-toxic ingredients including an undisclosed […]

Since the introduction of the initial Tesla electric vehicle (EV), consumers have sought accurate information regarding the total carbon footprint of EVs as they compare to traditional internal combustion engines (ICEs). We know Elon Musk’s Tesla vehicles create less pollution out of the tailpipe, but what about those batteries? The truth is, direct comparisons are difficult to make due to […]

Although cleaning up the humungous Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a daunting concept, removing trash from local waterways is much more feasible … and that’s exactly what the Clearbot robot is designed to do. Developed by Hong Kong-based startup Open Ocean Engineering, Clearbot was commercially launched last November. Intended to operate in collaborative swarms – in areas such as harbors, […]

Fungus already shows promise as a “green” form of leather and protective packaging. Thanks to new research, it has now also found use in an environmentally-friendly sound-absorbing material. Acoustic insulation is currently made of synthetic or mineral-based materials, neither of which are easily recyclable – their production processes also aren’t always very eco-friendly. Instead, scientists at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for […]

DELVA Landscape Architecture / Urbanism has revealed designs for Het Oog (Dutch for “The Eye”), a multifunctional “(under)water” landscape park that will connect the two neighborhoods of Strandeiland, a future residential area that will accommodate 8,000 homes in Amsterdam’s IJburg collection of artificial islands. The 22-hectare city park is part of Strandeiland’s urban plan developed in collaboration with the municipality […]