China launches the world’s first fully electric cargo ship
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Cargo ships are by far the most polluting types of “vehicles” on the planet, all be the fact they carry huge weights of cargo, but now the industry is starting to electrify and the result will be an environmental revolution. Ground transport, closely followed...
World first as scientists manage to make carbon fiber using plants, not oil
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The knock on impact of being able to produce cheap carbon fiber at scale could help us create stronger, lighter drones, prosthetics and robots, as well as improve the fuel economy of all manner of vehicles, from aircraft to cars. Carbon fiber is the...
Washing machines get a whole lot greener thanks to new Xeros polymer bead system
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Doing the laundry uses lots of detergent, energy and water, and creates grey water by product, but Xeros’ new polymer bead washing system cuts this down by over 80 percent. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that products we take for granted, and use every...
New solid state coolant could spell the end of exploding batteries
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The world has an insatiable thirst for cooling, whether it’s cool fridges and freezers, or as a way to cool our gadgets increasingly powerful batteries and electronics, now solid state cooling could put an end to things that go boom in the night. There...
Futurist keynote, Paris: The Future of Sustainable Cities, ChangeNOW Summit
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The effect that climate change and pollution is having on our society and wellbeing is well documented but it’s clear from this summit that for every problem we face there are hundreds of innovative solutions. Firstly, a big thanks to the wonderful team, lead...
GE’s 3D printed engine sets new 3D printing record
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As the quality and durability of 3D printed parts increases it is inevitable that more organisations will embrace the technology and reap the benefits. While many people might think that we should have been able to 3D print entire engines, and other industrial equipment,...
From line to plate, Tuna gets its own blockchain
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Tuna becomes the world’s first fish to get its own blockchain to track it’s provenance from net to plate. Most people have heard of bitcoin but fewer people are familiar with blockchain, the revolutionary technology that underpins it. And now this technology, which ostensibly began life in the...
The end of fossil fuels, Asia and Europe draw up a Global Energy Grid
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As renewable energy becomes more reliable countries around the world are seriously exploring connecting their energy grids together to form a Global Super Grid. Northeast Asia, the region encompassing China, South Korea, and Japan, has not yet gotten around to connecting its electricity grids...
