According to the International Maritime Organization, shipping was responsible for over 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2018. A significant share of those emissions came from seaport activities, including ship berthing, cargo handling, and transportation within port areas. In response, governments, NGOs, and environmental watchdog groups are sounding alarms and advocating for urgent… Continue reading Seaport Electrification Could Slash Emissions Worldwide
Author: IEEE_Spectrum
Superconducting Wire Sets New Current Capacity Record
Superconductors have for decades spurred dreams of extraordinary technological breakthroughs, but many practical applications for them have remained out of reach. Now a new study reveals what may be the world’s highest-performing high-temperature superconducting wires yet, ones that carry 50 percent as much current as the previous record-holder. Scientists add this advance was achieved without… Continue reading Superconducting Wire Sets New Current Capacity Record
Snafu-Sidelined Chevy EV Hits the Road Again
General Motors was ready to toast the 2023 holidays with the Chevrolet Blazer, as the perfect gift for mainstream EV buyers. Then the holiday lights went dark: Some owners saw the SUV’s infotainment screens blank out or flash error messages. A reviewer for InsideEVs was stranded in rural Virginia when his Blazer conked out during… Continue reading Snafu-Sidelined Chevy EV Hits the Road Again
Two Companies Plan to Fuel Cargo Ships With Ammonia
In July, two companies announced a collaboration aimed at helping to decarbonize maritime fuel technology. The companies, Brooklyn-based Amogy and Osaka-based Yanmar, say they plan to combine their respective areas of expertise to develop power plants for ships that use Amogy’s advanced technology for cracking ammonia to produce hydrogen fuel for Yanmar’s hydrogen internal combustion… Continue reading Two Companies Plan to Fuel Cargo Ships With Ammonia
Oak Ridge Sets a New Record for Wireless EV Charging
Cutting the cord has been a longtime dream for EV charging, but it’s been stymied in part by anemic charging rates. Now, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has succeeded in juicing a Porsche Taycan EV sedan at a record 270 kilowatts, with nary a cord in sight. This comes just three months after Oak Ridge… Continue reading Oak Ridge Sets a New Record for Wireless EV Charging
How Olympics Officials Try to Catch “Motor Doping”
A French cycling official confronts a rider suspected of doping, and ends up on the hood of a van making a high-speed getaway. This isn’t a tragicomedy starring Gérard Depardieu, sending up the sport’s well-earned reputation for cheating. This scenario played out in May at the Routes de l’Oise cycling competition near Paris, and the… Continue reading How Olympics Officials Try to Catch “Motor Doping”
A New Specialized Train Is Ready to Haul Nuclear Waste
Nuclear power plants are on track to generate more than 140,000 tonnes of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) before 2060. Every year, 2,000 tonnes of radioactive heavy metal join the growing inventory of fuel removed from nuclear power reactors—both operating and decommissioned. In the coming decades, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will need to transport… Continue reading A New Specialized Train Is Ready to Haul Nuclear Waste
Nyobolt’s Stupid Fast Charging EV
EV dreamers can’t seem to resist Lotus: Britain’s featherweight Elise convertible spawned the Tesla Roadster in 2008, and the rest is history. Sixteen years later, Nyobolt has harnessed a redesigned Lotus Exige, the Elise’s hardtop cousin, to claim breakthrough DC charging times of 5 minutes or less. The U.K. battery company has partnered with Julian… Continue reading Nyobolt’s Stupid Fast Charging EV
Autonomous Vehicles Can Make All Cars More Efficient
Autonomous vehicles have been highly anticipated because of the possibility that they will greatly reduce or perhaps eliminate the collisions that cause more than one million deaths each year. But safety isn’t the only potential benefit self-driving cars can offer: Teams of researchers around the world are showing that autonomous vehicles can also drive more… Continue reading Autonomous Vehicles Can Make All Cars More Efficient
How to Build EV Motors Without Rare Earth Elements
The dilemma is easy to describe. Global efforts to combat climate change hinge on pivoting sharply away from fossil fuels. To do that will require electrifying transportation, primarily by shifting from vehicles with combustion engines to ones with electric drive trains. Such a massive shift will inevitably mean far greater use of electric traction motors,… Continue reading How to Build EV Motors Without Rare Earth Elements