The global average concentration of CO2 surged by 3.5 parts per million to reach 423.9 ppm last year, fuelling worries that the planet’s ability to soak up excess carbon is weakening
Category: sustainability – Page 11
Promising medium can capture and convert carbon dioxide, while regenerating itself for reuse
Over the past decades, energy researchers have developed various promising solutions to limit the emission of greenhouse gases and source fuels or other chemicals more sustainably. These solutions include so-called carbon capture technologies and electrolyzers, devices that can capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and convert it into other valuable products, such as carbon monoxide (CO), methanol (CH₃OH), methane (CH₄) and various other compounds.
Some recently introduced solutions for converting CO2 into compounds that can be used as fuels or in industrial settings have achieved promising results. However, most of these devices only work if CO2 is purified (i.e., separated from other gases, contaminants and impurities). This additional purification step reduces the devices’ efficiency and can increase costs associated with their deployment, preventing their large-scale implementation.
An alternative method for the capture and conversion of CO2, known as reactive CO2 capture, could be more efficient and scalable than conventional approaches. This method combines the capture and conversion of CO2 in a single process, relying on compounds containing nitrogen (i.e., amine-based absorbents) to directly convert captured CO2 into desired compounds via electrochemical reactions.
Five crucial Earth systems near a tipping point: Report
Five of Earth’s vital systems are close to a point of irreversible change, warns a new report released by a global network of scientists ahead of the upcoming U.N. climate change conference in Brazil.
The 2025 Global Tipping Points report updates a 2023 report to assess 25 Earth systems that human societies and economies depend on, including the stability of coral reefs, forests and ice sheets. It found at least one system has likely passed a tipping point, while four others are perilously close.
The Paris Agreement set a goal of limiting global warming to 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels by 2100. The report notes that Earth has already reached an average increase of 1.4°C (2.5°F) over the past couple decades.
Curved nanosheets in anode help prevent battery capacity loss during fast charging
As electric vehicles (EVs) and smartphones increasingly demand rapid charging, concerns over shortened battery lifespan have grown. Addressing this challenge, a team of Korean researchers has developed a novel anode material that maintains high performance even with frequent fast charging.
A collaborative effort by Professor Seok Ju Kang in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST, Professor Sang Kyu Kwak of Korea University, and Dr. Seokhoon Ahn of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) has resulted in a hybrid anode composed of graphite and organic nanomaterials. This innovative material effectively prevents capacity loss during repeated fast-charging cycles, promising longer-lasting batteries for various applications. The findings are published in Advanced Functional Materials.
During battery charging, lithium ions (Li-ions) move into the anode material, storing energy as Li atoms. Under rapid charging conditions, excess Li can form so-called “dead lithium” deposits on the surface, which cannot be reused. This buildup reduces capacity and accelerates battery degradation.
Shall we Dance in Free-Space? a Choice of Freedom!
Humanity stands at a crossroads. Our beautiful Earth, cradle of all we know, is straining under the weight of nearly 8.5 billion people. Environmental degradation, social inequity, and resource scarcity deepen by the day. We are reaching the limits of a single-planet civilization. We can face this challenge in two ways. Some will cling to the old patterns—fighting over dwindling resources and defending narrow borders. Others will rise above, expanding into space not to escape Earth, but to renew and sustain it. These pioneers—the Space Settlers —will carry the next chapter of civilization beyond our home planet.
The Humanist Path: Living in Free Space. When people imagine living beyond Earth, they often picture Lunar or Martian colonies. Yet, from a humanist perspective, a better path exists: rotating free space habitats, as envisioned by Gerard K. O’Neill. These are vast, spinning structures orbiting Earth or the Moon, or standing at Lagrange Libration Points, designed to simulate Earth’s gravity and sustain full, flourishing communities. Unlike planetary colonies bound to weak gravity, dust, or darkness, O’Neill habitats offer: 1g simulated gravity to preserve human health; continuous sunlight and abundant solar energy; freedom of movement, as habitats can orbit safely or relocate if needed. More than technical achievements, these habitats embody the Enlightenment spirit—the belief that reason, ethics, and creativity can design environments of dignity, beauty, and freedom.
Freedom and Human Dignity in Space. Freedom is at the heart of humanity’s destiny. Consider a lunar settler who finds his bones too fragile to withstand Earth’s gravity—trapped by biology, after a few years living on the Moon. In contrast, inhabitants of a rotating habitat retain the freedom to return on Earth, at will. Simulated gravity safeguards their health, ensuring that space settlement remains reversible and voluntary. Freedom of movement leads naturally to freedom of culture. In a habitat like “New Gaia”, thousands of people from all nations live together: Russians celebrating Maslenitsa, Indians lighting Diwali lamps, and space-born storytellers sharing ancient myths. New traditions also emerge—festivals, music, and art inspired by life between worlds. These habitats can become beacons of a new Renaissance —a rebirth of cultural and creative freedom beyond the constraints of geography and politics.
Self-healing layer improves the safety and lifespan of all-solid-state lithium batteries
Scientists have come up with a new way to improve the safety and performance of all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (ASSLMBs), the next-generation energy source technology that is set to power everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy grids.
Most batteries that are in common use today contain flammable liquid electrolytes. The next evolution in batteries is the ASSLMB, which replaces the flammable liquid with a non-flammable solid material to move electrical charge between electrodes. While they are significantly safer, there is a critical flaw that prevents them from being reliable and long-lasting. That is, repeated charging and discharging cause gaps to form between the solid lithium metal anode and the solid electrolyte, which means the battery quickly breaks down and stops working.
To solve this problem, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a self-healing layer they call DAI (Dynamically Adaptive Interphase) that keeps the battery connected.
A new method to build more energy-efficient memory devices could lead to a sustainable data future
A research team led by Kyushu University has developed a new fabrication method for energy-efficient magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) using a new material called thulium iron garnet (TmIG) that has been attracting global attention for its ability to enable high-speed, low-power information rewriting at room temperature. The team hopes their findings will lead to significant improvements in the speed and power efficiency of high-computing hardware, such as that used to power generative AI.
The work is published in npj Spintronics.
The rapid spread of generative AI has made the power demand from data centers a global issue, creating an urgent need to improve the energy efficiency of the hardware that runs the technology.
Solar energy is now the world’s cheapest source of power, study finds
Solar energy is now so cost-effective that, in the sunniest countries, it costs as little as £0.02 to produce one unit of power, making it cheaper than electricity generated from coal, gas or wind, according to a new study from the University of Surrey.
In a study accepted for publication in Energy and Environment Materials, researchers from Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) argue that solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is now the key driver of the world’s transition to clean, renewable power.
Professor Ravi Silva, co-author of the study and Director of the ATI at the University of Surrey, said, Even here in the U.K., a country that sits 50 degrees north of the equator, solar is the cheapest option for large-scale energy generation.
Radical Plan to Beam ‘Sunlight on Demand’ at Night Sparks Concerns
A proposed constellation of satellites has astronomers very worried. Unlike satellites that reflect sunlight and produce light pollution as an unfortunate byproduct, the ones by US startup Reflect Orbital would produce light pollution by design.
The company promises to produce “sunlight on demand” with mirrors that beam sunlight down to Earth so solar farms can operate after sunset.
It plans to start with an 18-metre test satellite named Earendil-1 which the company has applied to launch in 2026. It would eventually be followed by about 4,000 satellites in orbit by 2030, according to the latest reports.
Climate-smart housing design helps cities beat the heat
Painting walls in light colors, insulating roofs, choosing medium-sized windows, and aligning buildings to the sun’s path may seem like simple choices. But they could provide powerful defenses against climate change for millions of people in the world’s most vulnerable regions.
That’s the message of a study, appearing in the journal Energy and Buildings, which identifies low-cost, climate-smart design strategies as crucial for future housing in Latin America’s rapidly warming cities.
Researchers used computer simulations to test how various climate-resilient building projects would perform under current and projected climate conditions in five major cities—Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, in Brazil, Santiago (Chile), Bogotá (Colombia), and Lima (Peru).