We can store any excess of solar energy (or another form of green energy) in the walls and floors of our own homes. Or in a boiler. That might mean the end of the need for an expensive home battery. … Read more
CRISPR is making headway. The first medical therapy using CRISPR has just been approved. CRISPR-Cas systems show up in complex cells. There’s a lot going on in the genome editing field. Amber Dance wrote an interesting article on these developments … Read more
Is artificial intelligence or AI a threat to mankind? Would AI ever be able to take over our computer systems? Could this system influence our behaviour without us being able to resist it? Opinions are divided. Maybe the real problems … Read more
The choice between paper and plastic may seem simple at first glance, but there’s more to it than you might think. Paper packaging is becoming increasingly common in stores, supermarkets and delivery services. This isn’t just a trend. It reflects … Read more
An article by Daniela Castillo Monagas drew our attention to the interesting properties of eggshells. Companies, she wrote, have been developing new materials using eggshells. A renewable and circular feedstock that appears to have many applications. Eggshells are in ample … Read more
No waste stream grows as fast as electronic waste or e-waste. Recycling companies now pay attention to it. They can recover gold, copper and nickel from it, among others. Hannah van der Korput write an article about this on the … Read more
Insects aren’t doing well. Several scientific studies show that three quarters of them have disappeared over the past 30 years. For instance, by agricultural practices that removed much of natural variety, and many pollinators, from the fields. Pollinators What can … Read more
The world’s first solar power plant in history (link in Dutch) was constructed by Frank Shuman. His aim was to liberate us from fossil fuels. He was far ahead of his time – but he got caught by the First … Read more
We don’t need animals for protein production – even of the required quality. The method in question is being researched intensely. Vivici, a company founded by Marcel Wubbolts, is one of them. Recently, they acquired 32.5 million in order to … Read more
Urban biomining can unlock valuable metals in post-consumer waste. This is especially important for Europe, a continent with little mineral resources of its own, therefore dependent on imports. Urban biomining will align with EU targets for critical minerals, economic revitalisation, … Read more
Yuki Kabe, Technical Advocacy Specialist at Braskem, signals an incorrect judgement of ‘biobased’ or green plastics in lifecycle analyses. As a chemical engineer, he has more than 20 years of experience in sustainability and life cycle policy. According to him, … Read more
Bamboo is a fast-growing crop that thrives almost anywhere in the world. Because it grows rapidly, it absorbs a lot of CO2 from the atmosphere, which is an attractive option for CO2 compensation. But bamboo also has a number of … Read more
In Delft, The Netherlands, the construction of a large-scale wooden building has started, The Urban Woods. This will pave the way towards sustainable high-rise building construction in the Netherlands. High-rise buildings in wood The Urban Woods represents a progressive housing … Read more
Knowable Magazine ran an article by Katarina Zimmer on geothermal energy. Long regarded as just a small source, to be applied in selected places; but now more a versatile technology, able to complement sustainable sources. Thanks to new technologies. A … Read more
Increasingly, methane (CH4) emissions are on the critical path – the path towards limiting climate change to 2°C. This is the upper target of the 2015 Paris agreement. Methane emissions are rising very fast, says Euan Nisbet, a professor of … Read more
High dependence on fossil carbon, associated high carbon footprint, low recycling rates and microplastics: several solutions are emerging. Written by Asta Partanen and Michael Carus. More information on the Cellulose Fibres Conference organized by nova-Institute on March 13 and 14 … Read more
In the Netherlands, the business case for wind turbines and solar panels keeps getting worse; writes Roy op het Veld on change.inc (in Dutch). The supply side of the energy system isn’t the bottleneck anymore – it’s the demand side. … Read more
RethinkX’s Bradd Libby recently posted two useful articles on technological change. He distinguishes between partial and real solutions, or as he calls it ‘band-aid’ versus ‘bona fide’ or disruptive solutions for problems. Real solutions take place in four sectors of … Read more
Synbiobeta ran an article by Gabrielle David on the world of silk. And how we learn to master the art of producing this wonderful material by a natural process, much like the original one. Not primarily by silkworms but by … Read more
Is Europe still the world leader in climate issues? The continent has ambitious plans. But in the field of energy transition, things do not play out as planned. Europe may be overtaken by the US – although this might not … Read more
RethinkX, the group that predicts many profound changes, is also of the opinion that precision fermentation and cellular agriculture will create an entirely new business model: food-as-software. This will disrupt and transform our food and agriculture industries. The process of … Read more
Sybiobeta ran an interesting article on plant vaccination. A promising alternative approach to plant protection. Such a vaccination would activate the natural defence mechanisms of the plant. And it might thereby lead to healthier food and a more sustainable agriculture. … Read more
Forever chemicals, particularly per- and polyfluoralkyl compunds (PFAS), are one of the biggest present environmental health hazards. These synthetic chemicals aren’t localised in a few contaminated areas; they are everywhere: in rivers, groundwater, wastewater, and even in household dust. They … Read more
Climate change, a new IPCC report says, is intimately linked to our land use. Changes in land use result in changes to the climate, and vice versa. In other words, what we do to our soil, we do to our … Read more
Electricity should preferably be consumed immediately when it is generated. Storing electricity is not that easy. It always comes down to converting electricity into something else, that is used at a later date to generate electricity when needed. Talking about … Read more
The problem with plastics – aside from all the environmental issues they entail – is that they are excellent. It wouldn’t be a problem to wean ourselves off them if they weren’t great at what they do. Take PET for … Read more
From November 25 to December 1, 2024, representatives from 175 countries gathered in Busan, South Korea; the fifth and final round of negotiations on a global treaty on plastics pollution. One of the main questions being: will the treaty include binding targets … Read more
If we move away from fossil fuels as a source of carbon, the question arises what should then become our source. Lux Research presents an answer: CO2 utilization. This could fulfil the demand for carbon value chains without relying on … Read more
The green economy is a growing paradigm focused on balancing environmental responsibility with economic growth. Central to this shift is the transformative power of digital tools, which enable industries to innovate sustainably. From optimizing energy use to creating circular economies, … Read more
Just a short while ago, people hardly knew about viruses as a medicine. In particular, this is true for bacteriophages (or phages, for short) – viruses that eat bacteria. Until less than a century ago, we even didn’t know about … Read more
Boards made from agricultural wastes, are they achievable? Often, mdf and chipboard are made from wood. But Ecoboard has a different approach: it uses agricultural wastes. Boards are a wonderful material. For many purposes, they are strong enough. They consist … Read more
Lignin is often hailed as nature’s glue. It is the second most abundant polymer in the natural world. Found in plant cell walls, it plays a crucial role in providing structural support to plants. Up to now, if we isolate … Read more
Recently, Synbiobeta ran an interesting article on vaccinating plants. A new approach to activate the plant’s natural immune system. Could this lead to healthier food and more sustainable farming? Stimulating the plant’s resistance We have become accustomed to fighting plant … Read more
Experts and scientists judged it impossible. The new Dutch wind turbine The Blade seems to mock natural laws. And yet, the new home-sized turbine is claimed to produce 2,500 to 3,000 of sustainable electricity yearly (link in Dutch). That’s the … Read more
In a circular economy, we will use as few resources possible. These we will reuse again and again; in so doing, we will postpone mining new resources as long as possible, we might even prevent this from happening. The Netherlands … Read more
For decades now precision agriculture has been offering numerous changes to the way we grow food. At its heart, it’s about using technology to gain a deeper understanding of what’s happening in the field, be it monitoring soil quality, predicting … Read more
Recently, RethinkX published an article by Taylor Hinds on battery storage. We need such a storage in order to turn the intermittent solar and wind energies into a continuous energy supply. She writes that ‘unsubsidized solar and wind energies are … Read more
Ocean habitats play a key role in storing carbon from the atmosphere; but until now, nobody has known exactly how much ‘blue carbon’ ends up in kelp, seagrass meadows, salt marshes and sediment in the seabed. Now, we tend to damage … Read more
The Conversation’s Brad Libby recently posted a thought-provoking article about converging technologies, and their potential. He envisages artificial intelligence (AI), lithium-ion batteries, infrared cameras, lidar laser range detectors, actuators, 3D printing and more. What if these technologies converge simultaneously? Would … Read more
Graphene is twenty years old now. Discovered by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, two physicists at the University of Manchester. The Conversation hailed this anniversary in a piece by Stephen Lyth on its achievements and their shortcomings. So far, graphene … Read more
The site change.inc contained an interesting article (in Dutch) on energy hubs – a central place where regional companies and households share their energy production and consumption. In the Netherlands, 1,200 of such hubs could play a major role in … Read more
According to RethinkX, our society may be heading towards clean disruption. Meaning that in the coming two decades, old and wasteful industries will disappear and new and clean industries will dominate. RethinkX predicts that technology disruptions in just three sectors … Read more
Electric vehicles (EV) and autonomous electric vehicles (A-EVs) will create an entirely new business model: Transport-as-a-Service (TaaS). It will disrupt and transform our transportation industries. If major changes in a number of key technologies come together, we witness a disruption … Read more
According to RethinkX, precision fermentation and cellular agriculture will create an entirely new business model in the food sector: food-as-software. This will disrupt and transform our food and agricultural industries. If major changes in a number of key technologies come … Read more
Solar photovoltaics, onshore wind power and lithium-ion batteries (SWB) will displace fossil fuels and conventional nuclear power during the 2020s. This will create an entirely new business model – SWB Superpower – that will disrupt and transform our energy sectors … Read more
Solar panel production disappeared from Europe over the past twenty years. Now, a new generation of solar panels is around the corner, and this could mean the return of solar panel production to Europe. Changing production patterns A large fraction … Read more
Polylactic acid, also known as PLA, is a thermoplastic monomer. It is derived from renewable, organic sources such as corn starch or sugar cane. This means that PLA is different from most plastics. It will not fall apart into persistent … Read more
Bidirectional charging, or possible charging from both sides, is a smart solution for grid overcharging. Bidirectional charging means that the current can go both ways. It is useful in particular for preventing the grid to become congested. Or if one … Read more
Pressure on the electricity grid gets heavier all the time. Many corporations and organisations aim to get more sustainable. But there are bottlenecks. Because at times, there is a glut of sustainable electricity (mainly solar and wind power), and at … Read more
Do we need carbon capture in order to meet climate goals? The jury is still undecided. If we would like to keep on using fossil fuels, we need carbon capture in order to keep CO2 levels down. But application of … Read more