Merging Scandinavian design, luxury and sustainability, California-based Bowlus has just launched the Volterra: the world’s first all-electric RV that can be kept off the grid entirely, thanks to solar-powered energy. Its electricity stems from AeroSolar, a lightweight yet efficient system that charges the RV while it’s being driven, absorbing up to 480 watts of energy and providing 65 miles of EV charging. It also powers Volterra’s …
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst have engineered a bacteria-based battery that can produce power from human sweat. The key to their innovation is bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens, a bacteria that can produce electricity and has been used to explore microbial batteries. However, its need to be fed a constant diet has limited its functionality. To get around this, the researchers grew the bacteria sustainably …
In developing a new technique to create polymers (large molecules that are composed of smaller, structured molecules), Japanese scientists have opened the door for the creation of environmentally-friendly plastic. These scientific researchers were able to gain control over molecular weight (crucial to the formation of plastic) using two pre-existing techniques called “living cationic polymerization” and “asymmetric cationic polymerization.” This novel strategy allowed them to manipulate …
