In France, aircraft maker Aura Aero and Safran Electrical & Power have partnered to develop an electric, 19-seater aircraft with a cabin 100% designed using biobased or recycled materials. Dubbed Era for Electric Regional Aircraft, the plane will have a fully electric range of 215 nautical miles and max speed of 300 knots. Safran will […]
In Washington, researchers have created a computer chip by sandwiching honey between two metal electrodes. The team at Washington State University made a memristor, a device that can process and store data as memory. The device was about the size of a human hair and achieved on/off speeds of 100 and 500 nanoseconds, respectively. The […]
In Sweden, the venture capital arms of leading automakers, including BMW, Volvo and Porsche, have invested in Bcomp, a company using natural fibers to lightweight materials. The CHF-32 million ($34-million), oversubscribed Series B will enable Bcomp to scale its workforce, increase its global and domestic production capacity, and strengthen its commercial footprint. Bcomp’s natural fiber-based […]
In Texas, Dell Technologies has incorporated biobased rubber from castor beans and other renewable materials into its best-selling Latitude 5000 series laptops. The laptop lid is made from recyclable and renewable materials including tree-based bioplastic upcycled from the paper making industry, reclaimed carbon fiber and post-consumer recycled plastic. The base of the Lattitude 5000 is […]
In Ohio, a consortium including tire giant Goodyear and the US Air Force is working to develop a domestic source of natural rubber from dandelions. Natural rubber has been classified as a strategic raw material that serves as a critical ingredient in military, aircraft and truck tires. More than 90% of the world’s natural rubber […]
In New York, Yankee Stadium will introduce biodegradable drinking straws made from bioplastic polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). The straws are made by WinCup using canola oil as feedstock. The switch will help the home of the Bronx Bombers achieve its target of net zero waste through composting and recycling. Currently, 85% of the stadium’s waste is […]
In the United Kingdom, two art school graduates have developed a burial concept in which cremains are 3-D printed and made into artificial reefs. Dubbed Resting Reef, the startup is still in the prototype stage using animal remains, but inventors Louise Lenborg Skajem and Aura Elena Murillo Pérez hope to offer the unconventional burial option […]
In Israel, cultivated meat cells from Aleph Farms have been taken to the International Space Station, courtesy of Elon Musk’s SpaceX aerospace firm. The goal is to evaluate the effects of low gravity on growing such cells. Favorable results would be good news for an eventual Mars mission, which has to address the problem of […]
In New Jersey, a small-town deli with an inexplicable market cap of $100 million—and viral fame as an example of stock market excess and insufficient regulatory oversight—has filed with the SEC to merge with hemp-based plastic company Makamer. The deli’s owner, Hometown International, first came to public attention in April 2021 when hedgie David Einhorn […]
In California, toymaker Mattel has introduced carbon neutral toys, including two playsets with 56% plant-based content, as it works toward its goal of achieving 100% recycled, recyclable, or biobased plastic for all its plastics and packaging needs by 2030. The toy giant is also the first in the category to incorporate renewable polymers produced by […]
