Lifeboat Foundation

After the automaker started slashing prices on its vehicles earlier this year, making them more affordable than some new gas-powered cars.

The Tesla Model 3 now starts at $43,000, not including the $7,500 tax credit Americans can get for buying an electric vehicle. That brings the after-rebate price of a Model 3 down to $35,500.

-plus other companies are lowering prices because of Tesla.

Continue reading “An entry-level Tesla now costs less than the average new car” »

NASA announced Wednesday it has issued an award to The Boeing Company for the agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project, which seeks to inform a potential new generation of green single-aisle airliners.

Under a Funded Space Act Agreement, Boeing will work with NASA to build, test, and fly a full-scale demonstrator aircraft and validate technologies aimed at lowering emissions.

Over seven years, NASA will invest $425 million, while the company and its partners will contribute the remainder of the agreement funding, estimated at about $725 million. As part of the agreement, the agency also will contribute technical expertise and facilities.

Dust is a common fact of life, and it’s more than just a daily nuisance—it can get into machinery and equipment, causing loss of efficiency or breakdowns.

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin partnered with North Carolina-based company Smart Material Solutions Inc. to develop a new method to keep dust from sticking to surfaces. The result is the ability to make many types of materials dust resistant, from spacecraft to solar panels to household windows.

The research is published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Lignin is arguably the most abundant component of biomass that most people have never heard of. That may be about to change.

Many people are familiar with its biochemical cousin cellulose, a byproduct of paper and wood milling. But the same processes produce 50 million tons of lignin annually, industry experts estimate. Once distilled, 98 percent of the inky liquid is burned to produce electricity.

Scientists have been working to find more efficient and sustainable approaches to transform this naturally occurring polymer for use as a cleaner and greener building block to develop next generation materials.

Gustavo Raskosky/Rice University.

Thus, engineered wood has emerged as a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional building materials. However, this wood is prone to warping and deterioration of structural integrity, diminishing its life span.

Tesla Cybertruck sightings are continuing, and a video of the all-electric pickup released today gives a much better look at the vehicle’s air suspension.

Last night, a video of the Cybertruck rolling around Gigafactory Texas was shared, showing off its air suspension at what people said was its maximum ride height. However, it was very unclear and grainy, so it didn’t necessarily give a great look at what the Cybertruck will look like when utilizing its air suspension.

Now, a new video has been shared, where the Cybertruck appears to be, once again, at its maximum ride height, thanks to its air suspension, but the clearer resolution gives us a much more revealing look at the beast in its rarest form.

Our new series The Future with Hannah Fry explores the science, tech and people on the cusp of the most transformative breakthroughs of our age – from AI to clean energy. Watch the first episode on Bloomberg Originals on Feb. 22.

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Do you want to know what your future holds? A life beyond 150 years old? A world where computers can read our emotions? A planet transformed by unlimited clean energy? Mathematician Hannah Fry will explore these questions and more in the new series The Future With Hannah Fry, debuting on Bloomberg Originals on Feb. 22.

Continue reading “Trailer: The Future With Hannah Fry” »

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Biodegradable, wood-based computer chips can perform just as well as chips commonly used for wireless communication, according to new research.

The inventors argue that the new chips could help address the global problem of rapidly accumulating electronic waste, some of which contains potentially toxic materials. The results also show that a transparent, wood-derived material called nanocellulose paper is an attractive alternative to plastic as a surface for flexible electronics.

Continue reading “A Biodegradable Computer Chip That Performs Surprisingly Well” »

This innovative startup is revolutionizing architecture — with building panels made out of fastest-growing perennial grass on Earth.

With housing shortages in need of quick fixes, the manufacturing industry is facing a conundrum: how to source materials and build structures while cutting down on emissions. The answer lies with sustainable construction — not only could it help reduce our environmental impact, but it also keeps costs low during implementation.

Recently, a new startup named Plantd achieved a milestone of building ultra-strong building panels out of the fastest-growing perennial grass on Earth — the best sustainable alternative to construction.

Continue reading “This startup uses grass to build energy-efficient building panels” »