Electric vehicles (EVs) generally have a reduced climate impact compared to internal combustion engine vehicles. Together with technological progress and governmental subsidies, this advantage led to a massive increase in the demand for EVs. Future growth is expected to dwarf past growth in absolute numbers.
Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the dominant technology for EVs. Typical automotive LIBs contain lithium (Li), cobalt (Co), and nickel (Ni) in the cathode, graphite in the anode, as well as aluminum and copper in other cell and pack components, although battery technology is currently evolving fast and new and improved chemistries can be expected in the future.
Understanding the magnitude of future demand for EV battery raw materials is essential to guide strategic decisions in policy and industry and to assess potential supply risks as well as social and environmental impacts.
#battery #nanotechnology #energystorage #technology
By Chengjian Xu, Qiang Dai, Linda Gaines, Mingming Hu, Arnold Tukker and Bernhard Steubing licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). https://www.nature.com/articles/s43246-020-00095-x.
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Vaccination is the most successful medical approach to disease prevention and control. The successful development and use of vaccines has saved thousands of lives and large amounts of money. In the future, vaccines have the potential to be used not only against infectious diseases but also for cancer as a prophylactic and treatment tool, and for elimination of allergens.
mRNA vaccines against infectious diseases could be developed as prophylactic or therapeutic. mRNA vaccines expressing antigen of infectious pathogen induce both strong and potent T cell and humoral immune responses. The production procedure to generate mRNA vaccines is entirely cell-free, simple and rapid if compared to production of whole microbe, live attenuated and subunit vaccines. This fast and simple manufacturing process makes mRNA a promising bio-product that can potentially fill the gap between emerging infectious disease and the desperate need for effective vaccines.
#vaccine #health #COVID19
By Cuiling Zhang, Giulietta Maruggi, Hu Shan and Junwei Li, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Full article available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2019.00594/full.
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Automatic warehousing systems (AWS) are commonly adopted in the manufacturing, logistics, and retail industries. The scarcity of land resources in recent years has given rise to the demand for continuous development of AWS using information and automation. This system is closely linked to enterprise material flow and widely utilized in business, city traffic management, and other areas. AWS generates savings in cost and energy and also improves efficiency and business intelligence.
As customers are more concerned with the care of the environment, companies are required to be more aware of their actions. Firms must invest in green technology and better energy efficiency to solve environmental problems. Since AWS reduce costs and improve performance, these types of systems comprise a new and globally expanding industrial field that can be considered a green technology with high quality, high efficiency, and less pollution.
#SupplyChain #tech #sustainability
By Jingjing Hao, Haoming Shi, Victor Shi, and Chenchen Yang, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Full article available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/12/5185/htm.
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One of the promising future transport technologies is the Hyperloop. Even though the concept of moving “pods” within a “tube” is not new, Hyperloop has received extensive media coverage since the publication of the Hyperloop Alpha white paper by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk in 2013.
Hyperloop can contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions, supporting the advancement of the European Union’s (EU) Green Deal objectives that seek a 90% reduction of the EU’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, as well as global GHG emissions reduction commitments. Transport currently accounts for a quarter of the EU’s GHG emissions, seeing an increase over the last three years.
Due to the fact that Hyperloop moves in a low-pressure environment, the air resistance (drag) is in principle lower compared to trains, with considerably lower energy consumption during acceleration and cruise, while energy regeneration during breaking is higher compared to high-speed trains.
#hyperloop #transportation #ElonMusk #EuropeanUnion #Sustainability
By Konstantinos Gkoumas and Michalis Christou, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Full article available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/19/7868/htm.
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