Interesting Ideas

One of the electric vehicle stories of the past couple of years has been the EV price war in China. Chinese EV makers kept lowering prices, lowering prices, and lowering prices. Sales grew enormously, but several hyper-ambitious companies wanted to be sure to get a big chunk of that sales ... [continued]

The post EV Price War Over In China? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The Executive Director of new energy coalition Common Charge, Mary Rafferty, sat down with me recently to tell us about what the organization is doing. The organization is focused on advancing distributed energy in the United States. “Common Charge is pushing for distributed assets (distributed energy resources) as the solution to ... [continued]

The post Common Charge and Advancing Distributed Energy appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Prior to CES, I noticed that BYD was in the process of preparing for another major wave of product updates. Beyond the typical yearly models, BYD has started to launch major increases in capability and technology multiple times a year. In conversations at the show, several different people mentioned specifically ... [continued]

The post BYD Launching Product Updates at the Speed of Cell Phones appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Swedish producer is trying to to accelerate the process of extracting the elements vital for hi-tech products

It is deep winter with temperatures dropping to -20C. The sun never rises above the horizon, instead bathing Sweden’s most northerly town of Kiruna in a blue crepuscular light, or “civil twilight” as it is known, for two or three hours a day stretching visibility a few metres, notwithstanding heavy snow.

But 900 metres below the arctic conditions, a team of 20 gather every day, forgoing the brief glimpse of natural light and spearheading the EU’s race to mine its own rare earths.Despite identification of several deposits around the continent, and some rare earth refineries including Solvay in France, there are no operational rare earth mines in Europe.

My Flemish giant bunny loved chomping on carrots, computer cables and my skirting board – and being walked on a leash. When I suffered a medical emergency, she jumped into action

The first time I saw a Flemish giant rabbit was at TruckFest in Peterborough in 2002. Among a sprawling maze of stalls at the East of England showground, I was led into a tent filled with the biggest rabbits I’d ever laid eyes on. I’d never heard of Flemish giants before, but I knew then that I needed one. I couldn’t have predicted in that moment that one of these beautiful creatures might save my life.

Dory was a baby when I met her, but even as a bunny she was already bigger than most normal-sized rabbits. We brought her home in a cat carrier, but she soon outgrew it. By the time she was fully grown, she weighed nearly 10kg, and I was walking her on a leash like a dog.

Cyclists prepare for Australia’s big race by training in extreme temperatures – and they have noticed a contradiction in the relationship with Santos

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The first time Maeve Plouffe trained in the heat, she was in Paris in the lead-up to the Olympics. It was supposed to be an easy ride to help get used to the conditions. When she returned, she fainted from heat sickness.

“That’s how badly I was affected,” she says. “Racing in extreme heat is like playing chicken with your environment.”

Richest 1% took 10 days while wealthiest 0.1% needed just three days to exhaust annual carbon budget, study shows

The world’s richest 1% have used up their fair share of carbon emissions just 10 days into 2026, analysis has found.

Meanwhile, the richest 0.1% took just three days to exhaust their annual carbon budget, according to the research by Oxfam.

Severe weather, driven by two low-pressure systems merging, is expected to bring power outages and hazardous road conditions

Atlantic Canada is under widespread weather warnings for snow, freezing rain and strong winds as a winter storm moves across the region. In Newfoundland, up to 40cm of snow fell on Sunday, along with wind gusts of about 74mph, creating blizzard-like conditions.

The storm began late on Sunday and is forecast to persist until Tuesday morning. Freezing rain warnings are in place across Nova Scotia, including Annapolis and Kings counties, while parts of New Brunswick could get up to 25cm of snow on Monday.

Germany recently completed and pressurized the first roughly 400km segment of its national hydrogen backbone. The pipes are in the ground, the compressors work, and the system is technically ready. There is only one problem. There are no meaningful hydrogen suppliers connected and no material customers contracted. This is not ... [continued]

The post 400km Hydrogen Pipeline With No Users Will Raise Germany’s Electricity Prices appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Experts and community trying to untangle mystery of outburst that saw water travel almost 10km overland into a bigger lake

Manoel Dixon had just finished dinner one night last May when a phone dinged nearby with a Facebook message.

Dixon, 26, was at his family’s hunting camp near their northern Quebec home town of Waswanipi. They knew the fellow hunter who was messaging Dixon’s father, but what he wrote didn’t make sense.

As climate breakdown puts millions more people at flood risk, traumatised homeowners are finding common voice

Darren Ridley is always on high alert, constantly checking his phone for rain warnings – even in the middle of the night.

“Our whole family is permanently on edge,” he says. “If we hear rain, day or night, we’re up and checking the house. I can’t sleep without replaying our flood plan in my head for weaknesses.”

Charity plans to make stately homes more welcoming by inviting visitors to use furniture and reading rooms

There was a time, not so long ago, when a visit to a National Trust stately home could be a staid affair and sitting on the furniture tended to be discouraged, with pine cones or teasels often placed on chairs to remind people not to perch.

This year, one of the aims of the conservation charity will be to make people feel more at ease in its grand houses and, where practical, allow them to sit on historic chairs and use libraries and reading rooms rather than simply peer into them.

Ford is promising "eyes-off" driving will be available with is newest electric vehicles built on the Universal EV Platform.

The post Ford’s $30,000 Midsize Electric Pickup Truck Will Offer Level 3 Autonomy appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The abrupt U-turn in federal energy notwithstanding, the demand for more solar power in the US persists. After all, money talks. Solar is the fastest most economical way to add more kilowatts to the nation’s grid. That’s why solar investors are still pumping money into the US market, the latest ... [continued]

The post Federal Policy Makers Can’t Stop The Demand For Solar Power appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Unlike in food, there is no upper limit on the amount of pesticide residue levels in flowers. But after French officials linked the death of a florist’s child to exposure in pregnancy, many in the industry are now raising the alarm

On a cold morning in December 2024, florist Madeline King was on a buying trip to her local wholesaler when a wave of dizziness nearly knocked her over. As rows of roses seemed to rush past her, she tried to focus. She quickly picked the blooms she needed and left.

I’m not doing this any more, she thought.

Chevy dealers should have the updated version of the Bolt -- the least expensive EV in the US -- in their showroom soon.

The post Chevy Bolt 2.0 Will Be In Dealer Showrooms Soon appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Alnmouth, Northumberland: They were once the rocky abode of a burrowing worm, and are normally found at sea not on the beach

Each time we visit this beach, the landscape of the strand has changed. Giant boulders are exposed or disappear completely. Bladderwrack accumulates in spongy piles – tricky to walk on – then is taken back by the sea to leave smooth clean sand. Sometimes there’s sea coal, at other times heaps of periwinkles and limpets. Wind and tides are forever shaping and reshaping the coast.

Today, after a turbulent sea, there are crunchy razor clams underfoot. Sharp-edged, they were named after the cut-throat razors used for wet shaves. These are molluscs that drag themselves beneath the sand using strong muscular “feet”. To make their downward passage smoother they shoot out a jet of water, which led to the delightful Scottish name of spoots. Their pale shells stand out against the background of sea‑moulded nuggets of coal, along with broken crab claws and the spiral skeletons of whelks.

One of the big automotive stories out of CES 2026 from the last week was Ford making an announcement about eyes-free driving coming to its models — affordable EVs even — in 2028. There are layers to this, though. Ford’s L3 Eyes-Off Driving Plans — What Are They Exactly? First ... [continued]

The post Ford, Waymo, Tesla — Where Is Self-Driving Going in 2026? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The vehicle electrification movement sure looked like it was grinding to a halt in the US last year, underscored by Tesla’s ongoing sales slide while both Ford and GM pulled back sharply on their domestic EV manufacturing plans. Still, signs of a rebirth are already emerging, the latest example being ... [continued]

The post Tiny Canadian Startup Picks Up The Electric Truck (And Van, And Bus) Ball appeared first on CleanTechnica.

With a new technology comes issues people haven’t adequately foreseen and prepared for. I’ve seen readers highlight potential problems with robotaxis like customers needing help with their luggage, but I don’t recall seeing anyone bring this one up: passengers not closing the door properly and then walking away. Apparently, Waymo ... [continued]

The post Waymo Hiccup — Paying People $20 To Close Doors — To Get A Real Fix appeared first on CleanTechnica.