Interesting Ideas

VinFast has signed a memorandum of understanding with PlusX Electric, a DEWA-certified provider of charging and mobility solutions, to enhance charging access and customer support for its UAE customers. The collaboration aims to deliver portable chargers, mobile emergency services, and integrated digital tools, addressing key barriers to EV adoption in ... [continued]

The post VinFast Deepens UAE Charging Network as Middle East EV Strategy Gains Traction appeared first on CleanTechnica.

A new mini power station and lithium extraction facility near Redruth are set to bolster green energy and create jobs

Just outside the perimeter fence stand the hulking remains of grand stone engine houses, a testament to Cornwall’s proud tin and copper mining history.

But inside is a shiny new mini power station and lithium extraction plant that is once again accessing rich underground resources in the far south-west of Britain.

The annual competition draws thousands of entries from across the world and brings together images from below the water’s surface that show the diversity and challenges of subaquatic life

• All photographs courtesy of Underwater Photographer of the Year 2026

With most Scots supportive of reintroducing the wild cat, charities are focusing on those whose jobs could be affected

Could lynx, the elusive wild cat driven to extinction in Britain more than 1,000 years ago, become the new Loch Ness monster? “Whether Nessie’s there or not, she draws tourists,” said Margaret Luckwell, a resident of Moray, Scotland. “It would be the same with lynx. I’d love to see a lynx in the wild.”

Luckwell’s view is a majority one among local people gathering at village halls across the Highlands, as a painstaking consultation slowly gathers momentum for the apex predator’s return to Scottish forests.

BOSTON and WASHINGTON, DC — Tonight, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed House Bill 5151, An Act Relative to Energy Affordability, Clean Power, and Economic Competitiveness — a comprehensive piece of legislation that addresses the rising cost of utilities in Massachusetts while maintaining the Commonwealth’s leadership on clean energy transformation. Following is a statement ... [continued]

The post Solar Industry Statement on Massachusetts House Advancing Affordable, Clean Energy Legislation appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Robert Llewellyn, from the Everything Electric Tech show (as well as Red Dwarf and various other TV shows), recently drove a Polestar to visit a huge solar power and energy storage facility in Australia. The solar power portion has nearly one million solar panels, and there is a huge battery ... [continued]

The post 400 MW Solar Power Farm Has Huge Battery System Too (Video) appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Local river defenders force U-turn by occupying grain terminal operated by one of US powerhouses of world trade

“A victory for life.” That was the triumphal message from Indigenous campaigners in the Brazilian Amazon this week after they staved off a threat to the Tapajós River by occupying a grain terminal operated by Cargill, the biggest privately owned company in the United States.

“The river won, the forest won, the memory of our ancestors won,” said the campaigners in Santarém when it was clear their actions had forced the Brazilian government into a U-turn on plans to privatise one of the world’s most beautiful waterways and expand its role as a soy canal.

Ice Memory Foundation’s specially dug ‘sanctuary’ offers storage for cores, which hold thousands of years of history

Last month the Ice Memory Foundation opened the first ever sanctuary for mountain ice cores in Antarctica, where samples will be stored for centuries to come.

The cores, typically 10cm in diameter and a metre or more long, are stored in a specially excavated ice cave. The first to be laid down came from two Alpine glaciers that are rapidly shrinking.

Changes threaten ecosystems as flowering falls out of sync with fruit-eating, seed-dispersing animals and pollinators

Tropical flowers are blooming months earlier or later than they used to because of climate breakdown, with potentially “cascading impacts across ecosystems”, according to a study of 8,000 plants dating back 200 years.

Researchers looked at flowers from a range of countries, including Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana and Thailand, home to the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, but also the most understudied.

A claim was made in a youtube video by the internet handle Ziroth. Before we get deep into this, I need to explain lithium-ion battery charging. Lithium batteries are charged with a voltage source that is current limited. Confusing? Bear with me. When the battery starts at lowest voltage, the ... [continued]

The post Is Donut Labs Battery Lithium Ion? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Hong Kong has a sizable tax break available for electric vehicle purchases, comparable to what the US had before Donald Trump took office and Republicans took control of the US Congress on the low end. It is HK$58,500 (US$7,477), or a whopping HK$172,500 (US$22,047) if you trade in/scrap on old ... [continued]

The post Why Is Hong Kong Ending EV Tax Breaks? Does It Make Sense? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Group signs MoU with Korean government and Jeonbuk State to invest nearly KRW 9 trillion in Saemangeum area of Gunsan City, starting 2026 Advancing Korea’s transition to robotics, AI-driven and energy-centric future through transformative projects: AI Data Center: Processing and storing critical data for physical AI implementation in autonomous driving ... [continued]

The post Hyundai Motor Group to Establish Innovation Hub to Lead Robotics, AI, & Hydrogen Energy in Korea appeared first on CleanTechnica.

If you do not follow the day-to-day drama of the artificial intelligence industry, you probably missed the news this week. Anthropic, one of the leading AI labs that built its reputation on safety, quietly dropped its core safety pledge. To the average person, this probably sounds like inside baseball for ... [continued]

The post Abandoning AI Safety Might Screw Our Cars Up appeared first on CleanTechnica.

As fish stocks dwindle, surf tourism may offer a lifeline to traditional caballitos de totora fishers, whose vessels are thought to be among the first ever used to ride waves

Just before dawn, in a scene that has repeated itself over thousands of years on the north coast of Peru, fishers drag boats made of bound reeds to the water’s edge and, kneeling on them, use paddles shaped from split bamboo to row out into the Pacific Ocean to catch their breakfast. A few hours later, these surfer fishers return with netfuls of their catch, riding waves on the final stretch back to the shore. From the main beach in Huanchaco – a seaside town near the city of Trujillo – the fish are taken to sell at the market or to beachfront restaurants preparing meals for tourists.

The four-metre-long reed vessels – known as caballitos de totora in Spanish, or “little reed horses” – are placed upright on their ends by the promenade on El Mogote beach so that the seawater drains away and they are ready to be used the next morning.

On the 8th January this year, Ron Male was involved in a spectacular car crash. A four-car pileup no less. His BYD Seal was the first in line, followed by three petrol cars — a Great Wall, a Mazda, and a BMW. Looks like the Mazda was the crumple zone! ... [continued]

The post What Happens to an EV in a Car Crash! appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Isley Marsh, Devon: The birdlife is mostly staying still in the downpour, not least these large, striking waders that we’re lucky to have here

Rain washes across the saltmarsh, numbing my lips and fingers. The deluge is unavoidable, as it has been all year. It’s been one of the wettest winters on record and harder to get around. Glimpsing a huddle of white feathers, I try to silence my squelching, not wanting to disturb the sheltering bird. Its wings flare, as though preparing for flight, but the little egret remains in place. It considers the pool at its feet, buffered from the rain by the reeds.

Behind it, the silver River Taw winds into the estuary. Standing on the track, I catch the shimmering white breasts of lapwings at the water’s edge, fluttering like the tail of a kite before takeoff. They ripple but do not fully rise. The only real movement is from the water. Rain sheets in from the side; the river surges with the tide while the rest of us stand, crouch or falter in the murk, unable to muster the same momentum.

Falling volcanic ash has for years been viewed as a nuisance. But a Sicilian project has discovered its agricultural potential and wants to spread the word

In the Sicilian town of Giarre overlooking Mount Etna, Andrea Passanisi, a tropical and citrus fruits producer, uses an unusual fertiliser on his 100-hectare (247-acre) stretch of land: volcano ash.

Like hundreds of farmers and citizens of rural towns perched on the slopes of Europe’s highest and most active volcano, the 41-year-old’s family has had to deal with the nuisance of falling volcanic ash for generations. But it is only in recent years that the quantity of ash has become so excessive that it required an alternative approach.

In this week’s newsletter: The climate crisis is making insurance unaffordable for many – and it should worry all of us, even if we think we’re safe from floods, wildfires and hurricanes

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I’m worried about insurance.

Some homes are becoming uninsurable due to the rapidly escalating impacts of the climate crisis. And that should worry you too, even if you think your home is safe enough.

Under water, in denial: is Europe drowning out the climate crisis?

The Great Olympic lie: untold story of Winter Games’ huge environmental impact

‘It’s more exciting than Tesco’: can traditional fishing lure Cornwall’s young people?

‘Homes may have to be abandoned’: how climate crisis has reshaped Britain’s flood risk

‘Delays, lowballs, outright denials’: how the LA wildfires have exposed the US’s broken insurance industry

The Guardian view on the rising risk from flooding: uninsurable buildings should focus minds on climate adaptation

This week, BYD continued its push into South America, where it is the clear EV leader, with a model introduction in one of the most laggard countries, Argentina. The company launched the BYD Atto 2 DM-i there. Yes, it is a plugin hybrid, but it does have about 110 km ... [continued]

The post BYD Launches ATTO 2 DM-i in Argentina appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Volvo Group is channeling its strong profitability and European market leadership into the rapid expansion of battery-electric and other zero-emission heavy trucks, positioning electrification at the center of its decarbonization roadmap for long-haul transport, regional distribution, and mining. During the presentation of the full-year and fourth-quarter results for 2025 last ... [continued]

The post Volvo Scales Up Electric Heavy Trucks As Profits Fund Zero-Emission Shift appeared first on CleanTechnica.