Global Climate News

Switzerland-based Climeworks has shared its 2024 milestones including the inauguration of Mammoth (world's largest Direct Air Capture plant), Project Cypress development in Louisiana, launch of Climeworks Solutions portfolio offering, certification under Puro Standard, and unveiling of Generation 3 technology. The company's Project Cypress, awarded USD 50 million by U.S. DOE, aims to capture 1 million tons of CO₂ annually when complete. The new Generation 3 technology promises to reduce carbon removal costs by up to 50% compared to current costs.

US-based researchers at the University of Houston and collaborators in France have developed a new material for sodium-ion batteries, sodium vanadium phosphate (NaxV2(PO4)3), that increases energy density by more than 15%, to 458 watt-hours per kilogram. This makes sodium-ion batteries a more sustainable and affordable alternative to lithium-ion batteries due to sodium's lower cost and abundance. The new material's unique properties allow for a continuous voltage of 3.7 volts, improving efficiency.

China-based Antaisolar released its first ESG report, outlining its \"RAISE\" sustainable development strategy. The company aims for 100% operational carbon neutrality by 2025 and 80% production carbon neutrality by 2028. Antaisolar invested 38.3 million RMB in R&D and has set clear environmental goals for the next five years, covering carbon emissions, recycled materials, and more.

India is aiming to produce 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030, and potentially 10 million tons by the same year. The country's National Green Hydrogen Mission, supported by industrial clusters like Mundra Port, focuses on reducing production costs to less than $2 per kilogram by leveraging renewable energy and optimizing energy demand. Mundra Port, near the world’s largest renewable energy park (30 gigawatt Khavda facility), integrates hydrogen production with industries such as chemicals, cement, and fertilizers, facilitating both domestic use and export.

Switzerland-based ETH Zurich has made several breakthrough developments in climate and sustainability technologies in 2024. These include a new light-based CO2 capture solution, improved lithium metal batteries for EVs, a solar thermal trap for high-temperature industrial processes, efficient rare earth metal recovery from e-waste, and an iron-ore based hydrogen storage system. The university has also found that direct air carbon capture remains twice as expensive as previously estimated.

The UK Government has announced a £15 million increase to steel support funds, bringing the total to £30 million, to support businesses and workers affected by changes at Tata Steel's Port Talbot site. The funding, part of an £80m Tata Steel Transition Board fund, will provide grants up to £250,000 for businesses to invest in equipment, property, and technology, while also supporting workers through training and job transitions.

Researchers have developed an eco-friendly surface diffuse atmospheric plasma (SDAP) treatment for nylon meshes that enables rapid and efficient emulsion separation. The 2-layer stacked nylon meshes achieve over 98% separation efficiency with minimal chemical use and fast processing time of just 30 seconds. The technology demonstrates excellent anti-aging performance and scalability potential for industrial applications.

Researchers have synthesized and characterized a new iron(III)-hydroperoxo complex that shows promise for developing novel catalysts. The complex demonstrates both electrophilic and nucleophilic reactivity without cleaving the O-O bond, offering potential applications in sustainable catalysis and biomimetic systems.

A scientific review has examined the synthesis process of single-atom catalysis (SACs), focusing on substance migration's role in metal loading and electronic structure manipulation. The research provides insights into thermodynamics and kinetic processes, outlining the migration behavior of metal and nonmetal species to guide future catalyst design.