Global Climate News

The UKAEA’s NEURONE consortium has achieved a breakthrough in producing fusion-grade steel on an industrial scale, potentially reducing production costs by up to 10 times and improving the efficiency of future fusion power plants. The ~£12M project involved universities and organizations across the UK and Australia.

Japan-based Kyoto Fusion Engineering opened a new research and development base in Tokyo and moved its headquarters there. The company is focused on fusion energy and is collaborating with Canada Atomic Energy on the UNITY-2 project in Ontario, Canada. The new base will consolidate research on fusion fuel cycle systems.

The Canadian government invested over $11 million in clean fuels and alternative fuels projects. The funding supported initiatives aimed at advancing technologies and initiatives to strengthen Canada’s clean fuels and alternative fuels sectors, including biomass collection, transportation, processing, and hydrogen production.

US-based researchers have used supercomputers to simulate how Alfvén waves can disperse runaway electrons in fusion reactors, potentially mitigating damage to the reactor walls. The simulations, performed on Summit and soon Frontier supercomputers, suggest a promising method to prevent damage from these high-energy electrons.

Kyoto Fusioneering, a fusion energy company, held its year-end party across various global locations, including Japan, UK, Germany, and the US. The events fostered team building and camaraderie among employees, highlighting the company's commitment to its workforce while pursuing fusion energy development.

US-based Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher Chad Parish has been using electron microscopy to characterize the microstructure of nuclear materials for energy and national security applications. His work includes research on nuclear fusion and fission, accident-tolerant materials, and collaborations with universities on alloy design and materials processing. He received the DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program award for Fusion Energy Sciences in 2015 and the David J. Rose Excellence in Fusion Engineering award in 2018.

Canada-based PyroGenesis Inc. has announced a debt-to-equity conversion agreement with HPQ Silicon Inc. to resolve an outstanding liability of $4,941,440. The liability was converted into 17,968,873 units of HPQ at $0.275 per unit, each comprised of one common share and one warrant. This is related to their collaboration on the Fumed Silica Reactor (FSR) project, which aims to produce fumed silica in an eco-friendly way.

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.

The Canadian government expanded the Clean Hydrogen Investment Tax Credit (ITC) to include methane pyrolysis, an emerging technology producing clean hydrogen with reduced GHG emissions. The ITC offers tax credits of 15-40% of eligible costs, with a funding cap of $3,000 per tonne of annual hydrogen production capacity. This supports Canada’s climate objectives and clean hydrogen sector development.

Researchers have developed an enhanced laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique using flame assistance for detecting trace heavy metals in water. The study demonstrated a 20-fold improvement in detection sensitivity for lead (Pb), achieving a detection limit of 0.741 ng/mL compared to 15.120 ng/mL without flame assistance.

Researchers have developed a novel B, N co-doped Mo2C catalyst synthesized via microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition for efficient hydrogen production from electrolyzed water. The catalyst demonstrates high performance with only 81 mV requirement in alkaline conditions and offers a systematic design approach for noble-metal-free hydrogen evolution reaction catalysts.

UK-based organizations United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and Science and Technology Facilities Council's (STFC) Hartree Centre have partnered with IBM to develop AI-powered design solutions for future experimental fusion powerplants. The collaboration combines UKAEA's fusion expertise and data from JET and MAST-U machines with IBM's high-performance computing and AI capabilities to create foundation models for fusion powerplant design, aiming to deliver commercial fusion by the 2040s.

China-based researchers from Dalian Maritime University have conducted a study on gas-phase nitrogen fixation using gas-liquid mixed-phase pulsed discharge technology. The research demonstrates how water vapor affects nitrogen fixation efficiency and the competition between ammonia and nitrogen oxide formation, with implications for sustainable energy solutions and green chemical production.

A research study has demonstrated the successful use of Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) in plasma gasification integrated systems for co-generating hydrogen and electricity. The system achieved 66.05% energy efficiency with electricity costs of 74.90 $/MWh and hydrogen costs of 1.02 $/kg. The technology reduces fossil fuel consumption by 1.5 times and CO2 emissions by 3 times compared to existing systems.

Chinese researchers from Fudan University and Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a novel catalyst using a two-step nonthermal plasma method that achieves 100% conversion of formaldehyde to CO2 at room temperature. The catalyst uses minimal platinum loading (0.1 wt%) on sodium/activated carbon, representing an environmentally friendly approach to air pollution control.

A scientific study has compared nanosecond LIBS (ns-LIBS) and femtosecond LIBS (fs-LIBS) techniques for measuring uranium and thorium in Tantalum-niobium ores. The research demonstrated that fs-LIBS combined with PLSR algorithm provides enhanced accuracy and predictive capability for determining uranium and thorium concentrations in mining processes.

Researchers have developed a new method to create plasmonic Janus particles with a polystyrene-tethered gold nanorod head and poly(4-vinylpyridine) head through emulsion confined assembly. The innovative material shows potential applications in photothermal therapy, micro/nanomotors, catalysts, and biological materials.

UK-based scientists from the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the University of Bristol have successfully created the world's first carbon-14 diamond battery. This new type of battery can power devices for thousands of years using radioactive decay, with applications in medical devices, space technology, and extreme environments. The development leverages expertise from fusion energy research and involves a specialized plasma deposition rig for diamond growth.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has published a technical document providing comprehensive safety guidelines for fusion power plants (FPPs), including prototype, demonstration, and commercial facilities. The document compiles Member States' experiences and safety approaches for both operational and planned fusion facilities, aimed at informing future safety standards and design assessments for fusion technology.

Researchers have developed a new high-concentration sodium hydroxide co-precipitation method to synthesize high-surface-area High-entropy oxide (HEO) catalysts. The new material demonstrated significant improvements in formaldehyde degradation efficiency and substantial reductions in ozone and NOx production compared to plasma-only treatments.