Heating Swimming Pools For Free With Digital Boilers
UK data centre startup Deep Green is using servers submerged in mineral oil as “digital boilers” to turn server heat into free heating for hot-water for swimming pool owners, distilleries, and large apartment blocks. Digital Boilers Harnessing the heat from decentralised data centre models is one of the new ideas that several companies are adopting […]
How Businesses Are Cutting Their Website’s Carbon Footprint
In this article, we look at how slimming-down and optimising websites is yet another way that businesses are helping to cut their carbon emissions. Websites And Carbon Emissions According to the Eco-Friendly Web Alliance, the internet has a significant carbon footprint, contributing to 3.7 per cent of global emissions – more than the aviation industry! […]
How Edible Food Packaging Could Reduce Plastic Waste
With eco-friendly packaging being considered as part of the green product decision-making process of today’s customers, here we look at food packaging that could save on plastic waste because it is edible! Edible Food Packaging The concept of edible food packaging is not new and has been around for centuries in the form of natural […]
Bacteria Ink Gives Bonelike 3D Printed Structures
Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a way for using a 3D-printing ink that contains calcium carbonate-producing bacteria, giving a result similar to mollusc shells or bone. ‘BacktoInk’ – Environmentally Friendly Researchers at EPFL’s Soft Materials Laboratory in the School of Engineering have successfully added the Sporosarcina pasteurii bacterium to […]
Search Engine Sustainability Shock
With the integration of large language models (LLMs) into search engines, some people are predicting that the massive increase in computing power needed could mean huge carbon emissions. What Are Large Language Models? Large language Models (LLMs) are types of artificial intelligence (AI) models that are trained on vast amounts of text data to understand […]
Will Warm Wallpaper Really Replace Radiators?
Hull-based company iHelios has developed a system of using temperature controlled, energy-efficient electric infrared ‘wallpaper’ to heat homes and businesses which may have the potential to replace traditional central heating systems. Heating Film The ‘smart’ heating system from iHelios uses a wafer-thin heating film that is placed within the ceiling, under floors, or in panels, […]
Hydrogen Hybrids
Engineers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) say they have modified a conventional diesel engine to run (mostly) on hydrogen which could lead to CO2 emissions being cut by up to 85 per cent. Engine Converted The UNSW Sydney engineers have reported taking an automotive-sized inline single-cylinder diesel engine, then modifying it to […]
Clean Water From Thin Air – No Power Required!
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a zero-energy condenser that can harvest drinking water from the humidity in the atmosphere 24/7. Could Solve Shortage Challenges In some parts of the world, fresh drinking water is scare. Two of the main options include: – Communities near the ocean can desalinate sea water. However, this requires a […]
Nuclear-Powered Data Centre
Cumulus Data has announced the completion of a key milestone in the construction of Phase 1 of its 475-megawatt zero-carbon “Susquehanna” data centre that’s directly connected to 2.5-gigawatt nuclear power stations. First Phase –Shell Ready For Lease The company, a subsidiary of Talen Energy, says that the construction of the powered shell for its first […]
Building-Cooling Window Film
Scientists from Kyung Hee University in Seoul have developed a clear window film that can cool the inside of buildings, thereby reducing the energy consumption from air conditioning in hot cities. Why? Cooling buildings in hot countries (e.g. using electric-powered air conditioning units) accounts for around 15 per cent of global energy consumption and air […]
Sailing Towards Sustainability
Here we look at the new technologies which could lead to a more environmentally friendly and ‘cleaner’ shipping industry, plus we look briefly at promising clean tech innovations for air freight. The Challenge With 90 per cent of global trades transported by sea, traditional cargo ships are responsible for a significant portion of the world’s […]
Fuss Over Fusion
US scientists have announced a major breakthrough in their efforts to create nuclear fusion energy after they were able to produce more energy from a fusion experiment than was put in, for the first time, ever. What Is Nuclear Fusion? Whereas current nuclear power plants split atoms in a process known as ‘fission’ to generate […]