Exports of medicines from India and China haven’t taken place because the Western world invited them to do so. To the contrary, there were many visible and invisible obstacles. The … Read more
A study published in the Nature journal Sustainable Agriculture found that Western consumers are unlikely to accept insects as food. The barriers are psychological, taste-, culture- and price-related in nature. So, do … Read more
SWB superpower (= solar, wind and batteries) will make an end to the era of energy shortages. We will enter into an era in which mankind will produce much more … Read more
RethinkX, the organization that reformulated the energy problem a few times already, published an even more radical vision on the future. After the era of fossil fuels, so they hold, … Read more
Already since the fifties, cultivation of plant cells is well-known. We produce medicines with it. We don’t use the entire plant, just separate cells in a liquid. Wood production in … Read more
We can store any excess of solar energy (or another form of green energy) in the walls and floors of our own homes. Or in a boiler. That might mean … Read more
CRISPR is making headway. The first medical therapy using CRISPR has just been approved. CRISPR-Cas systems show up in complex cells. There’s a lot going on in the genome editing … Read more
An article by Daniela Castillo Monagas drew our attention to the interesting properties of eggshells. Companies, she wrote, have been developing new materials using eggshells. A renewable and circular feedstock … Read more
No waste stream grows as fast as electronic waste or e-waste. Recycling companies now pay attention to it. They can recover gold, copper and nickel from it, among others. Hannah … Read more
We don’t need animals for protein production – even of the required quality. The method in question is being researched intensely. Vivici, a company founded by Marcel Wubbolts, is one … Read more
Urban biomining can unlock valuable metals in post-consumer waste. This is especially important for Europe, a continent with little mineral resources of its own, therefore dependent on imports. Urban biomining … Read more
RethinkX, the group that predicts many profound changes, is also of the opinion that precision fermentation and cellular agriculture will create an entirely new business model: food-as-software. This will disrupt … Read more
The problem with plastics – aside from all the environmental issues they entail – is that they are excellent. It wouldn’t be a problem to wean ourselves off them if … Read more
The green economy is a growing paradigm focused on balancing environmental responsibility with economic growth. Central to this shift is the transformative power of digital tools, which enable industries to … Read more
Recently, Synbiobeta ran an interesting article on vaccinating plants. A new approach to activate the plant’s natural immune system. Could this lead to healthier food and more sustainable farming? Stimulating … Read more
For decades now precision agriculture has been offering numerous changes to the way we grow food. At its heart, it’s about using technology to gain a deeper understanding of what’s … Read more
Recently, RethinkX published an article by Taylor Hinds on battery storage. We need such a storage in order to turn the intermittent solar and wind energies into a continuous energy … Read more
The Conversation’s Brad Libby recently posted a thought-provoking article about converging technologies, and their potential. He envisages artificial intelligence (AI), lithium-ion batteries, infrared cameras, lidar laser range detectors, actuators, 3D … Read more
Electric vehicles (EV) and autonomous electric vehicles (A-EVs) will create an entirely new business model: Transport-as-a-Service (TaaS). It will disrupt and transform our transportation industries. If major changes in a … Read more
According to RethinkX, precision fermentation and cellular agriculture will create an entirely new business model in the food sector: food-as-software. This will disrupt and transform our food and agricultural industries. … Read more
Do we need carbon capture in order to meet climate goals? The jury is still undecided. If we would like to keep on using fossil fuels, we need carbon capture … Read more
A series of articles at the occasion of the GreenTech exhibition in Amsterdam, highlighted innovation in horticulture. Among these are water quality and irrigation management. The site Greentech.nl pays special … Read more
Change.inc devoted an article to thermal industrial heating and cooling (in Dutch). Long neglected in views on the energy transition. Even though there is a lot of energy involved. But … Read more
In rich countries, the urban biorefinery is a much sought after goal, albeit difficult to arrive at. Much sought after because we could solve out waste problem by this concept. … Read more
Alternative proteins receive more attention. Meaning: proteins not from animal origin. Like vegetal products, and fermentation and artificial meat and fish. Much progress is being made. Major growth On change.inc, … Read more
The electricity grid is being overburdened fast. Local production, mainly through solar and wind energy, produces an uneven distribution of demand and supply across the grid. Leading to the need … Read more
In a previous article, we wondered if the world will continue to produce food in sufficient quantities. What would prevent that? Population growth, increasing meat consumption, climate change, water scarcity … Read more
Wind turbines have a bad reputation, particularly in respect of their effect on flying creatures like bats and birds. But new research shows that we can overcome this problem, to … Read more
In a first article, we looked into the problem of animal welfare and ammonia emissions in modern cow sheds. Where faeces and urine come into contact with each other. Can … Read more
The invaluable Knowable Magazine recently ran an article by Sandy Ong on plastic eating microorganisms. They might be the solution to a problem that looms for long already but hasn’t … Read more
As a human species, we are caught in a permanent struggle with nature. It disturbs our careful agriculture and grows weeds; they adapt to our herbicides: resistance. Moreover, nature reverts … Read more
The World Health Organization WHO expects antimicrobial resistance to become a persistent problem. A growing number of people develops resistance against antibiotics. In 2050, this might cause an additional 10 … Read more
In nature, energy is free and always in ample supply. The sun delivers an energy flow to our planet of which we only use a few percent. Nature can perform … Read more
The Dutch site sciencelink.net recently devoted its attention to cultured meat. Not 100% vegetarian; for the instruction for meat production must be derived from a code derived from animals. But … Read more
Nature Communications ran an interesting article on the future of our food system; and specifically on the potential of micro-organisms (bacteria, yeasts, moulds) to develop new foods and food ingredients. … Read more
The European GRETE project has come to an end. The aim of this research project was to develop new textiles from wood pulp. With partners from Finland, Austria, Italy, Spain … Read more
Thousands of developers of artificial intelligence recently asked for a moratorium on its development for half a year. ‘Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that … Read more
Apparently, there is a major obstacle for the energy transition: cost. We don’t always have solar and wind energy at hand, but there always is demand for electricity. Growing, as … Read more
Energy storage doesn’t dominate the news. Sustainable energy gets all the credits: solar, wind, hydropower. But these can only make a difference when combined with energy storage. And the good … Read more
Al last, the need to work towards zero-emission construction seems to dawn on the construction trade. Not an easy task, as the volume of building projects around the world is … Read more
Plastic pollution is a problem that that begins long before it reaches the environment, and therefore the solution should fulfil the same criterion. Two new European projects develop plastic technologies … Read more
What policy categories would be most suited for stimulation of sustainable innovation? Innovation subsidies? Taxation of heavily polluting activities? Strict environmental regulation? Empirical evidence shows: strict environmental regulation works best. … Read more
Plastics are wonderful materials; as far as their functionalities in direct use are concerned. But in many cases, they are a headache in the waste phase. For a long time, … Read more
Applications of graphene, that wonderful material, multiply all the time. The latest news concerns its application in concrete. Adding graphene to concrete can render it extremely strong and much more … Read more
Until quite recently, lithium-ion batteries were supposed to be the pinnacle of battery technology. These devices would allow the electrification of transport, and indeed of much of the entire world. … Read more
MIT in Boston (UsA) is one of the scientific centres developing initiatives to stop climate change. On April 11, it announced five flagship projects in its Climate Grand Challenges. Among … Read more
Thermal batteries are yet another way to store an excess of solar and wind power. According to the laws of physics, they would seem to incur major energy losses. But … Read more
The contours of the future energy system haven’t yet been drawn with great precision. Solar and wind energies lie at its foundation. But these come with their problems: at times … Read more
Each year, planet Earth loses 13 million hectares (32 million acres) of forest. Since 1960, more than half of all tropical forests have disappeared. Particularly because of logging in the … Read more
In comparison to most utopian views, RethinkX devotes a lot of attention to the Organizing System required for the transition. It stresses that we cannot just rely on technological innovations. … Read more