Important Innovations

  GM Has #1 Electric Vehicle in China Source:  GM's MINI EV That #1 China EV Seller GM Just Inked a Deal with E-Truck Maker Nikola Two big surprises from GM.  Its micro electric vehicle made by GM's Chinese joint venture is the #1 selling electric vehicle in China.  It sold 15,000 cars in August beating Tesla's 11,800 Model 3 sedans. Hongguang MINI EV The model is called the Hongguang MINI EV.  It's a two-door micro-mini EV that was launched this past July by the joint venture between GM, SAIC Motor Corporation and SGMW.  The starting price is very low at $4,200.  That price is less than 10% of the cost of Tesla's Model 3. Nikola-GM Deal Meanwhile, Wall Street is cheering news that GM and electric truck startup Nikola will join forces to build electric pickup trucks and commercial trucks powered by fuel cells.  Their intent is to compete hard against Tesla's e-trucks.  GM has taken an 11% stake in Nikola, which is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.  The stake is

  Passengers Protected from COVID By Multiple Features Source:  Futurebus rendering  Award Winning Design "Futurebus" is a new public transportation, bus design concept for the times that we live in.  Every aspect of the design protects passengers from the spread of COVID-19 by minimizing contact with fellow passengers.  There are self-sanitizing handles that utilize UV light and antimicrobial fabrics.  There is a large, single sliding door that allows riders to board and leave the bus with no contact.  The bus has alternated seating to create a protective barrier and cooper infused fabric to reduce pathogens. International Team of University Designers The bus was designed by an international team from Harvard University, Northwestern University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Tong University.  The design won top prize in the Four C Competition, an international design competition sponsored by Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Design.  The competition happened tot

  Is It China's Version of the USAF X-37B Spaceplane? Source:  USAF X-37B Spaceplane  New Reusable Space Vehicle Shrouded in Mystery China has successfully launched an experimental reusable spacecraft.  It was deployed into orbit Friday onboard a Long March 2F rocket.  The mystery space vehicle successfully landed at a designated location, presumably in China, today.  The Chinese news agency Xinhua calls the space vehicle a breakthrough that will lead to more frequent round trips to space at a greatly reduced cost.  The big question:  is it China's version of the top secret, US Air Force X-37B spaceplane? Low Key Mission with No Photos The Chinese government has kept the mission very low key.  No photos of the spacecraft have been distributed and no details provided on the technology involved.  But there is a great deal of speculation that the vehicle may be the Chinese version of the USAF's top secret X-37B spaceplane.  The X-37B is an autonomous spaceplane developed by Bo

  Latest Science on Climate Change & Most Innovative Remedies Source:  Amazon   https://amazon.com/author/ekane Just Published on Kindle & Amazon Journalist Edward Kane's latest book "Fighting For A Greener World" has just been published on Kindle and Amazon.  It contains the latest science on Climate Change and the most innovative remedies, including green travel vehicles, renewable energy and the efforts of governments, businesses and investors to reverse and eliminate Climate Change. For a free preview of the book, go to  https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B08HKM38V7&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_NlqvFb2XG6VTF&tag=ejkane2-20    I co-authored the book with Ed.

  Zero Emission, Electric Trucks Source: Sweden's VOLTA ZERO Electric Truck with zero emissions  Next Growth Industry for Electric Road Travel Swedish startup Volta Trucks has unveiled its 16 ton electric truck, the Volta Zero.  The company says it will start manufacturing it in the United Kingdom in 2022.  With the tremendous success of electric cars led by Tesla, automakers now are also turning their attention to electrifying big rigs, which are the worst polluters on the road.  A number of companies including Volvo, Daimler, Rivian and Nikola have electric, big trucks under development. Greener Highways Volta's goal is to have 500 of its zero-emissions, electric trucks on the road by 2022.  And it is about to enter the customer testing phase.  The British parcel delivery company DPDgroup and other companies in Europe will be testing the vehicles on their routes in 2021.  Meanwhile, Volta is in a capital raising phase to bulk up for mass production of its vehicles.  This time

 Flying-V:  Fuel Efficient Alternative to Long Haul Jets Source:  The Flying-V  TU Deflt Concept and Scale Model KLM and Delft Technical University New Concept A new aircraft, the Flying-V, is a look at the exciting future of flying.  A scale model of the experimental aircraft just took flight from a military base in Germany.  The aircraft has huge wings and is designed in a V configuration.  The blended wing concept is the invention of Delft Technical University (TU Delft) of the Netherlands, funded by KLM Airlines and assisted by a support team from Airbus. Radical New Design The flying-V is a fuel efficient, long range aircraft designed as an alternative to traditional jumbo jets.  It gets 20% better fuel efficiency than a traditional Airbus A350 jet, which is today's most advanced aircraft design.  Passenger seats, baggage and fuel tanks are all built into the wings.  When full scale, it will have the capacity to hold 314 passengers.  It is 15% more aerodynamically efficient th

Oxford Study: Majority of Global Utilities Not Strongly Supporting Renewable Energy Source:  Renewable Energy Stock Image Power Companies and the Fight Against Climate Change A new study by scientists at Oxford University in the UK suggests that power companies are very slow to support and utilize green, renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.  In fact, of the 3,000 power utility companies around the world that the Oxford researchers studied, only 10% of the energy suppliers have prioritized renewables over fossil fuels.  Many continue to invest in fossil fuels. The study concludes that utilities' slowness to embrace renewable energy sources is undermining the fight against Climate Change. Europe Coming on Green Europe   is way ahead of the curve in using renewables.  For instance, 40% of the United Kingdom's electricity is coming from wind and solar.  But globally, many of the new wind and solar instillations are being built by independent producers not by utilitie