LINKS OF THE WEEK: March 26 - April 2, 2023

NATIONAL $1500 EBIKE REBATE BILL INTRODUCED IN US CONGRESS – A bill to give Americans a $1,500 discount on the purchase of a new electric bike was introduced in Congress in March. A similar bill was introduced last year but got defeated – but apparently this time there's a lot more support behind it. Here's hoping it gets passed! 🤞🤞  

FROM BREWSKIS TO BATTERIES – Chemists in Germany are exploring the use of brewer's spent grain as a bio-source to produce materials for electrochemical energy storage systems. The team were able to use the brewery waste to create carbon and activated carbon, which can be used in electrodes for batteries and supercapacitors.

GERMANY LOVES EBIKES – According to CyclingElectric.com, 90% of all mountain bikes being sold in Germany are electric. Bring on our micromobility future!

USING BAKING SODA TO MAKE GREENER CONCRETE – Scientists at MIT have figured out a process that could reduce the carbon footprint of manufacturing concrete without altering concrete's bulk mechanical properties. The secret? Adding baking soda to the mix! This could be significant as concrete is the world's second most consumed material (after water) and is responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions.

EVS WITH 10X THE CURRENT RANGE?? Researchers in Korea say they've developed a functional polymeric binder for stable, high-capacity anode material could increase the current EV range at least 10-fold. "Range anxiety" makes a lot of people hesitate to invest EVs... maybe one day in the not-too-distant future, this will become a thing of the past?

CONVERTING CO2 IN THE AIR INTO POLYESTER – A team of engineers in Korea has developed a scalable way to use bacteria to convert CO2 in the air into a polyester. Not sure if the polyester is 100% recyclable or if the process can be done cost effectively but I suppose if we need to pull CO2 from the atmosphere to buy us extra time as we de-carbonize everything, this could be useful?

MAJOR AUTO MAKERS ARE SELLING EBIKES – What do Mercedes, Jeep, Porsche, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Harley-Davidson, Audi, Ducati, Toyota, Yahama, and BMW all have in common? They're all making ebikes! Models range from $1300 to $12,000 in price.

EU MAKES IT HARDER TO GREENWASH, SELL SHORT-LIVED RUBBISH – The EU's Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee (IMCO) has agreed to a draft report on new powers that will make it more difficult to sell short-lived products that do nothing good for the environment. The new rules also ban greenwashing in marketing and require manufacturers to list whether a product is repairable, and for how long parts will be available, where customers can see it.

NORWAY LAUNCHES WORLD’S FIRST HYDROGEN-POWERED FERRY – The world's first hydrogen-powered ferry has started operating in Norway. It has the capacity to carry 300 passengers and 80 vehicles with up to 95% reduction in carbon emissions. I wonder if/when we'll see hydrogen-powered ferries in BC?