This week Current climatewhich every Saturday brings you the latest in sustainability business. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every week.
Associated press
In the first four months of 2022renewable energy sources provided 25.5% of electricity in the United States, according to reports of Clean Technica based on figures from the Energy Information Administration. This is an increase from 21.7% during the same period in 2020. It is also more electricity than what is supplied by coal in the United States, which was 20.2%, as well as nuclear. Natural gas supplied 34.7% of US electricity during this period, or 34.7%, down from 39.6% of US electricity in the first four months of 2020 .
And here’s what could happen next: fusion energy. According to a new report, investment support for private fusion energy startups increased 139% year-over-year to a total of $4.8 billion. Eight new fusion energy startups have also started in the past year, and private investment in fusion energy now exceeds government funding for development. This interest from private investors may be a sign that fusion power plants could be within reach, a development that would help accelerate the shift away from energy sources that cause pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
The big read
Illustration by Philip Smith for Forbes, Photos by Stephen Swintek/Getty Images, SPXChrome/Getty Images
Food waste costs US taxpayers billions of dollars a year
Every year, $400 billion ends up in dumpsters, and because they reduce corporate profits, companies can treat them as tax deductible. Learn more here.
Discoveries and Innovations
New research shows that smoke large fires can spread hundreds or even thousands of miles, causing air pollution that affects people’s health.
biotechnology company Vaxa uses geothermal energy to grow algae that can be converted into protein and omega-3s for food production – and the company says the whole process is carbon negative.
Light pollution in urban areas influences the plant growing seasonwhich could delay their ability to protect themselves from freezing and disrupt ecosystems.
Sustainability Deals of the Week
American-Australian packaging company Amcor is collaborating with the Minderoo Foundation for a $300 million investment to build new plastic recycling schemes around the world, starting with the Netherlands, Brazil and Indonesia.
The natural gas producer CNX has signed a fifteen-year agreement with New technologies to capture residual methane that would normally be vented into the atmosphere and use it instead to produce a biodegradable form of plastic for a variety of applications.
San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company Aquabytefounded by Forbes 30 Under 30 alum Bryton Shang, a raised $25 million Series B round. The funding is intended to expand the company’s product offering, an AI system used by fish farmers to manage the health of their fish.
on the horizon
The United Nations predicts that by November this year, the world’s population will reach 8 billion people, just 11 years after Earth’s population reached 7 billion.
What else we read this week
Can redesigned aluminum help meet copper demand? (Cable)
Why NASA is sending a dust scanning spectrometer to the ISS (Popular Science)
Green Transportation Update
Governor Laura Kelly announces plans to build a Panasonic factory in Kansas
Kansas City Area Development Council
Jthe electric vehicle revolution is stepping up a gear in the United States with battery-powered models representing 5% of new vehicle sales in the United States to the first of 2022 and expected rapid growth through the end of the decade. To meet this demand, auto and parts manufacturers are pumping billions of dollars into new production capacity. Panasonic Energy, Tesla’s longtime battery partner that has already made billions of lithium-ion cells in the United States, is bringing the EV party to the Kansas prairies with plans for a massive $4 billion battery factory. dollars in De Soto, a suburb of Kansas City. When completed, the plant will employ 4,000 people and create a total of 8,000 new jobs, including at suppliers.
The great history of transport
Getty Images
VW and Audi to recycle electric vehicle batteries through Tesla co-founder’s company
The metals and materials needed to make electric car batteries are expensive and not always mined in the most environmentally friendly way. To ensure that the movement of electric vehicles is as sustainable as possible, it is essential to recycle and reuse lithium, cobalt, nickel and other materials in batteries. Redwood Materials, a fast-growing battery recovery company launched by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, has added Volkswagen and its luxury unit Audi as new partners and has begun collecting used batteries from their US dealerships. The brands join Toyota, Ford and Volvo Cars in collaborating with Redwood, which hopes to revolutionize the recycling of electric vehicle batteries. Learn more here.
More green transport news
Cummins promotes Jennifer Rumsey to CEO as diesel giant seeks cleantech overhaul
EV Update: Toyota Reaches Tax Credit Phase-Out, GM Refunds Price Cuts to Current Owners
Fuel and electric vehicle prices are going in opposite directions
GM and Lead Company to Build Coast-to-Coast EV Fast-Charging Network
Electric vehicle makers gain ground on Tesla as Chinese rivals loom
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