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Researchers use quantum computing method to optimize molecular photoswitches for solar energy harvesting

Green Car Congress

Molecular photoswitches that can both convert and store energy could be used to make solar energy harvesting more efficient. The procedure was based on a dataset of more than 400,000 molecules, which the researchers screened to find the optimum molecular structure for solar energy storage materials.

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New York City to invest $420M in electric vehicles and infrastructure; all-electric fleet by 2035

Green Car Congress

The City of New York will invest $420 million in electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, and alternative fuels to accelerate the transition to an all-electric municipal vehicle fleet. All light-duty, medium-duty, and non-emergency heavy-duty vehicles will be converted to electric by 2035.

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Convert Oil Wells to Solve the Solar Storage Problem

Cars That Think

One of the main impediments to harnessing solar energy is storage. Solar batteries work as a short-term solution, but not when it comes to long-term storage or to power, say, an entire city. Solar energy and oil wells might sound like an odd combination, but the principle is similar to how geothermal energy would be harnessed.

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KU Leuven team creates solar panel that produces hydrogen from moisture in air

Green Car Congress

Bioscience engineers at KU Leuven have created a solar panel that produces hydrogen gas from moisture in the air. Twenty of these solar panels could provide electricity and heat for one family for an entire winter. A traditional solar panel converts between 18 to 20% of the solar energy into electricity.

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Lightning Systems converting 35-foot diesel buses to battery-electrics in Boulder; cost-effective electrification

Green Car Congress

Lightning Systems, a global developer of zero-emission solutions for commercial fleets, is partnering with the City of Boulder and transit provider Via Mobility Services to repower diesel buses with battery-electric systems. People in Boulder are very interested in reducing the carbon footprint in all that we do.

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Caltech’s SSPD-1 Is a New Idea for Space-Based Solar

Cars That Think

Several recently published deep-dive analyses commissioned by NASA and the European Space Agency have thrown cold water on the hope that space solar power could affordably generate many gigawatts of clean energy in the near future. Ali Hajimiri is the codirector of Caltech’s space-based solar power project. And yet the dream lives on.

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Costco warehouse installs off-grid solar to power its EV fleet – Charged EVs

Baua Electric

Retail giant Costco has installed on-site solar generation at a new electric truck charging project in southern California. Costco contracted Washington-based Trinity Structures to design and build an off-grid rooftop solar system at its distribution center in Mira Loma. Trinity completed the project in four months.

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