Sustainable

For the first time, scientists have successfully produced full-length spider silk fibers using genetically modified silkworms. This silk has the potential to provide a scalable, sustainable and better-quality alternative to current synthetic fibers.

Keeping panels clear of dust in large solar farms can be a time-consuming, wasteful and costly business. A startup called the Reiwa Engine has developed an autonomous robot called SandStorm to reduce maintenance and cleaning costs by as much as 80%.

The Draft Top is designed to take your beer can (and other drinks) to a new level. It cleanly and smoothly removes the lid from an aluminum vessel, allowing for better taste, less bloat, imaginative creations and, afterwards, some clever repurposing.

For all its uses, plastic is unfortunately one of our least sustainable materials. Now, scientists at Berkeley Lab have developed a way to engineer bacteria to produce raw materials that can be made into plastics that are completely recyclable.

RMIT engineers say they've tripled the energy density of cheap, rechargeable, recyclable proton flow batteries, which can now challenge commercially available lithium-ion batteries for capacity with a specific energy density of 245 Wh/kg.

The communications and nutrients support system of fungi, mycelium, can stretch hundreds of miles beneath our feet. Now, researchers have harnessed another of its bio-superpowers to engineer a sustainable, safe and effective fire-retardant material.

Paracetamol and ibuprofen are among the world’s most common painkillers, but manufacturing them requires crude oil. Now, researchers have developed a more sustainable method, creating the drugs out of waste products from the paper industry.

Because they're made of vulcanized rubber, old tires can't simply be melted down and used to make new tires. Such is reportedly not the case, however, with new rubber-free tires made from eco-friendly elastomers.

That plate of smashed crab legs about to be cleared from the dining table and tossed in the trash might actually be the future of rechargeable batteries. A new discovery for its use in sodium-ion technology has researchers certainly believing so.

A Royal Air Force Voyager air-to-air refueling tanker made history on November 16, becoming the world's first in-service military aircraft to complete a flight using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) for both engines.

While the farming of salmon does help take pressure off wild stocks, the feed used to raise the fish still isn't entirely sustainably sourced. That may change, however, thanks to nutrient-rich worms that eat readily available seaweed.

Taking carbon dioxide, water and sunlight as its only inputs, this solar thermal tower in Spain produces carbon-neutral replacement versions of diesel and jet fuel. It's a pilot plant, proving a new all-in-one sustainable fuel production process.