ERC GRANT

Oxford University has been awarded a grant of €56 million by the European Research Council (ERC).

The winners of the ERC’s latest Consolidator Grants Competition were announced on 10 December, the funding for this being a part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme - Link - more like this (The Blavatnik School of Government) - link - more like this (University of Oxford) - link

TRUMP ON WIND

President Donald Trump has hit out at wind turbines and the ”tremendous fumes and gases” created when they are manufactured.

Trump, speaking at a student summit in Florida, called the turbines ”windmills” and lambasted their ugliness.

He criticised their environmental impact and claimed they were killing bald eagles and creating “bird graveyards”. But how much of what he said was based on fact? We’ve picked four claims and put them to the test.

(You can read his full speech here or read excerpts below.) - Link

WIND EXPERT

STEPPIN OUT

2020 MIRAI

Will next year's new Toyota Mirai look like this? This coupé-style four-door concept ostensibly previews the second generation of Toyota's fuel-cell flagship, which comes as a great relief; it's much easier on the eye than the innovative but wacky current model which was launched in 2014.

Beyond the aesthetic improvements, it comes with a raft of more important changes under the skin. A larger hydrogen fuel tank and more efficient fuel cell are said to offer a 30 per cent improvement to driving range over the 300 miles of the current model, which has a 153bhp, 247lb ft in-house-developed fuel-cell powertrain, with a 1.5kWh 60kg nickel-metal-hydride battery pack and control electronics from a Camry hybrid. That works out at around 390 miles – the longest of any zero-emission car - link

RECYCLING SMOKES AND MIRRORS, TOOTHPASTE TUBES AND CLEAN RUBBER GLOVES

Cigarette butts are the world's most littered item with nearly 4.5 trillion being tossed each year. Last year in the United States, it is estimated 1.69 billion pounds of butts ended up as toxic waste.

TerraCycle is working with cities and municipalities globally to recycle cigarette butts. Since 2012, when TerraCycle launched its first cigarette recycling program, it has collected hundreds of millions of butts around the world.
  
In 2017, in the United States alone, TerraCycle noted it collected tens of millions of cigarette butts from more than 50 cities. And six months into 2018, the company said it is poised to exceed those numbers - 

It would be great to see the large 'industrial' version of the cigarette butt recycling operation but unfortunately I haven't been able to find a site showing it - link

TIPPING POINTS

Some of the most alarming science surrounding climate change is the discovery that it may not happen incrementally — as a steadily rising line on a graph — but in a series of lurches as various “tipping points” are passed. 

And now comes a new concern: These tipping points can form a cascade, with each one triggering others, creating an irreversible shift to a hotter world. A new study suggests that changes to ocean circulation could be the driver of such a cascade - Link

Why are glaciers melting from the bottom - link

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NEVER LET THE TRUTH GET IN THE WAY

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been criticised by a German rail firm for what it said was her implication that she had spent a journey without a seat on an overcrowded train.

The teenager tweeted a photograph of herself looking pensively out of the window of her German train on Saturday, writing: “Traveling (sic) on overcrowded trains through Germany. And I’m finally on my way home.” Link

WORLD'S FIRST LIQUEFIED HYDROGEN CARRIER

Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries has launched the world's first liquefied hydrogen carrier at it's Kobe Works yard.

The Suiso Frontier was designed to provide a means of transporting liquefied hydrogen at 1/800 of its original gas-state volume, cooled to –253°C. Kawasaki plans to install a 1,250m3 vacuum-insulated, double-shell-structure liquefied hydrogen storage tank, currently being manufactured at Harima Works, on the ship. The vessel's construction is expected to be complete by late 2020 - Link

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PURECYCLE TECHNOLOGIES

OFF GRID

For a brief period a few days ago, Bordesholm in Germany became a showcase for how entire communities could switch over to renewable energy, with the backing of energy storage capacity.

Solar inverter maker SMA’s devices, including its Sunny Central Storage battery inverter and SMA Hybrid Controller XL, were used in a trial whereby the town’s energy supply was disconnected from the grid, proving for a one-hour window that local energy networks could be powered stably and reliably using renewable energy - Link

EYEMOUTH HARBOUR SELECTED BY EDF

Eyemouth Harbour has been selected as preferred location as an Operations & Maintenance base to support EDF Renewables UK’s Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Farm (NnG).

EDF recently revealed the decision as part of a wider announcement about reaching key milestones in their project, including awarding several contracts to support the project - Link