The Lucid Lunar Is a Robotaxi for Two Passengers
Lucid Motors unveiled the Lunar, a two‑seat, doorless robotaxi concept, at its Investor Day in New York. The vehicle trims its battery to about 55 kWh, promising roughly 9.7 km per kWh—nearly double the efficiency of typical four‑seat EVs and enough for a 500‑km range. Built on the same midsize platform as the upcoming Cosmos SUV, the Lunar uses Nvidia’s Drive Thor chip for Level‑4/5 autonomy and aims to cut operating costs by up to 40 percent versus larger robotaxi conversions. Lucid envisions the Lunar as a scalable, low‑cost solution for urban mobility fleets.
New Polymer Blend Could Help Store Energy for the Grid and EVs
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have created a polymer blend of polyetherimide (PEI) and PBPDA that yields a dielectric constant of 13.5, roughly four times the energy density of conventional polymer capacitors. The material remains functional up to 250 °C, far...
This High-Density Hydro Storage System Ditches the Water
UK‑based RheEnergise has demonstrated a water‑free pumped‑storage system that uses a proprietary High‑Density Fluid, 2.5 times denser than water, to generate 500 kW in a pilot plant. The closed‑loop design replaces traditional reservoirs with a concrete lower tank and an 80‑metre...
AI Data Centers Turn to High-Temperature Superconductors
AI‑driven hyperscale data centers are straining existing power grids, prompting Microsoft and other cloud providers to explore high‑temperature superconductors (HTS) as a replacement for copper wiring. Microsoft has pledged $75 million to Veir, a developer of REBCO‑based HTS tape, and is...
We’re Measuring Data Center Sustainability Wrong
Google claims its data centers are 1.5× more energy‑efficient than the industry average and Microsoft is investing billions in nuclear power for AI workloads, yet these metrics capture only about 30% of IT‑sector emissions. The bulk of carbon comes from...