Happy Monday and welcome back to the Green New Spiel, the newsletter bringing you the latest stories and developments in the world of clean-tech, green energy and other climate related news.
Please enjoy the stories we have for you today and as ever do let us know if there are topics you would like us to cover more of.
This week on the Green New Spiel:
☢️ Portable nuclear generators
🇺🇸 🚛 California zeroes in on trucks
💦 🌳 Liquid trees
💰 🏠 AirBnB to help landlords pay for heat pumps
⬇️ Sign up below to receive this directly in your inbox ⬇️
☢️ Portable nuclear generators
On the surface it might sound like a terrible road accident waiting to happen, however Radiant Nuclear have just raised $40 million to help them achieve their goal of building portable nuclear generators capable of producing a megawatt of power (potentially enough to power about 1,000 homes).
They are trying to reduce dependence on diesel generators which not only are carbon emitting but also contribute to significant increases in cancer rates. The number of such diesel generators in California increased by 34% between 2018 and 2020 due to wild fires and natural disasters. In certain regions of Africa generate over 40% of their electricity with these generators.
Radiant Nuclear is founded by former SpaceX engineer, Doug Bernauer. The funding round was led by Andreessen Horowitz.
🇺🇸 🚛 California zeroes in on trucks
California has already passed legislation to bar the the sale of new gasoline- and diesel-powered passenger vehicles by 2035, but has recently also announced that it will only permit zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks to operate within the state by 2045. The state is offering huge incentives of as much as $120,000 for battery trucks and $240,000 for hydrogen trucks
This is of course something which we will need to move towards, however the trucking industry is concerned that this will result in higher costs and fewer choices for consumers. To placate these concerns, the state needs to overhaul its charging infrastructure, as well as its grid’s efficiency, to ensure that huge charging loads from a whole fleet of trucks are possible.
💦 🌳 Liquid trees
LIQUID 3, based in Serbia, have been producing bioreactors which use algae to clean up the smog in Belgrade, a relatively polluted city due to two coal power stations nearby. What’s the point? Couldn’t they just plant more trees along the roads instead?
Sure - but not all locations are as well as placed to plant a sufficient amount of trees due to space, existing levels of smog and ground water quality. A group of Serbian scientists have therefore produced LIQUID 3 bioreactors to try and address the pollution in their city.
Algae can be between 10x - 50x more effective than the average tree at absorbing CO2 (relative to its size of course). Each bioreactor is equivalent to two, ten-year-old trees, absorbing urban pollution whilst also providing street lighting (solar powered) and a convenient spot to charge your phone.
Check out the LIQUID 3 reactor below. Would you want them in your cities? We definitely would!
🏠 AirBnB to help landlords pay for heat pumps
AirBnB is piloting a programme in Massachusetts whereby it will give landlords $2,500 to install air-source heat pumps and make their properties more energy-efficient. The money will be paid to landlords through rebates and is on top of any federal IRA incentives which are now in place.
This follows two successful pilots across the UK and France last year which saw hosts offered up to £3,000 to put towards sustainability initiatives.
If you’re here, thank you for reading the Green New Spiel today. If there is anyone who you think would find it interesting, click below and invite them to join!
Have any comments or questions? Message us on LinkedIn or reply directly to to this email.
Ciao,
Carlo and Rob