Food trucks gained popularity in the last century, feeding on the rise of social media. In 2022, the US alone had 36,324 food truck businesses. Their origins go back to the 1800s chuck wagons providing food to cowboys driving cattle (Figure 1).

For over a year, I have been writing about hydrogen-powered transport. I have covered cars, trucks, airplanes, trains, and ships and learned about unexpected applications like drones. Today, I will add one more to the series: Hovercrafts. Hovercrafts may seem too niche a transportation mode if not a dying breed…

Introduction How can we make better cargo airplanes? A startup named Nautilus took the challenge and designed a solution. The startup, founded in 2016, aims to commoditize the freight transport industry through innovation and advanced technology. And they focus on airplanes. This US startup was previously covered in Medium in 2021…

Introduction Our collective path to a net-zero civilization is achieved sector by sector. Decarbonization usually means electrification. There is both an energy generation and storage side to it. There are several options for renewable low-carbon generation: hydropower, wind, and, increasingly, solar. For storage, the main options are pumped hydro and batteries. …

Introduction The energy transition requires new industrial processes with renewable energy and low carbon equivalent emissions. That is not what happens today. Most sectors are electrifying and adopting batteries for energy storage. However, for some applications, batteries won’t work. Examples include heavy long-haul transport, seasonal energy storage, and the steel industry…

Introduction In my previous article, a Bifacial Solar Panels: A Comprehensive Guide for the Non-expert on Bifacial Photovoltaic Systems, I quickly mentioned pseudo-bifaciality. I decided to expand on the subject. Monofacial and bifacial panels Traditional solar panels are monofacial: they have photovoltaic cells on their front surface facing the sun. …

Introduction Solar power leads the growth in electricity sources, renewables or not. Forecasts predict solar to overtake the shares of natural gas by 2026 and coal by 2027. (See Figure 1).

Introduction Solar panels Solar panels are devices that convert sunlight into electricity. Installed on top of roofs, they allow buildings to generate electricity for personal use and exchange (or sell it) with the public grid. It is no secret that homeowners are increasingly installing solar panels on their roofs. The surprise may be…

Starting point What are the types and benefits of green roofs? Green roofs types Green roofs vary extensively. Soil depth, soil type, and plant composition differ significantly between green roofs — consequently, performance changes depending on the specific design. As such, the literature divides green roofs into extensive and intensive. …