The fastest EV charger ever achieves full battery in less than 15 minutes

The FAA has officially cleared Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo for flight, renewable energy paradox: Solar panels and their toxic waste Oct 01, 2021 # Good morning. In the 15 minutes it takes to read this newsletter, a new EV charger called Terra 360 could completely charge your all-electric car. This amounts to shots fired between Tesla and Terra, since the former has made significant improvement over the Tesla Supercharger, which can achieve 80% in 40 minutes. Also, in today’s issue, it’s time to pop the champagne: Virgin Galactic can finally return to the skies and beyond following a months-long timeout from the FAA after Richard Branson's problematic flight to the edge of space. But on a more sobering note, we have a classic cradle-to-grave story on solar panels, which may not be as "green" as we thought. This is The Blueprint. Keep reading. Help us make your reader experience better by [taking this survey](. It takes just 2 minutes. CULTURE [The FAA Has Officially Cleared Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo for Flight]( [A Land Rover debuting the SpaceShipTwo.]( The Federal Aviation Administration [has declared its satisfaction]( with the measures taken by Virgin Galactic after a minor logistical incident during billionaire Richard Branson's flight to the edge of space on July 11 — which means the third space baron is back on the flight list! Let’s refresh your memory. ​​During its flight, SpaceShipOne drifted outside of its mandated airspace, which is designated to protect local populations from potential disaster should the worst happen. A [New Yorker article]( later revealed this break with regulations, and argued that the pilots ignored warning lights during ascent. According to some sources, after veering outside of the designated airspace for nearly two minutes, the Virgin Galactic flight's safest alternative was to abort the mission. Instead, the pilots continued to fly at full-throttle speeds for the entire minute required to ascend to roughly 53 miles (85 km) above sea level. Technically, that’s the very edge of outer space. After achieving this, the vehicle glided down for a landing at its designated runway, and made a successful return. The best worst case. Had the pilots aborted their flight, Branson could have missed his bid to become the first billionaire to enter space, a feat that would likely have been claimed by Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos, [who reached the edge of space]( in his New Shepard rocket weeks later. The reality check. Luckily, the worst didn't happen and the FAA is happy with Virgin Galactic's corrections. Virgin Galactic's Michael Colglazier has also stressed the company's total commitment to safety, but the company has seen tragic deaths during tests, along with inauthentic PR campaigns, and faced allegations of deteriorating safety culture. Suffice to say that while Branson's firm is cleared to fly, this probably [won't be the last incident]( to land the company in trouble. [Read More]( INNOVATION [World's Fastest EV Charger Is in the Works: A Full Battery in Less Than 15 Minutes]( [The Terra 360 EV charger]( For once, it’s not a Tesla. A big name in the power and automation industries called ABB [has formally launched its electric vehicle charger]( Terra 360, which is not only the fastest but can also power up to four vehicles at a time. Meet the Terra 360. It’s a modular charger and works with dynamic power distribution. With a design that looks just like a gasoline fueling station and a charging time of just three minutes for a range of 62 miles (100 km), you might mistake them in a parking lot for a conventional, fossil-fuel vehicle. And that’s probably the idea. Thanks to Terra 360's rapid charging, new owners will spend roughly the same amount of time charging that they would pumping gas. - The 360 in the Terra stands for 360kW of output, which is way above the 250 kW offered by [Tesla's Superchargers](. Astonishingly, the charger can completely charge an EV battery in a maximum of 15 minutes. The next steps. ABB doesn’t want to supply chargers separately. Instead, it wants to roll out large-scale charging infrastructure, and that means fueling stations, retail locations, convenience stores, and even organizations. The chargers can be customized and “branded”, with options to change the colors of the LED lights and even display advertisements on a 27-inch (68.5-cm) screen. Save the date. The Terra 360 will launch in Europe later this year, with subsequent releases in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia-Pacific regions in 2022. [Read More]( SCIENCE [Renewable Energy Paradox: Solar Panels and Their Toxic Waste]( [Cradle-to-grave solar panels are not as "green" as we are led to believe.]( From corporate campaigns to new waves of natural disasters, the global push to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels is palpable. The chief reason is to prevent our home planet’s environment from falling out of the habitable sweet spot. And, among the various strategies under development, one tends to receive the most attention — renewable technologies, like solar panels. A dark truth. However, [just like wind turbines]( solar panels have a darker side. Like all high-tech manufacturing, solar panels require raw resources, and are composed primarily of a special kind of silicon. But, produced in giant furnaces, the process consumes a lot of energy, especially for long-term mass production. In most cases, the energy is provided through the combustion of fossil fuels, either directly or from power stations supplying electricity to the grid. Moreover, studies have found that solar panels create somewhere roughly 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than nuclear power plants over their lifetime. Fortunately! While reports of the impending solar waste "crisis" are alarming, there may be strategies to deal with it. Some say we could recycle 100 percent of old panels, but, unless we hit a dead-end, the only real problem is a challenge to engineering imagination. [Here are all the strategies to reduce harm]( and solve the problem. Whatever the case, all attempts to make solar power truly renewable should be intriguing, even if they aren't successful. [Read More]( QUOTE OF THE DAY “ I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do. ” Leonardo da Vinci, on the question of human flight. [Video]VIDEO OF THE DAY [Ways of Protecting Our Precious Planet From Asteroid Impacts]( [Ways of Protecting Our Precious Planet From Asteroid Impacts]( TODAY IN HISTORY Today in 1969, the French Concorde prototype (001) joined the ranks of supersonic aircraft for the first time. The Concorde was also the first airplane to be entirely controlled by computer; however, its impact on international air travel was limited by the high costs of operation. Only British Airways and Air France did. Their service ended with final passenger flights on 24 October 2003. AND ANOTHER THING... - [The human lifespan is due for an extension]( Scientists say most humans can probably live to 130, and possibly longer. - Communicating scientific results in outdated formats is holding progress back. One alternative: [Translate science for machines](. (Wired) - NFTs have had quite a precocious year: Even [TikTok is flirting with the nascent technology](. (TechCrunch) - You've probably heard that even a basic pocket calculator is more powerful than the computer that landed astronauts on the moon during NASA's Apollo program. But [we’re here to defend the guidance computer](. - Coffee bean prices have doubled in the past year and may double again. [So what's going on]( (The Conversation) - Mining is typically a job that requires a lot of heavy machinery and physical labor. However, [asteroid-chewing could help us mine the Moon](. (Universe Today) - For roughly 1 in 20 people in the northern half of the U.S., cooling temperatures and shorter, darker days may signal the onset of seasonal affective disorder. [Take these steps to fend off winter depression](. (New York Times $) Prepared by Derya Ozdemir and Brad Bergan Enjoy reading? Don't forget to forward to a friend! Was this email forwarded to you? 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