Stellantis has integrated Factorial Energy’s solid-state battery cells into a Dodge Charger Daytona development vehicle and begun road testing the technology, marking a key step toward bringing solid-state batteries into production vehicles.

The milestone is the first time Factorial’s FEST (Factorial Electrolyte System Technology) solid-state cells have been installed in a Stellantis vehicle. The companies will now evaluate battery performance, reliability, and safety under real-world driving and charging conditions.

The development follows laboratory validation completed in 2025, when Stellantis and Factorial demonstrated automotive-scale FEST cells with an energy density of 375 Wh/kg. The cells also achieved charging from 15 percent to 90 percent in 18 minutes and operated across temperatures ranging from -22 °F to 113 °F.

Moving from laboratory testing to an on-road vehicle required engineers to redesign parts of the battery system. Stellantis said it developed a patented mechanical architecture that allows the solid-state cells to fit within an existing battery pack while maximizing performance.

From lab to road

Engineers also modified battery controls and pack design to meet automotive requirements for durability and safety. According to the companies, these changes were needed to ensure consistent performance under a range of driving and charging conditions.

The battery pack is based on Stellantis’ STLA Large platform and serves as the first vehicle in a previously announced multi-stage development program.

“Battery development is a balancing act. It’s not enough to optimize a single metric. We need a system that delivers real benefits in a real vehicle,” said Ned Curic, Stellantis Chief Engineering and Technology Officer.

“This milestone shows we are bringing solid-state batteries closer to our customers with the potential for longer range, faster charging, and lower costs. Just as important, FEST’s strong compatibility with lithium-ion manufacturing processes gives us a critical path to scale this technology.”

Solid-state batteries replace the liquid electrolyte used in conventional lithium-ion batteries with a solid material. The technology is expected to improve energy density, increase safety, and reduce charging times. However, scaling production and integrating the cells into vehicles have remained major challenges for automakers and battery developers.

Scaling battery technology

With the battery now installed in a working vehicle, Stellantis and Factorial have launched a testing and calibration program to gather performance data from real-world operation.

The companies said the program will evaluate charging behavior, vehicle safety, and long-term reliability. The results will also help refine battery management systems and pack-level controls before any future commercial deployment.

“We are deeply honored to work alongside Stellantis, one of the world’s great mass-market automakers, on this STLA Large-based development car,” said Siyu Huang, CEO of Factorial.

“What we have built together, from cell chemistry to pack architecture to enable real-world road testing, is exactly the kind of deep, full-stack collaboration that solid-state has always required.”

Factorial, which is backed by Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Kia, is among several companies racing to commercialize solid-state batteries. The latest milestone moves its technology beyond cell-level testing and into vehicle validation, a critical stage before potential mass-market adoption.

The United States is working to rebuild its domestic uranium enrichment infrastructure for its defense programs, through a project known as DUECE (Domestic Uranium Enrichment Centrifuge Experiment).

It began in 2016, with an objective to develop and demonstrate the next generation of gas centrifuges for uranium enrichment. DUCE is based out of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

The project is strategically significant as it aims to provide a domestic source of highly enriched uranium for powering US nuclear submarines as well as provide tritium for the US nuclear weapons stockpile.

The US imports low enriched uranium for its commercial power reactors but international treaties prohibit the use of imported uranium for military applications.

A capability gap decades in the making

The US once operated three large gaseous diffusion plants for uranium enrichment. These were located in Oak Ridge Tennessee, Portsmouth Ohio, and Paducah, Kentucky (which remained operational until 2013).

These facilities consumed enormous amounts of electricity and were gradually shut down as cheaper, more energy-efficient centrifuge-based enrichment became the global standard.

The US was also developing centrifuge technology at Oak Ridge to eventually replace gaseous diffusion. But events like the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster, the end of the Cold War, and the decrease in global demand for enriched uranium halted plans for commercializing the gas centrifuge technology.

The enrichment process

Gas centrifuge enrichment works by spinning uranium hexafluoride gas at high speed; the heavier uranium-238 isotope migrates toward the outer wall while the lighter, fissile uranium-235 concentrates near the axis. Cascades of thousands of centrifuges connected in series are required to achieve commercially useful enrichment levels.

In general the enrichment levels of uranium fuel in US nuclear submarines is 93-97%. These enable high power density and long-lived reactor cores. It also facilitates in building more compact naval reactors.

What DUECE is building

Currently the project is focused on building a pilot plant in collaboration with BWX Technologies (BWXT). BWXT built a Centrifuge Manufacturing Development Facility to support the pilot plant, it commenced operations in January 2026. The plant will use centrifuges based on the ORNL’s Generation 1 centrifuge design. Currently the Generation 1 design is deployed in a laboratory cascade at ORNL.

It commenced operations on June 1, 2026. Additional deployments of the Generation 1 machine at ORNL are planned through the early 2030s to mature the TRL (Technology Readiness Level) of the design in time for the pilot plant deployment.

Michael Whedbee ORNL’s technical project manager for DUECE said “ The DUECE project plans to use the developments in computing and in materials to continue to advance and develop new potential designs and capabilities in the centrifuge arena.”

Eventually the technical and operational learnings from the pilot plant will be utilized in building a follow on commercial scale facility in the 2040s. The DUECE project fits within a broader federal push to secure the nuclear fuel cycle, which includes funding for domestic uranium mining, conversion, enrichment and reprocessing.

An aerospace and technology company recently conducted maiden piloted flight of its full scale prototype aircraft. Vertical Aerospace’s full-scale prototype is expected to accelerate flight testing, support piloted demonstrations and advance Vertical’s hybrid-electric aircraft programme.

The latest prototype will progress through all phases of piloted flight testing, including thrustborne, wingborne and transition flight.

The company also revealed that this is the final prototype before Critical Design Review (CDR), which will establish the certifiable aircraft design and pave the way for assembly of Vertical’s first pre-production aircraft.

New prototype is final aircraft to join Vertical’s flight test fleet

The new prototype is the final aircraft to join Vertical’s flight test fleet before the Company completes Critical Design Review (CDR), a major programme milestone that establishes the design baseline for certification. Following CDR, Vertical will begin preparations for assembly of its first pre-production aircraft as it continues toward certification and commercial service.

“Getting our latest prototype into flight testing is an important milestone because it allows us to learn faster in real world conditions and keep building momentum towards certification,” said Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical Aerospace.

“Expanding the flight test fleet will help us validate the aircraft more quickly, reduce risk, and move more efficiently towards bringing Valo into service.”

Latest aircraft doubles Vertical’s flight testing capacity

The company revealed that the latest aircraft doubles Vertical’s flight testing capacity and supports additional public demonstrations this year. Following the completion of all flight test phases – thrustborne, wingborne and transition flight – in its all-electric configuration, Vertical intends to retrofit this prototype for hybrid-electric flight testing.

The hybrid-electric variant is expected to support applications demanding greater range and payload capability across defense, logistics, and wider commercial sectors, according to a press release.

The prototype shares the same configuration as Vertical’s current full-scale aircraft, which has already completed all flight test phases. Vertical’s flight test programme is built around full-scale, piloted prototype aircraft with architecture, systems and flight characteristics closely aligned to the production-standard Valo aircraft, enabling the Company to validate the technologies, systems integration and flight models that will support certification, as per the release.

The new prototype shares the same configuration as Vertical’s existing full-scale aircraft, which has already completed all major flight-test phases. By using full-scale, piloted prototypes that closely resemble the production-standard aircraft, the company aims to validate key technologies, systems integration, and flight models required for regulatory certification.

The latest demonstration marks a significant step toward certification and commercial deployment of the company’s next-generation electric air taxi, Valo.

The Bristol-based company has secured approximately 1,500 pre-orders for the Valo aircraft from customers across four continents. Its customer base includes major aviation and leasing companies such as American Airlines, Avolon, Bristow Group, GOL, and Japan Airlines.

A Chinese startup has claimed a breakthrough in photonic chip manufacturing by producing 8-inch optical chip wafers without relying on conventional deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems.

Hangzhou-based Prinano said it successfully validated mass production of photonic chips using its nanoimprint lithography (NIL) technology, a manufacturing approach that physically stamps nanoscale patterns onto wafers instead of projecting them through optical systems.

According to the company, the process was carried out in collaboration with Shenzhen Litra Technology and used its PL-AS vacuum air-cushion nanoimprint lithography equipment. Prinano said the method “completely avoids” the need for DUV lithography tools while reducing manufacturing costs to about one-tenth of traditional solutions.

The announcement comes as Chinese chipmakers continue looking for alternative manufacturing technologies amid restrictions on access to advanced lithography systems from Dutch supplier ASML.

Seeking lithography alternatives

Photonic chips are used in applications such as optical communications, sensing systems, lidar, and data centers. Unlike conventional electronic chips, they process information using light rather than electrical signals.

Prinano said its technology supports wafer-level production of photonic chips and can be applied to optical communication and sensing devices based on gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, and silicon photonics.

The company said its PL-AS tool offers sub-10-nanometer line-width resolution along with wafer-level pressure control. However, it did not disclose production volumes, manufacturing yields, or customer shipment data.

Nanoimprint lithography has long been viewed as a potential alternative to traditional optical lithography because it can create extremely fine features without the need for expensive projection optics. The technology was pioneered in the 1990s by Princeton University professor Stephen Y. Chou.

Prinano founder Ge Haixiong studied under Chou and established the company in 2017 to develop NIL equipment, materials, and manufacturing processes.

Questions over scalability

Interest in nanoimprint lithography has increased in recent years as chipmakers seek lower-cost manufacturing methods. In 2023, Canon introduced a commercial NIL system and promoted it as an alternative to some advanced lithography tools.

Despite the promise, analysts have questioned whether the technology can match the throughput and yields required for large-scale semiconductor manufacturing.

Research firm SemiAnalysis has previously noted that while NIL equipment can be cheaper than advanced lithography tools, overall economics depend on factors such as defect rates, template production, throughput, and process integration.

Prinano’s announcement focuses specifically on photonic chips rather than advanced logic processors, a distinction that may make commercialization more achievable. Photonic devices often rely on repeating nanoscale structures such as gratings, waveguides, and ring resonators, which can be well suited to imprint-based manufacturing.

The company said the technology has moved into wafer-level production validation, but independent verification of yields, commercial deployment, and manufacturing scale has not yet been disclosed.

For China’s semiconductor industry, the development highlights ongoing efforts to explore alternative manufacturing routes as access to advanced lithography equipment remains restricted.

China has deployed robotic snakes to inspect power lines and help ensure a stable electricity supply.

The snake-like robots wrap around power lines and use onboard cameras and sensors to detect hazards such as damaged wires, worn components, and abnormal temperatures.

According to online media reports, the robots have inspected more than 80 miles (130 kilometers) of distribution lines serving exam sites near airport no-fly zones.

The system is three times more efficient than manual inspections, reducing the need for labor-intensive, hazardous work while improving reliability and safety.

Robotic grid guardians

Power utilities in southwestern China are using robotic snakes to inspect power lines, showcasing a new approach to infrastructure monitoring in environments where drones face limitations.

The snake-like robots have been deployed in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, where they move directly along power lines while inspecting critical electrical infrastructure. Equipped with cameras and sensors, the robots can identify faults such as broken wires, worn components, and abnormal temperature changes that could signal potential failures, reports the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Developed by the Guandu District Power Supply Bureau, the robotic system has already inspected more than 80 miles (130 kilometers) of power distribution lines. According to its developers, the technology delivers inspection efficiency three times higher than traditional manual methods.

Unlike aerial drones, which are widely used for power-line inspections, the robotic snakes operate directly on the cables they monitor. This allows them to work in locations where drone flights are restricted, including areas near airport no-fly zones. The robots are also less vulnerable to high-voltage electromagnetic interference, a common challenge that can disrupt drone control systems and reduce image quality.

Meet the snake-like #robot patrolling power lines in #Kunming.

Slithering along cables, it uses onboard cameras and sensors to spot damage and overheating in real time. Even better, it draws power straight from the line, enabling autonomous 24/7 monitoring without interruption. pic.twitter.com/zXJq61oft4

— China SCIO (@chinascio) June 10, 2026

The system addresses several limitations of drone-based inspections, including restricted flight zones, weather dependence, and limited battery endurance. By providing continuous close-range monitoring of power infrastructure, the robotic snakes enable utility crews to quickly identify and address potential hazards, reports SCMP.

Intelligent grid inspectors

Chinese power utilities are deploying a range of robotic systems, including snake robots, robot dogs, drones, and surveillance cameras, to monitor electricity infrastructure and maintain reliable power supplies during the national college entrance exams.

The snake robot features a flexible, multi-jointed body that allows it to move along power lines and navigate around obstacles such as insulators. This design enables it to reach areas that are difficult for human inspectors and aerial drones to access. A camera and onboard sensors mounted in the robot’s head detect potential faults and safety risks, while a non-contact power-harvesting system allows the robot to draw energy directly from the power lines it is inspecting.

Following successful trials on multiple transmission routes, utility operators have expanded the robot’s deployment to more complex sections of the power grid. Robot dogs are also being used for inspections in high-voltage environments and other locations that are challenging or hazardous for human workers. Combined with drones and fixed monitoring systems, the robotic platforms provide continuous oversight of critical electrical infrastructure.

The deployment comes as approximately 12.9 million students sat for China’s National Higher Education Entrance Examination, known as the gaokao, one of the country’s most important academic tests. Reliable electricity is considered critical during the examination period, prompting utilities to adopt advanced robotic technologies to improve inspection efficiency and reduce operational risks, reports SCMP.

Ferveret, a startup from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is using cooling technology deployed in nuclear reactors to solve challenges faced by data centers today. The waterless cooling technology can also help establish data centers in areas where water is scarce while abundant solar energy powers the chips and cooling infrastructure. 

The recent surge in artificial intelligence (AI) applications has been made possible by high-performance computing chips from companies like NVIDIA. When AI needs to be deployed at scale, companies need to house many chips capable of processing information quickly enough. To save costs, they hire computing power from private data centers that buy and deploy the high-performance chips and rent them out over the long term. 

As more and more companies deploy AI in their workflows, the demand for data centers has shot up. With new data centers, energy demand is also growing. Estimates suggest that by the end of the decade, up to 17 percent of the US electricity usage will be consumed by data centers. The power consumption is not just for high-performance chips but also for cooling them. 

Liquid cooling chips

When data centers were first set up, chips were cooled using air. As their computing capacities increased, they began to generate more heat, which needed better cooling approaches. 

Liquids are better than air at removing heat from a chip. Their performance is even better when the heat is used to bring about a phase change. At the liquid’s boiling point, it can extract more heat from the chip without increasing the temperature difference between the liquid and the chip. 

The newest data centers use an immersion cooling approach in which the entire server rack is immersed in the cooling liquid to maximize heat transfer. However, with AI adding more computational power to the server pack, heat generation has increased, necessitating newer cooling solutions. 

Nuclear reactor-inspired tech

MIT spin-off Ferveret is looking to deploy cooling technology used in nuclear reactors and adapt it for data center use. Called subcooled boiling, it uses a liquid with a low boiling point, which produces smaller bubbles than immersion cooling approaches. 

While immersion cooling has to contend with issues such as capturing the bubbles and reliquefying them under constrained pressure and temperature conditions, in Ferveret’s approach, the bubbles recondense quickly into the surrounding liquid. 

In a recent study, Ferveret found that its cooling solution resulted in up to 15 percent improvement in computational power efficiency compared to state-of-the-art immersive cooling techniques. This, combined with Fereveret’s proprietary power control system, allows data centers to extract 35 percent more tokens from the AI models without any increase in power usage. 

Ferveret’s Adaptive Phase Cooling (APC) system is deployed in small boxes, each capable of housing one server. This modular approach allows its deploy and maintain its system much more easily. 

“The physics enable us to get to form factors that weren’t possible in the past,” said Reza Azizian, co-founder at Ferveret, in a press release. “Most immersion cooling solutions are large tanks that people submerge the servers in. We have a smaller, modular rack-mounted solution that makes it adaptable to the current infrastructure, so it’s easier for people to deploy our technology.”

The waterless cooling approach is also beneficial in areas where water is scarce, but sunlight is plentiful. Setting up solar power plants in these areas is simple, but with low water, data centers could not be cooled down. 

“This technology can help deploy data centers in regions where normally you wouldn’t have the resources to do so, including Africa, the Middle East, and of course parts of America. It’s a huge unlock,” added Matteo Bucci, associate professor at the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and also Ferveret co-founder. 

Researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a method to harvest rare earth elements (REEs) directly from coal waste.

Anuja Tripathi, a postdoctoral researcher, co-developed this innovative method to recover critical rare earth elements from this industrial waste. 

Working alongside professors Ching-Hua Huang and Xing Xie, Tripathi transformed what she once viewed as a childhood nuisance into a valuable resource. It offers a way to extract the essential materials needed for modern technology from America’s massive stockpiles of coal fly ash.

Mining coal waste

Do not let the name fool you. Rare earth elements are not actually rare. But these are deeply scattered. Finding them in concentrations high enough to mine efficiently is a global game of hide-and-seek.

Yet, modern society cannot function without them. These elements are the invisible muscles inside electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, defense weapons systems, and smartphones.

Right now, the United States relies mostly on foreign supply chains to get them. This heavy dependence creates massive geopolitical and national security vulnerabilities. The pressure is on to find a domestic source. 

The solution sits in America’s coal landfills. Right now, about 2 billion tons of fly ash are trapped in storage ponds and dump sites across the nation.

Left alone, it can leak toxic chemicals into groundwater or spill during major storms.

But coal naturally holds trace amounts of REEs. When coal burns, those valuable elements get left behind in the ash, concentrated and waiting.

Mining it, however, is a dirty business. Conventional extraction requires intense heat and toxic, corrosive acids. It often creates more pollution than it solves.

Without toxic acids

Tripathi’s breakthrough eliminates the harsh chemicals.

Her system relies on a recyclable, salt-based “ionic liquid.” This specialized liquid remains stable under conditions that would cause water-based chemistry to break down completely.

“The beauty of this system is that it works beyond the limits of water,” Tripathi explained.

First, the ionic liquid washes over the ash, acting like a magnet to pull the rare earth elements away from the waste. Next, the scientists zap the liquid with an electrical current. The valuable elements instantly gather onto a collection surface, allowing researchers to scrape them off.

The best part is that the liquid is cleaned and reused. The process is also highly tunable.

The team can target specific metals by adjusting the voltage of the electrical current. At low voltages, the system isolates neodymium — a critical ingredient for the ultra-strong permanent magnets used in clean energy. In initial lab tests, the system successfully recovered nearly half of the available neodymium.

The laboratory chemistry is sound. Now comes the hard part: scale.

Tripathi and her team must prove that this system can handle tons of waste rather than small laboratory batches. It needs to be fast and cheap enough to survive in the commercial market.

If it works, the implications stretch far beyond coal. The same electrochemical process could eventually be used to mine discarded cell phones, dead EV batteries, and old medical waste.

The findings were published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology. 

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Europe’s effort to strengthen control over its semiconductor supply chain has reached a significant milestone. GlobalFoundries and Dutch chip designer Qualinx have completed what they describe as the continent’s first fully European end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow.

The achievement shows that security-sensitive chips can move from design to fabrication entirely within Europe. The approach targets applications where supply chain control carries strategic importance, including aerospace, defense, and critical infrastructure.

Qualinx served as the first customer to validate the manufacturing process using one of its advanced satellite navigation chips designed for secure timing and positioning applications.

Securing the supply chain

The project centers on Qualinx’s QLX3xx Global Navigation Satellite System system-on-chip, developed for Positioning, Navigation and Timing applications. These technologies support systems that require precise synchronization and resilient navigation capabilities.

Potential uses include military platforms, critical communications networks, and ultra-low-power connected devices operating at the edge. The chip was manufactured using GlobalFoundries’ FDX platform at the company’s Dresden facility in Germany.

Under the manufacturing framework, sensitive design files and production materials remain within European borders throughout the process. The initiative also receives support through the European Chips Act, which seeks to strengthen the region’s semiconductor capabilities and reduce reliance on overseas suppliers.

“We are demonstrating that Europe can rely on a secure, end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow that meets the highest requirements of aerospace and defense,” said Dr. Manfred Horstmann, senior vice president and general manager at GlobalFoundries.

He added that the Qualinx project proves complex, security-focused chip designs can already enter production through a trusted European manufacturing route.

Sovereign production roadmap

GlobalFoundries plans to expand the capability over the next several years. The Qualinx tape-out represents the first operational step toward a fully automated sovereign manufacturing process.

The company expects to complete that transition in Dresden by the end of 2026. Beginning in 2027, aerospace, defense and critical infrastructure customers could access the manufacturing flow through standard foundry engagements.

GlobalFoundries also plans to incorporate additional European partners into the ecosystem, including intellectual property providers, mask houses, and outsourced semiconductor assembly and test companies.

According to the company, several European system manufacturers and infrastructure operators have already begun evaluating future products for the trusted manufacturing path. The successful Qualinx project could help lower both technical and regulatory barriers for follow-on programs.

Building trusted infrastructure

The effort extends beyond wafer fabrication and chip production. GlobalFoundries is also working with European telecommunications and cloud providers to keep production data within the region.

In a separate initiative with Deutsche Telekom, the company is examining how manufacturing information can travel through European networks and reside in European data centers. The work covers encryption practices, secure data routing, and access controls for highly sensitive workloads.

For Qualinx, the project validates both its technology and the broader concept of sovereign semiconductor production.

“This first secure product demonstrates that a fully European manufacturing path is already a reality today,” said Tom Trill, chief executive officer of Qualinx.

He said the collaboration optimized the company’s Digital RF technology on GlobalFoundries’ FDX platform while preserving control over intellectual property, data, and the supply chain.

As governments around the world seek greater control over strategic technologies, Europe’s latest semiconductor milestone suggests trusted regional manufacturing is evolving beyond policy ambitions. It is increasingly becoming an industrial reality.

A four-legged robot dog designed to detect toxic substances could soon become the first responder sent into dangerous areas and help firefighting crews assess the damage without risking their own safety.

The remote-controlled detection robot was developed by researchers at the Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria. It is a compact, quadruped system that also incorporates measurement devices already used by fire services.

According to the research team, the detection robot has already been extensively tested by emergency services as part of large-scale pollutant drills. It has proved its ability to provide real-time data from danger zones.

Gerald Steinbauer-Wagner, PhD, an associate professor and robotics researcher at TU Graz, revealed that the dog can be deployed on missions ahead of firefighting crews. “It measures pollutant concentrations and delivers the data together with a camera image in real time from the danger zone,” Steinbauer-Wagner explained.

First into danger

In chemical accidents, emergency crews need to identify hazardous substances quickly while operating under dangerous conditions. Firefighters must typically don bulky protective suits, such as a Level A or B Hazmat suit, prior to entering contaminated areas to take measurements.

Although necessary to ensure total isolation from hazardous environments, the process can consume valuable time during an emergency. To address this issue, the team turned to robotics.

As per the researchers, the robotic dog can be sent in before firefighters to collect critical information from the scene. “This allows the emergency services to assess the situation without having to enter the danger zone themselves,” Steinbauer-Wagner continued.

The technology reduces firefighting teams’ direct exposure to toxic substances. It could significantly improve their safety during industrial accidents and hazardous materials incidents.

“Based on a comprehensive requirements analysis, we developed an appropriate robotic strategy and integrated it into existing standard operational procedures,” Steinbauer-Wagner added. “This should ensure seamless collaboration between man and machine during the operation.”

A safer perspective

Instead of creating a new system, the team made it compatible with existing fire-service procedures. The researchers conducted an extensive requirements analysis before integrating it into established hazardous materials response protocols. The robot relies on commercially available parts for mobility, sensing, data processing, communication, and visualization.

“The results of the field tests were extremely promising in terms of mobility, user-friendliness and effectiveness,” Steinbauer-Wagner reported. Meanwhile, a recent potential analysis supported by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) highlighted several advantages of the technology.

Gerald Czech of the Austrian Federal Fire Service Association emphasized that, in the event of a real incident, he would send the robot dog into the contaminated area before the firefighters go in. “For the fire service, every minute counts during a hazardous materials operation,” he said in a statement.

Czech further said receiving measurement data and images from the danger zone while crews are still putting on protective gear could save valuable time during an emergency. “This increases the safety of the crew and improves operational command,” he concluded.

Experts from the Styrian and Upper Austrian fire service associations, TU Graz, the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, as well as the Disaster Competence Network Austria, support the use of detection robots. They propose making them a permanent part of fire departments’ hazardous materials response teams.

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US firms Reach Power and Gambit have announced their joint SWARM project has received funding from the Department of War’s Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF).

The new project combines wireless power beaming with AI-driven swarm intelligence to enable small drone fleets that operate on a constant basis without needing to land or swap batteries.

According to the teams behind the project, it untethers drones from the limitations of limited battery charges, removing the need to manually swap batteries. This will enable 24/7 air time, allowing uninterrupted operations.

A next-gen drone swarm

Group 1 drones, the small and inexpensive uncrewed systems widely used in modern conflicts, typically fly for only about 30 minutes on a single battery charge.

Once a swarm launches and organizes, effective mission time shrinks even further. According to a Reach press statement, larger batteries increase cost and weight, undermining the key benefit of drones—the fact that they are low-cost, expendable assets.

The logistics of large drone fleets is complex and often cost-prohibitive. Operators must install, remove, charge, and swap batteries for each drone before and after every flight. In contested areas, resupply becomes hazardous and contributes to reported drone effectiveness rates as low as 30 percent in active combat.

SWARM aims to tackle these constraints by integrating Reach Power’s wireless power-beaming technology with Gambit’s autonomous systems software.

Drones fly to designated waypoints to receive targeted radio-frequency (RF) energy mid-mission without landing or human assistance.

Gambit’s AI allows each aircraft to monitor its battery level, mission requirements, and charging opportunities, then adjust routes and behaviors in real time. The combined system lets the swarm self-manage energy distribution, maintain continuous presence, and reduce reliance on ground support.

Unlocking the ‘full potential of autonomy’

Chris Davlantes, founder and CEO of Reach Power, emphasized the importance of finding solutions to the limits of battery-operated fleets.

“Drone swarms are only as persistent as their batteries. SWARM changes the equation,” he noted. “When a drone can recharge itself in the air without human intervention, the full potential of autonomy and swarming is unleashed from battery limits.”

Josh Giegel, CEO of Gambit, meanwhile, highlighted the operational impact the new system could have for modern drone operations. “Today’s limitation isn’t just endurance, it’s the operational burden that comes with it,” he said.

“By enabling systems to manage energy and coordinate behavior autonomously, SWARM allows operators to focus on the mission instead of sustaining the systems.”

The SWARM project targets missions that require sustained coverage, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), counter-uncrewed aircraft systems (c-UAS), border security, air defense, and force protection.

Reach Power develops RF-based wireless charging solutions for drones, sensors, and robots that eliminate cables and battery logistics across defense and industrial sectors. Gambit, meanwhile, provides AI software for coordinated, adaptive behavior in heterogeneous robotic teams operating in complex environments.

OECIF serves as the US Department of War’s primary program for investing in operational energy innovations, with power beaming listed as a priority under demand-reduction efforts. The SWARM award reflects growing military interest in technologies that extend small-drone endurance while lowering logistical risks.

“OECIF’s early investment in power beaming is yielding significant strategic dividends as the battlefield shifts toward autonomous operations,” said Christopher DePuma, Operational Energy and Power Projection Portfolio Lead.

“By enabling remote sensors and drones to maintain persistent ISR, this technology unlocks their true potential—eliminating the tether of battery swaps and constant recharging to provide an unblinking eye on the target.”

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have added real-time visual tracking to their nuclear accident simulation equipment. By installing a camera window into a specialized furnace wall, scientists use digital image correlation to measure fuel cladding deformation as it happens. 

This is the first time researchers have captured these physical changes visually during a simulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA).

The severe accident testing station (SATS) at ORNL is the only domestic facility that can run these simulated failures on commercial, radioactive fuel rods. The protective outer layer, known as cladding, holds the nuclear fuel. Gathering precise data on this setup helps the nuclear industry reduce regulatory uncertainty.

This testing supports a broader national effort to approve accident-tolerant and high-burnup fuels, which allow commercial reactors to run longer and generate more power without raising costs.

Grid demand and regulatory approvals

Data centers and artificial intelligence systems are increasing the demand for steady electricity. Rather than building new facilities, power companies want to optimize current light-water reactors. This process, called a power uprate, increases electricity output by running fuel at higher temperatures and adjusting operational margins.

“A power uprate means increasing a plant’s electrical output by optimizing its operational margins — and removing overly conservative guidelines where appropriate — so that the fuel can operate at higher power levels,” said Nathan Capps, senior R&D staff in the Fuel Cladding and Core Internals group.

When utilities combine power uprates with extended fuel lifespans, they generate more energy from the same resources. To date, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved 171 power uprates. 

This has added power equivalent to eight new reactors to the U.S. grid without new construction. However, utilities must submit experimental data proving safety before the NRC approves these operational changes.

The simulation process

To replicate an accident where cooling water drops out of a reactor core, ORNL scientists follow a specific sequence. A fuel rod segment between 1 and 12 inches long is placed inside a quartz tube and centered with spacer disks. Next, researchers pressurize the inside of the segment to replicate the internal stress of a full-length active rod. 

An infrared furnace then heats the sample to a target temperature at a controlled rate. Finally, water floods the chamber to cool the segment back to room temperature. The entire process takes two to three minutes.

SATS uses two stations to complete this research. The first operates in a standard lab to map out experiments and test non-radioactive materials. The second station sits inside a heavily shielded hot cell to run identical parameters on radioactive commercial fuel. 

Beyond structural changes, the system tracks how trapped gases escape during temperature spikes and how fuel moves during a failure.

Industry applications

Fuel manufacturers use ORNL’s data to create safety reports for regulatory review. Over the past four years, ORNL has completed 16 LOCA tests alongside companies like Southern Nuclear, Constellation, Westinghouse, Framatome, and Global Nuclear Fuel. 

The laboratory plans to double its testing volume to help utilities meet rising grid demands.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has officially cleared the preconceptual design and technology development roadmap for Xcimer Energy’s fusion power plant architecture, named Athena.

This regulatory clearance follows an intense evaluation of a 724-page proposal that covered system engineering, safety protocols, economic projections, and environmental impacts.

The government’s sign-off concludes Xcimer’s initial 18-month budget cycle within the federal Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, an initiative intended to advance commercial fusion through public-private partnerships.

This administrative milestone closely follows the activation of Xcimer’s prototype laser system, Phoenix, last week. Located inside a 74,000-square-foot facility in Denver, Phoenix is currently the largest operational private laser system globally.

“Phoenix is a proof of concept for an unconventional fusion architecture: a krypton fluoride (KrF) excimer laser using Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) to compress a microsecond-long pulse into the nanosecond timescales fusion requires,” said the company in a press release.

Viability of long-term power generation

While historical laboratory efforts, such as those at the National Ignition Facility, proved that laser fusion physics could surpass the scientific breakeven point, Xcimer’s program focuses on the financial and mechanical viability of long-term power generation.

The Athena platform serves as the blueprint for a projected fleet of commercial plants designed to operate continuously for multiple decades.

A central challenge in fusion engineering is protecting reactor structures from degrading under constant radiation. Xcimer intends to address this by using a moving curtain of molten salt inside the reactor chamber instead of a static solid wall.

According to Susana Reyes, Vice President for Chamber and Plant Design, this liquid barrier absorbs neutron flux, generates tritium fuel, and transfers heat while constantly renewing itself.

“We are designing Athena to run continuously at a repetition rate of up to 1 Hz, and the use of a liquid wall chamber maximizes availability by protecting the solid structures from the fusion reaction emissions over the entire plant lifetime,” said Reyes.

Establishing scalable industrial manufacturing

Company officials state that the primary obstacle to fusion energy is no longer validating the underlying science, but establishing scalable industrial manufacturing.

Conner Galloway, CEO and Chief Science Officer, noted that the DOE’s review confirms the mechanical viability of the Athena framework and establishes a structured pathway toward commercial deployment.

“The question facing laser fusion is no longer whether the physics works,” said Galloway. “The question is how fast we can industrialize it.

Xcimer’s engineering targets include limiting laser manufacturing expenses to less than $100 per joule to ensure competitive energy pricing. Following the federal approval of the Athena roadmap, the Denver-based firm plans to transition into its next operational phase.

The upcoming schedule requires Xcimer to begin full-scale subsystem testing, complete engineering validations, and finalize the technical preparations necessary for a comprehensive, integrated pilot plant demonstration.

“We designed Athena around that property from day one, and it shapes everything: the materials choices, the thermal management, the maintenance philosophy, the economics. And Xcimer’s laser architecture uniquely enables this design,” concluded Reyes.

German weapon manufacturer Diehl Defence has developed a jet-powered interceptor drone called the Cobra 600, designed to carry and fire the IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile against aerial threats including unmanned systems, cruise missiles, and low-altitude manned aircraft.

The system represents a specific response to the growing volume and diversity of airborne threats that conventional ground-based and crewed interceptors may struggle to address cost-effectively at scale.

Airframe and propulsion

The Cobra 600 is a purpose-built unmanned aerial vehicle powered by a small jet engine, giving it the speed and altitude performance needed to pursue fast-moving aerial targets. Its designation references a 600-kilogram class platform, placing it in a weight range that can accommodate meaningful payload capacity while remaining operationally agile.

The jet propulsion distinguishes it from propeller-driven loitering munitions, providing the kinetic energy necessary to reach and intercept time-sensitive targets before they close on defended assets.

The airframe integrates a single IRIS-T missile — a German-developed, infrared-guided weapon with all-aspect engagement capability and a range of several kilometers. The IRIS-T was originally designed for crewed fighter aircraft, so adapting it for autonomous drone carriage required engineering the release and guidance interfaces into a platform without a human pilot onboard.

Autonomous engagement and fire control

One of the more technically demanding aspects of the Cobra 600 concept is the fire control architecture. The drone must receive targeting data, prosecute an intercept geometry, and release the missile — either under remote operator authorization or through a higher degree of autonomous decision-making.

The precise rules of engagement and human-machine teaming protocols for such a system carry legal and ethical weight under international humanitarian law, particularly regarding the degree of human control over lethal force decisions.

The system is intended to operate within a broader integrated air defense network, receiving cueing from ground-based radars or other sensors rather than relying solely on its own onboard detection capability.

This makes the quality of the data link and network integration central to its operational effectiveness — a vulnerability if those links are jammed or spoofed by an adversary using electronic warfare.

Countering drone swarms and low-cost threats

The tactical logic behind fielding an armed interceptor drone, rather than using expensive surface-to-air missiles or diverting crewed fighters, is economic and capacity-driven.

Drone swarms and low-cost one-way attack munitions have repeatedly strained conventional air defense inventories in recent conflicts. A relatively lower-cost interceptor that can be produced and expended at volume offers a more sustainable exchange ratio against cheap threats.

That said, the Cobra 600 itself carries an IRIS-T — a missile that is not inexpensive. The cost calculus improves only if the drone airframe is significantly cheaper than a crewed interceptor sortie, or if it can successfully engage threats that would otherwise require multiple surface-to-air missile shots.

Pairing an IRIS-T with an unmanned platform also raises questions about what happens when the drone misses or the missile fails to guide — issues well understood in crewed aviation but more complex when remote human oversight is limited.

Development status and German defense context

The Cobra 600 emerges at a time when Germany is under sustained pressure to rebuild and modernize its defense industrial base following years of underinvestment. The country is a co-developer and major operator of the IRIS-T missile family, making it a logical choice for domestic integration.

According to reporting by The War Zone, the Cobra 600 concept has been publicly presented as part of Germany’s broader push to field layered air defense solutions capable of handling the evolving threat spectrum seen in contemporary conflicts.

US energy storage startup Peak Energy has recently joined forces with leading car manufacturer General Motors (GM) to develop sodium-ion batteries designed for grid storage.

The Colorado-based energy storage company announced the new partnership on June 9. The project will bring together its proprietary passively cooled battery and GM’s sodium-ion cells.

Under the novel agreement, General Motors will design and develop the sodium-ion cells at its battery laboratories in the state of Michigan. It will moreover retain exclusive manufacturing rights. Peak Energy will integrate the cells into its energy storage systems.

“In grid-scale stationary storage systems, if we can make the cell safer and more robust, we can remove complexity elsewhere in the system,” GM reported. “That can translate into a quieter, simpler, lower-maintenance ESS for the customer.”

Sodium-ion storage push

According to both companies, the technology could provide a cheap alternative to today’s dominant lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery systems. It could also improve reliability and reduce energy waste.

“Lowering the cost of energy is one of the most important issues facing America today,” Landon Mossburg, Peak Energy CEO and co-founder, said. He added that the firm aims to deliver a safer, lower-cost, and faster-to-deploy energy storage system that can meet the growing US power demand without raising consumer costs.

Peak Energy has developed a proprietary passively cooled battery energy storage system. In essence, this means that it does not rely on active cooling to maintain safe operating temperatures. The firm argued that eliminating cooling equipment reduces both upfront costs and operational complexity.

The sodium-ion system can reportedly reduce energy storage costs by around 20 percent compared with conventional solutions. It can furthermore deliver over 99 percent uptime.

Mossburg stressed the significance of the project. “The future of grid storage will be defined by affordability, reliability and American innovation,” he noted. “We’re thrilled to partner with GM to bring a better solution to the American energy economy.”

A strategic partnership

Replacing conventional LFP-based storage systems with Peak Energy’s passively cooled technology could potentially cut annual battery storage energy waste in the US by up to two terawatt-hours (TWh). That amount of electricity would be enough to power a mid-sized city for an entire year.

“At GM, we know that the application should determine the battery, and for grid-scale stationary storage, sodium-ion is the right solution,” Kurt Kelty, GM’s VP of battery and sustainability, said in a press statement.

According to GM, eliminating active cooling can significantly improve energy storage systems. Active cooling relies on additional equipment, leads to higher energy losses, requires more maintenance, and increases the risk of component failures. All of this can drive costs higher over time. The firm is certain that Peak Energy’s platform will deliver lower costs, greater reliability, and less maintenance.

“Peak is already demonstrating the value of sodium-ion through their innovative energy storage platform, and together we’re working to push those benefits even further with our next-generation cell – helping deliver more reliable, lower-cost energy storage at scale for the US grid,” Kelty concluded.

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A KLM Cityhopper flight touched down in Hamburg, Germany, following a brief journey from Amsterdam. On paper, it looked like any other routine regional connection. In the fuel tanks, however, it was a completely different story.

The passenger aircraft carried a five percent blend of synthetic kerosene, known as e-SAF. This marks the first time a passenger flight has entered Germany powered by the next-generation fuel.

“Sustainably produced aviation fuels will play an important role in decarbonizing aviation in the coming years. Our infrastructure is fully ready, and we actively support airlines in the use of locally produced blends, including through targeted incentives,” said Christian Kunsch, Chairman of the Executive Board of Hamburg Airport.

Aviation’s green scale problem

The synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF) was produced by Germany-based manufacturer INERATEC. Made by combining carbon dioxide, water, and renewable electricity, e-SAF can slash an aircraft’s lifecycle emissions by more than 90 percent. 

It was blended with conventional fossil kerosene by MB Energy before being successfully pumped into the aircraft at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The fuel is clean and safe, and it drops directly into standard jet engines without requiring any modifications to the plane or airport infrastructure.

It is a huge technical success, but a major warning about how hard it is to get the fuel. Aviation is under immense pressure to decarbonize. 

Yet, beneath the celebration lies an uncomfortable truth. Five years ago, KLM operated its very first pioneering e-SAF test flight to Madrid. For that journey, they managed to scrape together 500 liters of the synthetic fuel. For this flight to Hamburg? They could only secure 200 liters.

The numbers are moving backward.

“Today’s flight to Hamburg once again shows that flying on synthetic kerosene is technically possible. But the reality is that the availability of e-SAF lags far behind ambition,” said Marjan Rintel, CEO of KLM. 

While the technology works, the primary obstacle is scaling production to meet Europe’s strict mandate of a 1.2% e-SAF fuel blend by 2030, a target that current manufacturing falls drastically short of. 

This supply gap was highlighted by the complex, small-scale logistics required for this single flight, which relied on fuel produced by INERATEC in Frankfurt, blended by MB Energy, and flown out of Schiphol Airport.

High price

Why is it so hard to get? Money and red tape.

These two heavily restrict the mass adoption of synthetic kerosene, which remains more expensive than standard biofuel-based SAF and eight times pricier than conventional fossil fuels.

Furthermore, expanding supply is severely hindered by slow European environmental and construction permitting processes, making the development of large-scale production facilities a significant challenge.

Still, the partners behind the flight argue that the groundwork has to be laid now. Airport infrastructure is already fully capable of handling the fuel, and clean-tech firms say they are ready to produce it if the economic incentives align

“We are ready to deliver. Today’s flight, with our Chief Commercial Officer Maximilian Backhaus on board during a regular passenger service, clearly shows that power-to-liquid fuels are safe, available, and already operationally viable today. This is just the beginning of many applications we will see this year across various sectors,” said Tim Boeltken, Co-founder and CEO of INERATEC. 

Aviation has proven it can fly on clean air and electricity. Now, the industry just needs to find a way to make more than 200 liters of it at a time.

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A recently released photograph offers a clear view of the construction of the future USS District of Columbia (SSBN-826), the first of the U.S. Navy’s new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. Shared online by Ashley Cowen, Lead Photographer at Newport News Shipbuilding, the image shows major parts of the submarine as work continues toward its planned delivery in 2029.

The photo shows both the bow and the stern sections under construction. These are key parts of the submarine and show that work on the Navy’s top-priority strategic deterrence program is making steady progress.

Key submarine sections take shape

The new image shows clear progress on the bow and stern sections of the submarine. The stern will later house the propulsion system and the unique X-shaped control surfaces, designed to help the submarine move and perform better underwater.

The sections seem to be inside General Dynamics Electric Boat’s South Yard Assembly Building or another large facility at the main shipyard in Groton, Connecticut.

The image arrives months after the arrival of the massive “Atlas” dry dock, which reached the shipyard in January 2026. This dry dock was built to support the construction, maintenance, and future servicing of Columbia-class submarines.

Ongoing deliveries of major submarine parts, hull sections, and support equipment indicate the program is on schedule as builders work to complete the first submarine in the class.

Designed to replace the Ohio-class fleet

The Columbia-class submarines are being built to replace the older Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, which started service in the early 1980s. As the Ohio-class submarines retire through the early 2040s, the Columbia-class will take over the sea-based part of America’s nuclear deterrent.

Design work for the USS District of Columbia started in 2007, after the U.S. Navy partnered with General Dynamics Electric Boat to create a new class to follow the Ohio-class fleet.

The Navy describes the Columbia-class as being designed to survive better, be available for operations more often, and last longer than the previous class. These submarines are expected to stay in service until at least the 2080s.

This program is seen as one of the most important defense upgrades happening in the United States, since ballistic missile submarines are the most secure part of the country’s nuclear defense system.

Advanced technologies and larger design

The Columbia-class brings several big improvements over the Ohio-class submarines. These include quieter engines, better sonar, upgraded sensors, and new electronic controls for steering the submarine.

These submarines will also be larger than the Ohio-class submarines. When finished, each Columbia-class submarine will weigh more than 20,000 tons.

Even though the new submarines are larger, they will carry fewer missiles—16 UGM-133 Trident II D5 Life Extension submarine-launched ballistic missiles instead of the 24 Trident missiles on the Ohio-class. This change aligns with new strategic needs while maintaining a strong nuclear deterrent.

Each submarine will have four missile compartments, each holding four ballistic missiles.

Massive industrial effort supports construction

The Columbia-class submarines are built using a modular approach. Different contractors build large sections separately, and then these parts are put together at Electric Boat’s Groton facility.

Work is currently underway at Quonset Point, Rhode Island, with help from over 3,000 suppliers across the country. Newport News Shipbuilding makes the main bow and stern parts before they are sent to be added to the final hull.

The Navy plans to build a total of 12 Columbia-class submarines. Boats four through eight will be procured at a rate of one submarine per year over the next five years, with the program costing about $62 billion.

According to current plans, the USS District of Columbia will enter service in 2029, and the last submarine in the class should join the fleet around 2041 or 2042. Together, these submarines are expected to provide America’s sea-based nuclear deterrent for many years.

A new type of counter-drone system is set to enhance the defense of the U.S. Army. L3Harris Technologies has received an order to deliver VAMPIRE counter-unmanned systems (c-UxS) to the U.S. Army to support urgent defense against hostile drones.

The VAMPIRE capability delivers advanced reconnaissance and precision strike against drones and remotely piloted aircraft. Military forces have used the technology extensively in support of European combat operations, logging more than 350,000 operational hours since 2023.

Counter-drone systems can be quickly assembled

“We’ve worked with the Army to understand their needs for new counter-UxS systems that can be quickly assembled, delivered, set up and fired,” said Tom Kirkland, President, Targeting & Sensor Systems, Communications & Spectrum Dominance, L3Harris.

“VAMPIRE is effective at hunting and engaging drone threats affordably, which enables U.S. armed forces to sustain reliable defense of its personnel and infrastructure.”

L3Harris developed and invested in VAMPIRE at the beginning of the war in Ukraine to provide a low-cost solution to eliminate Russian drone threats. The company has maintained that the VAMPIRE is an affordable, compact ISR and counter-unmanned-weapon system designed to deploy on nearly any platform, vehicle, or vessel. 

This all-in-one system excels in Counter-small Unmanned Airborne System (C-sUAS) operations, delivering precision strike capabilities with customizable sensors and weapons, significantly reducing the cost-per-effect and overall cost of ownership.

High-volume production of VAMPIRE systems

The Army’s order is worth up to $106 million as part of the United States’ layered c-UxS defense approach.

In March, the company initiated high-volume production of VAMPIRE counter-unmanned systems (C-UxS) in Huntsville, Alabama. The new production line was a direct response to the United States and its allies’ need to combat the persistent drone threat posing risks to military personnel and infrastructure.

The facility features a flexible assembly, testing, and installation area to integrate VAMPIRE onto ground vehicles and containerized weapon systems. The production line can adjust and increase volume as demand evolves.

Building upon the success of the baseline VAMPIRE system, L3Harris has incorporated additional sensor capabilities, precision weapons, electronic jammers, and non-kinetic effectors for use across several domains. The system uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to more swiftly detect, engage, and defeat small, elusive unmanned threats.

The expanded VAMPIRE family of systems now includes multiple specialized variants.

As drone warfare continues to reshape the battlefield, military planners worldwide are prioritizing layered air-defense networks capable of addressing threats ranging from small commercial drones to more advanced unmanned systems. The U.S. Army’s latest investment in VAMPIRE highlights the increasing role of adaptable, rapidly deployable counter-drone technologies in future defense operations.

With production ramping up and operational demand increasing, the VAMPIRE program represents a significant step in strengthening U.S. and allied defenses against one of the fastest-growing challenges in modern military operations.

Boeing has unveiled a new version of its MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone, which offers extended combat capabilities. The new version has been showcased at the ILA Berlin Air Show in Germany.

The MQ-28 Ghost Bat is an uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft that uses smart human-machine technology to act as a force multiplier for the crewed jets. In December 2025, Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) made headlines by executing a force-integrated air-to-air autonomous weapon engagement from an MQ-28 Collaborative Combat Aircraft.

The mission involved the Ghost Bat teaming with a RAAF E-7A Wedgetail and F/A-18F Super Hornet to destroy a fighter-class target drone. It was the first time an autonomous aircraft completed an air-to-air engagement with an AIM-20 missile.

The feat had established the Ghost Bat as a “mature combat capable CCA.”

Added capabilities of Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat Block 3

The new Block 3 Ghost Bat drone from Boeing features an increased wingspan, allowing it to carry an additional 2,000 pounds of fuel, stores, and mission payloads. Moreover, the drone can now also carry two AMRAAM missiles or four small-diameter bombs (SDBs) internally, and there is also an option to carry three external weapon stations if needed.

It also has beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) communication links, which will enable the drone to be operated from a crewed aircraft, a ground station, or a naval vessel over nearly unlimited distances. The new design features an upgraded modular, missionized nose that provides enhanced payload configuration options and supports the insertion of third-party capabilities.

The drone now has a maximum take-off weight of 12,000 lbs, up from the 10,000 lbs in version two. It can now carry a useful load of over 4,500 lbs. It also receives significant software upgrades, enabling operators to tailor weapons, payloads, command and control, and mission autonomy to suit their operational requirements.  

“That additional capacity gives operators freedom to balance payload and endurance to configure for the mission at hand, whether that means carrying extra fuel for longer-range operations, increasing weapons carriage, or any combination of both,” said Glen Ferguson, MQ-28 global program director.

Upgrades to be rolled out to the entire fleet

Boeing says the upgrades visible in the third iteration will be rolled out to the entire fleet through a spiral upgrade program. Ferguson added that the inclusion of BLOS and other features has occurred because the company has been working with Air Force units to understand their needs and the role the CCA is intended to play in a joint force operation.

It is not clear whether the turbofan engine used in earlier versions of Ghost Bat is being replaced or another engine is being added to the drone for the extra thrust.

The earlier versions of the CCA had a length of 38 feet (11.7 meters) and a height of 6.5 feet (2 meters). It had a top speed of Mach 0.9 and could fly up to 2,000 nautical miles, with a ceiling of 40,000 feet.

According to reports, the Block 3 Ghost Bat will be offered to Germany. Australia has already acquired a number of Block 1 MQ-28 drones.

At the Berlin Air Show, Boeing also welcomed two additional industry partners to expand its German MQ-28 Ghost Bat industry team. These two – namely Diehl Defense and Rohde & Schwarz – will join Rheinmetall in the program led by Boeing Defense Australia.

Lithium is essential to the modern world, but its extraction has always carried a heavy environmental toll.

A research team from Monash University has patented a new technology that extracts lithium from solid salt mixtures rather than liquid brines. This method provides a faster, highly efficient, and eco-friendly alternative to standard lithium extraction. The process works by shifting the focus from liquid brine to a dried, solid salt crust. Interestingly, it achieved a lithium recovery of around 95 percent.

“This work shows that lithium can be efficiently separated from complex salt mixtures using simple organic solvents, without relying on freshwater or highly chemical-intensive processes,” said Dr. Zhikao Li, one of the study authors. 

No freshwater needed

The global transition to green energy depends on lithium recovered from salt-lake brines, yet the current methods used to harvest it are plagued by critical inefficiencies. 

Standard extraction processes are painfully slow, often requiring up to two years for brine to evaporate in massive desert ponds, all while recovering less than half of the available lithium. 

Newer, faster technologies, such as Direct Lithium Extraction, aim to shorten this timeline. However, these introduce a severe environmental tradeoff by consuming unsustainable volumes of scarce freshwater in the world’s absolute driest regions.

This combination of low recovery rates, prolonged processing delays, and high water demand creates a massive issue for a global supply chain under pressure to scale sustainably.

Rather than pulling lithium from liquid brine, this new approach works backward by targeting the solid salt crust left behind.

Once the brine has dried, engineers wash the resulting salt mixture with common industrial solvents such as ethanol and acetone. 

As lithium dissolves incredibly well in these organic liquids while other coexisting salts do not, the solvents act like a precise chemical magnet and slide the lithium away from impurities. This clever use of differential solubility allows for an exceptionally clean separation, completely eliminating the industry’s reliance on massive freshwater inputs.

Removing impurities

To make the system fully sustainable, the researchers paired the solvent wash with advanced “interfacial solar evaporation” technology. 

Using only natural sunlight, the system traps heat at the surface of the liquid. This accelerates the extraction process and recovers the solvent in its pure form. The team successfully recovered and recycled more than 99% of the ethanol and acetone used.

In addition to saving water, the method also removes boron and sulfate impurities. Typically, these stubborn minerals cling to lithium matrices, requiring complex, chemical-heavy refinement stages to filter them out.

Battery-grade material becomes much easier to produce because this new method naturally rejects contaminants during the initial solvent wash. This yields exceptionally high-purity lithium right from the start and streamlines the entire manufacturing pipeline.

Recognizing its commercial potential, the research team has filed a patent application for this breakthrough technology. 

The process achieves both high extraction rates and near-total solvent recycling, maximizing performance while reducing the ecological footprint of lithium harvesting.

The findings were published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

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China has completed its largest offshore project, which combines solar power, hydrogen production, and energy storage. This marks a big step in the country’s efforts to create more reliable renewable energy systems. The project, off the coast of Rudong in East China’s Jiangsu Province, was reported as completed on Wednesday, according to China Media Group.

Funded by CHN Energy Guohua Energy Investment Co., the facility is described as China’s largest offshore solar demonstration project that combines solar power, hydrogen production, and energy storage.

Massive offshore facility combines multiple energy technologies

The Rudong project features 400,000 kilowatts (400 MW) of solar capacity and a new 220-kilovolt onshore booster station. It also includes a hydrogen production station capable of producing 1,500 standard cubic meters of hydrogen per hour, along with an electrochemical energy storage station.

According to Chinese media reports, this is the first project in China to combine power generation, hydrogen production, energy storage, full energy use, and coastal ecological management in one development.

The facility has been designed around what officials describe as an integrated “electricity-storage-hydrogen” model. Solar power made offshore can go to the grid, be stored in batteries, or be used to make hydrogen from water. This setup lets energy be used in different ways based on demand and conditions.

The project is built on coastal tidal flats, which are often considered suitable sites for large renewable energy projects. It also uses advanced solar technology and smart control systems to improve energy conversion and management.

China's largest integrated PV-hydrogen-storage project has completed construction in east China's Jiangsu Province. The project, with a total photovoltaic capacity of 400,000 kW, includes a newly built 220 kV onshore booster station, a hydrogen production facility with a… pic.twitter.com/gd2KuSPBkA

— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) June 10, 2026

Green hydrogen plays a central role

One important feature of the project is that it can make green hydrogen using electricity from renewable sources. By using solar power to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, the facility can store energy as hydrogen for later use.

The Nantong Daily reported earlier this year that the solar power station achieved full-capacity grid connection on April 29, 2025. When the whole project is running, the energy storage station will be able to supply 120,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity during peak demand each day.

Meanwhile, the hydrogen production facility is expected to generate up to 180 tons of green hydrogen each year. This hydrogen can be used by nearby industries, such as chemical manufacturing and transportation, that are looking for cleaner fuel options.

Officials say the finished solar, hydrogen, and storage facilities will operate as a closed-loop energy system covering generation, storage, use, and backup.

Experts highlight stability advantages

Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, said that adding hydrogen and storage technologies can help address the problem of solar power’s volatility. He said the project shows that renewable energy is moving beyond just adding more power generation.

“Its completion marks a further step forward for China in the field of new-energy multi-energy complementarity,” he stated. He added that the project is now focused on energy conversion efficiency, integrating different energy sources, and making the system more stable, rather than just increasing capacity.

He also said that coastal regions often have strong wind and solar resources but still face inconsistent energy supply.

China scales up renewable hydrogen production

This project comes as China is rapidly expanding hydrogen production from renewable energy across the country. The National Energy Administration says the industry is moving from pilot projects to large-scale commercial use.

As of the end of March, completed and ongoing renewable hydrogen projects in China had a total production capacity of over 1 million tons per year. More than 250,000 tons per year are already in operation, which is more than double the capacity at the end of 2024. Projects under construction will add over 900,000 tons of annual capacity.

Lin noted that the long-term value of projects like Rudong will depend on reducing development costs and improving the efficiency of hydrogen production. Still, the new facility is one of the best examples to date of how solar power, energy storage, and hydrogen production can work together in a large-scale clean energy system.