Farms and rooftop panels contribute 14.4% to the grid – and figures reveal a surge in new installations
Solar energy supplied more power to Great Britain’s grid in July than in any previous month as households turned to rooftop panels to cut their energy bills.
Solar farms and rooftop panels provided 14.4% of the country’s electricity after some parts of the UK recorded almost twice the average sunshine hours for the time of year.
Prolonged droughts have exposed the vulnerability of Zambia and Zimbabwe’s hydropower-dependent electricity systems, triggering severe power shortages and renewing interest in coal.
For years, lithium-ion batteries have dominated the electric vehicle (EV) industry. But a new contender is rapidly gaining momentum. Sodium-ion batteries, once considered a laboratory curiosity, are now entering commercial production, with companies such as CATL unveiling second-generation cells and several automakers exploring the technology for future vehicles.
The growing interest has led to an obvious question. Could sodium-ion batteries replace lithium-ion batteries? While sodium-ion batteries offer several compelling advantages, they are unlikely to replace lithium altogether. Instead, they could become an important part of a more diverse battery ecosystem.
How do sodium-ion batteries work?
At first glance, sodium-ion batteries look remarkably similar to lithium-ion batteries. Both generate electricity by shuttling charged ions between a positive electrode (cathode) and a negative electrode (anode) during charging and discharging. The key difference is that lithium-ion batteries use lithium ions, while sodium-ion batteries use sodium ions.
That seemingly small change has major implications. Sodium is one of the most abundant elements on Earth and is widely available across many regions, unlike lithium, whose mining and refining remain concentrated in relatively few countries. Because of this, sodium-ion batteries have the potential to reduce supply chain risks while lowering dependence on critical minerals.
Why are researchers so excited?
The biggest attraction is cost. Lithium prices have fluctuated dramatically over the past decade as EV demand surged. Sodium, by comparison, is inexpensive and widely available, making it an attractive alternative for manufacturers looking to build more affordable batteries.
Sodium-ion chemistry also performs well in cold weather, where conventional lithium-ion batteries often experience noticeable reductions in charging speed and driving range. Another advantage is safety. Many sodium-ion designs demonstrate excellent thermal stability, reducing the likelihood of thermal runaway compared with some lithium-based chemistries.
Taken together, these characteristics make sodium-ion batteries particularly appealing for lower-cost EVs, grid-scale energy storage, and commercial vehicles where affordability and durability often matter more than maximum driving range.
So why hasn’t sodium replaced lithium?
The answer comes down to energy density. Lithium is a much lighter element than sodium, allowing lithium-ion batteries to store more energy for the same weight. Modern lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries commonly exceed 200 watt-hours per kilogram, while nickel-rich lithium chemistries can achieve even higher values.
Although sodium-ion technology has improved rapidly, with commercial cells now approaching 175 Wh/kg, it still trails the best lithium-ion batteries. That means an EV using sodium-ion cells generally requires a larger or heavier battery pack to achieve the same driving range.
For compact city cars, this may not be a major issue. For premium long-range EVs, however, every kilogram matters.
The future may not be lithium or sodium it could be both
Perhaps the most interesting development isn’t replacing lithium batteries at all. Several manufacturers, including CATL, are developing hybrid battery packs that combine lithium-ion and sodium-ion cells in a single vehicle.
The idea is to let each chemistry do what it does best. Lithium cells provide high energy density for long driving range, while sodium-ion cells offer strong cold-weather performance, improved durability, and lower costs. Advanced battery management systems can intelligently balance power between the two chemistries depending on temperature, driving conditions, and charging requirements.
If successful, these hybrid packs could reduce winter range losses while lowering manufacturing costs without sacrificing overall vehicle performance.
Where sodium-ion batteries could make the biggest impact
Rather than competing directly with every lithium-ion battery, sodium-ion technology appears best suited to applications where cost and reliability outweigh maximum range. Affordable city EVs, delivery vans, buses, two- and three-wheelers, forklifts, and stationary energy storage systems are all strong candidates. In many of these applications, vehicles return to predictable charging locations, reducing the importance of ultra-high energy density.
Long-range luxury EVs, performance cars, and electric aircraft, however, are likely to continue relying on higher-energy lithium-based chemistries for the foreseeable future.
So, are sodium-ion batteries a game-changer?
Yes but perhaps not in the way many people expect. Sodium-ion batteries are unlikely to replace lithium-ion batteries across the entire automotive industry. Instead, they represent an important new option that could make electric mobility cheaper, more resilient, and less dependent on constrained raw material supply chains.
Much like modern vehicles use different engine types for different purposes, tomorrow’s EV market is likely to rely on multiple battery chemistries, each optimized for specific applications. If lithium-ion batteries helped launch the EV revolution, sodium-ion batteries could play a key role in making that revolution more affordable, more sustainable, and accessible to far more people around the world.
When you’re a scientist relying on government funding to conduct your research, and that government suddenly yoinks all your money in the name of “efficiency,” you have to get creative to keep the lights on.
Such has been the experience of Daniel Blumstein, a biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, renowned for his work on studying the ground-dwelling rodents known as marmots. After the Trump administration cancelled billions of dollars in federal research grants last year, he and his colleagues decided to start creating content dedicated to the charming mammals — on OnlyFans.
As SFGate reports, their account, called “OnlyMarms,” promises near-daily “unfiltered yellow-bellied marmot content from the Rockies.” Subscribing is free, but users can leave tips on the cute photos and videos they post, which goes towards funding the research.
It’s a win for everyone: shy gooners have a convenient explanation for all the OnlyFans transactions in their bank accounts, and the scientists get to keep doing the work they’re doing. Thank you, marmots, for being so adorable.
“Sometimes I’m just posting the videos I think will get the most ‘aws,'” Emily Renkey, a student in Blumstein’s lab who started the account, told SFGate. “But my favorite is when I find footage of a particular behavior and I can use that to educate people.”
The Trump administration’s cost-cutting regime has crippled scientific research in the US. In efforts led by Elon Musk’s now defunct Department of Government Efficiency, it cancelled more than 1,700 grants worth some $1.4 billion at the National Science Foundation in 2025. In 2026, the NSF has so far awarded just a fraction of the $9 billion grant money it has typically distributed in recent years, and the White House has proposed slashing its budget by nearly half for the 2027 fiscal year.
Many of the grant cancellations were clearly politically motivated, targeting research into climate change — and even research that simply contains the word “climate” — something Trump has called a “hoax.” Even more flagrantly, the administration recently admitted in court documents that it canceled research grants in certain states “based solely” on whether they supported Trump in the 2024 election.
Why marmot research ended up in the administration’s crosshairs is anyone’s guess, but it’s invaluable work. Blumstein and his colleagues have spent years closely tracking the charming rodents, forming what is one of the longest-running studies of free-living mammals in the world, according to SFGate.
These long-term projects ask “some of the most important questions in our time,” Blumstein said, providing our best window into studying evolution in real-time. But their value may not be immediately obvious to the people in charge of crunching the numbers. Historically, this hasn’t been a problem for Blumstein, as his program had received funding from the NSF for over a decade. But now, under the new regime, he’s applied to renew the grant three times, before the agency told him to stop applying at all.
“After the third time, our program officer told my colleague… that they will never fund us because they think we have too much data,” Blumstein told SFGate. “I don’t even know how to parse that sentence. It’s nuts.”
Blumstein’s marmot program, as it stands, is running on fumes. OnlyMarms has only brought in a few hundred dollars, and the lab is looking for more traditional sources of funding, too.
When the United States ratified the 13th amendment in 1865, federal lawmakers very nearly outlawed slavery for good — but not entirely. Tucked within arguably the most important corner of the US constitution is a massive caveat: “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States” (emphasis added.)
In the 160-some years since that amendment, a quieter type of forced servitude has lived on in the US: prison labor. From the debt peonage of the post-Civil War reconstruction era to the privatized contracting of the 21st century, prison labor is a massive money maker, generating $11 billion worth of revenue in 2022 alone.
As horrifying a thought as it is, one of the companies still benefiting from the practice is in the news for another reason: spreading a gut-busting diarrhea parasite through mass-produced shredded lettuce in grocery stores and fast food outlets.
It turns out that Taylor Farms, the agricultural company widely believed to be behind the cyclospora outbreak currently raging throughout the US, is also heavily involved in modern-day forced labor.
In reporting from 2023 that was resurfaced this week on social media, the publication Prison Legal News revealed that Taylor Farms was contracting labor from the Arizona Department of Correction, Rehabilitation, and Reentry for the low, low price of just $4.75 an hour — far below the cost to pay a non-incarcerated worker the federal minimum wage. (And to be clear, that’s not the hourly wage paid to the inmate, which is capped at $1.50 in Arizona.)
Taylor Farms is just one firm involved in the practice in Arizona. Others include Hickman’s Egg Farms, NatureSweet, and Televerde, each of which contracted labor from Arizona DCRR’s for-profit arm, Arizona Correctional Industries. That company’s job is basically to churn out bulk goods for the state of Arizona, like license plates, though it also makes quite a bit of money selling the labor-hours of incarcerated people to private companies.
Worse yet, some of those incarcerated workers may have been here as non-citizens — meaning it would be illegal to employ them in the same low-wage jobs if they weren’t being held in detention. As Prison Legal noted at the time, at least 26 prisoners employed by these companies had been detained by ICE, meaning that outside of incarceration, hiring them would have been illegal. To put it bluntly: their status as prisoners was the only thing that made the arrangement legal.
In all, the DCRR told Prison Legal it had hired out 15,700 “Mexican nationals” between 2008 and 2023, though couldn’t say how many of those workers were undocumented immigrants.
As Ruben Reyes, director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association told the publication at the time: “I’m venturing a guess that a large majority of the people who are labeled a Mexican national by [DCRR] are unauthorized to work here.”
Put into context, the revelation is a horrifying twist in an already nauseating story of corporate greed and deregulation. Though the institution of slavery may have been formally abolished, its legacy lives on — fully embraced by the for-profit companies pumping our food supply full of parasites.
Taylor Farms didn’t respond to a request for comment.
There’s data center activism, fought with Facebook groups and petitions, and then there’s data center annihilation, fought with guided missile and suicide drones.
Recently, the Iranian military announced it had hit and damaged two Amazon data centers in the island country of Bahrain with a volley of cruise missiles.
After the attack, the Iranian state media outlet Tasnim published a partial statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, saying that the “IRGC Aerospace warriors… in response to the aggression and assault… by the child-killing American army on the under-construction and civilian facilities of DarKhoveyn, attacked and destroyed the central data infrastructure of the American company Amazon in Bahrain with several cruise missiles.”
Using images from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellites, Bloomberg confirmed an attack on the data center campus had taken place, though noted it’s difficult to say how bad the damage is (Amazon refused to comment on Bloomberg‘s reporting.)
“Analysis of Sentinel-2 images shows evidence of damage to both facilities, but does not provide insight into the extent of the damage,” Adam Farrar, Bloomberg‘s senior geoeconomics analyst said.
Overall, it marks the fourth such attack on a data center since the US began the war in February. Back in March, the IRGC announced a number of US tech companies as “Iran’s new targets,” including Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia, and Oracle. Now that the war is heating back up, it seems that they’re becoming targets yet again.
Militarily, it’s a logical move, as US tech companies have been integral to the American war effort. The Pentagon is using a host of AI models to gather intelligence and select military targets for annihilation, most notably the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school, which was destroyed in a triple-tap strike resulting in the deaths of over 120 school children, as well as parents and teachers.
Perhaps above all, it’s a statement to American president Donald Trump: the longer the hostilities linger, the more economic and technological havoc Iran is willing to unleash on the region.
Labour MPs fear No 10 team lack up-to-date energy insight and don’t fully recognise voters’ climate concerns
Andy Burnham was told he could face the first revolt of his premiership as Labour MPs and climate experts condemned his apparent support for renewed drilling for oil and gas.
As the UK suffers through drought, fires and heatwaves, the prime minister gave the strongest indication yet on Friday he was minded to allow new drilling. His comments came just hours before the UN secretary-general warned “every new fossil fuel project” made heatwaves more dangerous.
HD Hyundai reported second-quarter operating profit exceeding 4 trillion won, supported by strong performance across its shipbuilding, construction equipment, refining and power equipment businesses.
The company said on July 31 that it posted consolidated revenue of 22.4094 trillion won and operating profit of 4.1246 trillion won for the second quarter of 2026. Revenue increased 30.2% from a year earlier, while operating profit surged 262.2%.
For the first half of the year, cumulative revenue reached 42.0113 trillion won and operating profit totaled 6.9594 trillion won.
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the group’s shipbuilding and marine holding company, reported revenue of 8.9270 trillion won and operating profit of 1.6451 trillion won. The results were driven by higher productivity and increased sales of high-margin vessels. Revenue rose 20.2% year over year, while operating profit increased 72.5%.
HD Hyundai Marine Solution generated revenue of 580.4 billion won and operating profit of 97.6 billion won, benefiting from growth in its ship aftermarket (AM), eco-friendly retrofit and digital solutions businesses. Revenue and operating profit increased 24.1% and 17.6%, respectively, from a year earlier.
HD Hyundai Site Solutions, the group’s construction equipment unit, posted revenue of 2.5235 trillion won and operating profit of 272.0 billion won. Results were supported by improving global market conditions, stronger sales of next-generation excavators and increased demand for industrial and defense engines. Revenue rose 17.9% and operating profit climbed 79.6% from the same period last year.
HD Hyundai Oilbank recorded revenue of 9.4774 trillion won and operating profit of 1.8241 trillion won. Improved profitability in lubricant base oils and petrochemicals helped offset volatility in international crude oil prices.
HD Hyundai Electric reported revenue of 1.1418 trillion won and operating profit of 287.0 billion won. Growth was driven by higher sales in its power distribution business and improved profitability in overseas markets. Revenue increased 26.0% year over year, while operating profit rose 37.3%.
An HD Hyundai representative said earnings improved across the group’s major businesses, including shipbuilding, construction equipment, refining and power equipment.
The company said it plans to continue enhancing profitability through selective orders focused on high-value-added vessels, expansion into new markets and ongoing improvements in product mix.
A full-scale prototype of the AAP unmanned aircraft displayed at ADEX 2025.
A full-scale prototype of the AAP unmanned aircraft displayed at ADEX 2025.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has been selected to lead a government-backed defense project aimed at developing on-device artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and validating their performance on unmanned aerial vehicles.
KAI announced on July 31 that it had been named the preferred bidder in the defense segment of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources' K-On-Device AI Semiconductor Technology Development Program. The project has a total budget of 95.3 billion won and will run for five years.
The program seeks to develop a defense-grade system-on-chip (SoC) and an autonomous control system (ACS) incorporating the chip, then integrate the technologies into an unmanned aircraft platform for performance verification.
The project consists of three subprograms. KAI will serve as the overall project coordinator and lead the first and third subprojects, which include development of a high-speed expendable unmanned aerial vehicle, autonomous control systems, system integration and flight testing. The second subproject, focused on AI semiconductor development, will be led by a domestic fabless semiconductor company.
The consortium includes South Korean AI semiconductor developers, AI model companies and research institutions. Samsung Electronics will be responsible for semiconductor manufacturing.
KAI plans to incorporate the AI chip developed through the project into its proprietary AI pilot system, known as K-AILOT. The company also intends to expand the technology to satellite applications, enabling onboard AI chips to analyze data in real time before transmitting it to ground stations.
KAI has been strengthening its AI ecosystem through partnerships. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung Electronics last year and another with Team Naver—comprising Naver and Naver Cloud—earlier this month. KAI said it is pursuing the development of a sovereign AI framework that combines AI semiconductors, large language AI models and cloud technologies.
Hanwha Aerospace reported quarterly operating profit exceeding 1 trillion won for the first time, supported by strong defense exports and improved performance from its subsidiaries.
The company said on July 31 that it posted consolidated revenue of 9.2929 trillion won and operating profit of 1.3655 trillion won for the second quarter of 2026. Revenue increased 47% from a year earlier, while operating profit rose 59%.
The ground defense business generated revenue of 2.1075 trillion won and operating profit of 533.0 billion won. Revenue rose 19% year over year, while operating profit increased 2%. In South Korea, growth was driven by higher production volumes of the Cheonho wheeled anti-aircraft gun and the Cheongeom. Overseas, shipments to Poland, Egypt and Middle Eastern customers contributed to earnings.
Hanwha Aerospace said its order backlog expanded to 38.3 trillion won following an additional K9 self-propelled howitzer export contract with Finland signed in April and a supplementary Chunmoo multiple launch rocket system supply agreement with Estonia signed in May.
The aerospace business recorded revenue of 760.0 billion won and operating profit of 37.0 billion won. Revenue increased 17% from a year earlier on higher military program volumes, while the division returned to profitability.
Consolidated subsidiary Hanwha Ocean also contributed significantly to earnings growth. Benefiting from a higher proportion of high-margin vessels, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, Hanwha Ocean posted revenue of 5.4432 trillion won and operating profit of 736.1 billion won. Revenue rose 65% year over year and operating profit increased 98%.
Hanwha Systems reported revenue of 1.1176 trillion won and operating profit of 103.7 billion won, supported by growing defense exports, including multifunction radar (MFR) systems.
In the second half, Hanwha Aerospace plans to continue production under the second execution contract for Poland's K9 program and proceed with K9 deliveries to Egypt and Australia. The company also plans to participate in the South Korean government's advanced aircraft engine development program based on a prototype unmanned aerial vehicle engine it recently unveiled.
A rendering of Hanwha Ocean's next-generation destroyer (KDDX).
A rendering of Hanwha Ocean's next-generation destroyer (KDDX).
Hanwha Ocean has secured a contract worth 838 billion won to complete the detailed design and construct the lead ship of South Korea's next-generation destroyer program, known as KDDX.
The company disclosed on July 31 that it signed a contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) for the KDDX detailed design and lead ship construction project. The contract is valued at 838 billion won and runs through June 30, 2032.
DAPA issued the tender in March and selected Hanwha Ocean as the preferred bidder on July 1 following site inspections and proposal evaluations. Hanwha Ocean subsequently completed negotiations covering technical requirements, contract terms and pricing before signing the final agreement.
KDDX is South Korea's first Aegis-class destroyer program to develop both the hull and combat system using domestic technologies. The government plans to invest approximately 7.8 trillion won to acquire six 6,000-ton destroyers. The Republic of Korea Navy plans to commission the lead ship in 2032 and deploy all six vessels by 2036.
Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries competed for the KDDX contract. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries scored 0.6425 points higher than Hanwha Ocean in the technical evaluation. However, a 1.2-point security penalty related to a military secrets leak case reversed the ranking. Hanwha Ocean ultimately received 93.9542 points, compared with 93.3675 points for HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, a margin of 0.5867 points.
The timing and procurement method for the five follow-on vessels have not yet been determined. An industry official said the remaining ships are expected to be ordered around 2028, although authorities have not decided whether they will be procured through a single package or multiple contracts.
Hanwha Ocean plans to equip the KDDX destroyer with nine domestically developed systems. The design will also incorporate a manned-unmanned integrated combat system, a multi-layered defense architecture and a cyber defense framework. Ship automation technologies aimed at reducing crew requirements will also be included.
Since its launch in 2023, Hanwha Ocean has won contracts for the fifth and sixth Ulsan-class Batch-III frigates and the first and second Batch-IV frigates. The KDDX lead ship award further expands the company's surface combatant shipbuilding portfolio.
KAI President Kim Jong-chul and Embraer President Francisco Gomes Neto. (Photo: KAI)
KAI President Kim Jong-chul and Embraer President Francisco Gomes Neto. (Photo: KAI)
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has entered into a strategic partnership with Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer to collaborate on aircraft structures.
KAI announced on July 30 that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Embraer on July 28 to pursue strategic cooperation in the aircraft structures business.
Under the agreement, the two companies will expand collaboration in research and development (R&D) of new technologies, with an initial focus on aircraft structures. KAI aims to combine its aerospace engineering expertise with Embraer's aircraft development and manufacturing capabilities to strengthen technological competitiveness and improve manufacturing efficiency.
The companies will also explore cooperation in aircraft design, engineering, manufacturing and quality management. In addition, they plan to identify joint initiatives to optimize manufacturing processes and enhance cost competitiveness.
Kim Jong-chul, president of KAI, said the partnership with Embraer represents an important step in expanding the company's collaboration with leading global aerospace manufacturers.
Emergency crews say situation remains ‘dynamic’ as more than 100 firefighters battle Dunwich Heath blaze
A wildfire near Britain’s biggest nuclear power station has caused “total devastation” to one of the UK’s most important landscapes, as fire crews said the situation remained “dynamic”.
More than 100 firefighters have been battling the blaze on Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, on the Suffolk coast since Wednesday evening. The fire service said on Friday afternoon the situation was stabilising but remained a “major incident” that was “dynamic and potentially changeable”.
We would like to hear from people who have recently installed renewable energy sources in their home, or considered doing so
Great Britain has recorded more new solar power installations in the first half of this year than in any six-month period since 2011, with most of the new panels going onto household rooftops rather than large-scale solar farms.
The government’s data also shows a rise in households turning to other low-carbon technology: applications to the boiler upgrade scheme, which offers grants for replacing gas boilers with greener alternatives, reached 4,512 last month – up 21% on June last year – with demand for heat pumps expected to climb further in the months ahead.
Peeing at the Grand Prix just got a lot more meaningful. In the latest episode of Physics World Stories, Lucy Bell-Reeves and Olivia Wilson, who work for the start-up NPK Recovery, based at the University of the West of England, explain how their mobile system upcycles urine into fertilizer, right where it’s produced.
The pair unpack the physics and chemistry behind their approach, contrasting it with the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process, which converts natural gas into ammonia under extreme heat and pressure at centralized plants. With the UK importing 100% of its nitrogen, and recent global conflicts exposing the fragility of fertilizer supply chains, the case for local, circular alternatives is growing stronger.
Host Andrew Glester hears about the pair’s experience at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, the UK’s leg of the Formula 1 World Championship. Bell-Reeves and Wilson reflect on what it’s like to experience the “Grand Pee”, and how attendees react when they discover where their urine ends up.
While not pitched as a replacement for industrial-scale ammonia production, the system offers a smart fix for off-grid sites facing sudden spikes in human waste.
Ten U.S. states have legalized systems that can be plugged into standard wall outlets. The technology typically does not require permits or electricians.
Ten U.S. states have legalized systems that can be plugged into standard wall outlets. The technology typically does not require permits or electricians.
Boom in solar farms and home installations in first half of 2026 began shortly after start of US-Israel war against Iran
Great Britain has recorded more new solar power installations in the first half of this year than in any six-month period since 2011, as households turn to rooftop panels to help cut their energy bills.
An analysis of the government’s official figures shows that Great Britain added 142,536 solar installations in the first six months of the year, putting it on track to top last year’s record solar additions.
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