Electrolysis and Electrochemistry Can Neutralize and Convert Contaminants On-Site: New Technique Addresses Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), Including Toxic Pesticides

     Researchers at ETH Zurich, led by Bill Morandi, Professor of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, discovered a way, late last year, to convert some very toxic persistent organic pollutants on-site into other captured chemicals and byproducts. They can do this through electrolysis via alternating current and by utilizing electrochemistry principles.

     Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemically stable and can remain in soil, water, and organisms for decades. These include some very toxic chemicals like the pesticides DDT and lindane. POPs can also accumulate in fatty tissue and enter the food chain. Several of these chemicals were banned long ago, but are still present in the environment and in human blood.

     The new research offers hope that POPs can be remediated successfully.  

"The key advance of this new technology is the use of alternating current to sequester the problematic halogen atoms as innocuous salts such as NaCl (table salt), while still generating valuable hydrocarbons," says Morandi.

     According to ETH Zurich:

“A key distinction between this and previous work is that the carbon skeleton of the pollutants is recycled and made reusable, while the halide component is sequestered as a harmless inorganic salt. “The previous methods were also energetically inefficient,” says Patrick Domke, a doctoral student in Morandi’s group. He explains: “The processes were expensive and still led to outcomes that were harmful to the environment.”

     Phys.org writes:

“Electrolysis enables almost complete dehalogenation of pollutants under mild, environmentally friendly and cost-effective conditions. It cleaves the stable carbon-halogen bonds, leaving behind only harmless salts such as table salt and useful hydrocarbons such as benzene, diphenylethane or cyclododecatriene.”

     These useful hydrocarbons are used in many ways in the chemical industry. Thus, the discovery also enables a circular economy.

"Alternating current protects the electrodes from wear, which is why we can reuse them for many subsequent electrolysis cycles. In addition, the alternating current suppresses unwanted side reactions and the formation of poisonous chlorine gas, allowing the pollutant's halogen atoms to be fully converted to inorganic salts."

“The reactor used by the researchers consists of an undivided electrolysis cell in which dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is used as a solvent—itself a by-product of the pulp process in paper production.”

     The process can directly treat soil and sludge without pretreatment or separation processes. A prototype reactor has been tested successfully on DDT and lindane. It can be assembled on-site. No hazardous substances need to be transported.

     According to the Re Soil Foundation, this new technique could be employed for a variety of POPs as well as other contaminants that are stable in the environment, such as the so-called forever chemicals like PFAS/PFOA. They note EPA’s designation of “persistent” and compare “half-lives” of different stable chemicals:

“According to a study, the half-life of certain fluorinated compounds – i.e., the time it takes for their presence in the environment to be halved after spraying – can reach two and a half years. This is less than the time required for some older pesticides such as DDT, but still 15 times higher than the 60-day limit set by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for defining a pollutant as ‘persistent’.”

    

 

References:

 

Can electrolysis solve one of the biggest contamination problems? Walter Schmid. Phys.org. November 25, 2025. Can electrolysis solve one of the biggest contamination problems?

Electrolysis can solve one of our biggest contamination problems. Walter Schmid, Corporate Communications. ETH Zurich. November 25, 2025. Electrolysis can solve one of our biggest contamination problems | ETH Zurich

Through electrolysis we can neutralize (and enhance) soil contaminants. Matteo Cavallito. Re Soil Foundation. December 22, 2025. Through electrolysis we can neutralize soil contaminants

 

 

Two Tank Failure Incidents on the West Coast Make News: Washington – 11 Likely Dead, 9 Injured in Implosion; California - Thousands Evacuated and Explosion Narrowly Averted

      A tank implosion at a paper mill in Washington likely killed 11 people, although only 2 bodies have so far been recovered, and injured 11 others. It is likely the largest industrial tragedy in the state’s history. A team of investigators with the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) arrived yesterday to investigate.

“The incident began when an industrial tank ruptured and released white liquor, a highly destructive chemical mixture used in the paper industry. In the initial aftermath, officials confirmed one death and nine injuries, including a firefighter who had responded to the scene. Seven workers remain hospitalized.”

     The white liquor is made up mostly of sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide. It is used to break down wood into kraft paper.

     Any recovered victims have to undergo decontamination, which makes the process slow. Responders are encased in chemical protective equipment.

     This was a huge tank with a 900,000-gallon capacity. About 25,000 gallons remain in the tank. It is estimated that 500,000 gallons of caustic liquid leaked. It causes severe burns when it comes into contact with human skin.

     The plant has been in production since 1953. It produces enough paperboard to make roughly 6 billion milk cartons. Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. employs about 1000 people at the packaging plant.

     Much of the liquid spilled into a nearby drainage ditch.

“Sampling revealed that contamination had entered the river on Tuesday, officials said, and dead carp were found. They urged the public to avoid ditches and dikes while the area undergoes water testing, but said there were no issues related to air quality or drinking water in Longview.”

     Meanwhile, a fire in a damaged tank at a California aerospace plant, thought to be in danger of exploding, luckily did not explode. The 7,000-gallon tank of the toxic and flammable chemical methyl methacrylate at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove was first detected last week and resulted in the evacuation of tens of thousands of local residents. Up to 60,000 people were evacuated but have now returned to their homes.

“A problem with a valve in the refrigeration system, which was supposed to keep the tank at 50 degrees Fahrenheit, had caused overheating.”

     It was thought that an explosion was imminent. According to NBC News:

“Sprinklers from the company were on and trying to cool the tank, he said, and the fire department used a hose stream pouring 1,250 gallons a minute on it.”

“Those cooling measures were successful; it reduced the pressure,” Covey said.

“A gauge showed the tank had reached at least 100 degrees over the weekend, Covey said. On Tuesday, the temperature at the main tank was holding at 92 degrees, the fire agency said.

“A crack on the tank also helped relieve pressure and allowed crews to take more aggressive measures. Had the worst fear — a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion, or BLEVE — occurred, it would have been a catastrophe, officials have said.”

     These incidents show that tank integrity determination and frequent comprehensive tank inspections are very important, especially in places where there are many people working near the tank, as in the paper mill.

 

 

 

References:

 

Tank-rupture tragedy may be deadliest in Washington history, governor says. Dani Anguiano and agencies. The Guardian. May 27, 2026. Tank-rupture tragedy may be deadliest in Washington history, governor says

All evacuation orders lifted after explosion at California chemical tank is averted. NBC News. May 26, 2026. All evacuation orders lifted after explosion at California chemical tank is averted

How a tank rupture disrupted life in a tight-knit Washington town that has lived with pulp mills for generations. CNN. May 28, 2026. How a tank rupture disrupted life in a tight-knit Washington town that has lived with pulp mills for generations - KTVZ

 

 

 

Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Less Stringent Than Expected Incinerator Emissions Rules: One Third of New York City’s Residential Trash is Incinerated

     A coalition of environmental groups, led by Earthjustice and the Environmental Integrity Project, is suing the EPA over emissions rules for waste incinerators that are weaker than expected. The groups argue that the rule will allow continued harm to communities in Newark and elsewhere in New Jersey, the Hudson Valley, and Long Island.

     One focus of the lawsuit is the Reworld Essex facility in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood, which burns nearly 1 million tons of trash each year and generates about 66 megawatts of electricity.

     The Cool Down reports:

“Alejandra Torres, the Ironbound Community Corporation's assistant director of advocacy and organizing, said that the Newark incinerator ranks second in New Jersey for emissions of arsenic, hydrogen chloride, mercury, and nitrogen oxide.”

“Residents have long reported foul odors and breathing problems in a neighborhood already surrounded by heavy industry, truck traffic, power plants, and flight paths from Newark Airport.”

     Data from 2024 show that about one-third of New York City’s residential trash—and all of Manhattan’s residential trash—is burned in incinerators. Of Manhattan’s total, 66% is burned at the Newark facility. Incinerator pollution can have serious health effects, including higher cancer risk, developmental harm, and respiratory disease. In Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood, those risks are compounded by other pollution sources, including nearby factories, a sewage treatment plant, diesel truck traffic, and airport emissions. Nitrogen oxide, which contributes to smog, is emitted in greater quantities by the Newark incinerator than by any other source in the county. Community members have opposed the facility for years.

     The EPA’s new rule for municipal solid waste incinerators is stricter than the previous standard but less strict than the version proposed by the Biden administration.

     A lobbyist for the Waste-to-Energy Association defended less stringent rules in general:

“Waste-to-energy facilities serve a real public function: diverting millions of tons of material from landfills, reducing methane emissions and generating reliable electricity.”

     It seems to me that the main issue here is this specific incinerator, since each facility presents different risks depending on surrounding pollution sources, distance from residential areas, and the scale of its emissions. Residents have also long complained about foul odors, underscoring their lived experience of these impacts.

     The long-running debate between landfilling and incineration shows that both approaches have benefits and drawbacks. Because living near an incinerator increases exposure to well-known pollutants, proximity to residents should be a primary factor in permit decisions, emissions limits, and abatement requirements. In other words, allowable emissions should vary based on exposure risk.

 

References:

 

Coalition sues over EPA trash incinerator rules, says Newark families are breathing cancer-causing pollution. Brooklyn Smith. The Cool Down. May 24, 2026. Coalition sues over EPA trash incinerator rules, says Newark families are breathing cancer-causing pollution

Environmentalists hope lawsuit tightens polluting rules for Newark incinerator. Michael Sol Warren. Gothamist. May 17, 2026. Environmentalists hope lawsuit tightens polluting rules for Newark incinerator - Gothamist

IRONBOUND COMMUNITY CORPORATION, EAST YARD COMMUNITIES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, FLORIDA RISING, SIERRA CLUB, and SOUTH BALTIMORE COMMUNITY LAND TRUST, Petitioners, v. UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY and LEE ZELDIN, in his official capacity as Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Respondents. U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. May 11, 2026. 2026-05-11-lmwc-rule-petition-for-review.pdf

Bangladesh Offers Better Terms in Offshore Oil & Gas Blocks Tender to Lure Investment Amid Shortages and High Costs of Imports: The Geology Shows Prospectivity

     Like many South Asian countries, Bangladesh has been strongly affected by the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, they have launched an international tender for oil and gas exploration in 27 offshore blocks in the Bay of Bengal, offering more attractive terms to foreign companies amid domestic gas shortages and reducing reliance on expensive LNG imports. State-run oil company Petrobangla has given a November 30 deadline for bid submissions.

“We have made the terms more attractive than before to encourage participation from international companies,” Energy Minister Iqbal Hassan Mahmood told a press conference.

“The offshore tender is part of the government’s action plan to increase domestic gas supply and reduce import dependence.”

     An offshore licensing round in March 2024 failed to attract a single bid despite several multinational companies purchasing data packages. The tender includes 15 deep-water and 12 shallow-water blocks in the Bay of Bengal. A review conducted after the failed 2024 round showed that foreign companies had raised concerns over gas pricing, pipeline construction costs, and profit-sharing obligations.

     Bangladesh resolved offshore border disputes with India in 2012 and with Myanmar in 2014. However, Bangladesh has yet to make a significant offshore gas discovery. Pakistan, India, and Myanmar have made discoveries and are continuing to drill offshore. Previous offshore Bangladesh exploration was done by major international companies, including ConocoPhillips, Santos, POSCO Daewoo, and ONGC, before they exited the projects.

     According to the Dhaka Tribune:

“The draft contract stipulates a nine-year exploration period. During the first four years, companies must complete geological surveys and either two-dimensional or three-dimensional seismic surveys. Two years will then be allocated for drilling exploration wells, followed by three years to move into production.”

“Petrobangla said geological surveys will be mandatory for all contracted companies.”

“Petrobangla expects offshore exploration activities to begin by the end of 2027 after completing the tendering and contractual processes.”

     The Bay of Bengal is considered to be a frontier exploration basin, contains the world's largest deep marine, and remains mostly unexplored for hydrocarbons. However, gas fields in the fan have been established, and the petroleum system is considered quite valid. Elisabeth Gillbard has written about the potential of the Bay of Bengal and provides a geological summary below.

“The Bengal Fan is the largest submarine fan in the world, with a length of up to 3000 km, a width of 1200 km, and up to 16 km of sediment thickness (Curray et al., 2003)”

“The Bay of Bengal is a rifted passive margin initially established during the disintegration of Gondwana (e.g., Curray, 1982; Powell, 1988; Curray, 1994). Rifting was initiated during the early Jurassic (~180 Ma) period, with the first oceanic crust forming in the Lower Cretaceous (120-130 Ma) as a result of the separation of the Indian and Antarctica plates (e.g., Gopala Rao et al., 1997). As India drifted northwards, it started its collision with Asia around 59 Ma, initiating the Himalayan uplift. However, the full hard continent-continent collision did not begin until around 15 Ma, resulting in the main Himalayan Orogeny and the major increase in sedimentation, which resulted in the deposition of the Bengal Fan. The Sunda Subduction Zone and Indo-Burman accretionary prism mark the eastern extent of the Bay of Bengal, active since approximately 20 Ma. Compression from this margin is evident in the east part of the area of interest (AOI), with structural deformation decreasing westwards.”

     Direct hydrocarbon indicators (DHIs) are present in the seismic data. Clusters of prograding fluvial-deltaic channel sands are prospective in the shallow submarine fan system, and basin floor fans and isolated channels are prospective in the deeper waters. 

“All the recent discoveries within the Bengal Fan have been sourced from intraformational biogenic gas contemporaneous with the reservoirs (Shoup et al., 2017). However, there is also considerable evidence for several thermogenic systems. The gas source for the nearshore Sangu Field has been typed to Miocene interbedded shales, and equivalent sequences were drilled in the BODC and Bina wells further offshore, where they were found to be oil-prone Type III shales (Baric et al., 1977). Pre-fan, Late Eocene to Early Oligocene source rocks actively produce oil and gas in adjacent Myanmar. Meanwhile, analogue basins offshore East India yield oil-prone source rocks of Upper Cretaceous age. Gas hydrates and direct hydrocarbon indicators (DHIs) are very common within the seismic data, proving an active gas system.”

 

References:

 

Bangladesh offers sweetened terms in offshore tender to tackle energy crunch. Ruma Paul. Reuters. May 24, 2026. Bangladesh offers sweetened terms in offshore tender to tackle energy crunch

Bangladesh launches offshore oil and gas bidding round for 27 Bay blocks: Government offers export opportunities, tax incentives and duty exemptions to attract foreign investors and boost energy security. Dhaka Tribune. May 27, 2026. Bangladesh launches offshore oil and gas bidding round for 27 Bay blocks

Unveiling the petroleum potential of one of the world’s last frontier petroleum provinces: the Bengal Fan, offshore Bangladesh. Elisabeth Gillbard. TGS. First Break, Vol. 42, May 2024. 23604-FB24 May_08 ST Gillbard 04-12.pdf

Effects of Hypersaline Desalination Brine Discharges: There Are Environmental and Ecosystem Effects: The Arabian Gulf is Susceptible Due to Weak Waves and Less Freshwater Input

     Desalination plants produce waste brine, hypersaline (super-salty) water rich in chlorides and other components, including FeCl3, NaOCl, AlCl3, and H2SO4 (sulfuric acid). The different chemicals come from different processes of the plant. In most cases, the waste brine is simply released back into the sea. Typically, for every liter of freshwater produced, there is 1.5 liters of waste brine produced. The concentration of these brines is in the range of 60,000 to 70,000 parts per million (ppm). Desalination plants are common in the Middle East, where freshwater resources can be scarce. The Arabian Gulf is shallow and lacks strong currents, and freshwater flowing into it has been reduced due to upstream dams and diversions. Saltwater from the oil & gas industry also makes its way to the Arabian Sea. The Gulf is now about 25% saltier than typical seawater, with hotspots double or triple its regular salinity. This also means that desalination will have to work harder to remove the extra salts from the water, which will in turn create even saltier waste brine.

     Most desalination plants rely on reverse osmosis to remove the salts. The resulting waste brine also typically contains additives such as antiscalants and coagulants. It is denser than the seawater it is discharged into, which makes it sink to the bottom of the sea and spread out over the seafloor. This can have significant impacts on benthic organisms, including bacteria, seagrasses, polychaetes, and corals. Seagrass, which is normally salt-tolerant, is often killed by hypersaline water. This is not desirable since seagrass has well-known environmental benefits. The high salinity, as well as the antiscalants, can negatively affect corals, leading to partial bleaching. The symbiotic species that cling to coral are also reduced significantly by the waste brine.

     There are other environmental impacts of desalination plants, including the trapping of many aquatic organisms through the intakes. This adds to the waste brine effects to lower the richness of marine organisms near the plants. Benthic organisms may be significantly affected in coastal areas near the brine discharge outfalls.

     Rich countries like the UAE and Israel have the most desalination capacity. Multiple plants from the Gulf states can combine to degrade seawater quality in a region such as the Arabian Gulf.

     The article in Climate Compass notes that desalination projects are set to grow significantly over the coming years.

“The global desalination market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 9.8 percent, with an increase from US$15.2 billion in 2022 to US$22.5 billion in 2026. Investment is accelerating fast. The global water desalination market was recorded at USD 20.32 billion in 2023, and is expected to reach up to USD 44.57 billion in 2032, with a compound annual growth rate of 9.12 percent forecast for the period 2024 to 2032.”

     They note that site selection for discharge is a key factor for reducing impacts. They also note that more monitoring should be implemented to minimize environmental and ecosystem impacts.

“A clear consensus across many reviewed scientific articles is that discharge site selection is the primary factor that determines the extent of ecological impacts of desalination plants. Ecological monitoring studies have found variable effects ranging from no significant impacts to benthic communities, through to widespread alterations to community structure in seagrass, coral reef, and soft-sediment ecosystems when discharges are released to poorly flushed environments. The science is telling regulators exactly what they need to know.”

“The urgency of rethinking brine management is clear, with integrated approaches needed that balance water security with resource efficiency in a water-constrained world. The industry is growing faster than the rules designed to govern it, and the gap between the rate of expansion and the pace of environmental monitoring continues to widen in most of the world's most water-stressed regions.”

 

  

 

References:

 

Desalination's dark side: Why it might not be the silver bullet we hoped for. Jeff Blaumberg. Climate Compass. March 7, 2026. Desalination's dark side: Why it might not be the silver bullet we hoped for

The Atlantic Council’s Energy Sanction Dashboard Provides Data, Analysis, History, and Implications of Energy Sanctions

      I have previously posted on this blog some of Bloomberg’s very good analysis of the shadow fleet oil and LNG trade of sanctioned oil & gas, and who is buying it. The Atlantic Council also has a great tool for exploring energy sanctions, focusing specifically on Russian, Iranian, and Venezuelan oil.

     The use of less detectable shadow fleets with deliberately opaque ownership and ship-to-ship transfers of oil to unsanctioned tankers has aided the shadow system to thrive. They note that the sanctioned shadow fleets and transshipment networks allowed China to save up to $28.8 million per day on imports at peak discount levels.

“US sanctions waivers, rising oil prices, and supply shortages following the conflict in Iran have boosted demand for Russian crude. Since the waivers were issued, Russia has supplied approximately 300 million barrels to the international market as of May 11, with India re-emerging as a major importer and Southeast Asia emerging as a new destination for Russian crude.”

“The Atlantic Council’s Energy Sanctions Dashboard, created by the Economic Statecraft Initiative and Global Energy Center,

1) assesses how sanctions have impacted global crude oil flows,

2) explores the unintended consequences for the global crude oil industry, and

3) analyzes lessons learned about the deployment of energy sanctions for achieving foreign policy objectives.”

     The currently unresolved, but hopefully soon-to-be resolved Strait of Hormuz disruption is considered to be the biggest energy market disruption in history, with Asia being the most affected region, followed by Europe.

     They note that after Lukoil and Rosneft were sanctioned in October 2025, China briefly stopped importing oil from Russia but resumed imports by shifting the destinations to smaller refiners, less exposed to sanctions enforcement actions. China was also able to import sanctioned Venezuelan oil at a nice discount in 2025. China also buys most of the sanctioned Iranian oil, including oil with unknown buyers, which are thought to be mostly Chinese buyers. In 2025, the discounts meant that sanctioned oil was selling at 10-15$ per barrel cheaper than non-sanctioned oil. However, since the Iran War broke out, Russia has been able to sell oil at $10 higher than the elevated Brent prices, giving Putin’s war machine a needed lifeline, unfortunately.

     The Atlantic Council does call for stricter sanctions enforcement. We saw some of that in late 2025 and early 2026 with the seizing of some tankers, but with temporary sanctions waivers, enforcement has dropped.

     It turns out China was wise to stockpile oil in 2025, which makes it less affected by the Iran situation. It is unfortunate, but other Southeast Asian countries, such as India and Indonesia, have made deals to import Russian oil under the sanctions waivers, but the Atlantic Council sees it also as diversifying their supply from the Middle East, and this may continue after the sanctions waivers are ended. It will take some time for the oil markets to get supply back up to pre-war levels. Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka have also negotiated with Russia for some of that waiver oil. China has responded to U.S. efforts for:

“…secondary sanctions to target shadow fleets, foreign refiners, maritime and financial intermediaries, and overseas commercial and banking infrastructure, including intermediaries in China, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Iraq, and Oman. In response, China ordered its companies not to comply with US sanctions against Chinese refineries, deploying its “prohibition order” for the first time. The move marks a shift in Beijing’s response to US sanctions, from one where China would have rhetorically condemned US trade restrictions while allowing companies to comply, to a more confrontational approach.”

     The Atlantic Council recommends two important ways to tackle the long-established sanctions evasion networks, which they call the “Axis of Evasion.”

“To preserve energy sanctions as an effective tool of economic statecraft against Russia and Iran, the United States should focus on targeting two central elements of sanctions evasion networks: shadow fleet tankers and Chinese “teapot” refineries. These elements have facilitated Russia-Iran-China oil trade for years and were notably analyzed by Kimberly Donovan and Maia Nikoladze in their March 2024 “Axis of Evasion” article” 

 

 

References:

 

Energy Sanctions Dashboard: How the Iran Conflict is Reshaping Sanctioned Crude Oil Flows. The Atlantic Council. May 21, 2026. Energy Sanctions Dashboard - Atlantic Council

Komatsu’s PC9000 Hydraulic Mining Excavators are Being Used in Canada in Alberta Oil Sands Mining and Are Now Available Globally for a Variety of Surface Mining Applications

       In May 2025, Komatsu’s largest hydraulic mining excavator, the PC9000, delivered its first unit to Canada for deployment in Alberta’s oil sands mining region, specifically to Suncor’s Fort Hills Mine.  The PC9000 is a 900-ton piece of equipment and among the best of the 900-tonne class of mining excavators.

     According to Heavy Equipment Guide:

“Engineered as a five-pass match for Komatsu's 980E ultra-class haul trucks, this combination enables fast, double-sided loading to support autonomous haulage systems (AHS) — an increasingly common feature in modern mining operations.”

“With extended reach, higher digging forces, and an oversized bucket, significantly improving cycle times and lower cost-per-tonne performance — the PC9000 presents operational excellence for mining operations.”

     The PC9000 was developed by Komatsu’s Germany Mining Division (KGM). KGM has had a long and successful partnership with Canadian distributor SMS Equipment and Suncor.

“The Alberta oil sands present some of the harshest mining conditions in the world, defined by abrasive materials, extreme temperatures, and massive daily production volumes, even for large scale mining operations standards.”

     The PC9000-12 is the latest iteration and is available in a shovel or a backhoe configuration and as a diesel-powered version or an electric drive version. It can move 80 tons of material per pass, at a rate of more than 8,000 tons per hour of operation. That is a lot of rock and earth moved in an hour!

     Some of the features and capabilities of the PC9000 are given below:

     An article for Electrek extolls the features of the grid-connected electric drive version:

“The PC9000-12 sets a new benchmark for global surface mining operations,” explains Peter Buhles, Komatsu Vice President, Sales and Service. “With its versatile configurations – including face shovel and backhoe, as well as diesel and electric drive options – we can efficiently serve all major mining operations worldwide. The PC9000-12 delivers the power, performance and reliability our customers expect, while supporting higher productivity, lower emissions per ton and seamless integration with autonomous haulage systems.”

“The grid-connected excavator is just what it says on the tin, in that there’s a big, thick, high-voltage trailing cable that “plugs in” to available power, sending nearly 20 Tesla Superchargers’ worth of current to a pair of massive electric motors putting out a positively mind-bending 4 MW of power – that’s well over 5,300 hp to you and me, and worthy of its own substation, in many cases.”

     The PC9000 is now available globally for a wide variety of surface mining applications. Heavy Equipment Guide notes:

“For heavy equipment enthusiasts and mining professionals, the PC9000 represents more than a new model. It marks a shift in where surface mining technology is headed: toward bigger machines, better integration with autonomous systems, and smarter, more collaborative design processes.”

     The availability of an electric drive mining excavator that can be integrated with autonomous haulers, which may also be electric drive, makes sustainable, decarbonized mining more accessible.

    

 

References:

 

Komatsu’s largest hydraulic mining excavator arrives in Canada: The PC9000 has been delivered to Suncor’s Fort Hills mine, marking a milestone in ultra-class mining equipment deployment. Meghan Barton. Heavy Equipment Guide. May 1, 2025. Komatsu’s largest hydraulic mining excavator

Biggest ever Komatsu PC9000-12 electric excavator goes global. Jo Borrás. Electrek. April 4, 2026. Biggest ever Komatsu PC9000-12 electric excavator goes global

Meet the PC9000. Komatsu (website). Meet the PC9000 | PC9000

Research Breakthrough Suggests That Perovskite Solar Panels Can Reach Over 30% Efficiency If Manufacturing Issues Can Be Solved Via Chemically Guided Manufacturing

   

     Researchers from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported a research breakthrough that gives a potentially significant boost to the efficiency of perovskite solar panels. Solar energy technology has been defined over the years by incremental improvements, and if manufacturing issues can be worked out, this could become one of the biggest incremental improvements. The research paper was published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

“The research team achieved a certified power conversion efficiency of 30.3% in rigid tandem solar cells and 28.0% in flexible versions, setting an important milestone for this rapidly developing technology.”

     Perovskite solar cells can be made using low-temperature solution processing, which could reduce manufacturing costs and allow lightweight, flexible solar panels to be produced more easily. “All-perovskite tandem” solar cells stack multiple layers of perovskite materials together so they can absorb different parts of sunlight more effectively than single-layer solar cells. Manufacturing them is challenging because the different ingredients inside the perovskite layers often crystallize at different speeds during manufacturing. This uneven crystal growth creates structural defects and unstable regions inside the material, reducing both efficiency and long-term durability.

     The Chinese Academy of Sciences explains how the problem was overcome in the lab:

“To solve this problem, the researchers developed a new strategy based on a chemistry concept called hard-soft acid-base theory, or HSAB theory. Using this approach, they carefully selected chemical additives that help guide how the perovskite materials crystallize.”

“For wide-bandgap perovskites, the team used an additive called difluoro(oxalato)borate, while narrow-bandgap perovskites used tetrafluoroborate. These additives helped synchronize crystal formation throughout the material, creating smoother and more uniform films.”

“The researchers found that the improved crystal growth reduced defects, prevented uneven distribution of chemical components, and lowered internal stress inside the solar cells. This led to major improvements in performance.”

“The efficiency of wide-bandgap solar cells increased from 18.5% to 20.1%, while narrow-bandgap devices improved from 21.6% to 23.3%.”

    The rigid solar cells retained 92% of their original efficiency after operating continuously for 1,000 hours. The flexible versions maintained more than 95% of their performance even after being bent 10,000 times.

     These kinds of improvements mean that one day in the near future it is likely that rooftop space could support more solar energy production as well as higher output and smaller land footprints for utility-scale solar deployments. Of course, higher efficiency also means lower production costs, less pollution, and fewer carbon emissions. For perovskite panels, the two main problems to be overcome are perovskite durability and how to design manufacturing to scale up production. The new breakthrough addresses both concerns, but especially the first, durability. It does this by solving the problems of asynchronous crystallization through a “generalizable additive design strategy guided by hard–soft acid–base principles to synchronize nucleation and crystal growth in both wide- and narrow-bandgap perovskites.”

 

References:

 

Scientists unveil low-cost solar breakthrough as next-gen cells hit record efficiency. Alex Corvin. The Cool Down. May 24, 2026. Scientists unveil low-cost solar breakthrough as next-gen cells hit record efficiency

New perovskite solar cell breakthrough pushes efficiency beyond 30%. Chinese Academy of Sciences -May 12, 2026. Knowridge. New perovskite solar cell breakthrough pushes efficiency beyond 30%

Chemical hardness engineering synchronizes crystallization in perovskite tandems. Ruijia Tian, Kexuan Sun, Yuanyuan Meng, Jiahan Xie, Yaohua Wang, Xiaoyi Lu, Jingnan Wang, Shujing Zhou, Ming Yang, Haibin Pan, Yang Bai, Zhenhua Song, Yingguo Yang, Quan Liu, Bin Han, Bencan Tang, Darren A. Walsh, Hainam Do, Chang Liu & Ziyi Ge. Nature Nanotechnology. (April 27, 2026). Chemical hardness engineering synchronizes crystallization in perovskite tandems | Nature Nanotechnology