How GM and VW are beating Tesla

This week Current climatewhich brings you the latest sustainability business news every Saturday. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every week.

Healthy agriculture

WITHas of 2020, California-based Sound Agriculture sells its crop additive called Source, which mimics a signal naturally found in plants to attract microbes. These microbes in turn provide nutrients to the plant. In practice, this means that farmers who use this product also don’t need as much fertilizer, making their fields more environmentally friendly and saving money at the same time.

But this week, Sound Agriculture introduced a very different product: tomato, which the company was able to breed with the help of epigenetic techniques to be tasty and durable. These techniques were faster and more cost-effective than traditional breeding or the use of genetic engineering or gene editing. Tomatoes will be piloted in the New York City area, but Sound doesn’t plan to stop with tomatoes — it’s also moving into other crops. And given the pace of climate change, the ability to quickly breed new traits into crops could prove to be a very competitive advantage for society.

Travis Bayer, the company’s CTO and co-founder, says this new product launch marks “the beginning of an era of more differentiated products, more stable products and tastier products, all coming to market faster.”

A great read

ZINNIA LEE/FORBES ASIA

Meet the marine biologist-turned-entrepreneur who is restoring coral reefs using 3D printing and clay

Vriko Yu launched the startup on the back of her Ph.D. studying biological sciences. She is now CEO of Archireef, a climate technology startup working to restore fragile marine ecosystems using 3D printing technology and some good old terracotta.

Discoveries and innovations

Scientists in China have developed a new type glass claims both biodegradable and biorecyclablewhich means that another eco-friendly alternative to glass or plastic is emerging in recent months.

A shipwreck according to local divers SS Thistlegormcargo ship that sank in the Red Sea during World War II, has now happened artificial reef.

Sustainability Week Events

Recycling of renewable resources: Solarcycle, which turns old solar panels into materials for new ones, has grown $30 million Series A round this week.

Microbial carbon sequestration: Andes, a California startup that uses microorganisms to capture carbon dioxide, announced that it has increased an another $15 million for its Series A venture round, bringing the round total to $30 million.

Green Hydrogen: Ceres Power Holdings announced that he had contracted Bosch and Linde Engineering to prepare a two-year demonstration of a one-megawatt solid oxide electrolysis system as a route to green hydrogen production.

On the horizon

It’s still snowing in some parts of the US, but spring is on the horizon. If you haven’t thought about it, now might be the time to stock up on antihistamines, as researchers note that thanks to climate change, allergy season is starting earlier than ever.

What else are we reading this week?

Don’t overlook faith in climate action (Religion News)

Artificial intelligence is booming – and so is its carbon footprint (Bloomberg)

The climate reckoning is here — for gardeners (heat map)

Green transport update

ghettos

TThe Biden administration this week began making good on a promise to create a much larger electric vehicle charging network across the United States, particularly in lower-income or rural areas, by opening up access to $2.5 billion in additional federal funds as part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions in automobiles. That’s more than $5 billion for chargers to be set up along America’s highways and state roads.

A great traffic story

VOLKSWAGEN AG

VW and GM overtake Tesla in race to sell affordable EVs

Elon Musk has teased the idea that Tesla will sell a widely available battery-powered model starting in 2006. He finally came close to announcing one this month, but still hasn’t shared details. Competitors including Volkswagen and General Motors aren’t waiting to see what the mercurial billionaire decides to do, and are already preparing plans for electric cars priced at $30,000 or less.