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  • Shore power in California: Impact on statewide grid and public health benefits

    Shore power in California: Impact on statewide grid and public health benefits

    To reduce air pollution from ships, California Air Resources Board (CARB) implemented emissions control regulations for oceangoing vessels and commercial harbor craft. Shore power, which allows ships to plug into shore-based electrical power sources to operate their electrical systems while turning off their auxiliary engines, can effectively eliminate local air pollutant emissions, and has been identified as a key compliance strategy in CARB’s regulations. However, despite shore power’s role in California’s emissions control regulations and its growing adoption internationally, the magnitude of electricity demand from widespread shore power use and its implications for grid planning remain unclear.

    To address this knowledge gap, this brief estimates the annual and hourly demand from shore power in California through 2050 under four scenarios, comparing these projections against statewide electricity demand forecasts. The study also quantifies air quality and health benefits from maximizing shore power use in California.

    The analysis finds that shore power electricity demand would be less than 0.2% of California’s forecasted electricity deliveries in 2050 even under the maximum adoption scenario. Additionally, eliminating all at-berth auxiliary engine emissions through shore power could have avoided approximately 30 premature deaths annually in California, representing $321 million in economic benefits.

    As technologies for the electrification of boiler functions mature, California could extend emissions control requirements to boilers, substantially increasing both air quality benefits and shore power infrastructure requirements. Such expansion would require coordinated planning between ports, utilities, and regulators to ensure adequate generation, transmission, and distribution capacity.

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  • Not playing around: Why neuroscience needs toy models

    Not playing around: Why neuroscience needs toy models

    Over the past 25 years, artificial neural networks have exploded in size, expanding from 60,000 parameters in 1998 (LeNet) to 70 billion in 2024 (Llama 3). Computational neuroscience has benefited from these large models’ ability…

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  • Could raccoons be our future pets? Science says not for millennia : Short Wave : NPR

    Could raccoons be our future pets? Science says not for millennia : Short Wave : NPR

    The common raccoon is ubiquitous in North America, found anywhere from isolated forests to city parks. And in urban areas,…

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  • Today’s Hurdle hints and answers for December 22, 2025

    Today’s Hurdle hints and answers for December 22, 2025

    If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.

    There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the…

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  • ZeroAvia Completes Financing Round

    ZeroAvia Completes Financing Round

    KEMBLE, UK and EVERETT, Wash., Dec. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — ZeroAvia today announced that it has completed a further round of financing, led by Barclays Climate Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Horizons Ventures, Summa Equity, and AP Ventures, with participation from the National Wealth Fund and the Scottish National Investment Bank.

    With additional investment secured, ZeroAvia has extended its cash runway for the next two years and will continue to fully industrialize its hydrogen power and propulsion technology for the aviation and defense markets.

    The company is already supplying its SuperStack Flex modular fuel cell power generation system to the defense sector, and there is increasing interest in the systems for unmanned aerial vehicles. The dual-use potential is strong: ZeroAvia is also in active customer discussions with eVTOL and fixed-wing commercial players in relation to deploying the compact, lightweight, flexible systems.

    The SuperStack Flex can enable both electric propulsion and enhanced on-board electrical power generation with greater power density than battery systems. It unlocks all of the benefits of electrical operation – lower thermal and noise signatures, reduced maintenance costs, enhanced reliability and zero-emissions – and with significantly enhanced endurance. With Design Organisation Approval granted by the UK CAA in November, ZeroAvia is well positioned to deliver the first fuel cell systems for aviation with regulatory approvals.

    As well as a standalone power generation system with a wide variety of defense and civil applications, the SuperStack Flex is a core module of ZeroAvia’s first planned full hydrogen-electric powertrain, ZA600, designed for 10-20 seat commercial aircraft. With a prototype extensively flight tested, hundreds of engine orders in place with airline customers (including a launch customer), and funding in place to support the entry-in-service of 15 aircraft in Norway, ZeroAvia’s focus is now on pushing towards its first certification to support these opportunities.  

    Val Miftakhov, Founder and CEO, ZeroAvia, said: “The support shown in this investment to power the next phase for the company is a great vote of confidence in the company’s technology and roadmap. With this latest financing we are able to progress at pace on the most immediate market opportunities – such as the SuperStack Flex – which will enable us to derisk later stages of our roadmap.”

    For more information on the SuperStack Flex, download the brochure or get in touch with the team. 

    About ZeroAvia
    ZeroAvia is leading the transition to a clean future of flight by developing hydrogen-electric propulsion technologies for aviation and defense to unlock lower costs and emissions, lower detectability, cleaner air, reduced noise, energy independence and increased connectivity. The company is developing hydrogen-electric (fuel cell-powered) engines for existing commercial aircraft segments and also supplying hydrogen and electric propulsion component technologies for novel electric air transport applications (including battery, hybrid and fuel cell powered electric fixed-wing aircraft, novel eVTOL designs, rotorcraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). ZeroAvia has submitted its first full engine for up to 20-seat planes for certification and is working on a larger powertrain for 40–80-seat aircraft, with significant flight test and regulatory milestones achieved with the U.S. FAA and UK CAA.  

    For more, please visit ZeroAvia.com, follow @ZeroAvia on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

    SOURCE ZeroAvia


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  • Patrick Grant heads to the blacksmith

    Patrick Grant heads to the blacksmith

    Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

    In parts, my garden resembles a scrapyard. The rusting remnants of the ornate iron pergola that once framed the front…

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  • Moon phase today explained: What the moon will look like on December 22, 2025

    Moon phase today explained: What the moon will look like on December 22, 2025

    The Moon is coming back from complete darkness, but it’s still showing just a hint of light. Over the next few nights, it will get bigger and brighter, and soon we’ll be able to spot…

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  • Pakistan, China sign 24 tech MoUs to expand digital cooperation – RADIO PAKISTAN

    1. Pakistan, China sign 24 tech MoUs to expand digital cooperation  RADIO PAKISTAN
    2. Pakistan, China sign 24 tech MoUs  The Express Tribune
    3. Pakistan’s solar rush unlocked $17-19bn in private investment in 8 years: study  Business Recorder
    4. China’s…

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  • Study links full-fat cheese to lower dementia risk

    Study links full-fat cheese to lower dementia risk

    • A large new study suggests that eating more full-fat cheese and cream may be linked to a lower risk of developing dementia later in life.
    • High-fat cheeses are defined as containing more than 20% fat and include familiar varieties such as…

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  • Sanitas Brewing Co. closes all taprooms, ending a Boulder craft beer staple

    Sanitas Brewing Co. closes all taprooms, ending a Boulder craft beer staple

    In mid-November, Boulder-based Sanitas Brewing Co. announced it would close by the end of the year. By Dec. 20, the brewery had poured its final beers, becoming one of the latest casualties of a difficult period for the craft beer industry.

    The Lafayette taproom closed Dec. 18, followed by the Englewood location on Dec. 19 and the flagship Boulder taproom on Dec. 20.

    Sanitas isn’t the only Colorado brewery ceasing operations this winter. Trinity Brewing Co., in Colorado Springs, poured its final beers Dec. 21, and Denver’s Call to Arms Brewing Co. is set to shutter on Dec. 23.


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