Australian scientists have investigated the forces that create some of the world’s densest and coldest water. Although Antarctic Bottom Water is known in just four remote locations, its flow impacts weather patterns all around the world.
The…
From Wednesday 24 December, specified areas of high-use swimming locations including Dutchman’s Beach, Nelson Bay Beach (Fly Point) and Shoal Bay will be designated zones where powered vessels – including personal watercraft such as jet skis – will be temporarily restricted.
This trial will run across the peak period to Monday, 26 January and is designed to test whether localised safety zones can reduce risk for all local waterway users.
The majority of the three beach locations will remain the same with only 800 meters of the 3.2km of beachfront allocated as powered vessel free zones.
Beachgoers are still free to swim wherever they choose.
During the trial all powered vessels must stay at least 30m from the shoreline. Clear signage will be installed at all trial sites and nearby launch points.
The trial is important as in NSW jet ski ownership has climbed by nearly 23 per cent over the last five years and licenses have surged by 38 per cent.
This rise has led to concerns about the safe sharing of crowded beaches with swimmers and paddlers during peak holiday seasons.
At the same time it is estimated that over the Christmas and summer holiday period, Port Stephens experiences an increase of approximately 50,000 to 150,000 residents. On top of that up to 30,000 day visitors flock to the area.
Throughout the trial period NSW Maritime will be connecting with water users, the community and local businesses to collect feedback on the safety measures.
NSW Police Marine Area Command vessels will also be patrolling the waterways educating and engaging with users to ensure everyone is safe.
The community is encouraged to provide feedback on the trial through the Have You Say website here or via QR codes on signage displayed at each trial location.
For more information including details on the trial zone locations visit here.
Executive Director Transport for NSW Maritime, Mark Hutchings said:
“This trial is a practical way to test solutions in response to community concerns. We’ve heard consistent feedback about safety and amenity issues on our busy waterways and this trial is a direct response.
“The trial will be independently evaluated and feedback gathered will inform how we manage safety of these high-use waterways into the future.
“I strongly encourage the local community to provide feedback on the trial through the Have You Say website or via QR codes on the signage displayed at each location.
“Port Stephens has some of our state’s most popular waterways and beaches. This trial is about keeping everyone safe while enjoying the water regardless of what activity they’re doing.
“There are extensive areas across Port Stephens where powered vessels can operate safely and responsibly. This trial focuses only on a few high-use swimming and recreation areas.
“Our Boating Safety Officers will be working with NSW Police Marine Area Command on the water to educate the community about the trial and encourage compliance from powered vessel users.”
NSW Police Marine Area Command, Superintendent Joseph McNulty said:
“Marine Area Command officers will be out in force on waterways in Port Stephens over summer to keep people safe and to ensure they are complying with the rules.
“Our priority is ensuring everyone who wants to enjoy the water – whether they are a swimmer or paddler, or on a powered vessel or boat – can do so safely.
“While most powered vessel operators do the right thing, we have seen some users riding dangerously or recklessly.
“Our focus will be on educating jet ski riders about the new restrictions, but we will take enforcement action when required.”
There’s a poem I keep thinking about: “Replica of the Thinker.” In it, a copy of Rodin’s famous statue sits at a museum, hunched over that familiar pose of “deep thought.” But he isn’t thinking….
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.
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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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