Daily Debrief

In a high-tech factory near Hamburg, robotic arms efficiently assemble proton exchange membrane electrolysers designed to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. These machines, produced by Quest One, represent a level of industrial automation far ahead of the company’s current demand, highlighting a persistent imbalance in the green hydrogen market.

The past year of thinking about climate action has increasingly felt like thinking about markets. Not markets in the narrow sense of price signals alone, but markets as arenas where learning happens, capacity is built, costs fall, and political coalitions shift. Reading and in some cases rereading Guns, Germs, and ...

As Zach mentioned yesterday, The Guardian reported data from ACEA showing that Tesla sold 12,130 vehicles in Europe in November, down from 18,430 last year, while the overall market grew slightly. Tesla’s market share shrank from 2.1% to 1.4%. However, while Tesla staggered, BYD’s sales growth accelerated in the EU, ...

In November 2024, BYD reached cumulative production of 10 million plugin vehicles (or “new energy vehicles” as they are called in China). Just 13 months later, in December 2025, the company reached 15 million. That’s stunning growth. From 10 million cumulative vehicles produced to 15 million in just over a ...

There are many hot, fun, attractive, exciting, competitive electric cars on the Chinese auto market. However, there are none hotter than the Geely Geome Xingyuan this year. Yes, passing up the Tesla Model Y, the Wuling HongGuang Mini EV, and all of the BYD models on the list, the Xingyuan ...

… in China. Ford has launched a fully electric (BEV) and extended-range electric (EREV) Bronco in China. It is shutting down EV shop in the USA, for the most part, but it is gung-ho about the new electric era in China. The Ford Bronco BE comes with a 105 kWh ...

Around 10,000 offshore gas and oil workers are spending today and the rest of the Christmas and New Year holiday far out on the dark seas around Britain’s coasts, providing the energy to heat homes, cook turkeys, and power fairy lights. As most people are eating, drinking and open presenting with family and friends, this […]

Grace Trust says it offers the Christmas spirit all year to people on Jersey who are struggling.

A weekly show exploring science, its mysteries, and the debates it sparks.

In order to be less scared, I imagine the huge Australian huntsman as a girlie, just chilling and listening to us yap. It sounds dumb, but it worked (a little bit) Read more summer essentials I am someone who believes it is never too late to change. I think you can in fact teach an old dog new tricks, as long as the old dog is open-minded and willing to learn. As long as the old dog is willing to admit when it was wrong, and work to become a better dog. OK yes, I am the old dog. And the trick I am trying to learn, even though I am decrepit? It is an important one, something I have struggled with, frequently, for my entire life. I have been trying … to become less scared of huntsman spiders. Apologies to all the other spiders that exist; I have to be realistic about my possible growth as a human. It also has to be the huntsman because it is large, in charge, and the one I encounter most often. Including three times in the last week. Inside my home. You can’t see me but I’m shaking my head and grimacing as I type. Continue reading...

Penguins hand over pebbles; scorpionflies give spitballs. But I’m hankering after a sea sponge presented by a dolphin This Christmas morning, are you worried you didn’t choose quite the right gift for that someone special? I always try my hardest, but everywhere I turn I’m bombarded with unhelpful suggestions. No, I don’t want a candle that smells like turkey, because, well, we’ll be cooking turkey. Nor do I want a sunrise alarm clock that mimics natural light, because I can leave the curtains open. And I definitely don’t want a salmon DNA pink collagen jelly mask (Good Housekeeping’s Best for Beauty Lovers), because said DNA comes from milt. AKA semen. If I wanted fish sperm on my face, I would tickle some pollocks. So if, like me, you’re always looking for inspiration, my advice is: learn from the animal kingdom. Humans didn’t invent gifting. The practice has been around for at least 100m years, long before our species evolved. With a little help from natural selection, this has given wild animals ample time to perfect the art of giving. Hell, some spiders even gift-wrap! Helen Pilcher is a science writer and the author of Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-Extinction Continue reading...