Dutch students test-drive the world’s first off-road solar vehicle in Morocco

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**VIDEO AVAILABLE: CONTACT [email protected] TO RECEIVE** Eindhoven University of Technology TU/Ecomotive team have unveiled the Zem - a solar powered car that removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air as you drive. The team of 30 students set themselves the goal of designing and building a sustainable car in a year to lay down a challenge to the automotive industry to step up its efforts to tackle climate change. The transport sector is a major polluter, producing about a quarter of the EU’s total CO2 emissions a few years ago - and passenger cars are responsible for more than 60 percent of these emissions. Not only is the concept car solar-powered, it actually removes CO2 using a technology called “direct air capturing”. Direct air capture is a fairly new method of cleaning the air by capturing CO2 into a filter. The idea is very simple: while driving, air will move through our self-designed filters and the CO2 will be captured and stored. The compatibility of materials, easy separation, and the use of additives among other features determine the recyclability of Zem. By designing most parts within our car to be reusable or recyclable, the team also made sure the Zem’s ecological impact is lowered than even green “conventional” cars. In the production, the students collaborated with partners as CEAD and Royal3D, and developed the monocoque and the body panels to be fully 3D-printable. By 3D-printing these parts of Zem, the exact shape that was needed could be printed and almost no waste material was produced. Printing these car parts with circular plastics that can be shredded and re-used for other projects, contributes even more to our goal of having very low to no CO2 emissions during all life phases. Even the car’s tyres are environmentally friendly, as they draw on tyres to recycle carbon black - a material that is usually wasted. This circular approach not only solves an important waste management problem, but also drastically
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Paolo Natale

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Authenticity vs AI: Alberto Laínez on the future of music

Authenticity vs AI: Alberto Laínez on the future of music

Amid the rise of AI-generated music, Honduran artist Alberto Laínez, known as El Aullador, reflects on the struggle to preserve human emotion, culture, and identity in the age of algorithms.

In a time when AI is rapidly generating music at scale, the Honduran singer-songwriter Alberto Laínez, better known by his artistic project name El Aullador, finds himself wrestling with a paradox. He embraces technology as a tool, yet fears it may eclipse the emotional core of his art, even usurping the very voice he pours his heart into. Laínez grew up singing in Honduras, and El Aullador blends his work as an environmental engineer with his love for music. He composes songs inspired by forests, wetlands, and protected areas, often working side by side with local communities. He asserts that his musical mission is ecological, to awaken in listeners a deeper respect for nature. His creed is simple: the songs do not belong solely to him but to the people who live the stories behind them.
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From West Africa to Latin America: Why the Global South is ground zero for Bots-as-a-Service

With banks, governments and small businesses under fire, Bots-as-a-Service is exposing the Global South’s digital vulnerabilities.

Cybercrime is no longer the domain of elite hackers working behind closed doors. Today, it has become an open marketplace where criminals can simply rent the tools they need. Known as Bots-as-a-Service (BaaS), this trend is hitting the Global South hardest, turning countries in Africa and Latin America into both prime targets and unwilling enablers of global cybercrime.
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