The European Commission approved landmark legislation requiring member states to dramatically scale up plastic waste processing infrastructure, backed by €8B in green transition funds.

Equinor's Hywind Tampen 2 project deployed turbines at 300m depth, proving the viability of deep-water wind energy that could unlock gigawatts of previously inaccessible ocean resources.

Toyota and Samsung SDI jointly announced first commercial-scale solid-state cell lines are online in Japan, targeting 2026 vehicle integration. The tech promises 2x energy density over lithium-ion.

In a unanimous declaration at the Rio summit, all 20 major economies committed to eliminating fossil fuel subsidies totaling $1.3 trillion annually, redirecting funds to clean energy access programs.

Researchers demonstrated a scalable thermochemical process that converts mixed ocean plastic waste directly into hydrogen gas with 85% efficiency — simultaneously cleaning oceans and producing fuel.

NREL certified a new tandem perovskite-silicon cell achieving 30.1% efficiency, surpassing the theoretical limit once thought insurmountable for single-junction silicon. Commercial panels could follow in 3 years.

Swiss startup Recursive deployed robotic lines using computer vision to disassemble smartphones in under 18 seconds and sort 47 distinct material streams, making e-waste recycling economically viable at scale.