Jaguar Land Rover will develop a new hydrogen-powered prototype of its iconic Defender SUV

The prototype program, known as Project Zeus, is part of JLR’s larger aim to only produce zero-tailpipe emissions vehicles by 2036.

Hydrogen only emits water making it ideal for larger vehicles with longer driving ranges, according to the car-maker.

It follows the company working towards cutting its tail-pipe emissions to zero by 2036.

The venture will be partly funded by the UK Government and will begin testing by the end of this year.

The UK plans to ban car sales that run entirely on combustion engines from 2030.

JLR has also made a commitment to have zero carbon emissions across its supply chain, products, and operations by 2039.

The automaker has also tapped AVL, Delta Motorsport, Marelli Automotive Systems, and the UK Battery Industrialization Center to help develop the prototype.

The testing program is designed to help engineers understand how a hydrogen powertrain can be developed that would meet the performance and capability (like towing and off-roading) standards that Land Rover customers expect.

Climate change was hot on the agenda at last week’s G7 Summit in the United Kingdom.

To dissect the latest on the environment, Kristina Haverkamp from the German Energy Agency joined ticker Climate hosts, Holly Stearnes and Scott Hamilton.

"The results are satisfactory"

As the #G7summit wraps up, Kristina Haverkamp MD of German Energy Agency @dena_news says #G7 leaders have multiple commitments to #climatechange, including #NetZero by 2050! #climateaction | @SDHamiltonVIC pic.twitter.com/57d26N06yp

— ticker NEWS (@tickerNEWSco) June 14, 2021

Ms Haverkamp said the results from last week’s G7 Summit were “satisfactory”.

“Some say that not enough has been decided but I’ve started to see that as a pavlovian response to what’s been decided at the international level,” she explained.

Ms Haverkamp also said her company, dena, has played a fundamental role in Germany’s renewable future. But there is still a lot of work to do.

“The attitude of the German population is ambivalent. We have 80 to 90 percent support in principle… but at the same time there is strong global resistance that is delaying the necessary expansion of our high voltage transmission grids,” she said.

En route to @COP26!@G7 partners are signing off on a landmark joint commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050 (latest) & keeping a 1.5°C temperature rise within reach.

We will do everything we can to stick to 1.5 pic.twitter.com/jExPg2WLhQ

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) June 13, 2021

The G7 leaders – from the United Kingdom, United States, Italy, Germany, France Canada and Japan – have all committed to net zero emissions by 2050. G7 partners also signed a landmark joint agreement at the Summit last week.

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen tweeted “we will do everything we can to stick to 1.5 [degrees].”

The G7 Summit comes ahead of the COP26, United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. 

ticker Climate airs Monday 4:15pm AEST, or 2:15am EDT.

Experts say the GPS tracker will pave the way for less-invasive methods of wildlife tracking

An Australian researcher has developed a world-first GPS technology which will make it easier to track whales in real-time, right from their phone.

Dr Olaf Meynecke from Griffith University’s Coastal and Marine Research Centre (CMRC) led the study. He says the tech could provide important environmental insights. His team will be focusing on coastal and the fine-scale movement of the whales.

“One application will be in resting and breeding areas of species like humpback whales, which use coastal waters and link behaviour to today’s threats such as vessel traffic, water pollution and risk of entanglements,” he told Ticker NEWS.

Advancements in technology

This technology will be a far cheaper option than traditional satellite transmission, and will be able to work on a mobile network. This means the technology is suitable for both short-term and long-term tracking.

“I believe this technology to have a lot of potential as the mobile network is extending and we will undertake further modification to improve the tag design itself. We are planning more deployments along the east coast of Australia and have longer deployments aiming for several days.”

Customised Animal Tracking Solutions

It will monitor migrating humpback whales using a CATS (Customised Animal Tracking Solutions) suction cup tag. The CATs device temporarily attaches to the whale’s skin.

Suction cup tags do not have to penetrate the animals’ skin. Therefore, researchers can use them for short-term and small-scale studies. This GPS technology is usually used in cars and cargo ships.

“These tags are a more cost-effective method and capture more data locations and data points over time. The principle is the same as other suction cup tags. The tag sucks onto the whale’s skin and just falls off. The whales don’t seem to notice them at all,” Dr Meynecke said.  

The tags are about 20cm long and 10cm wide. They are hydrodynamic for minimal resistance, with water-tight protections.

“Ideally for future studies, we would like to modify the tag so that the antennae is out of the water enough to transmit after the tag comes off the whale,” Dr Meynecke said.