Beef Bad. But also chocolate and coffee bad.

What kind of society can support all its people to slack around and think about purpose in life? This is called a post-scarcity society. Post-scarcity is an economic situation in which most goods can be produced in great abundance with minimal human labor needed, so that they become available to all very cheaply or even freely. In such a society we can focus on adding true value to ourselves and others, living the full potential of the human existence. But how could a post-scarcity society look like? Can this actually be achieved in our lifetime? Is it sustainable? I believe so. All it takes is to rearrange our society into framework focused around a specific set of incentives and principles regarding our Economy, Energy Supply, Organization, Income and Education.

Helen Czerski went to Wendeburg in Germany to see if it really is possible to recycle the materials in vehicle batteries. She shows how this new and rapidly growing industry is developing and coming up with some interesting results, with lithium-iron batteries being economically recycled up to 70% (91% including graphite). Please send this to all the people you know who say 'what about when we throw all these fancy batteries into landfill.

With millions of people around the world forced to stay at home due to Covid-19, ripped away from daily routines and distractions, we are confronted with the deep vulnerabilities of our current system. In addition, the Quarantine makes us hold up a mirror and shows us, with shocking self-reflection, our true nature. Mankind is at a cross-roads and realizing - because we are forced to - that there is considerable potential to change working practices and lifestyles. These challenges make me wonder: do we really want to go back to the same way of living as before?

This blog is my personal attempt to further the debate on the redefinition of work. From the time of hunter gatherers to the digital age, people have been “working” to provide for their income and purpose. Most of us are working now more than we ever did in the history of mankind. Why? Why do we cling to a pattern of working “9-till-5” while most of us do not feel we contribute or are outright unhappy? Why do we even bother?

European politicians, companies, lawmakers and activists called for green investment to restart growth after the coronavirus pandemic, saying fighting climate change and promoting biodiversity would rebuild stronger economies.

The coronavirus crisis holds profound lessons that can help us address climate change - if we make greater economic and environmental resiliency core to our planning for the recovery ahead.

“Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest.” These words from Churchill, coupled with today’s monumental challenges, triggered me to think different. Why do we not create a new form of government? Can we honestly say that the current political system is the best system available? Can we create a new system that is fairer, more robust to crisis and populism, and arguably even more democratic?

Colin Breck and Percy Link explore the evolution of Tesla's Virtual Power Plant (VPP) architecture. A VPP is a network of distributed energy-resources (often solar, wind, batteries) that are aggregated to provide smarter and more flexible power generation, distribution, and availability. Tesla's VPP consists of vertically integrated hardware and software, including both cloud and edge computing.

In de Rotterdamse haven wordt gewerkt aan een omvangrijk Carbon Capture and Storage project - Porthos - om CO2 op te vangen en te injecteren in de Noordzee-bodem. Zodoende wordt de uitstoot van de Rotterdamse haven aanzienlijk verlaagd.

Electric cars have a dark secret - cobalt. The element that is in almost all lithium-ion batteries is often considered a conflict mineral because half of all cobalt reserves are found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a troubled region with over a century of instability. But is it as bad as the anti-EV crowd has led us to believe? What's the reality of the situation, and what are some of the solutions?

BP Lingen uses green hydrogen in fuel production for the first time worldwide.

Claimed to be the first offshore green hydrogen project, this pilot-project will have an electrolyzer producing green hydrogen from seawater on board the Q13a platform in the Netherlands.

North Sea Giant is amongst the largest and most advanced subsea construction vessels ever built. North Sea Giant is an efficient multi-purpose vessel with supreme deck and crane capacity, alongside a unique power system. Her propellers and thrusters are tailor made for delivering a wide variety of demanding marine operations in deep and ultradeep waters.

Everybody talks about self-driving cars. Do we all know what it means? I believe most people do not understand the potential. There is little to no talk about the transformation of our cities once we have self-driving cars. There is a lot of discussion on who is responsible in a car crash with a self-driving car, but most people conveniently forget the fact that a lot of the legal framework for self-driving cars is already resolved. Most importantly, we never talk about the fact that self-driving cars will provide us with the biggest boost in income and of spare time since the second world war (some even say in recorded history).

The North Sea Giant saves two million liters of diesel every year. It has installed three battery packs and a distribution system from Wärtsilä, which will dramatically reduce fuel consumption. The North Sea Giant is one of the world's largest construction ships, and was the first vessel in its class to have a hybrid system installed on board.

People think we need energy. Truth is, we do not. We need heating, lighting and transportation. At the right place, on the right time. Generating energy is not the issue, the trick is how to transform it into useful energy and store it. So how can we combine the cheapest form of energy generation with energy storage? What is the best place to generate gigantic, ridiculous amounts of energy? As in tenths of gigawatts, the size of small countries? In the desert with solar energy? Think again.

Tired of complaining about your company? Build your own! This article describes my view on how a project-driven company should be structured and organized using the latest in 21st century thinking. I use an idea on energy-independence services to show how I would shape my own business, starting with the why (purpose) all the way to the how (non-negotiables) and the what (organization). The resulting interactive Template I propose can be used for all types of project-driven organisations and can be readily copied.

According to Equinor, carbon capture and storage will be vital to reach the global climate goals of the Paris Agreement. They are very pleased that the Northern Lights partners and leading European companies have taken the first steps to realize a European CO2 transport and storage system! In simple terms, carbon capture and storage deals with removing CO2 from emission sources and storing it permanently underground, so that it is not released to the atmosphere.

This blog elaborates on a few innovations that will be coming in a few years and have the potential to drastically change our societies. They are Starlink, 3D printed meat and room-temperature superconductors. Despite their potential, people do not seem to realize their future impact on the world. Why is nobody talking about these?