Recently, HTT launched a new deal with Slovakia and the Czech Republic to build a Hyperloop system that will connect Bratislava and Brno. It's a first step toward the plan to connect all of Europe with a Hyperloop. A 3,000 square meter facility (roughly 38,000 sq ft) at Francazal Airport in Toulouse will act as the company's base.

Toulouse is at the very heart of the European aerospace industry, and is centrally located for manufacturing the Hyperloop trains to be used in the Central European line. HTT, one of two companies actively working on these futuristic pods, recently announced a $108 million funding round, with the company raising $31 million in cash

The Hyperloop is a train-like transportation system that uses specially designed pods or capsules to transport people and cargo. It combines magnetic levitation (maglev) technology with reduced-pressure tubes for a smoother and faster ride. The idea for a Hyperloop was first proposed by Elon Musk in 2013. Since then, a good number of people, institutions, and companies were quick to jump on the idea.

How fast will it go?  Well that really depends on which engineer you ask, but it's believed that a Hyperloop could go as fast as 1,200 km/h (800 mph). Designs show that it could also work either underground or  aboveground. In fact, one of the Hyperloop plans in Dubai envisions a central hub that connects Hyperloops traveling on their cylinder tubes to the streets. On top of it being fast, a Hyperloop is also green, capable of running using solar energy.

From a sci-fi inspired concept in 2013, to a super-fast train that will someday connect all of Europe, it looks like the Hyperloop is becoming a reality.

Solar installations are soaring in the U.S., almost doubling in 2016-and new tax incentives mean that wind power may also see a surge by 2020.

Figures published by the Solar Energy Industries Association show that 14,626 megawatts worth of photovoltaic installations went online in 2016. That's up from 7,493 megawatts of capacity that were added in 2015-a 95 percent increase year-on-year.

In fact, a new report written by Bloomberg New Energy Finance for the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, an industry group, shows that solar accounts for much of the growth in low-carbon energy production over the past few years. New wind capacity, meanwhile, arrived in the same quantity in 2016 as it did in 2015.

The same report notes that a set of tax credits were made available for wind power projects at the end of 2015 for projects that start construction by 2019. That means that there should be a surge in wind installations in the coming years, predicted to peak in 2020, according to BNEF.

Still, that problem can be surmounted, and the overall trend in installations is overwhelmingly upward. Since 2008, combined capacity of solar and wind in the U.S. has risen from 26 gigawatts to 123 gigawatts.

Such strong momentum will be useful in the coming years, given the Trump administration's disdain for renewables-though it by no means guarantees that the trend will last. If the White House chooses to abandon tax credits for renewables, it could make clean-energy installations less attractive to investors.

Not everyone is pessimistic, though. Barack Obama has argued that the world's transition to a renewable energy future is by this point "irreversible."  Let's hope he's right.

By  Futurism.com February 2017

• Ireland's Parliament has passed a bill that stops the country from investing in fossil fuels as part of an €8 billion government fund.
• Ireland's divestment is the most aggressive move taken against fossil fuels to date, but they are certainly not alone in their efforts to move towards clean energy.

HISTORIC LEGISLATION

The bill, introduced by Deputy Thomas Pringle, will now be reviewed by a financial committee before it is passed into law in the next few months. Once it passes, Ireland will become the first nation to completely remove funding for fossil fuel sources.

Given its size, Ireland's move won't necessarily have a major effect on the environment; but the decision stands as a benchmark for countries who want to strengthen their stance against climate change and show support for renewable energy.

Ireland's divestment is the most aggressive move taken against fossil fuels to date, but the government is certainly not alone in its efforts to move towards clean energy. By December of 2016, The Divest Invest Initiative had already gathered almost $5.2 trillion in fossil fuel divestment pledges from 76 countries. Norway has also set a national target to be carbon neutral by 2030; while China announced its plan to shut down 104 coal-fired projects across 13 provinces as part of their anti-coal stance.

Collectively, these initiatives could make a real difference in our effort to address climate change

By Stephanie L. Miller, Dezba G. Coughlin, Dezba G. Coughlin, Erik I. Waldorff, James T. Ryaby, Jeffrey C. Lotz,