Sustainability

Berlin – September 15, 2026 -- Midea has sold more than 10 million air conditioners using R290 natural refrigerant since 2018, cutting an estimated 5.2 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions, the company said at IFA 2026, an impact it compares to the carbon absorption of 6.2 million hectares of Amazon rainforest.

Midea marks 16 years as top global manufacturer of R290 air conditioners

The company has led global production of air conditioners using R290 refrigerant for 16 consecutive years, driving compressor safety and performance advances tied to the gas. R290 carries an extremely low global warming potential, near-zero CO2 emissions, no PFAS content, and delivers roughly 10% higher energy efficiency than conventional refrigerants, according to Midea. A transparent unit on the IFA stand let visitors view the refrigerant system operating in real time.

Miami – September 15, 2026 -- Sawgrass LNG & Power has begun supplying liquefied natural gas to Walker's Cay in the northern Bahamas, replacing diesel as the fuel source for the island's power generation.

Sawgrass extends near decade-long Bahamas LNG footprint to iconic sportfishing island

The deal expands Sawgrass' presence across The Bahamas, where the company has supplied LNG to resorts, utilities and industrial customers for more than eight years. Sawgrass produces LNG at its Miami liquefaction facility and delivers it via ISO containers, a model that avoids the capital costs of fixed pipeline or terminal infrastructure. The company describes itself as the largest exporter of U.S. LNG via ISO container.

Everett – September 15, 2026 -- WaterTectonics has acquired the patents and intellectual property of Dynamic Water Technologies (DWT), becoming the exclusive Original Equipment Manufacturer of the Dynamic Scale Remover (DSR), an electrochemical cooling tower treatment technology.

WaterTectonics gains exclusive OEM rights to patented electrochemical scale-removal technology

The DSR system uses a patented electrochemical process to strip dissolved scale-forming minerals from cooling water before they accumulate on heat transfer surfaces. The process simultaneously generates oxidants from chlorides already present in the water, cutting the need for added biocides while allowing facilities to run at higher cycles of concentration.

Solon, Ohio – September 15, 2026 -- Locus Agriculture is scaling deployment of Unpac, its glycolipid-based soil conditioner, across row and specialty crop systems after third-party lab testing showed reduced soil density and improved water penetration in California agricultural soils.

USDA data shows compaction affects nearly one-quarter of surveyed cropland

A USDA Economic Research Service analysis found growers identified soil compaction as a resource concern on 22% of surveyed wheat, soybean, oat and cotton fields. Compacted soil restricts root development and limits crop access to available water and nutrients, according to Locus.

Singapore – September 12, 2026 -- The Alliance to End Plastic Waste has valorized 418,529 tonnes of plastic waste and reduced unmanaged plastic waste by 378,147 tonnes since 2019, according to its 2025 progress report, Strategy in Action, released to mark the first year of its 2030 Strategy implementation.

In 2025 alone, the nonprofit cut unmanaged plastic waste by 138,162 tonnes and valorized 165,317 tonnes. Since inception, it has mobilized $641 million in funding commitments from third parties and impact investors, engaged 559 organizations in 2025 to fund and execute projects, and reached more than 1.5 million people through education and behavior-change initiatives.

Research Triangle Park, N.C. – September 13, 2026 -- RTI International has secured $5.5 million in combined federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy for two projects converting common minerals and used cardboard into high-value industrial materials.

DOE funds dual technology tracks at expanded pilot facility

Both projects will run at the RTI Pilot Xcelerator, a pilot-scale testing platform on RTI's campus. The institute is set to open a $14 million facility expansion on Sept. 10, doubling its infrastructure for testing energy and industrial process innovations before they reach commercial scale.

St. Louis – September 13, 2026 -- Island Roadhouse Data Centers has detailed design plans for an atomic-powered, low-water data center campus in Missouri offering up to 154 MW of sellable IT load in its first phase, targeting commercial operation in 2034.

Campus design generates its own power behind the meter using advanced atomic reactors

The facility is planned to run on advanced atomic reactors in an N+1 configuration for reactor-level redundancy, with heat converted to electricity via an indirect closed supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle. The campus is not designed to export power to the grid; all generation is intended to serve the on-site compute load directly.

United States – September 13, 2026 -- Natilus has promoted Nolan Giblin to Chief Operating Officer, elevating the executive who helped build the blended-wing-body aircraft maker's order book to more than 570 pre-orders valued at $24 billion.

Giblin secured reservation deals with Ameriflight and Nolinor Aviation since 2022

Giblin joined Natilus in 2022 as Head of Business Development and negotiated reservation agreements with operators including Ameriflight and Nolinor Aviation, expanding the company's commercial order book for its KONA and HORIZON EVO aircraft programs.

Delray Beach – September 13, 2026 -- The global data center energy storage systems market is set to grow from $5.17 billion in 2026 to $10.48 billion by 2032, a 12.5% compound annual growth rate, according to a new MarketsandMarkets report.

AI and cloud expansion drive storage demand across hyperscale facilities

Hyperscale, colocation, and enterprise data centers serving BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing, e-commerce, and IT & telecommunications clients are reinforcing power infrastructure as AI workloads strain grid capacity. Cloud & hyperscale data centers are projected to post the fastest growth among data center types at a 14.8% CAGR through 2032, commanding the largest revenue share as operators scale computing capacity requiring uninterrupted power.

Singapore – September 13, 2026 -- TÜV SÜD has opened its new Global Decarbonisation Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Singapore, backed by an investment exceeding $24 million with support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

Investment builds on SustainCERT acquisition to scale digital carbon verification

The Munich-based testing and certification group launched the CoE following its recent acquisition of Luxembourg-based SustainCERT, an accredited validation and verification body specializing in digital measurement, reporting and verification (dMRV). The combined capabilities target carbon data integrity, carbon markets and independent assessment services as governments prepare to implement Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.