Inhabitat’s Week in Green: solar train tunnels, refillable battery goop, and the world’s first 3D-printed bikini

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green. This week green transportation left fossil fuels in the dust as Inhabitat reported that a record-breaking electric VW Bug rocketed from 0-60 in 1.6 seconds and Team Steam unveiled a space age vehicle that is vying for the title of “fastest steam car on earth.” We also spotted the world’s first natural gas-powered supercar , while a team of Cambridge students unveiled a sleek solar racer that will attempt to travel 1,800 miles in the World Solar Challenge. Oil fuels also lost more luster as GM’s CEO called for a $1 gas tax increase in the US, while MIT unveiled a new type of liquid flow battery that could refuel electric vehicles in a snap. As the summer sun hits its stride groundbreaking solar power projects are lighting up left and right – this week Google unveiled a new solar patent that could make solar energy cheaper than coal, while QSolar rolled out an array of rainbow-hued Kristal panels that can replace windows and walls. Photovoltaic gadgets also had their moment in the sun as Pixel Qi pulled back the curtain on a cheap, efficient solar-powered tablet and a wave and sun-powered seafaring robot received $22 million in funding. Speaking of solar power, this week we applauded the opening of a two-mile-long photovoltaic train tunnel that will provide power to the Paris-Amsterdam high-speed rail line. We were also wowed by Steve Jobs’ vision for Apple’s new spaceship-shaped clean energy campus , and our Bright Ideas Lighting Design Competition is really heating up, so be sure to vote for your favorite green lamp before the contest ends next week. Finally, we shared 6 great green Father’s Day gifts for tech-savvy dads, and as summer gets set to begin we brought you exclusive photos of the recently opened section 2 of New York’s High Line park , a beautiful suspended swimmer’s oasis in Denmark, and the world’s first 3D-printed bikini . Inhabitat’s Week in Green: solar train tunnels, refillable battery goop, and the world’s first 3D-printed bikini originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 21:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

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