China Heading for Top Economy Sooner; Tesla Still Battery King of EVs; Japan-Dropping Gas Cars in 15 Years; CO2 for Net Zero Emission Jets

China will overtake the United States to become the world’s biggest economy in 2028, five years earlier than previously estimated due to the contrasting recoveries of the two countries. The prediction comes from the Centre for Economics and Business Research in an annual report published on Saturday. According to Reuters, “The COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding economic fallout have certainly tipped this rivalry in China’s favour.” Japan would remain the world’s third-biggest economy, in dollar terms, until the early 2030s when it would be overtaken by India.

Analysts at UBS had 7 competing car batteries torn down and compared. Businessinsider.com reports that Tesla appears poised to keep its lead at least for now. They looked at batteries from Volkswagen, General Motors, Toyota, BMW, and more, and found that Tesla came out on top by most measures. The cost and efficiency of battery packs is the most key issue for electric vehicles. Elon Musk should be looking over his shoulder though…they found that Volkswagen is the fastest follower on a global scale. Its €33 billion Euros committed EV investments of over a 5-year period is unmatched.” 

Japan aims to eliminate gasoline-powered vehicles in the next 15 years, the government said on Friday in a plan to reach net zero carbon emissions and generate nearly $2 trillion a year in green growth by 2050. Reuters says Japan has made green investment a top priority to help revive the economy hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and to bring the nation into line with the European Union, China and other economies setting ambitious emissions targets. The plan seeks to replace the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles with electric vehicles, including hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles, by the mid-2030s. 

Researchers may have found a way to reduce the environmental impact of air travel in situations when electric aircraft and alternative fuels aren’t practical. Wired reports that Oxford University scientists have successfully turned CO2 into jet fuel, raising the possibility of conventionally-powered aircraft with net zero emissions. The technique effectively reverses the process of burning fuel by relying on the organic combustion method. The process would let airlines keep their existing aircraft and go carbon neutral until they’re truly ready for eco-friendly propulsion.