California startup RadianX is developing thin perovskite solar cells designed to generate power from indoor and outdoor light, potentially reducing charging needs for low-power sensors, wearables, smart-home devices, electronic displays and robots. The funding includes $5 million in seed investment led by SOSV and Twynam and a separate $4 million manufacturing investment from Pacific Union Technology Precision Manufacturing. RadianX reports third-party-tested indoor conversion efficiency of 38% and outdoor efficiency figures that vary by test and configuration; its projected panel lifetime of at least 10 years is based on testing, not demonstrated decade-long field use. The company plans to integrate its photovoltaic materials and power-management systems into manufacturers’ products, with possible benefits including longer battery life and less maintenance and battery waste.

Meala FoodTech is developing Groundbaker, a single-ingredient pea protein intended to replace some or all eggs in commercial baked goods. The ingredient is designed to bind, foam, gel and emulsify, addressing functions that existing vegan substitutes may not reproduce together. Bakery specialist Lasenor has demonstrated muffins using VP-100, made with Meala's technology, with 50% to 100% less egg. Peas may support soil fertility and the alternative could reduce dependence on industrial poultry and exposure to egg-price and supply disruptions, though its environmental impact depends on production and processing. Groundbaker is intended for manufactured cakes, muffins and similar products, not as a replacement for a fried egg.

Brevel and India’s Wave Group are establishing a 50/50 joint venture to build a $10–15 million fermentation facility in Uttar Pradesh. Planned capacity is 300,000 liters, with sugar-industry byproducts such as molasses serving as feedstock for microalgae and plant-cell production. Using the mills’ local byproducts could reduce transport and processing needs. The facility will initially make Brevel’s Purallis chlorella ingredient and may also serve producers of nutraceuticals, alternative proteins and plant-cell-derived ingredients. Construction is expected to start in late 2026, with full-scale production targeted within 18 months. The project illustrates circular biomanufacturing, while wastewater management, environmental oversight and regulatory enforcement remain concerns.

PEOPLE Festival will bring roughly 180 musicians and 200 performances to Berlin’s former East German broadcasting complex, Funkhaus, on October 10–11. Instead of a fixed schedule or conventional headliner hierarchy, artists will spend a week collaborating across the building’s studios, creating performances shaped by chance encounters and audience movement. The festival’s origins in the Michelberger cultural network, its strong Montreal presence and its setting in a former Cold War propaganda site frame it as an alternative to highly commercialized, algorithm-driven music events. The article also considers how this model may respond to rising rents in Berlin, digital collaboration and the growing influence of artificial intelligence on musical creativity.

Teletherapy can reduce barriers to mental health care by eliminating travel, accommodating work and caregiving schedules, expanding access to providers beyond local areas, offering greater privacy, supporting continuity during life changes, and providing multiple communication formats. Its benefits depend on reliable technology, licensing requirements, secure and private settings, and appropriate clinical judgment; virtual care does not replace in-person or emergency treatment in every situation.

Artist and designer Sophie Nadel will lead an encrypted embroidery workshop in London on September 19 as part of apexart’s Softwear exhibition programme. Participants can convert passwords, secret phrases or other information into a textile code and stitch it onto clothing or personal objects. The workshop connects traditional textile practices with computing, cryptography and feminist critiques of how technical work is valued, while offering a tactile alternative to storing information digitally—though the article cautions against displaying sensitive banking credentials openly.

A nearby shared workspace can reduce commuting and support focused work, but distance alone does not determine whether it is practical or environmentally beneficial. Prospective users should compare their actual travel patterns, assess noise, call privacy, desk ergonomics, power access and internet reliability, and scrutinize operators’ sustainability claims for documented evidence. A short trial using real tasks and usual software can reveal connectivity, privacy and equipment problems before a longer commitment. Memberships should then be matched to a sustainable schedule, with booking, cancellation, access and outage arrangements checked in advance.

Houthi control of Mocha highlights the intersection of Yemen’s conflict, the historic origins of mocha coffee and the strategic importance of Red Sea shipping. Houthi attacks on commercial vessels have made the route between Asia and Europe more dangerous and costly, prompting diversions around the Cape of Good Hope. The article also recalls the environmental threat posed by the aging FSO Safer oil-storage vessel, whose cargo was transferred in a United Nations-led operation in 2023. Beyond shipping and military geopolitics, the conflict threatens Yemen’s historic port, coffee culture and coastal ecosystems.

French startup Mantle8 has opened its first permanent office outside Europe in Dubai and appointed Jean-Valery Garcia as regional director for the Middle East. The move follows a €31 million Series A funding round and builds on the company’s exploration of naturally occurring hydrogen beneath France’s Pyrenees, where it has reported soil-gas readings of up to 2,500 parts per million. Mantle8 is developing AI-based subsurface imaging and exploration tools to identify where hydrogen forms, migrates and accumulates before drilling. Dubai offers access to the region’s extensive expertise in geology, drilling and oilfield services, but the company’s ultimate test will be whether it can repeatedly find commercially productive hydrogen reservoirs at competitive cost.

Israeli-American startup Stardust Solutions has raised $75 million to develop proprietary reflective particles, aircraft-based dispersal systems and monitoring technology for stratospheric aerosol injection, a form of solar geoengineering intended to reduce incoming sunlight and temporarily cool the planet. The company says it is pursuing research and development rather than deployment, while its business model appears to depend on future government customers. Supporters frame the technology as a potential emergency response to dangerous warming, but critics including the Center for International Environmental Law warn that it could destabilize climate systems, create termination shock and give private actors undue influence over the global climate. Stardust’s funding marks a shift of solar geoengineering from academic research toward venture-backed commercial development.