IBM proposes sustainable successor to lithium-ion battery
IBM has developed a new type of battery that's free of cobalt, nickel and other heavy metals, avoiding the environmental and humanitarian issues related to lithium-ion technology. More
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Dezeen's top 10 innovative materials of 2019
From lab-grown spider silk to cellulose, design and technology reporter Natashah Hitti continues our review of the year with 10 of the most interesting materials developed or used throughout 2019, with a particular focus on reuse. More
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Heliogen's 1000C solar-heating technology could be key to low-emission cement
American company Heliogen has managed to concentrate solar energy to temperatures of more than 1000 degrees Celsius – hot enough to provide a fossil-fuel-free way to make concrete. More
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Plastic bubbles incorporated into high-rise to reduce concrete usage by 35 per cent
A German construction project has saved an estimated 136 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere by incorporating air pockets made of recycled plastic within its concrete slabs. More
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Enis Akiev makes marbled tiles from post-consumer plastic waste
Kazakhstani designer Enis Akiev has developed a method for turning single-use plastic packaging into tiles, by emulating the organic process of rock formation. More
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UK student's fish-waste bioplastic MarinaTex wins 2019 James Dyson Award top prize
An easily biodegradable material that could be "part of a global answer" to single-use plastic pollution has won its inventor, British designer Lucy Hughes, the international James Dyson Award. More
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Hyperstealth Biotechnology's "invisibility cloak" can conceal people and buildings
Canadian camouflage company Hyperstealth Biotechnology has patented the technology behind a material that bends light to make people and objects near invisible to the naked eye. More
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Charlotte McCurdy creates "carbon-negative" raincoat from algae bioplastic
New York designer Charlotte McCurdy has fashioned a water-resistant jacket from a plastic made of algae, which captures existing CO2 from the atmosphere. More
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Recycled tyres form pavement that self-repairs when it rains
Rain would repair rather than damage roads if they were made of the tyre-based pavement invented by Israel Antonio Briseño Carmona, a Mexican student and winner of the nation's James Dyson Award. More
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Re:newcell prepares to launch "world's first clothes made from circular cotton"
Swedish company Re:newcell is aiming to disrupt the fashion industry and save natural resources by creating garments from Circulose – a new material made from recycled cotton clothes. More
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Ying Gao's "chameleon-like" autonomous dresses react to their surroundings
Montreal-based fashion designer Ying Gao has created a pair of robotic dresses that respond to their environment by rippling, expanding and contracting as if they are alive. More
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Native Shoes creates trainers from single piece of algae-laced foam
Canadian brand Native Shoes has developed a sneaker that is entirely made from one continuous piece of algae-enriched EVA in a bid to clean up the footwear industry. More
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Switching to timber could solve Dutch housing shortage and be "a chance for our climate"
The Netherlands could build a million new homes from sustainably harvested local wood and save 100 megatons of carbon in the process, according to architect Marco Vermeulen. More
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Sumo seaweed-fibre nappies offer healthy and sustainable alternative
ÉCAL graduate Luisa Kahlfeldt has designed a new diaper that is more sustainable than even other reusable cloth nappies — an innovation for which she won the Swiss James Dyson Award. More
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MIT researchers develop emissions-free cement production process
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have demonstrated an experimental way of manufacturing cement that releases no carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. More
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MIT creates reprogrammable ink to make objects change colour
Consumers could change the colour of their cars, shoes, clothes or other belongings at will, using a new light-responsive ink from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. More
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Robin Grasby reveals Altrock furniture collection made from reclaimed marble
Robin Grasby has unveiled a collection of tables made from Altrock, a material created by the industrial designer from marble offcuts suspended in resin. More
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Fish scale bioplastic wins UK James Dyson Award for student design
University of Sussex graduate Lucy Hughes used fish waste to create MarinaTex, a compostable alternative to single-use plastic that has won her this year's UK James Dyson Award. More
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Vollebak's plant and algae T-shirt becomes "worm food" in 12 weeks
Tech-based clothing startup Vollebak has launched a T-shirt made entirely from wood pulp and algae, which breaks down in soil or in a composter within three months. More
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Viking-style seaweed thatch updated into prefab panelling
Traditional Danish seaweed thatching could be updated into a sustainable contemporary building material, according to research by Kathryn Larsen. More
