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Monday, January 12, 2026

Gamma rays quickly toughen nitrogen‑fixing bacteria

QST team pairs experimental evolution with controlled gamma irradiation to create heat‑tolerant biofertilizer strains in weeks, pointing to faster, greener production for food, pharma, and biofuels

The National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology

Wild-type vs high-temperature-tolerant Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens mutants — image:
Heat-tolerant mutant lines of rhizobia obtained by experimental evolution combined with repeated mutagenesis with gamma rays
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Credit: Dr. Yoshihiro Hase from the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Japan

Takasaki, Japan — Heat‑resilient biofertilizers could help crops cope with rising temperatures but engineering them has been slow and uncertain. A new study at the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) shows that pairing experimental evolution with controlled gamma‑ray mutagenesis can accelerate the path to heat‑tolerant nitrogen‑fixing bacteria, shortening development timelines and opening practical routes to more reliable, climate‑ready microbial products for agriculture, food processing, pharmaceuticals, and biofuel production. The study was made available online on November 19, 2025, and published in Volume 831 on July, 01, 2025, in the Mutation Research - Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis journal.

The team focused on Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA110, a workhorse bacterium used to help soybean and other legumes capture nitrogen. While the wild-type grows best at around 32–34 °C and stalls at ~36 °C, QST researchers raised culture temperatures stepwise from 34 °C to 37 °C over 76–83 days and irradiated populations ten times at specific doses, then selected the lines that continued to form robust colonies at 36 °C.

A clear “sweet spot” emerged: around 40 Gy produced the greatest number of stable, heat‑tolerant lines, whereas higher doses (80–120 Gy) initially yielded more tolerant lines but with smaller colonies and traits that faded when selection relaxed, consistent with an excess of deleterious mutations. In practical terms, the method lets researchers tune the mutation load to favor beneficial changes while preserving overall fitness.

Genomic analyses of the top performers revealed changes in two core genes across independently evolved lines: the 16S rRNA gene, central to the protein‑making machinery, and rpoC, which encodes the β subunit of RNA polymerase. Convergent mutations in such essential systems point to mechanisms that help bacterial transcription and translation continue smoothly under heat stress—precisely the behaviors industry needs in high‑temperature processes.

“By combining adaptive laboratory evolution with precisely repeated doses of gamma rays, we shortened the path to robust, heat‑tolerant bacteria from months or years to just weeks,” said Dr. Yoshihiro Hase, project leader at the Takasaki Institute for Advanced Quantum Science (TIAQ), QST. “It’s a practical lever for making biofertilizers more reliable in hotter fields and bioreactors.”

“This controllable mutagenesis avoids transgenic modifications and can be tuned to maximize beneficial changes while limiting genetic load,” added Dr. Katsuya Satoh, senior principal researcher　at TIAQ. “We see a route that industry can adopt safely to boost resilience and productivity.”

Beyond agriculture, the approach could be generalized to yeasts, bacteria, and microalgae used in food processing, therapeutic manufacturing, and biofuel production—helping deliver high‑quality products at lower environmental cost. In the long term, QST anticipates ultra‑low‑cost microalgal cultivation and other heat‑tolerant platforms that contribute to food and energy security.

***

Reference
DOI: 10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2025.111919

About National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Japan
The National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) was established in April 2016 to promote quantum science and technology in a comprehensive and integrated manner. The new organization was formed from the merger of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) with certain operations that were previously undertaken by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA).

QST is committed to advancing quantum science and technology, creating world-leading research and development platforms, and exploring new fields, thereby achieving significant academic, social, and economic impacts.

Website: https://www.qst.go.jp/site/qst-english/

About Dr. Yoshihiro Hase
Dr. Yoshihiro Hase works at the Takasaki Institute for Advanced Quantum Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, Japan. His research focuses on mutagenesis by quantum beams in plants and bacteria and he has published more than 70 papers on these topics, which have received more than 1,600 citations.

Funding information
This study was partially supported by The Canon Foundation.

Journal

Mutation Research/Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis

DOI

10.1016/j.mrfmmm.2025.111919

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Repeated artificial mutagenesis of Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens by gamma irradiation accelerates the acquisition of high-temperature tolerance

Friday, January 09, 2026

Ukraine exports over 11mn cubic metres of biomethane to EU in debut year

Ukraine exported more than 11.2mn cubic metres of biomethane to the EU in 2025 in the debut year of the business. / bne IntelliNews

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By Ben Aris in Berlin January 9, 2026

Ukraine exported more than 11.2mn cubic metres of biomethane to the EU in 2025 in the debut year of the business, UBN reported on January 9.

The shipments represent the first-ever exports of Ukrainian-produced biomethane, a renewable gas derived largely from agricultural waste. Three companies led the effort, with agricultural conglomerate MHP accounting for the majority of volumes.

“MHP supplied 8.7mn cubic metres of gas to the EU, which accounted for about 77% of total exports,” Ukrainian industry officials said. The Vitagro group followed with 2.5mn cubic metres, while Hals Agro contributed just over 75,000 cubic metres.

The country’s entry into the European biomethane market began on February 6 2025, when Vitagro became the first Ukrainian company to export the gas via the country’s existing gas transmission system. The exports were made possible by regulatory alignment with EU gas standards and certification mechanisms under Ukraine’s integration into the European energy market.

In addition to gaseous biomethane, two Ukrainian firms entered the liquefied biomethane (bio-LNG) segment in 2025. MHP exported more than 5,000 tonnes of bio-LNG, while UM Liquid Gas shipped nearly 900 tonnes. These volumes remain modest but signal growing ambitions in higher-value biofuels and decarbonised transport solutions.

Ukraine has identified biomethane as a strategic growth sector, leveraging its vast agricultural base and existing gas infrastructure. According to the Ukrainian Bioenergy Association, the country has the potential to produce up to 8bn cubic metres of biomethane annually — equivalent to nearly one-third of its pre-war gas consumption.

The EU has emerged as the primary destination for Ukrainian biomethane, supported by strong demand for renewable gases under the bloc’s REPowerEU plan to reduce dependency on Russian energy imports. In 2022, the EU set a target of producing 35bn cubic metres of biomethane annually by 2030.

“The successful launch of biomethane exports is a major step in integrating Ukraine’s energy sector with Europe,” said one senior energy official in Kyiv. “It shows our ability to innovate and contribute to the green transition, even during wartime.”

Thursday, January 08, 2026

PaxOcean – ABB Collaboration on Singapore’s 1st Electric Tug New Milest

Published Jan 7, 2026 9:22 PM by The Maritime Executive

[By: ABB]

PaxOcean Group and ABB’s collaboration on Singapore’s first fully electric tug has reached a significant project milestone, with the vessel completing commissioning ahead of its expected deployment in April 2026.

Built by PaxOcean Group, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Kuok Maritime Group, the 50-ton bollard pull PXO-ACE-1 features an integrated electric propulsion system from ABB for efficient, emission-free harbor operations.

With the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore requiring all newbuild harbor craft to be fully electric or compatible with B100 biofuels or net-zero fuels by 2030, the new vessel marks the first step towards the electrification of the city-state’s 1,600-plus harbor vessels. In addition to helping improve local air quality, battery-driven vessels substantially reduce onboard noise and vibrations compared to diesel-powered crafts, resulting in a healthier working environment for crew.

As the core of PXO-ACE-1’s power and control system, ABB’s Onboard DC Grid™ with PEMS™ power and energy management system will enable the e-tug to make optimal use of its three-megawatt-hour battery pack to support wide variations in power demand, including instant high torque. The modular and highly customizable Onboard DC Grid™ facilitates battery integration and reduces the number of energy conversions between different sources and loads, thereby optimizing drivetrain efficiency while extending operating range per battery charge.

“Developing Singapore’s first fully electric tug is a significant achievement and an important step in advancing maritime decarbonization,” said Tan Thai Yong, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, PaxOcean Group. “ABB has supported us as the systems integrator on this project, contributing their experience in battery-powered vessels to the integration of the power, propulsion, and bridge systems on board this e-tug – a first of its kind. The operational integrity, safety, and performance of this vessel depend on reliable systems and effective integration, and ABB has delivered on both. We look forward to seeing PXO-ACE-1 in operation starting next year.”

“We are proud to be part of this groundbreaking project for Singapore, supporting the world’s maritime capital in its journey towards fully electric harbor operations,” said Olli Tuunainen, Local Business Line Manager, Singapore, ABB’s Marine & Ports division. “Tugs are among the industry’s leading candidates for full electrification given their operational profile, relative proximity to charging infrastructure, and the operational benefits they derive from an electric drivetrain, including instant power and enhanced crew comfort. We believe that this project will provide a blueprint for further electrification in Singapore and throughout Asia.”

The products and services herein described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Low E-Fuel Production Slows Europe's Decarbonization

The Kassø e-methanol project in Denmark is the largest of its kind in Europe (European Energy)

Europe’s ambitions to decarbonize the shipping industry face obstacles due to the fragile state of the alternative fuel supply chain, an analysis by the activist NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) shows.

Though Europe is setting the pace in efforts to cut down on shipping emissions, the review shows that production of green hydrogen and other e-fuels remains significantly low, with the largest e-fuel plant serving the maritime sector only becoming operational this year. For many other projects, a lack of regulatory certainty is preventing advancement beyond the planning stage.

T&E examined 80 green hydrogen and e-fuels projects that could potentially serve the maritime sector in Europe. While the listed projects could produce 3.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent by 2032, less than five percent are dedicated primarily to shipping, and only a small portion is linked to operational projects.

The NGO says that while some projects have progressed in their development, total shipping e-fuels production appears unlikely to reach targeted levels unless new policy incentives are implemented. The low production means that Europe is unlikely to meet its own target of at least one percent of e-fuels uptake by 2031 and two percent uptake by 2034 under the FuelEU agreement.

The analysis comes just weeks after the European Commission adopted its Sustainable Transport Investment Plan (STIP) that sets out the roadmap for accelerating the energy transition for both maritime and aviation sectors. To meet the fuel targets, Europe needs significant volumes of around 20 million tonnes of sustainable alternative fuels (13.2 tonnes of biofuels and 6.8 tonnes of e-fuels) by 2035. To drive production, investments amounting to $120 billion are required by 2035.

T&E says that while the majority of the investments are expected to come from the private sector, public funding is essential to de-risk first-of-a-kind projects and steer the market toward fuels that align with Europe’s priorities. And although STIP is a positive step to support the e-fuels industry, the fact that it relies on tools such as the European Hydrogen Bank auctions or the Innovation Fund could hinder its effectiveness.

Currently, Norway has the largest quantities of fuels dedicated primarily to the maritime sector, followed by Spain, Finland and Denmark. For Norway, nearly one-quarter of projected volumes target shipping as their main end user primarily through e-ammonia.

The Kassø e-methanol project in Denmark, which became operational in May this year, remains as the largest operational e-fuel project serving the maritime sector. Developed by European Energy, the plant has an annual production capacity of 42,000 tonnes and is supplying e-methanol to Maersk, the LEGO Group and Novo Nordisk, among others.

“The biggest maritime e-fuels project went online this year. This shows what is possible, but scaling up projects remains a challenge. Current shipping targets just aren’t ambitious enough to get investors to put money on the table. As well as demand incentives, fuel producers need hard cash,” said Constance Dijkstra, T&E maritime policy manager.

Dijkstra added that for Europe, fostering a strong e-fuels sector can bolster the continent’s industrial leadership and reduce the dependence on imported fossil fuels.

Thursday, December 18, 2025

EU backtracking on its Green Deal

Economic and worries about competitiveness has led the EU to soften its Green Deal rules. / bne IntelliNews

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By Leon Aris in Berlin December 18, 2025

The European Commission is preparing to scale back one of its most ambitious climate pledges as it seeks to relieve pressure on its lacklustre economy. The commission announced this week that it will drop plans for a complete ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles from 2035.

The shift reflects growing concern among governments and industry that targets agreed in the early 2020s are colliding with economic, geopolitical and competitiveness realities — a dynamic increasingly visible not only in the ongoing deindustrialisation that started in Germany, but is now spreading to the agriculture sector.

The ban on combustion engines law, adopted in 2022, stipulated that from 2035 all new passenger cars and vans sold in the EU must produce zero carbon dioxide emissions. In practice, this amounted to a ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles and a requirement for a full transition to battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell models, a cornerstone of the bloc’s plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

Agriculture, which was expected to deliver parallel emissions reductions through lower fertiliser use, pesticide cuts and land-use changes, has been subject to similarly rigid targets under the Green Deal that has been the signature initiative for the last decade.

Climate rules softened

Despite the roll back, Brussels insists it is not abandoning its climate goals. According to reports by the Financial Times and Reuters, the Commission is instead preparing to adjust the mechanism underpinning the car ban, that the industry hated.

Under revised proposals, carmakers would no longer be required to eliminate CO₂ emissions entirely. Residual emissions of up to 10% of 2021 levels could be permitted, provided strict conditions are met. A comparable shift has already taken place in farming, where the Commission has eased environmental conditions attached to Common Agricultural Policy subsidies and withdrawn a proposal to halve pesticide use by 2030 following widespread opposition.

“Farmers are not against sustainability, but the pace and scale of these targets are disconnected from economic reality,” said Pekka Pesonen, Secretary General of Copa-Cogeca, which represents EU farmers and cooperatives, in comments reported by Reuters. “If policies are not adjusted, production will simply move outside Europe.”

People familiar with the automotive discussions say the new conditions would include the use of low-carbon materials, particularly green steel, and the production of extended-range electric vehicles, which rely primarily on batteries but include a small internal combustion engine as a backup power source. Reuters has also reported that officials are discussing extending the effective ban by five years or softening it indefinitely, a move that would mark the EU’s most significant retreat from its climate agenda in recent years.

In agriculture, farmer groups argue that similar flexibility is needed on fertiliser use and crop rotation rules, warning that rigid mandates risk undermining food security.

In March, the Commission had already granted automakers a three-year grace period to meet separate CO₂ reduction targets originally due by 2025, signalling a broader willingness to introduce flexibility. That decision followed months of protests by farmers across France, Germany, Poland, Italy and Belgium, where growers blocked roads and borders to demand relief from environmental regulations, they said were being implemented faster than markets and technology could adapt.

“We are being asked to do more with less, while competing with imports that do not follow the same rules,” Arnaud Rousseau, head of France’s FNSEA farm union, told Reuters during protests earlier this year. “This is not a rejection of environmental goals, but a demand for fairness.”

“It is a geopolitical moment and a complicated context,” said Sara Aagesen, Spain’s minister for the ecological transition. “The Commission itself has already introduced flexibilities in the past.”

Under the emerging automotive framework, tailpipe emissions would be required to fall by 90% by the middle of the next decade rather than the current target of a 100% reduction, according to people briefed on the talks. Carmakers would also need to compensate for additional pollution by using low-carbon or renewable fuels or locally produced green steel.

Agricultural policymakers are pursuing similar offset-style approaches, emphasising soil carbon storage, precision farming and lower-emission fertilisers rather than blanket cuts to production.

“We believe that we must continue with that roadmap that was drawn up with the goal of ending the commercialization of combustion vehicles in 2035,” Aagesen said. “It is important to meet the commitments that have been defined in order to provide stability to investors and also to citizens.”

The Commission declined to comment, but the proposal is expected to be adopted by EU commissioners this week before being sent to the European Parliament and the EU Council. Farm policy revisions, including changes to CAP conditionality, are also moving through the same legislative channels, with member states pressing for greater national discretion.

Global green policy pullback

The policy rethink comes amid a wider global pullback from green transition targets, as governments confront the economic costs of rapid decarbonisation. In Europe, rising trade tensions with both the US and China have sharpened concerns about industrial competitiveness, highlighted by the report from former Italian Prime Minister and ex-European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi last year.

In agriculture, farmers have warned that EU producers face stricter environmental rules than overseas rivals, while imports produced under looser standards continue to enter the bloc.

Germany has played a pivotal role in pushing for changes to the car ban. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has argued that a blanket prohibition on internal combustion engines from 2035 does not reflect market realities and has called for a “technology-neutral” approach, echoing the calls from the industry, including plug-in hybrids, synthetic fuels and advanced biofuels.

Berlin has taken a similar stance in agriculture, backing demands for flexibility on fertiliser limits and land-use requirements. Italy and Poland supported Germany in a joint letter urging Brussels to abandon the outright automotive ban, with several central and eastern European countries also opposing it.

The automotive industry has added to the pressure. Electric vehicle sales in the EU are rebounding this year after a difficult 2024. According to industry body ACEA, EV sales rose by 38.6% between January and October, while hybrid sales increased by 9.4%. By contrast, agricultural producers continue to grapple with high input costs, particularly for fertilisers, where prices surged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and remain volatile.

The recovery in car sales has been supported by more affordable models and new subsidy programmes, already in place in France and recently launched in Germany. Even so, automakers argue that the transition remains slower and less profitable than expected. Farmers make a similar case, saying sustainable practices often carry higher upfront costs without guaranteed returns, particularly as voluntary carbon credit schemes struggle to gain traction.

Environmental groups warn that easing the rules risks creating loopholes that weaken Europe’s climate ambitions. They have voiced the same concern in agriculture, arguing that rolling back pesticide and fertiliser targets could lock in emissions and biodiversity loss for decades.

“Weakening Green Deal measures in agriculture sends the wrong signal at the worst possible moment,” Greenpeace EU said in a statement cited by Reuters, warning that delays could undermine the bloc’s credibility on climate leadership.

The electric vehicle race is increasingly global. A third of the 39 countries where EVs account for more than 10% of new car sales in 2025 are now outside Europe, according to energy think-tank Ember. Agricultural markets are equally globalised, with food companies warning that unilateral EU standards risk shifting production — and emissions — abroad rather than eliminating them.

Even so, the prospect of a 2035 ban triggered intense lobbying from groups including Stellantis NV and Mercedes-Benz Group AG. Farming organisations have mounted comparable campaigns, pressing Brussels to prioritise economic resilience and food security alongside climate objectives.

Automakers worldwide are struggling to make the transition pay. Ford Motor Co this week announced it would take $19.5bn in charges linked to a sweeping overhaul of its electric vehicle business. Across agriculture, governments are increasingly acknowledging similar trade-offs, as producers push for a slower, more flexible transition that mirrors the recalibration now under way in Europe’s car industry.

Monday, December 15, 2025

Fossil fuel industry’s “climate false solutions” reinforce its power and aggravate environmental injustice

Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona

Many so-called low-carbon projects promoted by major oil and gas companies — including hydrogen, biofuels, carbon capture and storage, and carbon offsetting — operate as false solutions that not only fail to effectively reduce emissions, but also prolong the lifespan of fossil fuel infrastructures, entrench environmental injustices, and reinforce the political and economic power of the very industry responsible for the climate crisis. This is demonstrated by a study conducted by the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), in collaboration with the University of Sussex, based on 48 cases of environmental conflicts around the world.

Published in Energy Research & Social Science, the study denounces how fossil fuel incumbents increasingly portray themselves as “part of the solution” to the climate emergency, with the primary aim of neutralizing social, legal and political pressures calling for a rapid phase-out of fossil fuels. According to the authors, this incumbent strategy allows companies to keep expanding and connecting their pipelines, refineries and thermal power plants with new hydrogen, biofuel or carbon-capture infrastructures, thereby justifying the continued operation of fossil fuel infrastructures for decades. An example is the H2Med gas pipeline planned between Barcelona and Marseille. It is justified by the need to transport hydrogen, but it could also be used to transport fossil gas.

Marcel Llavero Pasquina, researcher at ICTA-UAB, explains that these technologies cannot mitigate climate change unless they replace — and bring an end to — the extraction of oil, gas and coal. “The real climate contribution of these companies should be measured by the fossil fuels they leave unexploited, not by the projects they present as green,” he notes.

The article concludes that the technologies promoted by fossil fuel companies have not demonstrated the capacity to capture or reduce carbon dioxide at the necessary scale and that, far from improving living conditions, they reproduce environmental injustice: expanding air pollution, land dispossession and the destruction of traditional livelihoods, especially in countries of the Global South. Added to this is the fact that these projects receive generous public subsidies, increasing private profits for initiatives “whose climate effectiveness is limited or doubtful”.

The research also reveals that many of these false solutions strengthen alliances between fossil fuel incumbents and highly polluting sectors such as aviation, agribusiness and mining, creating new forms of economic dependency that further consolidate the socio-economic power of the fossil fuel industry.

These incumbent strategies enable oil and gas companies to present themselves as indispensable actors in the energy transition and the decarbonization of society, thereby maintaining their influence over governments, international institutions, financial markets and climate-governance fora. “This narrative that fossil fuel companies are ‘part of the solution’ is essential for preserving their legitimacy and avoiding deep transformations that challenge their power and extractive model,” says Llavero-Pasquina.

Research Associate Freddie Daley said: “Our study shows that false solutions are not the result of technological accidents or experimental missteps - they are deliberate strategies from the fossil fuel industry to delay the end of the fossil fuel era. They give the appearance of progress while keeping the underlying system intact at a considerable cost to our environment and climate.

"If governments are serious about meeting their international and national climate commitments, they must stop treating delay as innovation and stop rewarding companies for repackaging old extractive practices as climate action.", he says.

There is a growing resistance from local communities, Indigenous peoples and environmental justice movements worldwide, who denounce these initiatives as false solutions that fail to address the structural drivers of the climate and environmental crisis, such as socio-economic inequalities, neocolonialism and the expansion of industrial and consumption-based economies.

The study warns that the integration of these false solutions into public policies and energy markets may block real transformations within the global energy system, and consolidate the power and interests of fossil fuel incumbents at a critical moment for decarbonization. The authors highlight the urgent need to rethink the regulation and role of these technologies to prevent the energy transition from being captured by those seeking to perpetuate the fossil fuel model.