600 kmh MAGLEV nears production in Qingdao, Shandong Province

http://Xinhua news release, July 20, 2021

Launched in October 2016, the high-speed maglev train has a designed top speed of 600 km per hour and conducted a successful test run in June 2020. According to the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), a train with five carriages has been running well on a test line within the factory. The train can travel with two to 10 carriages, each holding more than 100 passengers. It is said to provide the best solution for trips within a range of 1,500 km, filling a speed gap between aviation and high-speed trains.

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A lipid-rich baker’s yeast mutant provides high yields of palmitoleic acid

http://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/life/202508/t20250801_1048868.shtml

https://biotechnologyforbiofuels.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13068-025-02677-8

A team at CAS Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) has developed a lipid-rich mutant strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for microbial production of palmitoleic acid— a rare omega-7 fatty acid with proven anti-inflammatory and metabolic benefits.

The team used a combined mutagenesis approach—employing zeocin, an antibiotic-based mutagen, and Atmospheric and Room Temperature Plasma (ARTP)—to create a diverse library of yeast mutants. They then deployed FlowRACS, a Raman flow cytometry system, to select live yeast cells with elevated lipid levels by analyzing their intrinsic single-cell Raman spectra, eliminating the need for chemical stains or genetic reporters.

This method identified the mutant strain MU2R48, which achieved a lipid content of 40.26%—a 30.85% increase over its parental strain SC018—while maintaining similar biomass production.

Photo: Raman flow cytometry efficiently identifies lipid-rich Saccharomyces cerevisiae  mutants from a Zeocin–ARTP-induced library. (Image by QIBEBT)

Sept. 13 – 16, 2025: 2nd International Conference on Green Carbon in Qingdao and online

Registration is open: https://conf.sciencemate.com/ICGC2025

ICGC aims to provide an interdisciplinary academic exchange platform and academic community for scientific and technological innovation in the area of CO₂ emission reduction and sustainable development. The conference will focus on carbon resources, carbon conversion technologies, carbon life cycle management, and breakthrough developments in green carbon science.

Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, CAS/Shandong Energy Institute (QIBEBT/SEI) is a research institute that is active in science and technology developments of bioenergy, fossil energy, hydrogen energy, energy storage devices, and energy informatics, see http://english.qibebt.cas.cn

A hydrogen-powered tugboat in Qingdao port

https://j.people.com.cn/n3/2025/0627/c95952-20333735.html

The tugboat was designed and built by Shandong Port Qingdao Port Group Co., Ltd. and is equipped with a hybrid system of “hydrogen fuel cells + liquid-cooled lithium batteries” to achieve zero carbon dioxide emissions. It can sail for more than 12 hours at a speed of 9 knots and has a towing force of 82 tons. With technologies such as fully automatic smart on-shore charging, it has become the country’s largest port tugboat in terms of horsepower and lithium battery capacity.

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