Sales of new passenger cars in Russia rebounded by 69% in 2023 to 1.1 million units, boosted by a hefty uptake of Chinese models, the Moscow-based analytical agency Autostat reported Jan. 11. The revival, improving from 626,000 units sold in 2022, remained far behind numbers in 2021, the year before Russia invaded Ukraine and was slapped with Western sanctions.

The European Union built a record 17 gigawatts of wind energy generating capacity in 2023, a 13% increase from 2022, but the pace remains well behind the annual growth rate of 30 GW needed to meet the bloc’s 2030 targets, according to data released last week by WindEurope.

Researchers with a technical foundation and a university in Norway said their efforts to develop new knowledge on the interaction between lubricants, train wheels and rails is leading to new environmentally friendly rail lubricants and customized rail lubricant application systems with potential for substantial savings in annual maintenance costs.