Membrane-based energy technologies are presently gaining huge interest due to the fundamental engineering and potentially broad range of applications, with economic advantages over some of the competing technologies. Herein, we assess the potential deployability of the existing and emerging membrane-based energy technologies (MEnT) in Ethiopia. First, the status of the current energy technologies is provided along with the active energy and environmental policies to shape the necessary research strategies for technology planning and implementation. Ethiopia is a landlocked country, which limits the effective extraction of energy, for instance, from seawater using alternative, clean technologies such as reverse electrodialysis and pressure retarded osmosis. However, there exists an excess off-grid solar power (up to 5 MW) and wind which can be used to drive water electrolyzers for hydrogen production. Hydrogen is a versatile energy carrier that, for instance, can be used in fuel cells providing zero-emission solutions for transport and mobility. Although Ethiopia is not among the largest CO₂ emitters, with more than 90% energy supply obtained from waste and biomass, the economic and industrial growth still calls for alternative CO₂ capture and use technologies, which are highlighted in this work. We believe that the present work provides (i) the status and potential for the implementation of MEnT in Ethiopia (ii) and basic guidance for researchers exploring new energy pathways toward sustainable development in developing countries.

Lake Ziway is one of the largest freshwater lakes located in the central Ethiopian rift valley. The lake shoreline is dominated by macrophytes which play an important role in immobilizing run-off pollution, stabilize sediments and support biodiversity. Monitoring the spatio-temporal changes of great lakes requires standardized methods. The aim of this study was to assess the current and long-term trends of macrophyte distribution, surface water area and the water level of Lake Ziway using remote sensing images from 1986 to 2016 with additional hydro-meteorological data. A supervised image classification with classification enhancement using Normalized Difference Aquatic Vegetation Index (NDAVI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was applied. The classification based on NDAVI revealed eight target classes which were identified with an overall producer’s accuracy of 79.6%. Contemporary open water and macrophyte fringes occupied most of the study area with a total area of 407.4 km² and 60.1 km², respectively. The findings also revealed a regime shift in the mean water level of the lake and a decline in macrophyte distribution. The long-term water surface area of Lake Ziway also decreased between 1986 and 2016. The changes in water level could be explained by climate variability in the region and strong anthropogenic disturbance. A decline in water level was also associated with lowered surface water area, lakeward retreated macrophyte fringes and enhanced landward encroachment of mudflats, and resulted in a succession of macrophytes with semi-terrestrial vegetations.

Palaemonella yalla sp. nov. is described based on two ovigerous females: the holotype from Thuwal, Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia, and a non-type specimen from Masirah Island, eastern Oman. The new species is very close to P. okunoi Komai & Yamada, 2015, from which it is essentially distinguishable by the distoventrally armed merus of the second pereiopods. The Saudi Arabian specimen was extracted from a burrow of an unknown host, whereas the Omani specimen was found in a muddy depression created after flipping a large rock deeply embedded in the sediment.