Solid Power: Slow Progress with Solid State Batteries
June 8th, 2022Via: Ars Technica:
Solid Power, a Colorado-based battery developer, moved one step closer to producing solid-state batteries for electric vehicles on Monday. The company has completed an automated “EV cell pilot line” with the capacity to make around 15,000 cells per year, which will be used first by Solid Power and then by its OEM partners for testing.
“The installation of this EV cell pilot line will allow us to produce EV-scale cells suitable for initiating the formal automotive qualification process. Over the coming quarters, we will work to bring the EV cell pilot line up to its full operational capability and look forward to delivering EV-scale all-solid-state cells to our partners later this year,” said Solid Power CEO Doug Campbell.
…
It’s one of those technologies that to a very casual observer is perennially five years away, but in Europe there are already operational Mercedes-Benz eCitaro buses with solid-state packs.
Energy At The End Of The World – Peter Zeihan
June 6th, 2022Some interesting perspectives, but his assertion that China is going to collapse within a year doesn’t seem very likely to me.
Via: Naval Postgraduate School:
Research Credit: DF
Musk Mentions Epstein Client List
June 6th, 2022Keep in mind, Musk is at war with Epstein associate Bill Gates.
Only thing more remarkable than DOJ not leaking the list is that no one in the media cares. Doesn’t that seem odd? pic.twitter.com/JEK4TErABB
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 4, 2022
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Has a Secret Weapon Even Its Makers Didn’t Know About: A Great and Timely Villain (Hint: It’s Russia)
June 5th, 2022Oh sure. It’s all just a coincidence.
Via: Variety:
The Top Gun team is on a mission to protect NATO. That seems — or must have seemed, when “Maverick” started shooting four years ago — like a relatively safe sphere of actuality for the movie to invoke. But the meaning of NATO, since the war in Ukraine began, has changed. The alliance was always vital (even as some argued that it had become irrelevant). Now it’s the living epicenter of global conflict.
The Top 10 Creepiest and Most Dystopian Things Pushed by the World Economic Forum (WEF)
June 5th, 2022Via: Vigilant Citizen:
Here are the 10 most dystopian things that are being pushed by the WEF right now. This list sorted is in no particular order. Because they’re all equally crazy.
Elon Musk Says Tesla May Have a Working Humanoid Robot Prototype by September 30
June 5th, 2022Remember the one about the AI robotaxis taking to the roads in 2020?
And now…
Via: Electrek:
Elon Musk announced that Tesla might have a working prototype of Tesla Bot, also known as Optimus, Tesla’s humanoid robot, by September 30, the end of the third quarter of 2022.
Japan Tests New Generator That Harvests Energy from Deep Ocean Currents
June 5th, 2022The article states, “The company now plans to scale up to a full 2 megawatt system that could be in commercial operation in the 2030s or later.”
Two megawatts over the next couple of decades isn’t nothing, but, to give you an idea of how small this is: Ford just put 13.5 megawatts of solar on carports at one of its factories in South Africa.
Via: Bloomberg:
Power-hungry, fossil-fuel dependent Japan has successfully tested a system that could provide a constant, steady form of renewable energy, regardless of the wind or the sun.
For more than a decade, Japanese heavy machinery maker IHI Corp. has been developing a subsea turbine that harnesses the energy in deep ocean currents and converts it into a steady and reliable source of electricity. The giant machine resembles an airplane, with two counter-rotating turbine fans in place of jets, and a central ‘fuselage’ housing a buoyancy adjustment system. Called Kairyu, the 330-ton prototype is designed to be anchored to the sea floor at a depth of 30-50 meters (100-160 feet).
In commercial production, the plan is to site the turbines in the Kuroshio Current, one of the world’s strongest, which runs along Japan’s eastern coast, and transmit the power via seabed cables.
Dutch Airline Pilots Association (VNV) Successfully Blocks Mandated Vaccinations for New Pilots
June 5th, 2022Via: Global Aviation Advocacy Coalition:
On May 19, court proceedings brought by the Dutch Airline Pilots Association (VNV) against the vaccination mandate introduced by KLM for new pilots were filed. The judge made a ruling today.
The judge ruled in favour of the Dutch Airline Pilots Association (VNV). This means that KLM may no longer ask new pilots about their vaccination status against COVID-19 and/or reject them for this reason, risking a fine of EUR 100,000 per violation.
Musk Email: Tesla Needs to Cut About 10% of Jobs
June 3rd, 2022Via: Reuters:
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has a “super bad feeling” about the economy and needs to cut about 10% of jobs at the electric carmaker, he said in an email to executives seen by Reuters.
The message, sent on Thursday and titled “pause all hiring worldwide”, came two days after the billionaire told staff to return to the workplace or leave, and adds to a growing chorus of warnings from business leaders about the risks of recession.
U.S. Plans To Sell Ukraine Armed MQ-1C Gray Eagle Drones
June 2nd, 2022Via: The Warzone:
While authorizing another $700 million in military aid to Ukraine, the Biden administration also is planning on selling the invaded nation MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones to attack Russian forces, according to a story from Reuters. The president will likely notify Congress of the proposed sale within days followed by a public announcement, according to the report.
Ukraine has made notable use of unmanned aircraft, most notably the Turkish Bayraktar TB2, as well as smaller armed and unarmed drones, against Russian forces since the unprovoked invasion began in February. Introducing the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, however, would give Ukraine a high-endurance unmanned system with capabilities that exceed that of the TB2. An MQ-1C can carry powerful internal sensors, as well as external podded systems, like radars and electronic warfare systems. Most importantly, a Gray Eagle can carry up to four AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles. A TB-2 typically carries 48-pound Turkish-made MAM-L missiles with about half the heft of the hard-hitting Hellfire.
