Dutch startup wins €15M to develop first solid-state battery factory

Feb12
by on February 12, 2024 at 2:30 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


As the world electrifies, the race is on to build better batteries that take you further, charge faster, are safer, and more sustainable.  Dutch startup LionVolt is developing 3D solid-state batteries that it says ticks all the above — and it’s just raised €15mn to scale up production. LionVolt — a spinout from TNO’s Holst Centre in Eindhoven, the Netherlands — is working on solid-state batteries that don’t contain the liquid lithium common in standard lithium-ion devices.  Instead, the batteries are made up of a thin film containing billions of solid pillars, creating a patented 3D architecture with a large…

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Cowboy riders across Europe can now call an ebike mechanic to their doorstep

Feb09
by on February 9, 2024 at 1:28 pm
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Riders in numerous locations throughout Europe can now have their Cowboy ebikes repaired without ever leaving their couch.  Through the Cowboy app, you can request a mechanic to come to your home and carry out services like repairs, general maintenance, and the installation of a child seat. The call-out fee starts at €69.  “It’s imperative that customers are confident that when they invest in a Cowboy ebike, they can service it at a time and place that suits them best,” said Cowboy founder and CTO Tanguy Goretti.  “We realise that not everyone has the time, tools or technical knowledge to…

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Why startups thrive with immigrant founders

Feb09
by on February 9, 2024 at 12:30 pm
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The recent changes to immigration rules in the UK have prompted some entrepreneurs to fear that they may be forced to leave the country as they don’t pay themselves enough to meet the new earnings criteria. This could prove a considerable mistake for a country that actively wants to attract and encourage startups. Immigrants make up a disproportionate share of entrepreneurs — 39% of the UK’s fastest-growing startups have at least one immigrant co-founder, despite only 14.5% of the population being foreign-born.  “Ambition lies within an immigrant’s nature — they are driven to build something they are proud of,” says…

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Nuclear fusion world record a promising step toward limitless energy

Feb09
by on February 9, 2024 at 10:51 am
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In its last hurrah before being shut down, a 40-year-old fusion reactor in the UK set a new world record for energy output — bringing the decades-old promise of clean, limitless energy one step closer to reality. Scientists at the Joint European Torus (JET) — a huge, donut-shaped machine known as a tokamak — produced a record 69 megajoules of fusion energy for five seconds, surpassing the previous record of 59 megajoules set in 2021. This equates to a power output of 12.5 megawatts, enough to power around 12,000 households.   The UK’s nuclear minister Andrew Bowie called the latest breakthrough…

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Murena launches ‘deGoogled’ smartphone with a kill switch for privacy

Feb08
by on February 8, 2024 at 4:12 pm
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The Murena 2, a “deGoogled” smartphone with a kill switch, has finally launched in Europe. Billed as a privacy-centric disruptor to the Apple-Google mobile duopoly, the device is the second handset from French startup Murena.  One new addition to the Murena 2 is a physical privacy button, which instantly disables the microphone and camera. To reactivate them for a video call, users just need to flick the switch again. On the other side of the handset is another button — a disconnection switch. This disables all network activity and mutes the device, providing a “do not disturb” function that taps into growing…

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