ITER troubles expose need for fusion between startups and governments

Jul05
by on July 5, 2024 at 3:31 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


ITER, set to be the world’s largest experimental fusion reactor, has been delayed yet again. The €25bn megaproject will only switch on in 2034, and start producing energy in 2039. That’s almost a decade later than originally planned.  Thirty-five nations including the UK, US, China, and Russia launched ITER in 2006 to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power. But startups may end up beating them to it.  As private companies race to commercialise fusion energy, it’s increasingly clear that ITER will take on a more supporting role. But that doesn’t mean it’s obsolete. We chatted to some…

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This tiny autonomous sailboat is charting a new course for marine science

Jul05
by on July 5, 2024 at 9:52 am
Posted In: robots


Amar Shar, the co-founder of British AI unicorn Wayve, has backed Oshen, a budding startup building miniature autonomous sailboats. The little robots could transform the way scientists monitor everything from ocean temperatures and waves to biodiversity. The Plymouth, UK-based startup was founded last year by Anahita Laverack and Ciaran Dowds, two young engineering graduates at Imperial College London.     The startup is building small solar-powered “seaborn satellites” that sail around the ocean gathering data. The little robots could make marine data acquisition more accessible than ever before.     “We want to do for the sea what smallsats did for space: revolutionise access…

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AI transformation: Here’s what it actually means for a company

Jul05
by on July 5, 2024 at 7:30 am
Posted In: artificial intelligence


Remember when during the 2017 crypto-craze a beverage company renamed itself  “Long Blockchain” and saw its stock price quintuple?  Today, much like back then, you’d be hard pressed to find a company that isn’t shouting from the rooftops about adopting the transformative technology du jour, i.e. artificial intelligence.  Those building AI tools and hardware are basking in investor and media attention, whereas those using them are quick to boast about driving evolution, optimisation, and productivity through cutting-edge technology.  In terms of impact on business and the world at large, AI is in a category of its own. Its seismic potential…

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Why the EU is imposing maximum tariffs of 36.7% on Chinese EVs

Jul04
by on July 4, 2024 at 4:41 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


The EU today confirmed huge new tariffs for EVs imported from China. From Friday, provisional charges of between 17.4% and 37.6% will be imposed on the vehicles. The lowest level will apply to BYD, an automaker based in Shenzhen. Geely, which owns Volvo, Polestar, and Lotus, faces duties of 19.9%. SAIC, a Chinese state-owned carmaker, will receive the maximum 37.6%. Other companies will be subject to new tariffs of 20.8%, the weighted average. These fees will come on top of a 10% duty that was already in place. As a result, prices of EVs in Europe could increase. Beijing may…

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UK leads Europe for GenAI patents but Germany is catching up, UN report reveals

Jul03
by on July 3, 2024 at 4:56 pm
Posted In: Uncategorized


The UK leads Europe for generative AI patent filings — but Germany is closing the gap. That’s according to new data from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a UN agency that tracks patents. WIPO today released a report on 54,000 GenAI inventions from the decade ending in 2023. Over 25% of them emerged in the last year alone. The findings show that China has built a wide lead in the field. Across the decade, over 38,000 GenAI patents were filed by the country. That’s a whopping six times more than the second-place US, which filed 6,276. Rounding out the…

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