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Socguy writes:
Hindenburg research has released their report on Nikola motors and have taken a short position as a result of their research. During the course of their investigation, they claim to have spoken to numerous former employees, have amassed a pile of emails, text messages, contracts as well as other documents and videos showing a massive deception. Essentially Hindenburg alleges that Nikola has no proprietary technology and vastly overstated the capabilities of their prototypes repeatedly to investors. The report paints a picture of a company that says and does whatever it takes to attract investment, such as filming semis as they roll down hills for promotional material. Nikola has obviously refutes the report but to date have not bothered to disprove any of the numerous specific allegations. Instead they've indicated they've contacted lawyers. https://electrek.co/2020/09/11...
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Socguy writes:
Germany’s Manager Magazine reports today that Volkswagen is struggling with software problems for its ID3 all-electric car. According to the report, the ID3 will be built for months with an incomplete software architecture that could affect up to 20,000 electric cars. These units, intended for sales in Europe and not the US, will require a manual software update.
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Socguy writes:
In late October, at Honda’s “Electric Vision” event in Amsterdam, the company said it was “electrifying” its entire product line, which mostly means hybrids. They also announced that, “We will bring further battery-electric products to the market.” At the same time it would seem, diesel and hydrogen are on the way out. Katsushi Inoue, Honda Europe’s president, said: "Maybe hydrogen fuel cell cars will come, but that’s a technology for the next era. Our focus is on hybrid and electric vehicles now." Diesel is also on the way out as in September, Honda said it would phase out all diesel cars by 2021.
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Socguy writes:
Uno-X hydrogen station in Sandvika in Bærum exploded on Monday and resulted in two injuries in a nearby non-fuel cell vehicle. The company operating the station has suspended operation at its other locations following the explosion. With the refueling network crippled, Toyota and Hyundai have announced that they are temporarily halting sales of fuel cell vehicles.
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Socguy writes:
French President Emmanuel Macron gave a speech on Tuesday in which he announced a raft of new energy policies, including a promise to close the country’s remaining four coal-fired power plants by 2022 and 14 of the country’s 900 MW first-generation nuclear reactors by 2035.
The generation capacity will be replaced with wind and solar.
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Socguy writes:
The conclusion is that nuclear powerplants cannot survive without a government hand out in the era of low cost natural gas. The power they produce is simply not cheap enough due to the ongoing maintenance and repairs necessary to keep them operating. The study also looked at new designs that may be cheaper and modular in nature but found that the domestic U.S. market for nuclear power isn’t robust enough to justify the investments necessary to build a modular reactor industry.
95944357
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Socguy writes:
The relentless downward march in cost of both solar + battery storage is poised to displace 10GW worth of natural gas peaker plant electricity production in the USA by 2027. Already we are seeing the net cost of combined solar + batteries cheaper than the equivalent natural gas peaker plant. Some particularly aggressive estimates from major energy companies predict that we may not see another natural gas peaker plant built in the USA after 2020. GE has already responded to the weakness in the gas turbine market by laying off 12,000 workers.
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Socguy writes:
After being unable to complete the Levy County Nuclear Plant a few years ago, Duke energy abandoned it, leaving rate payers on the hook. Duke is now in the process of settling legal action as a result. As part of the settlement Duke will construct or acquire 700MW of solar, construct 50MW of battery storage, undertake grid modernizations and the install 530 electric car chargers.
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Socguy writes:
A typical Lithium-ion battery breaks down badly between 5000-7000 cycles. Researchers at the University of California may have discovered a simple way to build a Lithium battery that can withstand 100,000+ cycles.
This was a serendipitous discovery as the researcher was playing around with the battery and coated it in a thin gel layer. The researchers believe the gel plasticizes the metal oxide in the battery and gives it flexibility, preventing cracking.
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Socguy writes:
Scientists in China have developed a prototype solar panel with a single atom thick layer of graphene on the surface. This layer allows the panel to generate electricity, not just from the sun but also from any rain that falls on it. This development promises to further boost the output of solar panels during times of less than optimal conditions.
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Socguy writes:
Bloomburg reports wind has now crossed the threshold to become the cheapest source of energy in both the UK and Germany. Notable because this is the first time it has occurred in a G7 country. In the US, wind and Solar have started biting into the capacity factor of fossil fuel driven plants as generators opt to idle plants more often in favor of nearly free renewable energy. This is leading to changes in the lifetime profitability of those plants.
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Socguy writes:
Apparently the claims that digital downloading is killing music and movies is overblown according to the London school of economics. In fact, there is some evidence to indicate that it actually generates more income in certain cases.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/digital-piracy-not-harming-entertainment-industries-study-1.1894729
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Socguy writes:
With the announcement that a team of researchers has created the first artificial life, the Economist has been pondering the implications of what this brave new frontier means when the power to build living organisms filters through to anyone with a laptop. Traditional methods of restricting and regulating dangerous technology has more or less worked so far, but the Economist thinks that this time may be different. They are calling for an open system where the 'good guys' can see and counter any dangerous organisms that are released accidentally or otherwise.
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=16163154&source=features_box_main
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Socguy writes:
Slate Magazine discusses the studies surrounding the issue of why so many of the terrorists have engineering degrees and comes to the conclusion that engineers and engineering students are much more likely to hold strong conservative and religious views than a general cross section of the public. Further, engineers tend to hold a particular mind-set that disdains ambiguity and compromise.
Terrorist organizations have long recognized that engineering departments are fertile ground for recruitment and have concentrated there efforts there. A 2005 report from British intelligence noted that Islamic extremists were frequenting college campuses, looking for "inquisitive" students who might be susceptible to their message. In particular, the report noted, they targeted engineers.
