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Category: economics – Page 66

Quantum Information Science / Quantum Computing (QIS / QC) continues to make substantial progress into 2023 with commercial applications coming where difficult practical problems can be solved significantly faster using QC (quantum advantage) and QC solving seemingly impossible problems and test cases (not practical problems) that for classical computers such as supercomputers would take thousands of years or beyond classical computing capabilities (quantum supremacy). Often the two terms are interchanged. Claims of quantum advantage or quantum supremacy, at times, are able to be challenged through new algorithms on classical computers.

The potential is for hybrid systems with quantum computers and classical computers such as supercomputers (and perhaps analog computing in the future) could operate in the thousands and potentially millions of times faster in lending more understanding into intractable challenges and problems. Imagine the possibilities and the implications for the benefit of Earth’s ecosystems and humankind significantly impacting in dozens of areas of computational science such as big data analytics, weather forecasting, aerospace and novel transportation engineering, novel new energy paradigms such as renewable energy, healthcare and drug discovery, omics (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomic), economics, AI, large-scale simulations, financial services, new materials, optimization challenges, … endless.

The stakes are so high in competitive and strategic advantage that top corporations and governments are investing in and working with QIS / QC. (See my Forbes article: Government Deep Tech 2022 Top Funding Focus Explainable AI, Photonics, Quantum—they (BDC Deep Tech Fund) invested in QC company Xanadu). For the US, in 2018, there is the USD $1.2 billion National Quantum Initiative Act and related U.S. Department of Energy providing USD $625 million over five years for five quantum information research hubs led by national laboratories: Argonne, Brookhaven, Fermi, Lawrence Berkeley and Oak Ridge. In August 2022, the US CHIPS and Science Act providing hundreds of millions in funding as well. Coverage includes: accelerating the discovery of quantum applications; growing a diverse and domestic quantum workforce; development of critical infrastructure and standardization of cutting-edge R&D.

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Weighing cost vs. benefit

For small business owners, implementing sustainability initiatives may seem more like a pipe dream than a tangible goal, as the technology can be costly to implement. What’s more, businesses that are using technology to drive sustainability must employ talented workers who can tap into those resources and streamline operations for the greatest economic and environmental benefit.

However, as companies can leverage automation and data analytics to increase efficiency, adjust energy usage, reduce waste and otherwise help with sustainability, the cost of investing in automation is worth it. By giving company leaders the ability to see the big picture in terms of carbon footprint, data and automation can help optimize operations and improve a company’s bottom line.

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Copper prices have surged in 2021. The base metal remains in high demand, much thanks to its need in green energy projects and electric cars. In May 2021, commodities analysts at Goldman Sachs called copper ‘the new oil.’ That’s because electric cars need several times more copper than their gas-powered counterparts. And power grids getting electricity from wind, solar and hydro sources also need copper—much more than the industry is currently producing. Here’s how copper became so important to the world economy and the green energy revolution.

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Why a looming copper shortage has big consequences for the green economy.

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As investors continue to put money into technology companies making a difference, there is a misconception that a majority of investors belong to younger generations. New research shows the distribution in ESG-motivated investment: 54% are Gen Z and millennials, 42% are baby boomers, and 25% are Gen Xers.

ESG Standards That Younger Generations Care About

From combatting climate change to expanding diversity in the boardroom and instituting more corporate equitable policies, technology companies need to understand what Gen Z and Gen X care about. If any sector of the global economy is sensitive to ESG it should be technology with its appeal to younger audiences. That’s why the recent acceleration of widespread reporting on ESG principles and practices is creating a shift in power, money and jobs from baby boomers to millennials and Gen Z, in which passive investing, COVID, social injustice issues, the Great Resignation and talent shortages are all contributing factors.

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I find the following interesting because Firefly Aerospace is just a few miles from my house plus it is an example of one more company pulling out of Russia for good. Russia’s economy will be much weaker by the time this war is over and their space industry will be decimated.

Northrop Grumman is moving production of the engines and structures for its Antares rockets to the U.S. from Russia and Ukraine, a move that will have cascading effects throughout the space industry.

The aerospace giant said Monday it will move Antares production fully to the U.S. through a partnership with Texas-based Firefly Aerospace. Northrop Grumman had purchased Russian RD-181 engines to power the Antares 230+ series, and the rocket’s main body was manufactured by Ukraine’s Yuzhmash State Enterprise.

The new arrangement mainly resolves the break in Antares manufacturing caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. But in addition to salvaging the Antares rocket series, the cost-sharing deal also helps ensure NASA’s cargo missions to the International Space Station keep flying regularly and brings muscle to Firefly’s plan to build a larger rocket called Beta.

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JAKARTA, Aug 8 (Reuters) — U.S. carmaker Tesla (TSLA.O) has signed contracts worth about $5 billion to buy materials for their batteries from nickel processing companies in Indonesia, a senior cabinet minister told CNBC Indonesia.

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has been trying to get Tesla to set up a production facility in the country, which has major nickel reserves. President Joko Widodo met with Tesla founder Elon Musk earlier this year to drum up investment. read more

“We are still in constant negotiation with Tesla … but they have started buying two excellent products from Indonesia,” Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said in an interview broadcast on Monday.

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Participants at the DLD Tel Aviv Digital Conference, Israel’s largest international high-tech gathering, held at the Old Train Station complex in Tel Aviv on Sept. 6, 2017. Photo: Miriam Alster/Flash90.

Israel announced the launch of a $6.2 million program to boost the number of Arab-Israelis employed in the high-tech sector as the country suffers from a shortage of skilled workers.

The grants will be awarded to companies, corporations and NGOs to cover a maximum of 70 percent of their costs for developing programs and models to help further integrate Arab-Israelis into the high-tech industry, the Israel Innovation Authority and the Economy Ministry’s Directorate General of Labor said in a joint statement on Thursday.

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Canada-based Tyromer is building a pilot factory in Arnhem to bring its circular rubber products to the European market. Specializing in the devulcanization of rubber from scrap tires, Tyromer will fine-tune and exhibit its recycling technology at its new Dutch facility in order to sell the process to third parties. The company is one of the first in the Netherlands to give this hard-to-process residual product a high-quality new life, making it a valuable addition to the Dutch circular economy.

Located at Kleefse Waard Industrial Park (IPKW) in Arnhem, the factory is currently being set up. “We expect to be able to start early in the summer [of 2021],” said Jos van Son, managing director of Tyromer Europe. Tyromer will employ approximately 12 people in Arnhem.

“Tyromer has a unique solution to a major problem: mountains of car tire rubber that cannot be reused. Companies such as Tyromer, which have solutions for societal challenges with smart technologies, are a welcome addition to the East Netherlands ecosystem. The fact that Tyromer is establishing itself at IPKW, where many companies are involved with energy and circularity issues, is good news for the activity in our region,” added René Brama, investment manager of Tech at Oost NL.

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Nuclear power plants provide large amounts of electricity without releasing planet-warming pollution. But the expense of running these plants has made it difficult for them to stay open. If nuclear is to play a role in the U.S. clean energy economy, costs must come down. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are devising systems that could make nuclear energy more competitive using artificial intelligence.

Nuclear power plants are expensive in part because they demand constant monitoring and maintenance to ensure consistent power flow and safety. Argonne is midway through a $1 million, three-year project to explore how smart, computerized systems could change the economics.

“Operation and maintenance costs are quite relevant for nuclear units, which currently require large site crews and extensive upkeep,” said Roberto Ponciroli, a principal nuclear engineer at Argonne. “We think that autonomous operation can help to improve their profitability and also benefit the deployment of advanced reactor concepts.”

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A lack of market value and historically low natural gas prices are just some of the reasons making it hard for nuclear to compete in certain markets.

And with the rise of more renewables coming onto the grid, many utilities are considering a hybrid or integrated systems approach to improve the economics for baseload energy sources like nuclear reactors.

One opportunity is to utilize nuclear’s thermal heat and electricity to produce hydrogen.

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