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Category: transportation – Page 156

Though no one died in the accident, the catastrophe serves as a wake-up call to the potential for more deadly freight rail derailments, public health advocates warn. By one estimate, 25 million Americans live in an oil train blast zone, and had the derailment occurred just a few miles east, it would be burning in downtown Pittsburgh, with tens of thousands of residents in immediate danger.

Ineffective oversight and a largely self-monitoring industry that has cut the nation’s rail workforce to the bone in recent years as it puts record profits over safety is responsible for the wreck, said Ron Kaminkow, an Amtrak locomotive engineer and former Norfolk Southern freight engineer.

“The Palestine wreck is the tip of the iceberg and a red flag,” said Kaminkow, who is secretary for the Railroad Workers United, a non-profit labor group that coordinates with the nation’s rail unions. “If something is not done, then it’s going to get worse, and the next derailment could be cataclysmic.”

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Challenger search engine Neeva wants to replace the familiar “10 blue links” in search results with something more fitting for the modern AI age.

Back in December, Neeva co-founder and CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy, who previously spearheaded Google’s advertising tech business, teased new “cutting edge AI” and large language models (LLMs), positioning itself against the ChatGPT hype train.

“ChatGPT cannot give you real time data or fact verification,” Ramaswamy wrote at the time. “In our upcoming upgrades, Neeva can.”

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The architecture of the new building is meant to convey the “timeless human need for connection to human and plant-life alike.”

Beijing-based MAD architects announced on Instagram on Tuesday that they won the contract to build the first large-scale air transportation junction for the new terminal of Changchun airport. The firm will now aim to create a green and sustainable structure that can accommodate all passenger needs.

The new site consists of 177.6 hectares with a building area of nearly 270,000 square meters and is located in Changchun, a city well-known as the international, regional hub in Northeast Asia with a population of 23 million.

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The metals refining company behind the new development claims to also be eco-friendly.

Mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), a nickel product vital to EV battery development, is going to be produced in the U.S. for the first time by Massachusetts metals refining company Nth Cycle, according to a report by *electrek* published on Thursday.

Megan O’Connor, cofounder and CEO of Nth Cycle, said about the development: “We can economically and efficiently solve a key supply chain challenge for EV OEMs and battery manufacturers by offering MHP produced from our unique electro-extraction platform.”

“And as we continue to decarbonize the grid and electrify transportation, it’s more important than ever that our refining processes are environmentally sound and labor practices are safe. Our MHP product ensures both,” she added.

## The Inflation Reduction Act

Currently, the U.S. has the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which offers a $7,500 tax credit to electric vehicles. However, to qualify, a proportion of the electric car’s battery minerals must be extracted or processed in either the U.S. or its free-trade partner countries.

Up to now, most MHP has been produced in Indonesia, which isn’t a U.S. free trade partner, making the source of the product IRA ineligible.

Continue reading “A vital EV battery nickel product will be made in the US for the first time” | >

The Tesla transformation to a fully integrated design.

Join me and Cory Steuben as he reviews all the different ways Tesla has an advantage over their competitors from manufacturing, the factories, the business model and the team.

Between, Cory, Sandy and the other associates at Munro & Associates they are likely the best in the planet who knows the most about how different cars are made and about the auto industry and the competition in the auto industry.

Cory is the President of Munro & Associates who is the de facto leader in reverse engineering and teardown benchmarking. They tear down all sorts of cars and they know every single part and every single price, the supply chain and what it takes to manufacture these parts.

Cory Steuben on Twitter:@corysteuben.

Continue reading “We’ve torn down over 100 cars (Here are Tesla advantages) | Cory Steuben Munro and Associates” | >

Supercar Blondie is known well for giving the world exclusive video reviews of concept cars, and while most of them have her involved and happy, the Hyperion XP-1, a car powered by a hydrogen propulsion system, left her amused.

https://www.hotcars.com/the-hydrogen-powered-hyperion-xp-1-l…esmerized/

This is the Hyperion XP-1… One of the most advanced cars ever built, it’s powered by a hydrogen propulsion system which makes the car literally spits water from the exhaust. Also utilizes some of the most advanced technology ever added to a car, it can be charged in 5 minutes and has a range of over 1500km. The XP-1 can also reach 0-100kh/m in just 2.2 seconds and has a top speed of over 350km/h. Alex gives us a closer look at what is sure to be the coolest and most advanced cars ever.

Thanks to Hyperion, for more info on the XP-1, check them out here:
https://www.hyperion.inc/hyperionmotors-xp1
https://www.instagram.com/hyperionmotors.
https://www.facebook.com/hyperionmotor.

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Continue reading “Water Firing Hypercar with NASA Technology | Hyperion” | >

Saudi Arabian mining company Ma’aden, together with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Innovation Ventures Fund, are investing $6 million USD into Lithium Infinity (Lihytech). The KAUST startup’s battery-grade lithium will be a key component in driving the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to developing the entire value chain of electric vehicles (EVs).

Lihytech has patented a membrane-based lithium extraction technology developed by Professor Zhiping Lai at KAUST. The innovative technology can extract the alkali metal from sources such as seawater, brine, red mud and more. Based on KAUST research, the startup was funded through the KAUST Near Term Grand Challenge, a research translation program, and the technology is being developed on the campus.

This investment will take the technology from lab to commercial pilot scale. Ma’aden is leading the investment with $4 million and KAUST Innovation Ventures is investing $2 million. The University’s venture capital arm, KAUST Innovation Ventures, supports deep tech startups that look to offer solutions to pressing scientific and technological challenges, such as lithium extraction. Lihytech will use the infusion of capital to build a pilot facility at KAUST to extract lithium from the Red Sea and other in-Kingdom resources.

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Its concept is maintenance-free, recyclable, and offers low rolling resistance.

The concept of airless tires is getting closer to production, with Bridgestone’s version going in for testing in February 2023. The firm’s product is based on its “Air Free Concept,” a technology that eliminates the need for tires to be inflated with air to support the weight using a unique structure of spokes stretching along the inner sides of tires.

According to DesignBoom, the testing will be done in association with Idemitsu Kosan Co, using one of its compact electric vehicles. More than 3 billion tires are produced around the world in a year, and the market for airless tires is expected to hit $77.

Bridgestone.

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A new North Carolina State University study, performed in collaboration with battery testing researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, shows that extremely short pulses from a high-powered laser can cause tiny defects in lithium-ion battery materials—defects that can enhance battery performance.

The technique, called nanosecond pulsed laser annealing, lasts for only 100 nanoseconds and is generated by the same type of laser used in modern-day eye surgeries. Researchers tested the technique on graphite, a material widely used in lithium-ion battery anodes, or positive electrodes. They tested the technique in batches of 10 pulses and 80 pulses and compared the differences in current capacity; power is calculated by multiplying voltage by current.

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in portable electronic devices and electric cars. With further improvements, these batteries could have a major impact on transportation and as storage devices for renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

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