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Planet-spotting is all about perspective.

From where we stand in our orbit of the Sun the closest planet to us, Venus, will come to what astronomers call inferior conjunction on Sunday, January 9.

After over six months of shining brightly in the west in the post-sunset sky in its apparition as the “Evening Star,” on that day Venus will finally disappear from sight.… See more.

H-Tec Systems receives research funding to advance research project PEP.IN with PEM electrolysers expertise as part of the H2Giga hydrogen project.


Augsburg-based hydrogen technology company H-Tec Systems is now officially part of the H2Giga hydrogen project for research & development into the series production of PEM electrolysis stacks and electrolysers. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is supporting H2Giga with a total funding volume of up to 500 million euros. The aim is to identify and test novel processes for the competitive mass production of electrolysers in Germany to make green hydrogen affordable and competitive.

As an expert and visionary in green hydrogen technology, H-Tec Systems is receiving research funding for the H2Giga project “PEP.IN” to further advance series production. By spring 2025, H-Tec Systems will identify new production processes for PEM electrolysis stacks and electrolysers in the gigawatt range and develop corresponding test facilities to quickly set up and commence series production.

The H2Giga project PEP.IN stands for Industrialisation of PEM Electrolysis Production and aims to optimise processes and equipment to produce electrolysers and electrolysis stacks in mass production. Part of the research work within the project is the investigation of a production plant for electrolysis stacks and electrolysers. In addition, a central component of the project is the further development of the electrolysis stacks to make them as simple and cost-effective as possible to produce. For smooth, highly available and cost-effective production, it is necessary to align the corresponding supply chains to the needs of the production. In addition, the individual components of an electrolyser will be considered in order to implement automated production of electrolysers in the gigawatt range. By collecting smart stack and plant operating data, H-Tec Systems will also contribute to the further development of the plants.

Bluetti says its first-generation sodium-ion battery excels in thermal stability, fast-charging capacity, low-temperature performance, and integration efficiency, despite slightly lower energy density than its lithium-ion counterparts. The solar generator and battery’s chemical components also feature more abundant materials than traditional lithium-ion batteries, lowering prices and alleviating concerns about resources scarcity.

The NA300 solar generator delivers a 3,000Wh capacity, considerably less than the 5,100Wh of the company’s EP500 Pro model. But the generator capacity shouldn’t be a big issue for consumers, as it supports up to two B480 battery modules (4,800Wh each), which brings the total capacity to 12,600Wh. The unit, recharged by solar panels, can serve a family’s electricity needs for several days or even a week during grid failures or natural disasters.

It is said that the sodium-ion solar generator seamlessly inherits all the style and appearance settings of its predecessor – EP500 Pro – especially four 20-amp traditional wall plugs, as well as a 30-amp L14-30 output port, driven by the built-in 3,000W pure sine wave inverter.

Sure, a refrigerator can keep your veggies fresh… but LG’s tiiun can keep it fresher! Designed as a unique home appliance that lets you grow your own herbs and veggies the LG tiiun was announced in the run-up to CES 2022. The indoor gardening appliance is roughly the size of a dorm refrigerator, standing at approximately 3 feet tall, and features two shelves that can accommodate up to 6 all-in-one seed packages and various seed kits.

The term tiiun comes from the Korean word meaning ‘to sprout’ and is LG’s way of indicating that this appliance is an all-in-one self-sufficient garden. The appliance creates a perfect microclimate and all the right conditions for the plants to grow, even mimicking light cycles so you could potentially keep your tiiun anywhere in a room without worrying about access to proper sunlight. LG’s Flexible Weather Control System creates the ideal situations for organic growth while also keeping pests at bay. An internal watering system also delivers water to the plants (8 times a day) to keep them hydrated. All you really have to do is install the tiiun and sit back while your plants grow on their own!

Trojanized installers of the Telegram messaging application are being used to distribute the Windows-based Purple Fox backdoor on compromised systems.

That’s according to new research published by Minerva Labs, describing the attack as different from intrusions that typically take advantage of legitimate software for dropping malicious payloads.

“This threat actor was able to leave most parts of the attack under the radar by separating the attack into several small files, most of which had very low detection rates by [antivirus] engines, with the final stage leading to Purple Fox rootkit infection,” researcher Natalie Zargarov said.

Italian start-up Sealence is promising dramatic gains in the speed and range of electric boats thanks to a radical new pod-shaped waterjet, reports Hugo Andreae.


Gobbo first proposed the idea back in 2007, using computer simulations to test its potential, before developing the first working prototype in 2010. However, it wasn’t until the arrival of Professor Ernesto Benini, an expert in fluid dynamics from the University of Padua, that its full potential started to be realised in 2016.

The team behind the project now comprises 21 different specialists including engineers, designers, hydrodynamicists and even a powerboat racer, who together form the parent company Sealence.

It’s no coincidence that the latest DeepSpeed prototype resembles the jet housing of an aeroplane engine as, like a turbofan, it is designed to funnel water (rather than air) in the front end and accelerate it out through a smaller nozzle at the back. However, instead of a central hub-mounted fan compressing it and combining it with burning fuel, the DeepSpeed jet uses impeller blades on a hubless revolving outer ring turned by a powerful electric motor.