Toggle light / dark theme

Toyota Motor Corporation announced on Tuesday that it will spend a massive $13.6 billion, or 1.5 trillion yen, on battery supply systems and research and development of electric vehicle battery technology by 2030. The investment will help the Japanese automaker establish a system for the development and supply of batteries for electrified models.

In April, Toyota debuted the bZ4X BEV concept and announced plans to roll out 15 BEVs under the bZ (Beyond Zero) family. Toyota surged into sustainable transportation with the development and release of the Prius Hybrid years ago, but the company has not significantly contributed to the development or sale of fully electric powertrains. Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda has not been in any hurry to develop electrified models for customers and still believes that the company remains light years ahead of EV competitors like Tesla due to size, experience, and production.

Toyota debuts bZ4X SUV concept, kicking off its 15 electric vehicle lineup

The electric vehicle sector would be wise to brace for an insane expansion of the Tesla Supercharger Network. As reported by local media outlets on Tuesday, Tesla’s Supercharger V3 Factory in Shanghai had been fully completed as of August 20 2021. The facility, which is capable of producing 10,000 Supercharger V3 stalls per year, would play a key role in the company’s aggressive expansion of its rapid-charging network.

With the facility fully completed, Tesla’s ramp of the Supercharger Network would likely become much faster than ever before. This would be incredibly advantageous for the company, particularly as CEO Elon Musk has noted that Tesla would be opening its Supercharger Network to non-Tesla EVs around the end of the year. To avoid overcrowding in its existing Superchargers, the company must have a way to ensure that it has a steady supply of rapid charging stalls to install.

This is where the Supercharger V3 factory in China comes in. Tesla currently operates about 25,000 Superchargers worldwide. And while this number seems incredibly small compared to the number of gas stations across the globe, the Supercharger Network already stands as one of the most expansive and reliable rapid charging systems for electric vehicles in the market. Having a facility that could add 10,000 more Superchargers every year would then be extremely beneficial.

Private orbital debris removal company Astroscale has validated its magnetic capture system that is designed to tackle the problem of space debris. Its End-of-Life Services by Astroscale-demonstration (ELSA-d) servicer satellite managed to capture a simulated piece of space debris in orbit for the first time using the system.

Space debris is a serious and growing problem as popular orbits around the Earth become increasingly cluttered with defunct satellites, boosters, and other flotsam that present the hazard of an increased probability of a bit of debris striking a working spacecraft at hypersonic speeds.

In recent years, there have been a number of proposals put forward to deal with this, including devices installed on satellites to increase atmospheric drag as well as experimental capture devices. In general, the most promising technology has involved end-of-life systems installed in new spacecraft, or spacecraft that can rendezvous with aging satellites still capable of maintaining attitude to deorbit them.

If the state of the planet is getting you down or you’re just terrified that ducks can now speak human words 0 then I advise you to stop what you’re doing for a few moments and gaze in awe at this photo by Thomas Pesquet, a French astronaut currently residing inside the International Space Station.

Pesquet, an engineer with the European Space Agency, is one of the members of the SpaceX Crew-2 mission and member of NASA’s Expedition 65, which launched to the station in April. It’s his second spaceflight and he’s become known around these parts for delivering some absolutely surreal images of our home planet.

This may be his best yet.