JERUSALEM Israel aims to parlay its technological prowess to become an artificial intelligence "superpower", the Defence Ministry director-general

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 14, 2023--

Looking for the right wallpaper for your iPhone? Apple offers a variety of options to

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At Wednesday's Google I/O, which may have set a record for mentions of AI in

The European Union has passed a new law to cover the continent in fast charging stations in order to meet the growing demand of electric cars. The legislation calls for fast recharging stations for cars and vans every 60 kilometres (37 miles) along the EU’s main transport corridors by 2025. The same distance requirements for heavy goods vehicles will need to be met by 2030. Airports and ports will also need to provide electricity for passenger vessels and aircraft by 2025. “The new law is a milestone,” said Raquel Sánchez Jiménez, Spain’s Minister of Transport. “We are optimistic that in the near future, citizens will be able to charge their electric cars as easily as they do today in traditional petrol stations.” The new EU law forms part of the ‘Fit for 55 package’, announced by the European Commission in 2021, which aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. The EU is also aiming to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Electric car ownership in Europe and worldwide has seen huge growth in recent years, with EV car sales now representing around one fifth of all new car sales globally. Last month, the battery-electric car market in the EU surged from 10.7 per cent to 15.1 per cent year-on-year, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), overtaking diesel vehicles for the first time. The countries with the biggest growth were the Netherlands, Germany and France, contributing to more than 700,000 units sold in the first half of the year. Read More Battery breakthroughs are about to trigger a transport revolution

Databricks Inc., the closely held software maker widely viewed as a candidate to go public, is in discussions

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BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 12, 2023--

Engineers have invented a way to passively remove snow from solar panels to allow them to keep generating electricity during adverse weather conditions. A team from the University of Toledo in the United States developed a strip coating that causes accumulated snow to slide off solar panels without interfering with their efficiency. Solar panels can generate electricity on cloudy days, however snow cover can completely block their ability to harvest any of the Sun’s energy. This can result in up to 12 per cent loss of electricity generation per year in areas with heavy snowfall. The self-cleaning strips can also be applied to both new and existing solar installations relatively easily. “The strip coatings apply to the lower edge of the panel, resulting in passive snow removal without requiring any energy to operate,” said Hossein Sojoudi, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Toledo. “Our strip coating does not interfere with absorption of sunlight or panel efficiency at any time, does not cause any partial shading or hotspots on the panel, and does not invalidate module warranty and in fact improves the lifetime of the module.” Tests in the US and Japan found that solar panels fitted with the strip achieved more than 5 per cent improved power generation annually. Solar accounted for around 3.4 per cent of electricity generation in the US last year, according to figures from the Energy Information Administration, while more than half of new US electricity-generating capacity in 2023 is forecast to be from solar. Working with industry partners, Dr Sojoudi said he expects thousands of strip coatings to be installed across the US by the end of 2023. “We estimate to reach a production rate of 1 million strip coatings by the end of 2024,” he said. “Our solution is a game-changing technology that can lead to an additional $150 million in additional annual revenue, across states with heavy snowfall... Through the help of our strategic partners, we are delivering on the promise of solar energy all year long.” Read More Battery breakthroughs are about to trigger a transport revolution Hundreds of years after it was discovered, one material is about to change the world World’s first solar-powered hybrid truck tested on public roads Apple explains how the iPhone turned into a camera like none before it UK competition regulator proposes guiding principles to make AI market safe

Bitcoin is hovering around its one-year high as asset manager Fidelity reportedly readies its filing for a spot

Elon Musk’s X has been ordered by a judge to pay $1.1m in legal fees to its laid off former executives. Since Mr Musk’s takeover of X, the company formerly known as Twitter, the multibillionaire and X have faced a number of lawsuits. These include suits over the firm’s failure to pay its vendors and delays in paying rent for its office premises, as well as former employees suing Twitter alleging they were laid off without adequate notice. On Tuesday, Delaware Chancery Court judge Kathaleen St J McCormick ruled in favour of the company’s ex-chief Parag Agrawal and said X must pay $1.1m in legal fees linked with probes of the platform during Mr Musk’s 2022 takeover, Bloomberg first reported. After buying out the microblogging platform in November last year, the Tesla titan fired Mr Agrawal and Twitter’s then-lead policy officer Vijaya Gadde as well as a number of other executives. Mr Agrawal and Ms Gadde then sued Twitter/X for failing to pay for their legal bills, including for the latter’s appearance before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The lawsuit filing alleged the company paid only about $600,000 of what it owes, withholding $1.1m in fees for its lawyers’ work representing the former executives in an inquiry on the role played by social media on US elections. The filing alleged Twitter/X “breached the agreements and contravened the bylaws” by not paying the former staff. The latest ruling by the Delaware court judge observed that X “violated its duties to cover legal expenses generated by their work for the company”. While acknowledging that $1.1m is a lot of money, the judge still ruled in favour of the former Twitter executives. “I have reviewed the amount in question, and although it is high and probably higher than most humans would like to pay, it’s not unreasonable,” judge McCormick was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. X did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment. The company is also being sued over its rebrand to X by an ad agency also named X, alleging the social media platform’s new name violates Florida common law because of “unfair competition and trademark and service mark infringement”. Read More Elon Musk’s mockery of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky ‘unhelpful’ Elon Musk’s X Corp sued by another social network company named X ‘Reckless’ Elon Musk hit with $1m lawsuit for accusing student of being in Proud Boys ‘false flag’ attack Elon Musk’s X Corp sued by another social network company named X Elon Musk to live stream himself gaming on X in ‘everything app’ bid Musk confirms he is cutting election integrity staff from X/Twitter ahead of 2024