China’s largest battery maker for electric vehicles has launched an aviation division in preparation to begin mass production of electric planes, according to reports. Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), which supplies batteries for Tesla, claims to have achieved the “holy grail” energy density required for commercial electric aircraft of 500 Watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg). The company announced the feat at the Auto Shanghai trade fair earlier this year, with chief scientist Wu Kai claiming that it was poised to begin production of a commercially viable battery for electric aircraft. “With an energy density of up to 500Wh/kg, it can achieve a high energy density and a high level of safety at the same time in a creative manner, opening up a brand-new electrification scenario of passenger aircrafts,” the company said in a statement at the time. “CATL can achieve mass production of condensed battery for electric vehicles in a short period of time.” CATL has now launched a joint venture with state-owned plane manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), Yicai Global reported, following four years of research into the technology. The advent of electric aircraft has become a realistic prospect in recent years following several major battery breakthroughs that have the potential to overcome cost and capacity limitations. Israel-based startup Eviation completed the first flight of an electric commuter plane last year, taking off from an airport in Washington before touching down eight minutes later. The Alice aircraft is capable of transporting nine passengers and their luggage, or a tonne of cargo, and has been hailed as the first battery-powered plane viable for short-haul commercial journeys of up to 645km (400 miles). Regional airlines and logistics firms in the US have already ordered more than 200 Alice planes, with Eviation aiming to fulfil the orders by 2026. The Independent has contacted CATL for a production timeframe of its electric plane batteries. Read More Battery breakthroughs are about to trigger a transport revolution

MrBeast, the most subscribed-to individual on YouTube, has been arrested – sort of. The content creator, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson and has more than 154m subscribers on the platform, was taken into ‘custody’ by the North Carolina Police Department as part of a payback prank from another influencer. Eric Decker, known online as Airrack, was duped last year when friend and creator Tyler Blanchard pretended he was leaving Airrack’s channel to go and work for Donaldson. And so, naturally, Decker wanted to get even – by having police ‘arrest’ Donaldson following a meeting with Twitter owner Elon Musk at the social media company’s offices in New York. Except, in a truly shocking turn of events, Musk reportedly cancelled the meeting, and when a chance text from Donaldson to Decker saw the influencer ask if he wanted to meet in North Carolina, Airrack managed to sign a contract with local police to prank him there instead. “I mean, technically, I’m five days into chasing Jimmy down, which is where most people in this situation would just give up. “But when Jimmy turned Tyler against me – tried to take my friend from me – I can’t live with myself if I don’t get revenge on this man,” Decker said. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter With the help of deputies Brock and Bobby, Decker conspired to have the officers pull over Donaldson for having tinted windows, before realising a warrant is out for his arrest for “communicating threats”. I ACTUALLY Got MrBeast Arrested www.youtube.com However, as Donaldson was placed in handcuffs and the back of the police car, the YouTuber could be seen smiling throughout the entire interaction, at one point telling officers it is “so hard to believe this is real”. He said: “Let me guess, one of my friends put you up to this. “If they were, I don’t know how they’d get their hands on cop cars and… it’s a pretty elaborate prank, if it is.” After being taken to jail, having mugshots taken and placed in a cell with no food or water available, Donaldson was eventually allowed a phone call which saw Decker reveal the whole thing was an elaborate prank. Commenting on the ruse, MrBeast said: “I thought it was real, and then I was like, ‘this might be a prank’. “I was like, ‘this is a lot of resources for a prank’, then I was like, ‘OK, wait, maybe this isn’t a prank.’” Decker has since decided to sell T-shirts displaying MrBeast’s mugshot online, if anyone is desperate… Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 5, 2023--

Stock prices of chipmakers have soared over the last year as AI became the story of 2023. But in recent weeks, there's been a notable drop in those shares as growing tensions between the US and China cloud their outlook.

SÃO PAULO & MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 22, 2023--

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 19, 2023--

By Johan Ahlander and Tom Little MALMO (Reuters) -Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was found guilty of disobeying a police

Darren Till took to Twitter last month to reveal his harrowing story of suffering a massive financial loss as a result of cryptocurrency

TL;DR: As of August 20, get a refurbished Lenovo ThinkPad 11e and a lifetime license

Apple has unveiled the new iPhone 15 Pro, with an entirely new material. The new device will be made out of titanium, and rely on a host of new manufacturing processes. Its new material and design allows it to be the lightest Pro phone Apple has made, and includes the thinnest edges around the display. As well as the titanium, the new phone has the toughest glass-based material in the industry and an aluminium structure inside the phone, with the two materials joined in a new way that should make the phone extra strong, Apple said. The glass is now much easier to replace, Apple said. :: Follow our coverage of the Apple event here. It comes in two sizes, 6.1-inches and 6.7-inches. And it comes in four new colours: black, white, blue and a natural titanium. The titanium itself is a “grade five” alloy, Apple said, the same material used on the Mars rover. The new material also brings a new look, with a brushed texture on the side of the phone. As well as the new material, the iPhone 15 Pro brings a new customisable “action button” on the side of the phone, and an improved “A17 Pro” chip inside it. The action button replaces the mute switch on the side of the phone, and does the same job by default. But it can be changed to start voice memos, open the camera – or to start complex processes, by using Apple’s Shortcuts app. The new chip has “next-level performance”, Apple said, with improvements including dramatically improved graphics performance. Apple claimed the device is a “new chapter in iPhone performance”, and it focused particularly on the gaming performance that the new chip will allow. The iPhone 15 Pro has “the equivalent of seven camera lenses”, Apple said, even though it retains the three visible lenses on the back of the phone. That is partly because the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 5x optical zoom, by using the extra space in the bigger device as well as a “tetra prism” design that bounces light around in the phone. The new camera also has a new coating to reduce lens flare, and better performance in low light. Like the normal iPhone 15, it has a 48 megapixel camera but offers the option to merge that down into a 24 megapixel image, which Apple said should allow for better quality and high resolution images. Like its cheaper iPhone 15 sibling, the 15 Pro will also be the first phone to switch to a USB-C charging port to charge. In the Pro model, that allows for USB 3 speeds, Apple said. Read More Apple is changing the plug on the bottom of your iPhone Here is the iPhone 15 Apple to stop using leather in all new products

Did a Frito-Lay janitor really come up with the blockbuster snack? A new movie purports to tell the true story.

A software error coupled with a radar failure led to the loss of NASA's first Venus probe.