Editor Blogs

December 2023

Robotaxi Behemoth Cruise Experiences Near-Total Collapse

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Robotaxis might not materialize as quickly – or as completely – as originally projected. But really, is anyone surprised that autonomous service vehicles, with all their endemic red tape, controversy, and risk, would run into a perfect storm of delays and political wrangling? Autonomous vehicles, in general,

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Date:

12/26/2023

NTU Singapore

ERI@N Executive Director Prof Madhavi Srinivasan (left) and EtaVolt Co-Founder Stanley Wang (right), holding a smaller portable solar panel rejuvenation device

New Technology Rejuvinates Solar Panels

Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

One of the drawbacks of using solar energy is that the performance of the panels deteriorates over time. After around 25 years in operation, the degradation in performance can reach to over 10% of their output. Although it may take that long to become obvious, the degradation starts from installation, and ove

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Date:

12/20/2023

Tesla Model 3 Variants to Lose their Tax Subsidies

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

EV tax subsidies are about to change dramatically, and Tesla in particular will feel the squeeze. Starting in 2024, the Tesla Model 3 with rear-wheel drive and the all-wheel drive Long Range variant will no longer qualify for federal subsidies. Our “Final Thought” for the forthcoming January issue discusses this m

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Date:

12/18/2023

adobe

Offshore Wind Sale Could Potentially Power Over 2.2m homes

Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

Harnessing the power of offshore wind could go a long way to providing clean energy for our world. Offshore wind, especially in the deeper ocean, tends to be more regular and stronger than onshore and coastal generation, meaning that the power generated is more consistent, and with less downtime. However, it also tends

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Date:

12/14/2023

Texas Instruments

What you should know about V2G

Ally Winning, European Editor, PSD

V2G technology allows battery power from EVs to be harnessed to power homes or share stored energy with electric grids as demand rises. Semiconductor technology will be essential in the V2G rollout, driving electrification forward with new charging and battery-storage solutions. In this piece, Texas Instruments exp

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Date:

12/14/2023

Chinese EV Manufacturer to Spinoff Battery Division

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

Chinese multinational auto manufacturer Nio, which designs and develops EVs, batteries, and operates battery-swapping stations for its vehicles, is taking rather dramatic steps to reduce costs and become profitable – the Shanghai-based automakers plans to spin off its battery production division and is look

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Date:

12/11/2023

AI Tools Use as Much Energy as Charging your Smartphone

Jason Lomberg, North American Editor, PSD

In case you needed another reason to hate AI, apparently, it’s more of an energy hog than most realize. In fact, according to a study from Carnegie Mellon University, AI tools can use as much energy as charging your smartphone or driving 4.1 miles with a gas-powered vehicle. While the tech world (and social m

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Date:

12/04/2023