ZURICH (Reuters) – ABB (ABBN.S) will pay up to $470 million in charges and separation costs to hand over its solar inverter business to Italy’s FIMER SpA, the Swiss engineering company said on Tuesday. The business making solar inverters, which convert direct power from solar panels into alternating current that can be fed into the electricity grid, had sales of roughly $290 million in 2018. ABB said it expects to take an after-tax non-operational charge of roughly $430 million in… (Continua a leggere)

The Nagano Prefecture resort town of Karuizawa has long been associated with green, natural energy. Nestled in the mountains, Karuizawa has long attracted both Japanese and Westerners escaping the capital’s heat to recharge their batteries in the verdant outdoors ever since the 19th century. Recently, green energy has taken on a literal meaning, as Karuizawa and Nagano Prefecture seek to become environmental leaders. By promoting long-term renewable energy targets for the mid-21st century, Karuizawa aims to do its part to… (Continua a leggere)

China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation hopes to have its new maglev train in operation by 2021. Taking the train through China is about to get a lot more interesting—and about 100 mph faster. Late last week in Shandong province, state-owned rail company China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) unveiled the body prototype for its new high-speed magnetic-levitation (maglev) train, which it claims will reach an astonishing top speed of 373 miles (600 km) per hour. With a promised launch date of 2021, the company… (Continua a leggere)

Engineers have designed a scheme to let thousands of brain implants talk at up to 10 megabits per second Brain-computer interfaces have managed some amazing feats: allowing paralyzed people to type words and move a robot using only their minds, to name two examples. Brown University neuroengineering professor Arto Nurmikko has had a hand in some of those developments, but even he says the technology is at only a rudimentary stage—the equivalent of the computer understanding the brain’s intention to bend a single finger…. (Continua a leggere)

Dai catodi agli anodi, il riciclo batterie al litio punta al ripristino Novità sul fronte del riciclo batterie al litio. Un gruppo di ricercatori dell’Università della California, a San Diego, ha migliorato un processo in grado di “resuscitare” le unità esauste. Il gruppo, guidato dal professore di nanoingegneria Zheng Chen sta lavorando da tempo sulla rigenerazione dei catodi degradati (evitando dunque di dover smantellare completamente le batterie per ri-ottenere le singole materie prime). In una batteria agli ioni di litio a fine vita, infatti, il… (Continua a leggere)

John Hagel has nearly 35 years experience as a management consultant, author, speaker and entrepreneur and has helped companies improve their performance by effectively applying new generations of technology to reshape business strategies. He currently serves as co-chairman of the Silicon Valley-based Deloitte Center for the Edge, which conducts original research into emerging business opportunities that should be on the CEO agenda.   The fear that technology will take away jobs is justified. However, this could be used as an… (Continua a leggere)

Many American and European luxury managers still underestimate China. To many, China is just a large market with tremendous opportunity. Logistics is often seen as the primary challenge; thus, they focus on first- (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou) and second-tier cities (Tianjin, Nanjing, Fuzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan), servicing the rest of the country online, often through e-retailers such as Secoo, Mei.com, or Net-a-Porter, to name a few. What many brands forget, however, is probably the most important — consumers. In our experience, even some of… (Continua a leggere)

La sicurezza delle reti 5G è essenziale per l’autonomia strategica dell’Ue. Bene ha fatto quindi l’Italia a estendere il golden power anche all’infrastruttura. Esaminiamo cosa c’è in gioco, i motivi del contrasto Usa-Cina, il ruolo dell’Europa e la necessità di un maggiore confronto Ue-Nato uella che si sta giocando sulla tecnologia e le reti 5G è una partita dalle molteplici implicazioni, che ha preso le mosse da profili essenzialmente tecnici ed economici per assumere sempre più una dimensione di carattere politico e strategico…. (Continua a leggere)

Eni e Fca, nell’ambito dell’accordo firmato nel novembre 2017, hanno sviluppato congiuntamente il nuovo carburante “A20”, caratterizzato da un basso livello di emissioni in ragione del suo contenuto di alcoli: 15% di metanolo e 5% di bio-etanolo. Il nuovo carburante, grazie alla sua formulazione a basso contenuto carbonico, alla componente bio e all’elevato numero di ottano, permette risparmi sulle emissioni di CO2 fino al 3% allo scarico, quantificate utilizzando la nuova procedura di omologazione WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test… (Continua a leggere)

SHENZHEN/HONG KONG (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies, the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, reported a 25 percent jump in 2018 net profit, buoyed by a solid performance in its home market and a booming smartphone business. Shenzhen-based Huawei raked in a net profit of 59.3 billion yuan ($8.8 billion), compared to a 28 percent rise in 2017 and a big rebound from a 0.4 percent increase in 2016. The outlook for Huawei is clouded by U.S. accusations that its telecoms network… (Continua a leggere)