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Shapeshifting metals could greatly improve aircraft efficiency | Constructing aeroplane wings from metal that changes its shape could significantly improve the efficiency of flights. Airline industry engineers are examining the potential for replacing the heavy hydraulics and mechanical parts needed to move wing flaps with what is known as shape memory alloys. These would be up to 90% smaller and lighter than existing parts, helping to save on weight and fuel costs. The metals can be made to change their shape by subjecting them to changes in temperature, but technical problems of controlling the effect remain, given the extreme changes in temperature that take place in flight.
| https://www.wired.com/story/shape-memory-alloys/ | 2017-12-04 13:31:43.157000 | Humanity may be divided on a great many issues, but most would agree that it would be very cool to have airplane wings made of shapeshifting metal. The geometry of those fabulous foils affects virtually every aspect of flight, and making them from metal that can change its shape in midair could make your journey smoother, safer, and more efficient.
Shapeshifting wings aren't new. The Wright brothers flew over the North Carolina sand dunes using a hip brace and wires to warp the Flyer’s cloth-and-wood wings. Modern aircraft achieve the same results—OK, much better results—with mechanically driven flaps, slats, ailerons, spoilers, elevators, and rudders.
“If you look at conventional aircraft technology, you have so many moving parts,” says Othmane Benafan, an engineer at NASA's Glenn Research Center. Those moving parts are essential—they are how pilots steer, reduce turbulence, take off, land, and basically do everything else besides glide aimlessly. But the actuators, cables, motors, lubricant, hydraulic gear, and other bits needed move those parts around take up weight and space—precious resources on any aircraft.
The alternative is to move those wing parts using shapeshifting metals. Or, as they’re known to engineers, shape memory alloys. “Parts made from shape memory alloys are typically 10 to 20 percent the size and weight of a conventional part,” says Jim Mabe, a shape memory alloy guru at Boeing. For an industry that spent $133 billion on fuel last year, anything smaller and lighter is exciting news.
Shape memory alloys are essentially reversible Shrinky Dinks. When heated to certain temperatures, they shrink, twist, and bend. Cool them off, and they return to their original shape. Hot, cold, hot—shape memory alloys can cycle back and forth millions of times without wearing out. All you need is the ability to generate heat or pull it from some other, already spicy hot part of the plane, like the engine.
Aircraft makers, researchers, and government agencies like NASA can use these metals to do more than just reduce fuel bills. Shape memory alloys can also be used to add moving parts to a plane, doing things that would cost too much in size and weight using conventional mechanics. For instance, quieting a jet engine's roar. Temperature activated fold-up wings would allow aircraft carriers to cram more fighters on deck. This tech might even quell sonic booms, opening the door to the revival of supersonic passenger jets like the Concorde.
Down Shape Memory Lane
Shape memory alloys were developed in the aerospace field, though not for flight, per se. In 1959, at the Naval Ordnance1 Laboratory, a researcher named William Buehler was developing materials for intercontinental ballistic missile nose cones that could endure the extreme temperatures and pressures of doing missile stuff like flying to the edge of space, then reentering the atmosphere. Buehler came up with an alloy of nickel and titanium that was not only strong and fatigue resistant but also super malleable at high temperatures. He discovered the alloy’s most surprising feature by purposely dropping bars of the stuff on his shop floor and listening to the thuds. (I know, these are the kinds of stories people should be telling STEM-shy kids.)
The cool bars made a very different noise than the bars still warm from the furnace, indicating to Buehler that the molecules could be in different orientations at different temperatures—not a common property of metals. Later one of his colleagues held his lighter under an accordion-like strip of the alloy. To everyone’s surprise it completely unfolded, indicating that the heated molecules were doing more than just expanding in response to the heat; they were completely changing the orientation of their bonds. These alloys change phase, but not from, say, solid to liquid. They’re changing from one solid phase to another—like ice turning into a different kind of ice. |
Facebook moves marketers to main Audience Insights service | Facebook has said it will close its Audience Insights application programming interface by the end of the year, with the social vendors that used it being transferred to a different version of Audience Insights, which supplies data directly to marketers. The decision has divided advertisers, with some suspicious that the alternative version of Audience Insights, which has no intermediary, raises issues of unvetted metrics. Audience Insights aggregates user data in areas such as demographic, education, working life and location, and observers have suggested the restructure of Audience Insights will form part of an effort to find new revenue streams.
| http://www.adweek.com/digital/facebook-is-shutting-down-its-api-that-marketers-lean-on-for-research/#/ | 2017-12-04 13:22:29.727000 | Facebook has long held a tight grip on what data advertisers can and cannot access. Now, it’s pulling some of the reins away from social media vendors as it shutters its Audience Insight API.
This week, Facebook quietly shut down its research tool, which allowed social vendors including Spredfast to build billion-dollar businesses by tapping into the social network’s firehose of data and crunch vast amounts of user information for marketers.
Audience Insights digs up aggregated demographic, interest and lifestyle data, including age, education levels, job titles, hobbies, family size, income and location. |
UK walking and cycling targets could save 13,000 lives per year | Over 13,000 lives and almost £10bn ($13.5bn) could be saved over the next decade if the UK can achieve government cycling and walking targets for England and Scotland, according to research by transport charity Sustrans and environmental consultancy Eunomia. The study shows that cycling and walking could have a huge impact on reducing air pollution in the UK, which contributes to 40,000 premature deaths in the country each year. The UK government is currently being taken to court for the third time in relation to toxic air levels in the country’s cities, primarily due to emissions from diesel vehicles.
| https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/04/death-air-pollution-cut-if-uk-hits-walking-and-cycling-targets | 2017-12-04 13:07:33.263000 | If the UK hits government targets for walking and cycling more than 13,000 lives and almost £10bn would be saved over the next decade, according to a new report.
The study from the transport charity Sustrans has found that meeting government plans in England and Scotland for an increase in walking or cycling would reduce deaths from air pollution by more than 13,000 in the next 10 years. It would also save almost £9.31bn.
Xavier Brice, CEO for Sustrans, said that at a time when road transport is “responsible for the majority of air quality limit breaches in the UK” it has never been more important to reduce the number of “motorised vehicles on our roads”.
“The new findings reiterate that walking and cycling have a huge role to play in tackling the air quality crisis that causes tens of thousands of premature deaths every year. If we are to make a major modal shift, we need to provide a network of direct protected cycle routes on roads in addition to quieter routes across the UK.”
Air pollution contributes to around 40,000 premature deaths a year in the UK. The government is being taken to court for a third time over the levels of toxic air in cities across the UK caused by nitrogen dioxide, mainly from diesel vehicles. Many towns and cities are now also failing WHO guidelines for the most damaging type of air pollution known as PM2.5, 45% of which comes from car tyre and brake wear and would not be reduced by a move to electric vehicles.
A report last month revealed that every area in London exceeds World Health Organisation limits for PM2.5.
Brice said: “We are urging governments at all levels to include funding for walking and cycling infrastructure in their clean air plans and the UK government to prioritise investment in active travel as part of wider urgent action to make air safe again.”
Sustrans, in partnership with the environmental consultancy Eunomia, found that if targets to double journeys by bike and increase walking by “300 stages per person” in the England’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy were met, this would prevent more than 8,300 premature deaths from air pollution. This would result in £5.67bn in benefits over 10 years through the avoided costs associated with poor air quality, including NHS treatment in hospital for respiratory diseases.
Equally, if the aim of 10% of everyday journeys to be taken by bike set out in Scotland’s Cycling Action Plan was realised, it would save nearly 4,000 premature deaths and £3.64bn.
Sustran said the gains would be even bigger if wider benefits to health and wellbeing from increased physical activity were included.
Twenty-nine local authorities in England that are breaking legal air quality limits now have to pull together clean air plans by November next year.
Ann Ballinger, an air quality expert at Eunomia, said: “This is the first time that Sustrans’s data has been used alongside public health data to understand what impacts walking and cycling schemes have on an individual’s exposure to air pollution.
“Our analysis suggests investment in cycling and walking has considerable potential to improve local air pollution. We believe this innovative model could be of considerable value in supporting local authorities and government as these bodies consider options to tackle the air pollution emergency at a local level.”
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P&G's Gillette targets students in Malaysian careers app | Procter & Gamble (P&G) brand Gillette is partnering with the Malaysian Youth Community in the MYR2.4m ($590,000) P&G First Real Job and Ideas marketing campaign aimed at the nation's students. Using the MYC! Digital Student News and Income app, P&G offers Malaysian university students a platform where they can share news and ideas, as well as post reviews of products and construct a digital reputation via micro jobs. P&G said the programme supports the "self-customisation of career paths".
| http://www.marketing-interactive.com/pg-gillette-invests-rm2-4m-to-groom-malaysian-millennials-for-the-future/ | 2017-12-04 13:05:43.693000 | P&G Gillette is forking out RM2.4 million on its digital innovation in marketing towards Malaysian Millennials via its P&G First Real Job and Ideas campaign which runs in both 2017 and 2018. The programme which partnered the Malaysian Youth Community (MYC), aims to be a one stop connection with Malaysian universities through the mobile app called, MYC! Digital Student News and Income (MYC! mobile app).The collaboration centres around the Millennials oriented, MYC! mobile app which is a news, ideas and digital reputation platform. It also aims to enable young Malaysians to start gathering and sharing news, as well as, to start building their digital reputation.Youths can take part in student jobs (gig economy) and build their reputation digitally, via providing peer reviews of brands and employers; and in turn receive cumulative ratings given by different employers. The platform enables an open market review of individual youth work attitudes, where their resume or digital reputation is built through micro jobs with real employers.The brand said this benchmark program has enabled many innovative milestones for marketing and consumer empowerment, such as the first marketing program to track mass consumer trials nationwide. This includes knowing each individual consumer in a mass scale setting and re-engaging these consumer with personalised offers as part of the ongoing Millennials community.P&G Gillette added that this is in support of the coming age of the self-customisation of career paths, wish to connect and hear from young Malaysians in universities on how they define their first real job or first real ideas via this campaign. Millennials are currently the most vocal participants in developed economies via their social media and knowledge economy involvement.Meanwhile, the first 100,000 Malaysian university young men that participate will receive a first real job grooming kit in the form of a Gillette Mach 3 razor kit. Utkrash Mohan, brand operations head of P&G Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, said “Gillette has always been at the forefront of innovation to empower our consumers around the world to achieve their best look so they can feel confident. It is this belief that has led us to partner with MYC for the second year in a row on the ‘First Real Job’ program to groom and bring the students one step closer to career-readiness."In 2016, Mohan said, the brand reached out to 50,000 young men in universities throughout Malaysia. This year, its objective is "to touch and improve the lives of 100,000 young Malaysian men in the form of a free Gillette Mach 3 razor kit to ensure they look and feel their best to kick-start their career”.Young Malaysian women will receive other supporting grooming gifts contributed by partners who have engaged and joined in the program.MYC!'s CEO Jason Ko (pictured, fourth from right) said, “Through MYC! app, a student news and lifestyle income application, Malaysian students will be able to participate in a two-way information transaction, by submitting their first real ideas, share peer to peer product reviews, youth news and also participate in student micro jobs. The platform is based on the principle of crowd sharing to create a better millennial economy of the future.”The MYC! App and website is essentially a student lifestyle media and information hub that enables and empowers student income and lifestyle; with information such as student news trends, ideas, internships, scholarships, student income opportunities and more. All these useful information are delivered to Malaysian students by their chosen fields of studies or interest or by university, where possible.P&G recently announced in April 2017, that it would be investing in over US$100 Million (over RM410 million) over the next five years via its E-Center, the first of its kind outside the United States. The E-Center will be pivotal to the company’s undertaking of end-to-end digital innovation across three core areas: supply chain management, e-analytics and e-business. |
Fintech innovation hub ALL Work & Social opens in Manchester | Flexible office space provider Allied London has launched XYZ Works & Social in Manchester under its ALL Works & Social brand. Described by Allied London’s Michael Ingall as an "independent and boutique space", the location, which includes a dedicated fintech area called the Vault, is aimed at technology and digital disrupters in the city. Ingall said the workspace offered four types of membership, from the ground-floor lounge to private studio membership. Allied plans to open more sites in Manchester and Leeds. | https://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/news/digital/2017/11/all-work-and-social-workspace-launches-digital-and-fintech-disrupters | 2017-12-04 12:51:33.003000 | The first venue from ALL Work & Social launched in Manchester last night, with plans for further workspaces to open in Leeds and Manchester.
Aimed at tech and digital disrupters, they’ve been described as “modern-day social clubs” with co-working spaces, events facilities and hospitality.
XYZ Works & Social is the first development, founded by Allied London’s Michael Ingall, he described its ethos as "an independent and boutique space that will uniquely connect all its members to each other, businesses on Spinningfields and the wider Manchester community.”
“We all work in a very different, more social way now, and it will continue to change rapidly over the coming few years,” added Allied’s group property director, Chris Reay.
“We are accepting members on 4 simple membership levels; social member of our lounge on the ground floor, social member of our hub on level 1, a resident desk membership or a private studio membership. Members can choose what suits them best, it’s easy to sign up and they’re not tied into a long contract.
“Members will have access to our events campaign, discounts, VIP treatment and our app which will allow profiles, social feed, meeting room bookings, coffee orders and events bookings."
The venue features “The Vault” which will be a dedicated fintech space. There will also be hot-desking, private suites and fixed desks. Finally a Level 7 Members Club, which will have dedicated onsite catering. |
Breakthrough creates ammonia with 60% yield at room temperatures | In a potentially highly significant development, scientists at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia have developed an ionic liquid-based way to produce ammonia from nitrogen gas, with a yield of 60% and a sole by-product of hydrogen. Doug MacFarlane of the university revealed the key to the room temperature and pressure process was the use of hydrophobic ionic liquids that did not produce water, and said: “Ammonia can be used directly as a fuel or cracked back into nitrogen and hydrogen for use in fuel cells". | https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/ionic-liquids-yield-ammonia-under-ambient-conditions/3008338.article | 2017-12-04 12:31:43.157000 | Scientists in Australia have produced ammonia in up to 60% yield at room temperature and pressure by electrochemically reducing nitrogen gas from the atmosphere in ionic liquids. This technique improves on previous approaches to nitrogen reduction, with exciting prospects for renewable energy.
As a key source of fertilisers, ammonia is one of the most important chemicals worldwide. Its use as an easily transportable energy store and source of hydrogen for renewable energy is also gaining traction. For over a century, ammonia has been industrially synthesised by the Haber–Bosch process. But this is energy intensive, requiring high temperature and pressure, and produces around 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions. A sustainable alternative would solve lots of problems.
Electrochemically reducing N 2 to NH 3 is a possibility. Although scientists have investigated various electrodes, catalysts and conditions, their current-conversion (or faradaic) efficiencies are impractically low: less than 7% for processes involving ambient conditions. In 2014, Stuart Licht’s team at George Washington University in the US reported a way to produce ammonia directly from electricity, air and steam with an efficiency of 35%, but this involved steam in a molten hydroxide electrolyte and temperatures of 200–250°C.
Now, Doug MacFarlane’s team at Monash University has almost doubled this. Key to the success of their method is the use of certain hydrophobic ionic liquids that have very high solubility for nitrogen, but do not absorb much water. This is important in preventing the preferential reduction of water to hydrogen that occurs in the same region of potential. Typical electrolytes with a much higher aqueous content and limited solubility for nitrogen are adversely affected by this competing process. That is not to say that the ionic liquid-based approach does not produce hydrogen: it is in fact the only byproduct.
MacFarlane thinks the significance of their process is enormous: ‘Ammonia is readily transportable and can be used directly as a fuel, or cracked back into nitrogen and hydrogen for use in fuel cells.’ The hydrogen also represents a form of stored energy and MacFarlane says it is important to consider how they can separate and use the byproduct productively.
Joshua McEnaney, part of Jens Nørskov’s group at Stanford University in the US that recently reported an alternative route to ammonia production centred around a lithium cycling strategy, finds the high efficiency and mild conditions encouraging. ‘It will inspire researchers to continue to build upon the efficiencies and yields of this work and related systems,’ he says. |
Xiaomi follows Huawei by incorporating AI into its smartphones | Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has announced plans to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) technology into its smartphones as of next year. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun made the announcement at a conference in Wuzhen, revealing that the company would make AI its focus over the next 10 years. He also expressed the belief that many internet companies will transition into AI companies in the near future. The news follows Huawei's announcement that it will make use of AI in its forthcoming designs.
| https://www.gizmochina.com/2017/12/04/xiaomis-focus-ai-new-products-ai-will-hit-market-next-year/ | 2017-12-04 12:17:22.563000 | The tech industry is replete with concepts and prototypes as well as real products utilizing Artificial Intelligence for various purposes. The smartphone industry has been the latest port of call with Huawei releasing its 2017 flagship Mate 10 models as well as the Huawei V10 with an AI chip. Xiaomi has now revealed that it plans to incorporate AI technology into its smartphones as from next year. The disclosure was made by CEO Lei Jun during a speech delivered at the 4th World Internet Conference held today in Wuzhen, China.
Lei Jun’s was reportedly titled “Opportunities for Xiaomi in the AI Age.” During the speech, the Xiaomi CEO stated that in the next 10 years, the company’s core strategy would focus on Artificial Intelligence. He also disclosed that the next generation of Xiami phones expected to be released in 2018 will incorporate Artificial Intelligence. However, no specific time frame was revealed as to when the AI smartphones would start launching. But the tech giant is expected to debut with the Xiaomi Mi 7 packing a Snapdragon 845 chip in the early part of next year. The flagship Mi 7 could very well feature the technology as it would most likely be featured first on a flagship model.
Read Also: Xiaomi Enters The Smart Speaker Race With The Mi AI Speaker
Xiaomi first released an AI product in July with the launch of the Mi AI Speaker. The company is in an advantaged position to develop its AI technology as it already has a vast smart IoT platform and the global user base of the MIUI ROM keeps growing, presently said to have exceeded 300 million users. Xiaomi’s cloud service is also said to house over 200PB data. Lei Jun sees internet companies becoming Artificial Intelligence companies in the near future and so believes Xiaomi should actively embrace AI technology now.
(source) |
Redrow Show home unveiled for 59-flat Chiswick development | Redrow has opened a show home for a 59-apartment development it's building on the site of a 1960s office block at 500 Chiswick High Road in west London. The development will include seven penthouses and five townhouses. The three-bedroom show apartment was designed by interior design company Hatch Interiors.
| http://www.chiswickw4.com/default.asp?section=property&page=conchr500showflat.htm | 2017-12-04 11:50:54.937000 | Welcome to ChiswickW4.com
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Washington State Democrats seek a carbon tax | The US state of Washington may introduce a carbon tax after Democrats took control of the State's Senate during recent elections. A number of other states have proposed similar measures, but none have been successfully implemented, owing to a lack of legislative or public support. However, the Trump administration's removal of support for carbon reduction agreements has shifted the debate and made passing such measures more likely. The Washington State proposal hasn't been finalised, but proceeds would be likely to be applied to support renewable energy sources and infrastructure.
| https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609560/surge-of-carbon-pricing-proposals-coming-in-the-new-year/ | 2017-12-04 11:46:23.530000 | Washington is just one of a growing number of states poised to introduce or advance new, stricter, or more expansive carbon fees or cap-and-trade programs in upcoming legislative sessions. Collectively, the measures could help to cut U.S. emissions by at least hundreds of millions of tons in the next decade, and provide critical counterpressure on the Trump administration’s efforts to unravel climate efforts like the Paris accords and Clean Power Plan (see “Exiting Paris, Trump Cedes Global Leadership on Climate Change”).
Some of these same states and legislators have proposed similar programs before, only to see them fail for lack of legislative or public support. But the White House’s regressive environmental policies, Democratic gains in the November election, and shifting public sentiments have improved “the prospects for actually passing some of these,” says Michael Wara, senior research scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.
Among other pending or forthcoming proposals:
In Massachusetts, which is under a judicial order to increase emissions reductions, Mike Barrett, a state senator, introduced a carbon pricing proposal in the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, which must make final recommendations on bills by February. Barrett’s measure would eventually charge $40 per metric ton of carbon emissions or equivalent pollution, but return all of the funds to citizens and businesses through subsequent tax rebates. It exempts the electricity industry, since that’s already covered under the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program that includes nine eastern states.
Meanwhile, Massachusetts state representative Jennifer Benson introduced a carbon pricing proposal in the House that would also eventually charge both consumers and business a fee of $40 per ton of carbon emissions. The measure would return the vast majority of the funds to individuals and employers through rebates, but set aside around 20 percent for climate mitigation and adaptation measures.
Legislators in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont have also been considering carbon tax bills.
In August, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative announced a draft plan to cut emissions another 30 percent between 2020 and 2030. That would eliminate at least an additional 130 million tons of carbon pollution.
New Jersey’s newly elected Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, has pledged to “immediately restore New Jersey’s place in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.” Governor Chris Christie withdrew the state from the initiative in 2011.
State regulators in Virginia also approved an emissions reduction proposal that would allow the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
At the recent United Nations climate talks in Bonn, Germany, most of the RGGI member states and Washington, D.C., announced a similar regional carbon pricing effort to cut emissions from the transportation industry.
This summer, several dozen legislators in Oregon introduced a statewide cap-and-trade program set to be heard in the 2018 legislative session. As proposed, it would be one of the few U.S. cap-and-trade programs to encompass sectors of the economy beyond the electricity industry. The system, which will apply to any entity that emits more than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide or equivalent pollution per year, would feature an auction floor that ticks up over time coupled with emissions caps that steadily tighten.
Also this summer, California passed a law to extend its cap-and-trade program, which was to set to expire in 2020. The state had already linked its carbon market with Quebec’s, and Ontario officials said in April that the province will join as well. Meanwhile, Governor Jerry Brown has also discussed connecting California’s market with those of the European Union and China, which plans to roll out the world’s largest carbon market in the months ahead.
Many economists, including some prominent conservatives, argue that market-based mechanisms like cap-and-trade or carbon taxes are among the most effective means of lowering greenhouse-gas emissions.
Cap-and-trade systems allow companies to bid on a limited number of allowances for generating greenhouse gases, which decrease over time to reduce total emissions. Carbon taxes are direct fees levied on carbon-based products. In both cases, the impact can spill over to consumers in the form of higher prices. But the raised funds are generally funneled back to citizens, invested in climate projects, or spent on other government programs (see “Canada Moves Ahead on Carbon Taxes, Leaving the U.S. Behind”).
There are various trade-offs. Cap-and-trade programs create more certainty about the level of emissions cuts that will be achieved over time. Carbon taxes offer greater clarity about the price companies will have to pay, and are generally cheaper and simpler to administer.
Regardless of the particular approach, climate and energy observers say it’s encouraging to see so much gathering momentum at the state level, stressing that the measures provide crucial benefits beyond local boundaries. |
'Internet of everything' is central to more efficient oil rigs | The oil and gas industry needs to adopt digitisation and the internet of everything in order to explore new growth areas and revenue streams, according to Olav Sylthe of Xvision Software. The use of interconnected "people, process, data and things" across the entire value chain would help oil and gas businesses, which have been slow to adopt digitisation, to improve efficiency, reduce costs and streamline projects. | https://www.epmag.com/digitalization-new-era-offshore-operations-1671596#p=full | 2017-12-04 11:17:05.377000 | Digitalization is emerging as a technological driver of change around the world and provides businesses with abundant opportunities for growth and monetary gain. While industries like manufacturing and healthcare have taken the digitalization world by storm, the oil and gas industry has been remarkably slow to adopt this new way of thinking.
It is true that oil and gas has been “digitalized” for some time. True digital transformation, however, now requires adoption of the Internet of Everything (IoE)— the networked connection of people, process, data and things—throughout the value chain.
Most of today’s digital initiatives in oil and gas are incremental rather than disruptive. Some offshore operators are taking a step forward to make improvements in technical or operational capabilities, but many are not fully embracing the power digitalization can provide. Numerous benefits such as increased cost savings and significant improvements in collaboration, productivity, maintenance and revenue can be realized through digitalization if more offshore operators would take the technological plunge.
According to a January report by Accenture on digitalization in the oil and gas industry, the primary barriers to change or adoption include:
Regulatory frameworks that are struggling to adapt to a new era of data sharing along value chains;
A lack of standardization in data coming from sensors;
An inability to share information across the ecosystem; and
The challenge of recruiting millennials to replace an aging workforce.
Digital collaboration technologies provide oil and gas companies, and specifically offshore engineers, a multitude of benefits. These include the ability to digitalize workflow and planning processes; optimize decisions between experts, disciplines and companies involved in the life of field perspective; and visually identify operational activities and maintenance events once projects are online.
Through digitalization, all offshore field projects can be easily understandable through online 2-D/3-D visualizations rapidly created or replicated using existing field layouts with a 3-D asset library and immediately monitored and reported to real-time operating levels. It also can offer an instant view of the cost consequences due to a required action or change to a field.
For offshore operators subsea and topside assets are their most valuable players. The foundation of these structures comprises years of knowledge, engineering talent and commitment. The technology-savvy world is moving to a digital environment. For the oil and gas industry to respond to this trend, offshore assets must reside there too. Offshore operations will dramatically change when oil and gas companies embrace and upgrade their digital capabilities, thus improving the way they collaborate with and connect new data insights to their operating models.
Real-world results
An independent European oil and gas operator was looking to exploit the Norwegian Shelf in the North Sea. It aimed to reduce costs by using already existing infrastructure in a neighboring oil field and had appointed an engineering firm to install a cable along the seafl oor.
Collaboration meant having to work across multiple disciplines and languages. This increased the complexity of communications, decision-making and project management, all of which could lengthen the delivery timescale. For example, each company used a different type of planning software, with Gantt charts provided as the basis for project discussions. But it was almost impossible to get diverse teams of operations personnel, managers and budget holders on the same page.
The operator turned to a specialist in 3-D visualizations and software development for major subsea and offshore engineering companies to find a solution. The digital collaboration platform created by the third-party expert brought all project data—assets and activities, both subsea and topside—online and into plain sight through an easy-to-understand visualization.
The collaboration platform complemented the use of Gantt charts, which are still maintained to plan activities. The intuitive interface presented all of the project data as an animated time line, with a customizable set of information layers. Users could navigate to a snapshot of the project for any date using a simple slider and toggle information layers as required.
The platform has matured to support the entire process of offshore and subsea installations, from planning and feasibility to preparation and actual operations. It gave users a simplified view of activities being carried out offshore along with the status of vessels, rigs and installations.
According to the operator, the digital collaboration platform simplified the business of understanding with what was already there and what had yet to be installed at any point. It presented the field layout graphically, with vessels, trenching, production, rock tumblers and pipe information layers that could be switched on and off, depending on the remit. Further, by using the digital platform, the operator successfully collaborated with all parties as one team, accelerated its project time line by 30% and incurred only minor errors and low periods of downtime.
The benefits are undeniable when digital technologies are implemented across the oil and gas industry, regardless of current oil prices. These include:
• Return on investment: Digital collaboration tools are easy to integrate and train employees on and are capable of accelerating project time lines by up to 80%, especially during the early concept and FEED phases. Once the project data are centralized and visualized, they can then be leveraged across the organization for collaboration in fl uid analysis, operational data gathering, maintenance and decommissioning planning. These time savings can drive cost savings as high as 70% across a project’s life cycle;
• Simplified collaboration: By providing a unified view of the project, digital collaboration tools simplify multilanguage cross-disciplinary communications. This reduces the opportunity for misunderstandings and scheduling confl icts and supports knowledge transfer, collaboration and creative problem-solving;
• Better decision-making: The solution enables activities to be tracked against the project plan and any deviation easily measured. The ability to perform “what-if” analysis allows the outcome of decisions to be modeled in a riskfree environment before taking action in the field; and
• Reduced risk: Increased visibility allows a safety zone to be established around the installation to enable compliance with health and safety requirements. Vessels are prohibited from entering or remaining in the zone at specified points of the project.
Digitalization has the potential to create tremendous value for both the industry and society as a whole. However, for oil and gas such a transformation will require organizations to implement a focused digital strategy championed by the C-suite, executive teams and IT leaders to create a culture of innovation and technology adoption. It also will need investment and commitment to revisit, renew and upgrade current processes, infrastructure and systems and a willingness to share and collaborate across the ecosystem. All the aforementioned needs will be required for a successful digital transformation for the oil and gas industry to truly realize the power and potential digitalization provides.
Have a story idea for Offshore Solutions? This feature highlights technologies and techniques that are helping offshore players overcome their operating challenges. Submit your story ideas to Group Managing Editor Jo Ann Davy at jdavy@ hartenergy.com. |
US claims DJI commercial drones may be Chinese spies in the skies | A leading Chinese manufacturer of aerial drones has been accused of providing sensitive data about the US to Beijing. A memo from customs officials in Los Angeles expressed "moderate confidence" that commercial drones produced by Da Jiang Innovations Science and Technology (DJI) were providing "critical infrastructure and law enforcement data" from the US to Chinese authorities. The drones have the capacity to store data and back it up to the company's servers, where user agreements mean it can be transferred across borders. DJI says the claims are false and misleading.
| https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/29/technology/dji-china-data-drones.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ftechnology | 2017-12-04 11:07:52.350000 | SHANGHAI — D.J.I., the popular drone maker, stands as a symbol of China’s growing technology prowess. Its propeller-powered machines dominate global markets and buzz regularly over beaches, cityscapes at sunset and increasingly, power plants and government installations.
Now D.J.I. is fighting a claim by one United States government office that its commercial drones and software may be sending sensitive information about American infrastructure back to China, in the latest clash over the power of data in the growing technological rivalry between the two countries. It also shows how consumer technology companies have become increasingly central to debates about national security.
The company, formally named Da Jiang Innovations Science and Technology Company, put out a statement this month contesting the allegations made in a dispatch from United States customs officials. The memo, from the Los Angeles office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau, was dated in August but had begun to circulate online more recently.
It said officials had “moderate confidence” that the D.J.I.’s commercial drones and software are “providing U.S. critical infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese government.” It cited what it called a reliable source, who it did not identify, in the drone industry “with first and secondhand access.” |
Regus Regus plans to open 19,000 sq ft location in Miami | Flexible office space provider Regus will open two more locations in south Florida, with several more to follow, according to Jeff Doughman, the executive vice-president of North American field operations. Regus will open a 19,000 sq ft Spaces centre at the under-construction 2 MiamiCentral, set to open in early 2018, and has pre-leased 24,000 sq ft of the eight-storey Cube Wynwyd site. Regus has 37 premises in south Florida.
| https://therealdeal.com/miami/2017/12/01/regus-parent-to-open-shared-office-spaces-in-south-florida/ | 2017-12-04 10:59:07.617000 | The parent company of executive office provider Regus plans to bring its shared office concept, called Spaces, to South Florida starting in Miami, a Regus executive told The Real Deal.
Regus’ Jeff Doughman, said Spaces plans to open multiple locations in South Florida “from West Palm Beach/Boca Raton on south.” The parent company of Spaces and Regus is IWG plc, a multinational company formerly known as Regus.
Spaces plans to open a 19,000-square-foot location at 2 MiamiCentral, a 190,000-square-foot office building under construction in downtown Miami near the site of a passenger train station that will be built for the planned Brightline rail service. Construction of 2 MiamiCentral is expected to be finished early next year.
Spaces also just preleased almost 24,000 square feet at Cube Wynwyd, an eight-story office building planned at 222 Northwest 24th Street. RedSky Capital landed an $18.27 million construction loan for the building, designed with almost 80,000 square feet of office space and about 11,400 square feet of retail space.
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Doughman said Spaces locations have sleek, open designs and a larger percentage of shared office space and lounge space than Regus locations, which have more private office space.
Though Regus is well known for providing private offices with flexible terms, “we’ve had co-working spaces for years,” Doughman said. Co-working space rates at Regus locations start at $75 to $100 a month.
Doughman said there are 37 Regus locations in South Florida, including five that have opened since late 2016 in Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Beach, Jupiter, Fort Lauderdale and Aventura. |
Warm weather could degrade 5G by over 15% | Solar radio emissions could interfere with 5G cellular transmissions, according to a study led by Ahmed Sulyman, associate professor of electrical engineering at Embry-Riddle. The study found that the integrity of 5G transmissions we negatively affected by as much as 15.6% in bright sunlight. The team carried out tests indoors, at night, and in two sunny outdoors locations in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia.
| https://phys.org/news/2017-11-hot-sunny-days-5g-networks.html | 2017-12-04 10:58:58.847000 | Future 5G cellular systems, including backhaul links and device-to-device connections, could be affected by solar ray emissions, Embry-Riddle research suggests. Credit: Ahmed Sulyman/Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Hot, sunny weather could degrade future fifth-generation or "5G" cellular transmissions by more than 15%—which could mean more dropped calls in places like Florida and the Middle East—but an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University engineer says research will guide solutions.
Forthcoming 5G cellular systems could support applications requiring ultra-fast processing speeds by tapping into super-high frequency radio waves, which would offer 10 to 100 times more computing space than today's 4G cellular systems.
But, how would bright sunshine affect such high-speed transmissions?
To answer this question, Ahmed Sulyman, an associate professor in Embry-Riddle's Prescott, Ariz.-based Department of Computer, Electrical, & Software Engineering, teamed up with colleagues in Saudi Arabia to publish the first comprehensive analysis of solar radio emissions on land-based wireless communications systems at 60 Gigahertz (GHz) bands.
Sulyman's study appears in a special edition of the peer-reviewed journal IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (Volume: 65, Issue 12, Dec. 2017, pp. 6624-6635).
The conclusion? Future 5G cellular systems using 60 GHz bands might work better at night because solar radio emissions seem to degrade such transmissions. "This suggests there could be more dropped calls and lost data transmission, and the data rate could be lower during the day compared to nighttime," said Sulyman.
He added, however, that effective communication links at 60 GHz are possible at distances up to 134 meters indoors, and up to 110 meters outdoors, even in hilly, dense urban areas—particularly if antennas are pointed toward each other.
"Engineers can always work around problems if they understand them properly," said Sulyman, a Senior Member of IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organization. "Once we understand the exact nature of solar radio interference on 5G networks, we can plan for it by optimizing links for day-time and night-time operations."
He noted that satellite televisions work well during the day and at night because planners offset any transmission degradation so seamlessly that consumers never know the difference. Similarly, he said, continuing studies of how bright sunshine affects 5G networks will help developers make better decisions to support those systems, too, he said: "These results will help 5G cellular network planners to prepare appropriate link budgets when deploying 60 GHz radio outdoors in extremely hot and sunny weather."
First-generation cellular systems were introduced in 1982, and each subsequent generation of the technology has tended to require about 10 years of development. Rollout of 5G wireless digital systems could happen in the 2020s or sooner, Sulyman said. New 5G standards should be developed in 2019, during the World Radiocommunication Conference.
If 5G systems could make use of extremely high-frequency radio waves—characterized by millimeter-length bands (30- to 300 GHz)—users would benefit from much faster data-access speeds and "nomadic" service that functions much like Wi-Fi, untethered from transmission towers.
As a cost-saving measure, telecommunications developers have been looking at transmissions in the unlicensed 5 GHz and 60 GHz bands. Transmissions in this range would provide cellular operators with an appealing business option in areas not profitable enough to justify more expensive licensed bands.
Currently, most 4G LTE networks make it possible to download a full-length high-definition movie in about five to ten minutes. Future 5G technology would offer much higher speeds. But there could be drawbacks to using higher-frequency radio waves, which have shorter transmission ranges shorter transmission ranges that can be blocked by buildings and weakened by atmospheric conditions.
For his study, Sulyman and colleagues looked at how solar radio emissions would affect 60 GHz communication, in various system configurations such as line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight setups. First they configured an indoor experiment in order to determine the "path loss exponent" or PLE - a measure of transmission degradation - resulting from solar radio emissions. Then, they compared those results with measurements gathered at two sunny outdoor locations in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia - a hilly region with high-rise buildings and vegetation, and similar terrain with very little vegetation. In hot and sunny weather, PLE values increased by 9.0 to 15.6%, compared to measurements captured at night in cool, clear weather. In other words, the integrity of transmissions were negatively affected by strong sunshine.
Sulyman's journal article in IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, "Effectives of Solar Radio Emissions on Outdoor Propagation Path Loss Models at 60 GHz bands for Access/backhaul links and D2D communications," was co-authored by Hussein Seleem, Abdulmalik Alwarafy, Khaled Humadi and Abdulhameed Alsanie of King Saud University.
In June 2017, Sulyman published another paper in IEEE Wireless Communications, describing a novel architectural approach to bridging Internet-based "Internet of Things" networks with cellular based systems. Sulyman, who is a senior member of IEEE, joined Embry-Riddle's Prescott Campus in February 2017, having previously taught in Saudi Arabia.
More information: Ahmed Iyanda Sulyman et al, Effects of Solar Radio Emissions on Outdoor Propagation Path Loss Models at 60 GHz bands for Access/backhaul links and D2D communications, IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation (2017). DOI: 10.1109/TAP.2017.2759959 Journal information: IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation
Provided by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University |
Japanese train successfully demos 5G at 60 mph | Samsung and Japanese rail operator KDDI have successfully demonstrated a 5G test on a train travelling at 100 km/h (over 60 mph). The test, which was carried out on a one-mile stretch of track in Japan, relied on two fixed wireless points running Samsung technology and KDDI's network backhaul. The result was a "5G uplink and downlink handover" with a peak speed of 1.7 gigabits per second, according to Samsung. | https://techxplore.com/news/2017-12-5g-demo-japan.html | 2017-12-04 10:56:18.840000 | Credit: Samsung
(Tech Xplore)—Samsung fans get to say Cool. A 5G test on an over-100KM/H train (over 60 mph) scored results that are apt to please the corporate insiders, considering all the attention being paid to 5G in the pre-standard stage.
Daniel Fuller in Android Headlines made the observation that many companies involved in 5G research and development are almost ready to start working with carriers on deployment, as soon as the official standard is announced.
Once the standard is announced, giants like Samsung want to be ready to roll.
"At this point, 5G is mostly a matter of fine-tuning the software running on the equipment to ensure that it's up to par with the official standard once the 3GPP announces it. This means that carriers can begin deploying true 5G very soon after the announcement, and some have already begun deploying 4.9G and pseudo-5G solutions in commercial network markets, with plans to refarm them into actual 5G access points once the standard is announced," said Fuller.
This train scene was a joint test in October, by both Samsung and Japan-based operator KDDI. It was carried out in Japan, over a 1-mile stretch of track with a moving train.
Fuller noted the test took advantage of two fixed wireless points that used Samsung's equipment and KDDI's network backhaul.
Samsung used a 5G router (CPE), radio access unit (5G Radio), virtualized RAN and virtualized core, for testing.
Results? Samsung reported a "5G uplink and downlink handover" and achieving a peak speed of 1.7Gbps.
Fuller commented that "this test sticks out because of the sustained speed and uninterrupted connection over the of 1.5 kilometers, close to a mile, running a section of track that length between two substations." No issues—"and 5G speeds were sustained on the uplink and downlink throughout the entire trial, with peak speeds reaching as high as 1.7 gigabits per second."
All in all, the Japan trial involved a speed test and a testing the connection by streaming 8K video to the train; and uploading 4K video from a special camera mounted on the front of it.
Daniel Fuller, Android Headlines: "Technology conglomerate Samsung does not think that a fast-moving train is a strange place for consumers to demand access to 5G mobile internet, and neither does Japanese mobile carrier KDDI."
Samsung connected the dots between 5G's future and high speed trains.
"The demonstration leveraged capabilities driven by 5G, such as high throughput, low latency and massive connections, which verified potential services and use cases that would be highly-beneficial to passengers and operators of high-speed trains. This could pave the way to vastly improved backhaul for onboard WiFi, superior passenger infotainment and increased security and analytics."
KDDI also commented.
Yoshiaki Uchida, KDDI, said the success of the demonstration in everyday locations such as a train and train station was an important milestone indicating 5G commercialization was near. Uchida also said that to fulfill their aim to launch 5G by 2020, "KDDI will continue exploring real-life scenario experiments for diverse 5G use and business cases together with Samsung."
© 2017 Tech Xplore |
Researchers develop photocatalyst to convert CO2 to methane | Researchers at South Korea's Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) have developed a simple reduction method to convert carbon dioxide to methane, which achieves the highest conversion rate ever seen among photocatalysts. The team used sodium borohydride to reduce titanium dioxide, with resulting photocatalysts in the gas phase measuring 12.49% conversion of methane to photochemical carbon dioxide. The DGIST team said that the introduction of platinum nanoparticles increased conversion efficiency by up to 29 times. Further tests will be conducted to determine whether the method can be commercialised. | https://phys.org/news/2017-12-highly-efficient-photocatalyst-carbon-dioxide.html | 2017-12-04 10:54:08.943000 | (a) The figure shows the color change of the photocatalyst developed by the research team. It shows that the reduced titanium dioxide absorbs light more towards the right and the color gets darker.(b) A graph comparing the methane production efficiencies of the photocatalysts developed by the research team and the existing photocatalysts. The methane production efficiency of the photocatalyst (0.35-BT-30) developed by the team is superior to other photocatalysts.(c) The energy level diagram of the photocatalyst developed by the research team. It shows the characteristic that the oxygen atoms on the surface of titanium dioxide are defected and the band gap is controlled by changing oxidation number from 4 to 3. Credit: Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST)
A research team of Energy Science and Engineering at DGIST has developed a titanium dioxide (TiO2)-based, high-efficiency photocatalyst that converts carbon dioxide to methane using a simple reduction method.
The photocatalysts developed by the research team can be used to convert carbon dioxide to fuels like methane. Therefore, it can be applied to technologies for carbon dioxide abatement and resource reclamation.
Anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases, particularly CO2, is a significant factor driving global climate change; sustainable, low-carbon, readily portable fuels are one of the most pressing needs of modern society. To that end, there has been a worldwide effort underway to find ways to convert carbon dioxide, a major contributor to global warming, into a usable fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, ethanol, methanol and butanol.
In order to use carbon dioxide as a resource, it is essential to increase the conversion efficiency and light absorption efficiency when converting carbon dioxide into fuel, and to use photocatalysts to prevent secondary harmful substances.
Carbon dioxide recycling depends on synthesizing materials such as titanium dioxide, copper oxide, and reduced graphene oxide, or controlling the structure and surface of photocatalyst material. DGIST's research team has discovered a synthesis method that rapidly reduces titanium dioxide (TiO2) at low temperatures using a strong reducing agent, sodium borohydride (NaBH4).
In the study, titanium dioxide-based photocatalysts using this synthesis method showed 12.49 percent conversion of methane to photochemical carbon dioxide in the gas phase, which represents the highest conversion rate among the introduced photocatalysts so far.
In addition, the photocatalyst developed by the research team exhibits controlled band gap through the conversion of the oxidation number from four to three by breaking the oxygen atoms on the surface of titanium dioxide. This change increases the amount of light absorption and efficiently separates the charge, resulting in higher carbon conversion of carbon dioxide. Moreover, the experiment has also proved that the efficiency of methane conversion of carbon dioxide can be increased up to 29 times using platinum nanoparticles.
Professor In said, "The newly developed titanium dioxide photocatalyst is superior to the other photocatalysts reported so far as it has outstanding carbon dioxide conversion efficiency as well as excellent stability. We would like to contribute to the development of carbon dioxide reduction and recycling technology by conducting further researches to improve conversion efficiency to the extent that it can be commercialized."
More information: Saurav Sorcar et al, Highly enhanced and stable activity of defect-induced titania nanoparticles for solar light-driven CO 2 reduction into CH 4, Materials Today (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2017.09.005 Journal information: Materials Today
Provided by Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology |
Enel to sell 350 MW of US wind-energy assets | Enel Green Power North America is to sell its stakes in the 150 MW Rocky Ridge and 200 MW Caney River wind farms, in Oklahoma and Kansas for about $233m. Enel Green Power will continue to manage, operate and run maintenance on both wind farms. | http://renews.biz/109362/enel-sells-350mw-us-stakes/ | 2017-12-04 09:31:51.693000 | Enel Green Power North America has agreed to sell investment fund Gulf Pacific Power 80% stakes in the 200MW Caney River and 150MW Rocky Ridge wind farms in Kansas and Oklahoma, respectively.
The deal is priced at approximately $233m, which will be paid when the transaction closes by the end of the year.
Enel Green Power will retain a 20% interest in the projects and continue to manage, operate and maintain both wind farms.Caney River is located in Elk County and has been operating since 2011. It sells electricity to the Tennessee Valley Authority.Rocky Ridge, which is in Kiowa and Washita counties, came online in 2012 and supplies the Western Farmers Electric Cooperative.Enel Green Power head Antonio Cammisecra said: “Today’s agreement with a new investment partner reinforces the success and confirms the appeal of our continued industrial growth strategy throughout the ‘build, sell and operate’ model with the aim to support new growth opportunities both in North America and other markets around the world.” |
Indian utilities agree to buy power from Engie solar project | Power utilities in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have agreed, after some delay, to buy electricity from a 250 MW solar power project owned by Engie subsidiary Solairedirect. Initially, the utilities refused to buy power from the Kadapa solar power park even though it was offering a relatively low 25-year tariff of INR3.15 ($0.05)/kWh. Under the power purchase agreement, they will buy power from the solar project as long as it is bundled with 125 MW of coal-based electricity to ensure prices remain under INR3.15/kWh. | https://cleantechnica.com/2017/11/27/engie-finally-gets-buyer-250-megawatt-india-solar-project/ | 2017-12-04 09:20:52.753000 | After months of uncertainty, Solairedirect has finally found a buyer for its 250 megawatt solar power project in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
The original designated buyers of the project, power distribution companies in Andhra Pradesh, have come around and agreed to procure electricity generated from the 250 megawatt project in the Kadapa solar power park. Solairedirect, a subsidiary of French utility Engie, secured this project in a competitive auction earlier this year.
The project is one of the cheapest solar power projects, with a 25-year tariff of Rs 3.15/kWh (4.8¢/kWh). Thus, it was surprising that the Andhra Pradesh power utilities refused to purchase electricity from the project. Tariff bids had fallen to as low as Rs 2.44/kWh (3.7¢/kWh) within a few months of the Kadapa auction.
Consequently, the state power utilities had asked NTPC Limited (owner) to find new buyers for the project and even voluntarily offered exemptions from any likely charges for sale of power to other states. The power utilities stated that they have already contracted enough solar power meet their Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) — a regulation that mandates power utilities to procure a set minimum percentage of electricity from solar and other renewable energy technologies. Interestingly, the utilities face perhaps the highest RPO targets in the country and, at current rates, are likely to fall short of the solar power capacity required to meet those targets.
The Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) has proposed to increase the share of renewable energy in its electricity mix to 25.25% by March 2022. For non-solar renewable energy technologies, APERC has proposed a target of 12.50% by March 2022. The commission has also proposed to increase the solar power share from 4.75% in 2017-18 to 12.75% in 2021-22.
According to the Ministry of New & New Renewable Energy (MNRE) at 8% solar RPO target, Andhra Pradesh would require 9,834 megawatts operational capacity by March 2022. At 12.75% this capacity requirement would increase substantially.
As of 31 October 2017, the state had an installed solar power capacity of just 2.1 gigawatts.
The utilities have now agreed to sign a power purchase agreement with the Solairedirect power plant, but with a condition. NTPC will ‘bundle’ 125 megawatts of coal-based electricity with the 250 megawatts of solar power. This would ensure that the overall cost of the electricity procurement is lower than Rs 3.15/kWh (4.8¢/kWh).
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Engie concludes acquisition of 605 MW wind farm in Brazil | Engie Brasil Energia, a subsidiary of France's Engie, has closed the acquisition of the 605 MW Umburanas wind power facility in Bahia. Engie Brasil paid $5.2m to Renova Energia for the rights and expects to complete the first 360 MW of the project in 2019. | https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/engie-closes-acquisition-of-rights-to-605-mw-wind-project-in-brazil-592395/ | 2017-12-04 08:40:47.440000 | Engie Brasil Energia SA, a unit of France’s Engie SA (EPA:ENGI), announced on Friday that it has concluded the acquisition of the rights to the 605-MW Umburanas wind power complex in Bahia state.
Engie Brasil paid BRL 16.9 million (USD 5.2m/EUR 4.3m) to local renewables company Renova Energia SA (BVMF:RNEW11) as part of the agreement.
The company noted that it expects to invest some BEL 1.8 billion in the development of the 360-MW first phase of the project, and would work on the remaining 245 MW in the future. Completion of Phase I is seen in 2019. About 102.5 MW of the project were sold in auction A-5/2014 at the average price of BRL 139.60 per MWh.
The financial settlement was achieved on November 24, when Engie made a BRL-7.5-million payment concerning the first installment of the deal. A month earlier, Brazil's power sector regulator Aneel approved the transfer of rights and cancelled four permits already given to Umburanas.
(BRL 1 = USD 0.309/EUR 0.259)
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Enel to sell 80% stake in US wind farm company | Enel said that it plans to sell 80% of its Class A shares in Rocky Caney Wind, the owner of 350 MW of wind power generating capacity in Oklahoma and Kansas. Enel Green Power North America aims to close the deal by the close of the year and will retain a 20% stake in the plant and continue to operate the facilities following the transaction. | https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/enel-strikes-usd-233m-deal-to-sell-majority-of-us-wind-farm-owner-593017/ | 2017-12-04 08:27:03.857000 | Italian utility Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) said today that its US renewables arm will sell an 80% stake in the owner of 350 MW of wind power generating capacity in the states of Kansas and Oklahoma.
Specifically, Enel Green Power North America Inc (EGPNA) has entered into a cash equity agreement to sell 80% of the Class A shares in Rocky Caney Wind LLC to investment fund Gulf Pacific Power LLC for about USD 233 million (EUR 196m).
The transaction is seen closing by the end of the year. It will allow the Italian group to deconsolidate some USD 140 million worth of debt, Enel noted.
Rocky Caney Wind is the owner of the 200-MW Caney River wind farm in Elk County, Kansas and the 150-MW Rocky Ridge wind park in Kiowa and Washita Counties, Oklahoma. Caney River sells its power output to the Tennessee Valley Authority, while Rocky Ridge sells it to the Western Farmers Electric Cooperative.
Aside from retaining a 20% stake, EGPNA will also continue to manage, operate and perform maintenance activities at both plants after the transaction wraps up.
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.841)
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Ventient Energy becomes UK's largest non-utility wind company | Ventient Energy has acquired a portfolio of 690 MW of onshore UK wind capacity, making it the country's largest non-utility owner of such assets. The Edinburgh-based company was formed by merging 15 Zephyr wind farms with 19 farms formerly owned by Infinis Wind. The company will replace Innogy Renewable UK as the provider of asset management services for Zephyr Investments. | https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/onshore-wind-company-with-690-mw-formed-in-uk-592530/ | 2017-12-04 08:15:06.177000 | The UK today saw the launch of a new onshore wind company with a portfolio of 690 MW of installed capacity, which is owned by institutional investors advised by JP Morgan Asset Management.
The company is called Ventient Energy Ltd and was formed by the merger of a portfolio of 15 wind farms of Zephyr Investments Ltd with 19 wind farms that were formerly owned by Infinis.
Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, the company describes itself as the third largest onshore wind generator and the largest non-utility owner of onshore wind in the UK. And it sees opportunities for growth. "The UK onshore wind market is fragmented, and Ventient Energy owns only 6% of market capacity at present, so we see plenty of opportunities to grow our installed capacity through consolidation," said chief executive Scott Mackenzie.
Ventient Energy's team has replaced Innogy Renewable UK Ltd as provider of asset management services for Zephyr Investments.
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Canada Pension Plan buys 16.33% stake in India's ReNew Power | The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board plans to purchase a stake as high as 16.33% stake in ReNew Power Ventures, an independent Indian power producer. ReNew is currently majority controlled by Goldman Sachs. COP will gain its stake in two transactions: an initial $200m of preference shares to be converted into equity after an IPO, and a 6.33% stake from the Asian Development Bank. | https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/canadas-cpp-to-take-stake-in-renew-power-592881/ | 2017-12-04 08:11:44.463000 | The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) Investment Board will buy a stake of up to 16.33% in Indian independent power producer ReNew Power Ventures Pvt Ltd, which is majority owned by Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS).
In a filing with the Competition Commission of India, CPPIB said it plans to acquire the stake in two separate transactions. Firstly, the Canadian investment manager is investing about USD 200 million (EUR 168.6m) in compulsorily preference shares that will be converted into equity once ReNew launches an initial public offering (IPO). The size of the interest in this part of the deal will depend on the valuation of the IPO and is not expected to exceed 10% of ReNew’s equity share capital.
As part of a second transaction, CPPIB will buy 6.33% of the Indian firm’s stock from the Asian Development Bank.
According to a report by the Economic Times, CPPIB’s investment in ReNew will represent a 14%-15% stake that will make it the third largest shareholder at the company. The newspaper cited unnamed industry sources as saying that the acquisition price is USD 350 million, valuing ReNew at USD 2.37 billion.
Earlier this year, Japanese power company JERA Co Inc, which is a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Co (TYO:9501) and Chubu Electric Power Co (TYO:9502), acquired a 10% stake in ReNew Power for USD 200 million in a deal that valued the Indian firm at USD 2 billion.
At present, ReNew Power has more than 2 GW of commissioned wind and solar capacity and an additional 1 GW of assets under construction, it says on its website.
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.843)
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US pharmacy chain CVS buys insurer Aetna for $69bn | US pharmacy chain CVS has agreed to buy major US insurer Aetna for $69bn, which could create a new model for the healthcare sector, with CVS potentially offering primary care services and medical follow-ups directly from its pharmacies and walk-in clinics. This move by CVS is seen as a response to its concerns about possible plans by Amazon to make a disruptive entry into the industry. | https://qz.com/1145594/the-cvs-aetna-deal-is-actually-all-about-amazon/?mc_cid=2ad5a5c540&mc_eid=a37072368a | 2017-12-04 08:04:33.790000 | It’s Amazon’s world—we just live in it.
The retail behemoth has already transformed the way the world shops. Now Amazon’s moves to enter the health care industry have led two major US companies to make one of the biggest deals of the year, signaling major changes to come in the way Americans buy drugs and otherwise manage their health.
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The pharmacy chain CVS Health agreed today (Dec. 3) to buy Aetna, one of the biggest health insurance companies in the US, for roughly $69 billion. It’s an acquisition that could create a new model for the healthcare industry, with CVS likely to start offering primary-care services and medical follow-ups directly from its drugstores and walk-in clinics.
The deal is a direct consequence of Amazon’s penchant for disruption. Analysts say CVS snapped up Aetna to stay competitive with Amazon, which has made several moves this year that have pharmaceutical companies atremble. In May, CNBC reported that the company was looking to hire a general manager to develop a strategy for getting into the pharmaceutical business. Then word spread that Amazon had acquired pharmacy licenses in a dozen states. The company said it did so to sell medical supplies, but the move positions Amazon to sell drugs down the line, should it decide it wants to. And just last week, reports circulated that Amazon had held preliminary discussions with generic drugmakers Mylan and Sandoz.
It’s unclear whether Amazon is interested in selling drugs to consumers or acting as a drug wholesaler. Either way, the company’s recent actions have made the pharmacy industry nervous.
“CVS would never admit it, but this sort of pivot is Amazon’s doing,” Trip Miller, managing partner at Gullane Capital Partners, a minor shareholder in Amazon, told The Street. “What they’re doing now is definitely based on Amazon’s interest.”
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The fact that CVS snapped up Aetna without a clear sense of Amazon’s plans is a testament to the tech giant’s track record of shaking up industries ranging from books to clothes, TV, and groceries. Industry players know when Amazon eyes a new business, those who wait too long to react will wind up sitting ducks. |
BBC launches website to teach children about online safety | The BBC has launched a new website for children, which will be delivered in partnership with groups working on child internet safety, and which will be supported by advisers and doctors. The Own It site is part of a broader £34m ($45.5m) investment by the BBC in children’s programming over the next three years. BBC Director-General, Tony Hall, said that the corporation needed to “minimise the risks” to children “growing up in a fully connected world”. The site, which will be available from 6 December, will deal with issues including malware and online privacy.
| https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/dec/04/bbc-own-it-website-online-risks-childrens-programming-investment | 2017-12-04 00:00:00 | Tony Hall, the director-general of the BBC, has said the corporation can help “minimise the risks” for children in the digital world, as he announced its new website for nine to 12-year-olds.
The site, called Own It, is the first product to be launched as part of the corporation’s £34m investment in children’s programming over the next three years.
Hall said the BBC’s intervention would “maximise the amazing opportunities for children growing up in a fully connected world – but we must also take steps to minimise the risks”.
Own It will be delivered in partnership with a range of organisations in the field of child internet safety, and is supported by an “engine room” of expert advisers, doctors and academics.
Hall said there were many important issues facing children today. “Is there a right age for children to give informed consent for their data to be used online? What responsibility should organisations have to make sure their platform is right for the age range that are really using it?”
Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat require users to be at least 13. To create an account, users are asked for their date of birth, although Hall said the restriction was often flouted. On Snapchat, under-13s are redirected to a children’s version, called SnapKidz.
“Two-thirds of 10-year-olds in this country have a social media account – but we all know that’s not supposed to happen until they’re 13,” Hall wrote.
Own It, which will be available from 6 December, covers everything from online privacy and avoiding malware, to dealing with everyday dilemmas children face online. It will sit alongside CBeebies and CBBC and quick links to charities and organisations like Childline will also be available.
The BBC was asked in March by Ofcom to produce more UK-commissioned programming for children. According to Ofcom, £77m was spent on first-run UK-originated children’s programming in 2015, down from £140m in 2005. The BBC is responsible for 97% of original UK-produced children’s programming.
Hall wrote in the Guardian: “Children’s programming helps define our identity as a nation, and while there are many imports we all enjoy from the US, no one wants our children’s culture defined in the west coast of America.
“That’s why we’re renewing our focus on creating programmes and other content for children across the UK, reflecting their own lives and experiences back to them.”
The BBC has saved £30m annually after scrapping the BBC3 TV channel aimed at 16 to 34-year-olds in favour of an online-only offering. |
Delhi Test match halted due to polluted air | Hazardous pollution halted a cricket test match in Delhi between India and Sri Lanka on Sunday, as players reputedly vomited due to the toxic air. The disruption was the first recorded instance of play being halted due to smog. Airborne pollution levels during the match were 15 times the recommended World Health Organisation limits, prompting members of the Sri Lanka team to adopt face masks and complain to the umpires. Although play resumed, it faced two further interruptions as bowlers experienced breathing difficulties. Last month, doctors in Delhi declared a public health emergency due to high pollution levels.
| https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/03/pollution-stops-play-at-delhi-test-match-as-bowlers-struggle-to-breathe | 2017-12-03 00:00:00 | A cricket Test match between India and Sri Lanka was repeatedly interrupted on Sunday with claims players were “continuously vomiting” due to hazardous pollution levels in the Indian capital.
Commentators said it was the first recorded instance of an international match being halted due to the toxic smog that afflicts much of north India year-round but worsens to hazardous levels during winter months.
Airborne pollution levels 15 times the World Health Organisation limits confronted players on the second day of the third Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi on Sunday.
As the haze worsened, many Sri Lankan players returned from lunch wearing face masks before complaining to umpires, who halted play for 20 minutes to consult with team doctors and match officials.
The match resumed but was interrupted twice more as bowlers Lahiru Gamage and Suranga Lakmal left the field mid-over with breathing difficulties.
“We had players coming off the field and vomiting,” the Sri Lanka coach Nic Pothas told reporters after the match.
“There were oxygen cylinders in the change room. It’s not normal for players to suffer in that way while playing the game.”
A paramedic speaks to Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Gamage after he complained of shortness of breath. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP
Pothas said Lakmal was “continuously vomiting” in the changing room. “I think it’s the first time that everybody has come across that situation,” he said.
“There aren’t too many rules regarding pollution. What we are going to do tomorrow is in the hands of the match referee. They will have meetings tonight to put in some sort of a precedent if it happens like this tomorrow.”
The Indian bowler Kuldeep Yadav was also seen sporting a face mask as he brought drinks to teammates on the field.
Umpires were awaiting Lakmal’s return to the field when the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, elected to declare with his side cruising on 536 runs with three wickets in hand.
The interruptions drew boos from the crowd for Sri Lanka’s opening batsmen as they made their way to the crease, where they played without masks.
The acting president of India’s cricket board was also unimpressed and said he would write to his Sri Lankan counterpart about the incident.
“If 20,000 people in the stands did not have problems and the Indian team did not face any issue, I wonder why the Sri Lankan team made a big fuss?” CK Khanna said.
It is the latest professional-grade match in Delhi to be affected by air pollution after two matches in the domestic Ranji Trophy tournament were abandoned in the city when it was engulfed in smog in November 2016.
Some Indian fans accused the Sri Lankan side of being melodramatic but the cricket writer Ayaz Memon said the episode sent an “unedifying message” about pollution in the city.
Sri Lanka’s captain Dinesh Chandimal fields in a mask. Photograph: Altaf Qadri/AP
Schools were shut and doctors declared a public health emergency in Delhi last month as pollution levels spiked to levels 40 times the WHO safe limits, likened to smoking at least 50 cigarettes in a day.
United Airlines briefly halted flights into the capital and foreign diplomats voiced fears the city could become a “non-family” posting due to the polluted environment.
Doctors warn against physical activity in the smog but around 30,000 runners still participated in an annual half-marathon in the city in November.
Delhi officials have been accused of not preparing for what has become an annual crisis each winter, while the Indian government has played down the urgency and health risks associated with the problem.
The extremely poor air in the city is the result of a combination of road dust, open fires, vehicle exhaust fumes, industrial emissions and the burning of crop residues in neighbouring states. Indian weather agencies also blame dust storms that originate in the Gulf.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
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Younicos to 'train' batteries at Hywind floating wind project | Statoil has commissioned German-American energy storage firm Younicos to build a battery-storage system at its 30 MW floating wind farm off the coast of Scotland, Hywind. The Batwind energy-storage project aims to "teach" the battery when to store electricity and when to send it to the grid to maximise the value of the power. The 1 MW/1.3 MWh will be based in two 10 ft containers by at the onshore substation at Peterhead with operation due to begin in Q2 2018. | https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/batwind-wind-storage-project-in-scotland-to-use-younicos-batteries-592617/ | 2017-12-02 18:52:39.447000 | German-American energy storage company Younicos will deliver a 1MW/1.3 MWh energy storage system for the 30-MW Hywind Scotland floating wind farm as part of a project that aims to “teach” the battery how to behave.
Statoil, which holds 75% in the Hywind Scotland offshore wind project, explained in a press release on Tuesday that the goal of the so-called Batwind storage solution project is to understand how an energy storage system can help boost the value of the electricity generated at the site and how the work of a battery together with the wind farm and the grid can be optimised.
Two modular battery containers will be placed at the onshore substation in Peterhead, with operation of the battery planned to start in the second quarter of 2018.
“There is limited knowledge of how to make a battery act based on dynamic information, in order to maximize value of renewable energy,” says Sebastian Bringsvaerd, head of Hywind Development in Statoil. The Batwind partners, Statoil and Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar, want the battery to automatically know when to store electricity, and when to release it out to the grid.
The next steps in developing the battery storage solution will depend on the learnings and testing of the system at Hywind Scotland.
“Batwind has the potential to add value by mitigating periods without wind – and by that making wind a more reliable energy producer year around. This could expand the use and market for wind and renewables in the future,” Bringsvaerd added.
Hywind Scotland, the world's first floating offshore wind farm, was opened in October by Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. It uses five 6-MW Siemens Gamesa machines. It is Statoil's ambition to cut the costs of energy from the Hywind wind farm to EUR 40-60 (USD 48-71.5) per MWh by 2030.
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Mexican record setting solar bid is in fact for wind power | The cheapest price ever reported for solar power ($17.70) has turned out to be the figure for wind power, after confusion following Mexico's National Energy Control Center's preliminary price publication for Enel's lots. Enel Rinnovabile, is able to supply 593 MW of wind over four projects after winning the November tenders. The company will invest $700m into Mexico to complete the plants, due to begin operation in H1 2020. Enel presently has 675 MW of wind capacity in Mexico. | https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/the-worlds-cheapest-solar-is-actually-wind-mexico#gs.jMSQcaU | 2017-12-02 18:47:50.133000 | PV watchers are in for a disappointment after it emerged that an auction result reported as the cheapest price for solar ever was actually a price for wind.
News outlets, including GTM, rushed to celebrate what Electrek reported was a record low price of $17.70 per megawatt-hour for solar energy on the release this month of the preliminary results of Mexico’s latest auction for energy, power and clean energy certificates.
The preliminary results announcement from Mexico’s National Energy Control Center (Centro Nacional de Control de Energía or CENACE in Spanish) listed the price among four lots adjudicated to Enel, the Italian energy giant, but did not specify technologies.
Wind analysts were quick to note that the figures for clean energy certificates (certificados de energía limpia or CELs) figures didn’t make sense for solar.
“When CENACE published its initial press release, it was evident that these four sites were likely wind power,” said Brian Gaylord, senior analyst for Latin America and Southern Europe at MAKE Consulting.
“In order to add up the amount of power and CELs sold per the figures, these four projects with Engie's eolica [wind]-labeled site yielded a matching sum," he said.
Further confirmation came with the publication of detailed information from CENACE and a press release from Enel.
“Enel, through its renewable energy subsidiary Enel Rinnovabile, has been awarded the right to supply energy and clean certificates with four wind projects for a total capacity of 593 megawatts in the country’s third long-term public tender,” the energy company stated.
The win consolidates Enel’s position as Mexico’s leading renewable energy developer, said the firm. Enel will be investing $700 million in Mexico to help complete the plants, which are expected to enter operation in the first half of 2020.
Three of them, Amistad II, III and IV, are due to be built in Acuña, in the northern state of Coahuila. Amistad II and III are 100-megawatt plants, while Amistad IV is slated to be 149 megawatts. Enel started building the first Amistad wind farm in March.
A fourth plant, the 244-megawatt Dolores project, is planned for the China municipality in Nuevo León, a state in northeastern Mexico.
The projects will almost double Enel’s existing 675 megawatts of wind power in Mexico, but represent only a fraction of the renewable energy capacity the company has in its pipeline for the country.
Enel already also operates 53 megawatts of hydro power in Mexico, and aside from the Amistad and Dolores projects is developing an additional 293 megawatts of wind and 992 megawatts of solar generation capacity, including Latin America’s second-largest PV plant.
The developer is planning to put all of its renewable energy projects into a special-purpose vehicle that will be 80 percent owned by the Canadian institutional investor Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec and the Mexican pension fund CKD Infraestructura México.
The confirmation that all of Enel’s winning bids in the latest auction round were for wind projects means the lowest price achieved by solar in Mexico was actually $19.70 per megawatt-hour, for an 80.3-megawatt plant from Neoen. (A previous version of this article incorrectly reported that Mitsui-Trina secured the lowest bid)
The price represents a new record for Latin America after the most recent auction in Chile saw Enel bidding $21.48 per megawatt-hour of solar power on one sub-block of capacity. It isn’t quite the cheapest worldwide, though.
That honor still belongs to a tender for 300 megawatts of solar power in Saudi Arabia, in October, which saw Abu Dhabi developer Masdar offering a price of $17.86 per megawatt-hour. Nevertheless, solar carried the day in Mexico in terms of capacity granted.
The technology took more than 55 percent of capacity on offer, totaling 992 megawatts, in nine out of 14 energy lots.
The auction, Mexico’s third, was the first to include a pre-qualification process, which GTM Research Americas solar analyst Manan Parikh said was likely a sign that the country was tightening up on renewable energy procurement. “It’s a way to keep people honest,” he said.
“Initially they had this permitting scheme, which has since been scrapped, and anyone could come in and say, ‘I want a permit,’" he said. "People would just sit on these permits and do nothing with them.”
The move to auctions seems to have brought a new level of integrity to the proceedings -- even if there is still the possibility for confusion about who is bidding for what.
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Five countries set to cross 1 GW threshold in 2018 | Eight nations will surpass the 1 GW mark for yearly photovoltaic installations by the end of the year, with that number rising to 13 by the end of 2018, according to research from market intelligence firm GTM Research. The next five nations to exceed 1 GW will be Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, the Netherlands and Spain, with a 35% rise in the demand for solar in Europe predicted for 2018. GRM predicts that 606 GW will be installed worldwide between 2017 and 2022.
| https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/here-are-solars-next-gigawatt-scale-markets#gs.LKwFt3s | 2017-12-02 17:28:09.410000 | When this year comes to a close, GTM Research expects eight countries will top the 1-gigawatt mark in annual PV installations. By the end of 2018, that number will grow to 13 countries.
According to GTM Research’s latest Global Solar Demand Monitor, the next five countries to cross the 1-gigawatt annual threshold will be Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, the Netherlands and Spain.
Source: GTM Research Global Solar Demand Monitor
A new European renaissance
GTM Research expects a 35 percent increase in European demand in 2018 -- a welcome change in a region where installations fell by more than triple their peak in 2011.
Leading that charge is Spain. The report points to a temporary revival in Spain with 3.9 gigawatts of PV contracted through a recent technology-neutral auction, which is set to be delivered between 2018 and 2019. There is potentially more to come, though future tenders have not yet been confirmed and the country now looks on track to meet obligations set forth in the Europe 2020 agreement.
According to the report, Spain’s annual solar market will balloon from 40 megawatts in 2017 to 1.4 gigawatts in 2018.
Looking to the north, the Netherlands will also surpass 1 gigawatt in 2018. Annual growth in the Netherlands has been strong since 2011; the Stimulation of Sustainable Generation scheme has provided a more recent boost.
“The European market is entering a phase of sustainable growth, no longer driven by the feed-in tariff boom and bust cycle,” said Tom Heggarty, a senior solar analyst at GTM Research.
Europe is moving toward a subsidy-free market, he said. Examples include merchant projects commissioned in Italy, subsidy-free plants in development in the U.K., and German PV auction prices moving closer to wholesale power prices.
Latin America is heating up
Led by Mexico and Brazil, Latin American solar demand is expected to more than double in 2018.
“Brazil is about to become a 1-gigawatt annual market on the heels of developing several large utility-scale projects tendered in 2014,” said Manan Parikh, GTM Research senior analyst. “The cancellation auction didn’t achieve the desired results, leaving almost 80 percent of canceled capacity (800 megawatts) in play to still be developed or flipped with a penalty.”
Mexico currently has the second-largest demand for electricity in the region and is home to favorable renewable energy targets. According to the report, Mexico will make up the bulk of Latin American demand share out to 2022, with 60 percent coming from utility projects and 40 percent distributed.
A great Egyptian buildup
GTM Research expects Egypt’s annual solar market to grow fivefold between 2017 and 2018, reaching 1.4 gigawatts.
“After a challenging few years following the initial award and subsequent cut of feed-in tariffs, over 1,500 megawatts of utility-scale projects in Egypt have now reached financial close, driven almost entirely by a large international development bank financing consortium led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation, which to date has committed nearly $2 billion USD in loans," said GTM Research solar analyst Ben Attia. “We expect the majority these projects to be realized in late 2018 and early 2019.”
These five countries and other forthcoming gigawatt-scale markets, especially those with regularly cadenced competitive reverse auctions, are diversifying the market in a way that will help stabilize the global supply-demand balance. GTM Research anticipates a cumulative 606 gigawatts to be installed globally between 2017 and 2022.
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Australia mulls plan to export renewable energy to Indonesia | Plans to transmit electricity via a 2,500 km (1,500 mile) undersea cable to Indonesia from a wind and solar installation in Western Australia have been submitted to authorities, with approval possible by 2020. Vestas Wind Systems, InterContinental Energy and CWP Energy Asia are among the backers of the proposed Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH), which envisages a plant producing 4 GW of power of wind and 2 GW of solar. Indonesian investors are being sought for the project, which is hoped to start sending power across the ocean by 2029. | https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/wind-solar-project-of-up-to-6-gw-seeks-enviro-nod-in-australia-592896/ | 2017-12-02 15:59:14.203000 | An ambitions 6-GW wind and solar project in Western Australia that would export power to Indonesia has moved on after developers, among which Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS), submitted the scheme for environmental review in Australia.
The complex in the East Pilbara region is planned to include at least 4 GW of wind and 2 GW solar power facilities. According to the project website, a final investment decision could be taken in 2020.
The partners behind the Asian Renewable Energy Hub (AREH) plan are renewable energy project developers CWP Energy Asia and InterContinental Energy, in addition to Vestas. They have been engaged in development works and viability assessment for three years and are now looking for local partners in Indonesia for equipment manufacturing, construction and investment, Vestas said on Wednesday.
"The scale of the wind turbines, solar panels and related equipment needed for the Project would be large enough to justify building new manufacturing facilities in Indonesia [...]," Vestas said.
The plan is to use components made in Indonesia and, when the park is operational, export electricity to the country via subsea high-voltage transmission cables. The complex is expected to become fully operational by 2029, generating power for over seven million homes in Indonesia, according to the project's website.
The first phase of the ambitious development is estimated to require about USD 10 billion (EUR 8.42bn) in investment. Subsequent phases envisage the delivery of renewable power to other countries in South East Asia, apart from Indonesia, Vestas said.
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.842)
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Cap of €63/MWh set on German onshore wind tenders in 2018 | German auctions in 2018 for onshore wind power will accept bids lower than €63 ($75) per MWh, the Federal Network Agency (the Bundesnetzagetur) has confirmed, as a result of the current value of wind power being above what should have been the ceiling price of €50 per MWh. The organisation will auction as much as 2.8 GW of capacity next year. This year, the winning bids across three tenders were €57.1 per MWh, €42.9 per MWh, and €38.2 per MWh. The value of wind power is €56 per MWh at present.
| https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/germanys-onshore-wind-tenders-in-2018-get-eur-63mwh-cap-592790/ | 2017-12-02 15:48:19.827000 | The auctions for onshore wind power in Germany next year will be open for bids below EUR 63 (USD 74.7) per MWh, the Federal Network Agency said today, and explained why this cap is higher than expected.
Based on the results of auctions in 2017, the ceiling price allowed in the tenders should have been EUR 50/MWh. This, however, is below the current value of wind power, EUR 56/MWh, and the network regulator has taken measures to ensure that the tenders will be able attract enough bids.
The Federal Network Agency, known in German as the Bundesnetzagetur, lifted the maximum price as it wants to see good competition in the tenders. They will award up to 2.8 GW in 2018, similar to the level in 2017.
This year the three tenders for German onshore wind resulted in average successful bids of EUR 57.1/MWh, then EUR 42.9/MWh, and finally EUR 38.2/MWh in the last auction, the results of which were revealed earlier in November.
(EUR 1 = USD 1.19)
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Israel aims for 1,600 MW of capacity in first solar tenders | The Israeli government has given its approval for expanding solar power capacity by 1,600 MW in three years, largely using rooftop facilities. The power generation will be split into smaller residential photovoltaic facilities with fixed rates and bigger rooftop installations, the latter of which will be offered in auctions held by the Public Utilities Authority, the first such auctions to take place in Israel. These contracts will be for 20 to 25 years. Israel aims to source 10% of its power from renewables by 2020, rising from 3% currently.
| https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/israel-unveils-plans-for-1st-solar-tenders-16-gw-goal-report-592435/ | 2017-12-02 15:43:47.013000 | The government of Israel has approved a new plan for the addition of 1,600 MW of solar power capacity in three years, mostly on rooftops, Globes reports.
The policy, unveiled by energy and infrastructure minister Yuval Steinitz, aims to lift Israel’s power generation in line with the country’s renewable energy goals. The quota for solar rooftop solar will be divided in two categories -- small residential photovoltaic (PV) facilities and large rooftop business projects. Capacity under the large rooftop scheme will be tendered by the Public Utilities Authority in what will be the first auctions of this kind in Israel.
Projects for small rooftop photovoltaic (PV) installations will not be competing in tenders. They will instead get fixed rates for power sent to the grid.
Contracts for small and large rooftop plants, as well as ground-mounted facilities, will be fixed for a 20- to 25-year period and will be higher for smaller installations, the Public Utilities Authority has said.
Israel has set a target to produce 10% of its total power from renewables by 2020 but currently the share of renewables generation is only 3%. At present, it has 700 MW of projects under construction.
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Siemens Gamesa’s 8 MW offshore turbine to be tested by Fraunhofer | Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy's 8MW SG 8.0-167 direct drive turbine is due to have performance tests in April, with the testing contract given to the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES). The direct drive offshore turbine prototype has a 167-metre rotor diameter, and will be tested with hardware in the loop at the IWES Dynamic Nacelle Testing Laboratory. The performance tests will be finished at the end of 2018.
| https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/fraunhofer-iwes-to-test-siemens-gamesas-8-mw-offshore-turbine-592899/ | 2017-12-02 14:45:53.523000 | The nacelle of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA’s (BME:SGRE) recently-launched 8-MW offshore wind turbine will undergo performance tests from April 2018 at the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology (IWES).
Siemens Games and Fraunhofer IWES have signed a contract for the comprehensive validation of the SG 8.0-167 DD, research institute Fraunhofer said on Thursday. The wind turbine maker announced the launch of the new direct drive (DD) offshore wind turbine, with a rotor diameter of 167 metres, earlier this week.
The prototype of the new machine will be subject to hardware in the loop (HiL) tests at IWES’ Dynamic Nacelle Testing Laboratory (DyNaLab) that will seek to validate the turbine’s performance and grid compatibility. Tests will be completed at the end of next year.
Siemens Gamesa and IWES have been collaborating since the start of the year in order to specify the test plan for the 8-MW turbine turbine.
As previously announced, the wind turbine maker installed and commissioned the first prototype in the 8-MW class in Oesterild, Denmark, at the beginning of 2017. It plans to erect an additional SG 8.0-167 DD prototype there next year to test its blades.
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Moratorium on commercial fishing in Arctic agreed | A moratorium on commercial fishing in Arctic waters has been agreed by Canada, China, Denmark, the European Union, Iceland, Japan, Norway, South Korea, Russia and the US. The region is experiencing global warming at twice the average rate, resulting in changes in the distribution of fish stocks. The moratorium, covering 2.8 million sq km, is designed to allow time to gain “a better understanding of the area’s ecosystems” and for the introduction of “appropriate conservation and management measures”. Greenpeace welcomed the deal which, when ratified, is expected to be in place for at least 16 years.
| https://phys.org/news/2017-12-arctic-major-fishing-nations.html | 2017-12-02 00:00:00 | Sea ice is seen from NASA's Operation IceBridge research aircraft in March, 2017, above Greenland, which is among parties to the Arctic Ocean commercial fishing moratorium
Arctic and major fishing nations, including China, announced Friday that they have agreed to a moratorium on commercial fishing in Arctic waters before a fishery in the icy region is even feasible.
The far north is warming at nearly twice the global average rate, causing changes in the size and distribution of fish stocks that may become more attractive to fishers in the medium to long term.
Canadian Fisheries Minister Dominic Leblanc said Canada, together with the European Union, China, Denmark—for Greenland and the Faroe Islands—Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Russia and the United States agreed "that no commercial fishing will take place in the high seas portion of the central Arctic Ocean while we gain a better understanding of the area's ecosystems."
They also agreed that before any fishing takes places, they must establish "appropriate conservation and management measures."
To that end, the parties committed to conducting joint scientific research and monitoring to try to better understand Arctic Ocean ecosystems and whether the region can support commercial fisheries in the future.
Karmenu Vella, EU Commissioner for the Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, called the legally binding agreement "historic."
"It will fill an important gap in the international ocean governance framework and will safeguard fragile marine ecosystems for future generations," he said.
The agreement in principle must still be ratified by all 10 parties.
Greenpeace, praising the deal, said the moratorium is expected to endure for at least the next 16 years, covering an area of 2.8 million square kilometers (one million square miles).
© 2017 AFP |
Google launches VR philanthropy initiative | Google has launched a new philanthropy programme to provide organizations with tools and training in Virtual Reality. The Daydream Impact project offers tutorials on making VR video content, as well as an equipment loan service. Projects that have already been produced include work by the Eastern Congo Initiative on the region’s struggles; a project on changing coastline environments, and initiatives on anti-bullying and anxiety reduction for cancer patients.
| https://venturebeat.com/2017/12/02/daydream-impact-is-googles-new-philanthropy-program-for-vr/ | 2017-12-02 00:00:00 | Missed the GamesBeat Summit excitement? Don't worry! Tune in now to catch all of the live and virtual sessions here.
With its ability to transport users anywhere and give them any kind of experience, VR has huge potential as a tool for positive change. Google is highlighting that with its new philanthropy program, Daydream Impact.
This new initiative is designed to give organizations, non-profits and advocates the tools and training they need to make 360-degree experiences that bring people closer to their given topics. Google already worked with a handful of organizations on a pilot period for the program, producing the videos that you can see in this article.
Daydream Impact first provides groups with tutorials on making VR video content with a free Coursera online training course. It covers everything from pre to post-production, offering tips on getting the best shots and how to publish and promote your content. The other side of the program is a loaner service that provides qualified projects with a Jump 360-degree camera and a Google Expeditions kit as well as a Daydream View headset and Daydream-read smartphone. Groups will be given six months to create their projects and then showcase it.
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So far, the program has produced projects on the struggles of the Congo from the Eastern Congo Initiative, as well as a look at the changes in coastline environments, anti-bullying pieces and has even been deployed in hospitals to help minimize anxiety for cancer patients during treatment.
“We’ve already learned that VR, although still an emerging platform, has so many more applications than we originally thought possible,” the Eastern Congo Initiative’s Dane Erickson said of the program. “We thought of this as a film for our donors and supporters, but through the Google Expedition program we’re beginning to see how VR can be used for education. Obviously we love connecting to donors, but connecting with kids, showing them our work in a classroom setting, that opens up a whole new avenue for our advocacy priorities.”
This story originally appeared on Uploadvr.com. Copyright 2017 |
Amazon plans exploding drones to limiting injury during emergency | Amazon has been granted a patent for a drone that would dismantle itself in mid-air in the event of mechanical failure leading to a crash. The system would aim to reduce the potential damage or injury caused by drones failing in flight by allowing them to break into smaller pieces. Once a catastrophic failure occurred, it would use its onboard computer to analyse factors including its flight-path, weather conditions and nearby terrain before initiating a "fragmentation sequence" to minimise damage. This might involve dropping components onto empty ground or into a lake, then crashing itself into a tree.
| https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/1/16723190/amazon-self-destructing-drone-falls-apart-midair-patent | 2017-12-01 18:50:48.310000 | One of the big worries about delivery drones is what happens if something goes wrong mid-delivery? We don’t want people’s parcels (or the drones carrying them) falling from the sky, causing damage and injury. Well, Amazon thinks this might not actually be a bad idea — as long as the drones fall safely. Earlier this week, the company was granted a patent for the “direct fragmentation for unmanned airborne vehicles.” In other words: a drone that takes itself apart midair if something goes wrong.
The patent describes how an onboard “fragmentation controller” would take charge in the event of a catastrophic failure, like a battery exploding or propellor failing. The computer would quickly study the drone’s flight path, weather conditions, and nearby terrain, before initiating a “fragmentation sequence,” where the drone slowly dismantles itself midair.
It sounds counter-intuitive as a safety protocol, but if a drone is going to crash anyway, it’s better that it hits the ground in small chunks, rather than as bigger, heavier intact aircraft. An illustration from the patent shows a drone dropping various components onto patches of empty ground and a small lake, before crashing itself safely in a tree.
An illustration from the patent shows a drone dismantling itself mid-air. Image: Amazon / USPTO
The patent reads: “During the fragmentation sequence, one or more parts or components of the UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] can be released. In doing so, the weight, speed, air drag coefficient, and other factors related to the UAV can be altered.” The order in which parts are jettisoned could be selected based on their value, says the patent, and then detached using hooks, springs, or “small explosive charges.”
Of course, as with any patent, there’s no guarantee Amazon is doing anything more here than exploring a left field concept. In the past, the company has either patented or applied to patent concepts including parachutes built into shipping labels, drone beehives for distribution in big cities, and drone-carrying blimps. As tends to be Amazon’s style, it’s aggressively throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks. All of these inventions would need to be approved by government regulators before they ever got off the ground. |
PNE Wind and VPC to create renewable 'energy islands' | German wind farm developer PNE Wind has partnered with local engineering firm VPC to create grid-independent renewable energy solutions for residential and commercial customers, called "energy islands". As well as supplying wind energy, PNE will be in charge of the approval, financing and participation models, while VPC will be responsible for the PV, biodiesel, storage and grid connection, and overall operation of the systems. | https://www.renewablesnow.com/news/germanys-pne-wind-vpc-to-develop-energy-islands-593125/ | 2017-12-01 16:53:45.577000 | German wind farms developer PNE Wind AG (ETR:PNE3) has partnered with local engineering firm VPC GmbH to work on grid-independent and self-sustained renewable energy supply solutions for public and commercial use.
This future-oriented cooperation will be establishing the so-called "Energy Islands" both in Germany and abroad, according to an announcement on Friday.
The plan is to combine various renewable energy sources, including wind and solar photovoltaics (PV), with storage technologies or generators powered by biofuels. Advantages include cost-effective energy supply, long-term price stability and independent generation.
PNE Wind will be in charge of the approval, financing and participation models, as well as the construction and operation of wind farms. On the other hand, its partner will be responsible for the PV, biodiesel, storage and grid connection, as well as project management and operation of the overall system.
The move is part of PNE Wind’s strategy to become a "Clean Energy Solution Provider". In mid-November, the company said it wants to expand the range of services it offers, enter new markets and add solar, storage and other green technologies to its portfolio.
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RCAM Technologies plans to 3D print 140-metre tall wind towers | Californian start-up RCAM Technologies has received a $1.25m grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to test production of 3D-printed wind-turbine towers on site. National Renewable Energy Laboratory Alumnus and founder of the company, Jason Cotrell, wants to fabricate towers from reinforced concrete that are 140 metres higher, almost double the average height of towers in the US at present. | https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/is-3d-printing-the-solution-for-ultra-tall-wind-turbine-towers#gs.n9SBL9E | 2017-12-01 16:34:42.740000 | If you’ve ever driven alongside a truck hauling wind turbine components, the limitations are immediately obvious. The enormity of the blades and tower segments make it difficult to transport the materials on highways to the project site.
A California startup thinks it’s found a workaround. RCAM Technologies was recently awarded a $1.25 million grant from the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop and test 3-D printing technology enabling the construction of concrete turbine towers in place at the project site.
The average tower height for turbines installed in the United States is just over 80 meters. RCAM Technologies, founded by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) alumnus Jason Cotrell, wants to use reinforced concrete additive manufacturing technology -- a form of 3-D printing -- to erect towers 140 meters or higher. Cotrell left NREL in May to pursue grant funding to develop the technology.
Based on estimates derived using NREL’s levelized cost of energy (LCOE) modeling tools, the company expects that a 140-meter tower would increase electricity production by more than 20 percent at a site with moderate wind shear. By enabling turbines to reach steadier, stronger winds, the ultra-tall towers would boost capacity factors and generate electricity at lower cost.
According to the grant request form submitted to the CEC, at scale, the market-ready 3-D printing technology envisioned by RCAM Technologies “will enable fabrication of a wind turbine tower onsite, in one day at half of the cost of conventional steel towers, and reduce the levelized cost of wind generated electricity in a low wind speed site by 11 percent.”
Digital concrete
“When you’re building a wind plant, you want to build the wind turbines as tall as you possibly can to capture the faster wind aloft,” said Cotrell in an NREL video. “However, when you’re building tall wind turbines, the tower diameters become so large that they’re difficult to transport over the roads. With this technology, what we’re able to do is manufacture those towers onsite using an automated concrete manufacturing process that allows us to bypass the transportation and logistics constraints.”
Under its agreement with the California Energy Commission, RCAM Technologies will design the lower half of two ultra-tall hybrid turbine towers between 140 meters to 170 meters. The upper half of the towers will use conventional tapered steel tower sections; the lower half of the towers will be constructed with reinforced concrete additive manufacturing technology. Prototype sections of the concrete towers will be fabricated using a robotic arm and 3-D printer, and will be tested at the University of California, Irvine.
In a real-world deployment, RCAM Technologies expects the large-diameter concrete tower sections to be fabricated onsite with concrete supplied by standard concrete trucks or an existing concrete batch plant such as the one used to prepare the tower foundations.
Potential to boost capacity factors
According to NREL, the best wind power sites in the Great Plains are posting annual capacity factors today of more than 50 percent with 80-meter towers. Taller towers would make wind power economically competitive in more regions.
“Outside of the centrally located wind belt, average performance does not yet meet the levels required to compete with low-priced natural gas and (increasingly) low-cost solar photovoltaics, particularly in an era of relatively low load growth,” said a team of NREL researchers in a presentation on tall wind turbine technologies delivered at an American Wind Energy Association conference in May of this year.
“To broaden the geographic reach of wind power, a continued evaluation of tall tower technology appears to be merited,” the team added. “Achieving higher hub heights can still drive significant improvements in capacity factor throughout broad regions of the country.”
Path to market, partnering with UC Irvine
“Concrete towers have quickly emerged as a cost-effective alternative to steel tubular towers for hub heights over 120 meters,” said Aaron Barr, a senior consultant with MAKE Consulting, in an email. MAKE Consulting is owned by Wood Mackenzie, Greentech Media’s parent company.
Barr noted that concrete wind towers have been deployed for a decade in Europe. But most of the concrete towers built there have used precast concrete sections manufactured elsewhere and shipped in multiple segments to the project site. RCAM Technologies’ process would avoid those logistical constraints by pouring concrete on site.
“Performing on-site pouring of concrete towers can present some cost savings in logistics and material cost,” he added, “and present one of the most promising applications of 3-D printing in the wind energy industry.”
Barr cautioned that 3-D printing could increase the time required to install turbines. “The specialized equipment and concrete curing times would significantly increase the construction cycle of a typical wind plant,” he said. “Most U.S. wind plants are able to install turbines at a pace of one turbine per day or faster, given that all turbine equipment has been delivered to on-site staging areas. Use of an in-situ concrete tower solution dramatically increases this installation cycle, adding cost and execution risk to the wind plant development.”
Can RCAM Technologies build 3-D-printed concrete turbine towers as fast and as cheaply as it estimates? Construction and testing of a prototype will be done in partnership with UC Irvine at the school’s civil engineering laboratory.
As part of a technology-to-market program at NREL called Energy I-Corps, Jason Cotrell and colleague Scott Jenne interviewed 75 wind turbine manufacturers and project developers.
“We found out,” said Cotrell in the NREL video, “that another wind turbine manufacturer had been exploring a very similar technology. We’ve been in contact with that manufacturer and expect to be partnering with that manufacturer going forward.”
In an email, Cotrell confirmed that RCAM Technologies is discussing partnership opportunities with several wind turbine manufacturers, including the unnamed company mentioned in the video.
RCAM Technologies’ agreement with the CEC notes that if the technology could increase the wind capacity deployment potential for new sites and repowered sites in California nearly tenfold -- from 6 gigawatts to 60 gigawatts. |
Repowering ageing wind turbines can cut ballooning operation costs | The average age of the North American wind fleet will rise from 5.5 years in 2015 to 14 years in 2030, and ageing wind turbines will suck up about $40bn in operation and maintenance expenses in the US and Canada from 2015 to 2025, said a report by IHS Markit. To cut those costs, some projects owners have turned to repowering - upgrading turbines and replacing blades or gearboxes on existing turbines. | https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/could-repowering-be-the-solution-for-north-americas-aging-wind-turbines#gs.lVU2qjI | 2017-12-01 16:33:18.163000 | North America’s aging fleet of wind turbines could lead to a surge in operations and maintenance spending through 2030, according to a report released this month by IHS Markit. The report found cumulative O&M spending for the wind energy sector in the United States and Canada will top $40 billion from 2015 to 2025.
“The average age of the North American wind fleet will rise from 5.5 years in 2015 to 7 years in 2020, and to 14 years in 2030,” said Maxwell Cohen, senior research analyst at IHS Markit and co-author of the report, in a statement.
Cohen and co-author Ryan Siavelis gathered data from nearly one-third of the wind energy market in North America -- 300 wind projects comprising nearly 20,000 turbines -- to prepare the analysis.
According to the report, O&M costs average between $42,000 and $48,000 per megawatt during the first 10 years of a wind turbine’s operations. Over time, direct O&M costs related to turbine maintenance increase, while indirect O&M costs for site administration hold steady or decline.
By 2030, an older, larger turbine fleet in the United States and Canada -- estimated at more than 70,000 turbines -- will present service providers with ample opportunities for growth. “The age of that capacity in 2030 will make the O&M business very lucrative, which is why so many players are expanding into this sector of the business,” said Siavelis in a statement.
Cohen and Siavelis identified Suzlon, Siemens Gamesa, MHI and Vestas among the original equipment manufacturers that have entered the space in pursuit of wind O&M service agreements.
O&M’s emergence as a “strategic battleground”
Analysts at MAKE Consulting likewise see significant growth opportunities in wind turbine services. MAKE’s own wind turbine O&M report was published this month. By 2026, the report found, the global wind turbine services market could exceed $27 billion. MAKE Consulting is owned by Wood Mackenzie, Greentech Media’s parent company.
In an email, MAKE Consulting’s Aaron Barr noted that his firm’s O&M average for the U.S. market was lower than IHS Markit’s -- $28,000 per megawatt, compared to a range between $42,000 per megawatt and $48,000 per megawatt -- but he identified the same salient industry trends.
“The overall O&M market is growing primarily because the fleet continues to grow with new installations,” he said. “All of these new turbines coming online must be maintained for 20+ years.”
“Another factor contributing to the growing O&M market is the increasing age of the existing fleet,” added Barr. ”Older turbines face higher O&M costs due to legacy equipment, accumulated fatigue damage, and spare-part obsolecense.”
Seeking to control O&M costs, project owners have been forced to decide whether to keep turbine servicing in-house, and they are turning to digitalization to optimize project performance.
“The O&M segment has emerged as a key strategic battleground within the industry,” said Barr. “Asset owners are increasingly sensitive to O&M costs, and many of the largest owners are now performing their own maintenance. OEMs still maintain a majority of the global fleet, but they face competitive pressure from self-performing asset owners (their customers), independent service companies, and their OEM competitors.”
He went on: “The O&M market has also become one of the central focuses of technical innovation -- including application of data science, aerodynamic enhancements, and controls strategy R&D. The digitalization revolution the industry is going through is also primarily driven by the O&M market and associated operational improvements.”
Repowering potential
To address an aging wind turbine fleet and increasing O&M expenditures, project owners are increasingly turning to repowering -- replacing obsolete turbines with new more powerful turbines at the same project site, or replacing select components such as blades or gearboxes on existing turbines.
The Energy Information Administration recently published an update on the potential for wind farm repowering in the United States. EIA found that 12 percent of the turbines installed in the United States came on-line before 2000; those turbines account for just 2 percent of the country’s installed wind electricity generating capacity.
EIA cited data from GE, which has already repowered some 300 wind turbines, indicating that repowering can increase wind turbine fleet output by 25 percent and add 20 years to the life of the turbine.
Current tax law incentivizes owners to repower projects. Projects qualify for the federal Production Tax Credit if at least 80 percent of the property’s value is new. Qualifying repowering projects that meet the 2019 deadline established under the December 2015 PTC extension can then receive an additional 10 years of tax credits.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that annual repowering investment in the United States could reach $25 billion by 2030. |
Mushrooms contaminated with Chernobyl radiation headed to France | A shipment of mushrooms containing radiation believed to come from Chernobyl has been discovered in Frankfurt, on its way to France. The shipment contained over three tonnes of mushrooms from Belarus, and showed traces of nuclear reactor waste product cesium 137. French nuclear safety organisation IRSN said that the mushrooms did not pose a threat to health. A week ago, Russia denied that it had experienced another nuclear accident following recordings of “extremely high” traces of a radioactive isotope.
| https://news.sky.com/story/chernobyl-blamed-for-radiation-found-on-mushrooms-being-imported-into-france-11150612 | 2017-12-01 16:04:46.547000 | Mushrooms containing traces of radiation, believed to be from Chernobyl, have been stopped from being imported into France.
The shipment of more than three tonnes of mushrooms from Belarus contained traces of cesium 137, a waste product of nuclear reactors, French authorities said.
It was discovered passing through Frankfurt, Germany but did not pose a health threat, according to the nuclear safety body IRSN.
The incident comes just a week after Russia denied a nuclear accident had occurred in the country after it recorded "extremely high" traces of a radioactive isotope.
Russia's weather service measured pollution of ruthenium-106 at 1,000 times normal levels in the Ural mountains.
Image: The abandoned, partially-completed cooling towers stand at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
An IRSN spokesman said the contaminated mushrooms had "no link with the ruthenium-106 pollution".
"As the mushrooms came from Belarus, it is very likely the contamination originated in Chernobyl," the spokesman said.
Chernobyl in Ukraine is just south of the Belarus border and was the site of a major nuclear disaster in 1986.
Cesium 137, which has a 30-year half-life, is still widely found in the areas around Chernobyl.
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The IRSN spokesman said eating tens of kilos of the Belarus mushrooms would expose a consumer to radioactivity levels similar to natural ambient radioactivity during a whole year.
He added that there had been no health risk for the customs officials, even if they had touched the mushrooms with their bare hands. |
Purplebricks tasks Feefo with managing customer reviews | Online estate agent Purplebricks has partnered with Feefo, a web-based customer review site. The move aims to increase transparency in the sector and enable customers to make informed choices about property purchases. Purplebricks, which also partnered with Danish review site Trustpilot, is working to integrate Feefo's data service, with a launch set for early next year.
| http://www.directorstalk.net/purplebricks-group-adds-feefo-customer-review-choices/ | 2017-12-01 15:16:26.863000 | Purplebricks Group plc (LON:PURP) has today announced a new partnership with customer review site Feefo, providing customers with even more opportunities to review the Purplebricks’ service.
Feefo is widely regarded as being transparent, independent and secure, and is trusted by consumers as a vocal advocate of honesty in the reviews industry. It is only available to genuine customers, who are provided with a unique review link, ensuring only authentic reviews.
Feefo works with over 4,000 corporate customers internationally, including many leading online and high street consumer brands, and helps consumers to make more informed decisions about what to buy and who to do business with.
The company is currently working on implementation and integration with the Feefo service and will launch early in 2018. It will remain in partnership with Trustpilot and the information gleaned from both review websites will give the company invaluable customer insight and build on the excellent service its people deliver for customers on a day by day basis. |
Global paying publishers for data to improve targeted audio ads | Radio broadcaster Global is paying publishers including MailOnline, Dennis Publishing and Haymarket to use their first-party data to improve targeted ad campaigns on its Dax exchange. Such deals have been applied to about 15 of 350 ad campaigns the broadcaster runs each month, said Oliver Deane, Global's director of commercial digital. The partnership is proving successful for both parties, as publishers see radio as an additional revenue source, Deane added.
| https://digiday.com/media/radio-broadcaster-global-using-news-publishers-data-target-audio-ads/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=171201 | 2017-12-01 15:14:13.813000 | Radio broadcaster Global is tapping traditional news publishers’ first-party data to provide better targeted audio ad campaigns for its advertisers.
Over the last year, Global has paid publishers, including ESI Media, Dennis Publishing, MailOnline and Haymarket, to overlay their first-party data into campaigns that run across its digital audio exchange Dax. These second-party data deals have been applied to roughly 15 of the 350 audio ad campaigns Dax runs a month, according to the broadcaster. Dax negotiates a flat fee with each publisher, according to Oliver Deane, director of commercial digital for Global, though he wouldn’t share additional details.
With radio stations like Heart, Capital FM and Classic FM, Global is not a direct rival to news publishers when it comes to competing for display ad revenue, making second-party data partnerships like these appealing to both sides. For news publishers constantly on the lookout for new revenue options, decoupling audience data from their inventory is becoming a more common way to monetize.
“This is becoming successful for us,” Deane said. “We have good relationships with publishers, and because we are an audio platform and a neutral business, for publishers we’re seen as an additional revenue source.”
During a recent campaign for the Royal Bank of Scotland, where the bank’s aim was to drive people to its online remortgaging application, Dax used data from real estate aggregator site Zoopla. People who had visited Zoopla and were in the market for a mortgage were targeted with audio creative. This led to a 68 percent increase in visits to its remortgage page, and 75 percent of those sent to the page completed the remortgaging application, compared to 43 percent for those who didn’t hear the ad, according to Global, which wouldn’t share specific numbers.
Last year, Dax worked with Audi to target users who had visited Haymarket magazine Autocar’s site. The campaign drove six times more visits than it would typically have to the Audi site and 13 percent of all traffic to the site during the campaign period, according to Global.
So far, campaigns that have incorporated the second-party data performed just as well for branding outcomes — like increasing purchase intent or brand awareness — as they did for direct-response campaigns, according to Deane.
“When we take this to advertisers, they are surprised another publisher has given us their first-party data to monetize, so we’re making advertisers aware of this,” Deane said. “It’s growing steadily.” Global claims that 90 percent of listeners hear the ads Dax serves all the way through, though that’s to be expected, partly because people are used to hearing ads within audio content.
Jeremy Sigel, global head of partnerships and emerging media at Essence, said audio is still often an afterthought for advertisers more seduced by video ad formats. In order for the industry to grow, other audio publishers must invest more in bespoke audio solutions like personalization and dynamic creative, formats that Dax caters to. “That will elevate the medium and make it more appealing to advertisers,” he said.
The growing interest in audio and voice-operated platforms is working in Global’s favor. People in the U.K. spend nearly 10 hours a week listening to digital audio, according to the latest Radio Joint Audience Research figures. Global is also expanding, recently acquiring AudioHQ in the U.S. for an undisclosed amount and opening offices in France and Germany.
With Amazon and Google creating potential new ad opportunities on voice-activated devices Alexa and Home, respectively, advertisers are thinking harder about how their brand comes across over audio. Research company Gartner estimates that 30 percent of people’s online browsing globally will be screenless by 2020. Radio advertisers have had to think about this for years, but more tools in digital audio have expanded the creative offering. Dax has an audio creative team of about 70 people, including producers and scriptwriters, who help advertisers create ads.
“Advertisers are getting their heads around what their brand sounds like, whether that’s a distinctive voice, the type of music, even having names that are easy to pronounce,” Deane said. “More thought is going into sonic branding.” |
Education start-up teaches Indian children about IoT and robots | An education start-up in India is giving children the opportunity to learn key skills in alternative technologies and put their learning to practical use. Chennai-based SP Robotic Works (SPRW) was founded in 2012 and now offers online one-to-one tutorials in subjects including robotics, the internet of things (IoT) and virtual reality (VR). Students register for the courses and buy kits containing electronic components for them to familiarise themselves with, while participating in the online tutorials. The kits cost between $77 and $230. SPRW also involves students in existing commercial projects and supports their own robot inventions.
| https://qz.com/1112876/indian-school-kids-are-learning-to-build-robots-with-diy-kits-and-online-courses/ | 2017-12-01 15:11:45.307000 | Fourteen-year-old Hargobind Khurana had always been fascinated with computers, electronics, and robots. Since his school curriculum didn’t offer much in this regard, he’d spend hours on the internet trying to learn the basics. But even online, the information was often unorganised, with no one to explain complex ideas to him.
Lately, though, Khurana has been learning more systematically after enrolling with SP Robotic Works (SPRW), one of the several educational tech startups in India. These firms work to bridge a critical gap in conventional education, teaching technologies such as robotics, the internet of things (IoT), and virtual reality (VR). “The course is very one-to-one,” his mother Meenu told Quartz, describing the structured online classes that include videos and other learning tools. “Although it is online, it is as if (a teacher) is teaching you.”
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Although robotics is a broad concept including areas such as automation, embedded systems, mechanical engineering, IoT, etc, these ed-tech startups start with the basics. They design small kits containing breadboards, wires, sensors, and other such components, and get children to play with them. They then move on to teaching the children basic programming and concepts in physics, and gradually help them develop their own robots. These could be ones that merely follow a line or react to light, or more complex mobile phone-controlled ones that can perform certain tasks.
And these courses could be either online, at school, or outside the classroom. Chennai-based SPRW, for instance, runs online-only courses, assisted by their AI-driven chat bot. ”The bot serves as a personal trainer and asks them questions, understands whether they’re having difficulties, repeats concepts in different ways,” said Sneha Priya, who started the company with her husband in 2012.
Students can register and purchase kits, priced between Rs5,000 ($77) and Rs15,000 ($230), and learn the basics through the videos provided to them. Since June 2016, when it began holding classes, SPRW has sold over 5,000 kits, racking up revenues of over Rs1.5 crore, Priya said. Backed by angel investor groups like Chennai Angels and the Indian Angel Network, SPRW will soon also begin teaching virtual reality and image processing.
While SPRW’s focus is on online training, there are others that prefer in-person sessions.
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“In the classroom, you get to mingle with 50-60 people from different backgrounds, and if you have an issue, someone is there with you. The community is very active,” said Pawan Gnanaraj, who heads the robotics and operations team at Chennai-based Lema Labs. The IIT Madras-incubated startup runs a six-month programme that includes six weeks of classes and four months of project work. It has trained over 4,500 persons, including school and college students, since 2013.
Pune-based Robokidz, on the other hand, partners with schools and sets up labs for a fee. Classes are conducted once a week in schools either by Robokidz trainers or by school teachers trained by it. Giving students such exposure early on also helps them make more informed career choices, said Sagar Sanghvi, founder of Robokidz. The five-year-old company is currently working with over 300 schools across India.
“IoT and artificial intelligence and robotics are now coming into (the) mainstream…so in that sense its important that children are knowledgeable about these things because tomorrow they’re going to drive cars that are intelligent and have buildings that are IoT-enabled,” Narayanan Ramaswamy, a partner at KPMG in India who focuses on education and skill development, told Quartz.
The end product
A major attraction of these courses is that the students’ work is often showcased outside the classroom, or sometimes even put to commercial use.
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“We thought if we can provide…industrial opportunities to people when they’re learning, their learning gets doubled,” Priya of SPRW said. Her startup lets students help with the projects the company takes on—some of the recent ones being creating robots for a farming company that helps weed agricultural fields, robots to clean solar panels for Tata Power Solar, and a warehouse robot used by firms like Qualcomm.
Students aged 12 years and above have also independently funded and built products, including a beach-cleaning robot called Swachh Bot and BOB, which helps serves dishes at a restaurant.
Robokidz, which teaches children aged between eight and 16, gets its students to make miniature cars with gear mechanisms, robots based on programming and sensors, or those that can be controlled using smartphones connected on wifi networks. It then invites students to participate in its annual competition, the Robotics Premier League.
However, challenges remain. Finding trainers, for instance. Also, to keep the children interested, they must ensure that the curricula is neither boring nor difficult. Then, there is the need for patience. “They (children) don’t want to listen to the theory and just want to jump to making the things,” Robokidz’s Sanghvi said. “So once they make it and are happy, we have to make them understand the science behind it.”
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Overall, though, the need for this start up-led exposure to robotics is clear. “Our schools lack technology while everyone out there is using a smartphone. Technology is rapidly changing and the education space has lot to catch up. The learning skills required for future innovators and researchers require seeding at a young age,” Prahlad Vadakkepat, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, told Quartz. “Technological literacy is essential to live in future societies.” |
Amazon patents system for cutting prices as users watch ads | Amazon is developing a system that drops product prices as a reward for customers viewing adverts. The online retailer has patented the "content-based price reductions" system, which would allow users to receive discounts or other benefits in return for consuming video, audio or interactive content. The move comes as part of Amazon's efforts to compete with YouTube and various other social media platforms, which have seen it testing video content on the site. | https://qz.com/1143096/amazon-may-have-patented-the-next-big-thing-in-online-shopping/ | 2017-12-01 14:56:12.910000 | User-generated Amazon reviews are one of the most important ways that consumers find products and decide what to buy. So much so that Amazon has consistently shown itself to be Google’s competitor in e-commerce search. Almost all Amazon product reviews are written but, as business research firm L2 wrote, Amazon is now pivoting to video.
It’s a broad strategy with Amazon inviting some of its 2 million merchant partners to join the test program, where videos will be posted to the site in mid-December. According to L2, “this feature is a logical step given how often consumers watch how-to and product review videos before making purchases. By adding the feature, Amazon clearly aims to keep shoppers on its own site, preventing them from migrating to YouTube or social media platforms.”
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There’s potentially another reason for Amazon to promote the use of video in e-commerce. It now has a way to offer customers discounts for watching ads. In October, Amazon was awarded a patent for “content-based price reductions and incentives.” The patent says that “customers in an electronic environment can be presented with the option to receive advertising, such as audio, video, or interactive content, in order to receive discounted pricing or similar benefits.”
One example of how Amazon sees this working is that a customer can watch a video ad on an item’s detail page, such as a product review. As the customer watches more of the ad, the displayed price for the item drops.
Depending on how strong Amazon’s patent is, no online retailer outside of Amazon’s ecosystem can offer this benefit to customers.
The background to this patent is informative as it helps explain how far reaching Amazon’s thinking could be, and how they plan to keep lowering prices for consumers. One major difference between e-commerce and in-store purchasing is that loss-leading—selling goods cheaper than what they cost—doesn’t work in e-commerce. When customers visit a physical store, they have invested their time to get there so stocking up on additional items is worth it. This doesn’t happen online. So this patent levels the playing field, allowing sellers to offer discounts to online customers based on their investment in time.
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With this patent, Amazon has signaled that it is taking on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snap, and other media platforms for digital ad spend. And customers will now also know the value of their time. And potentially whether their time gets more or less valuable depending on their purchasing behavior. One person’s time is inevitably more valuable than another’s, so with dynamic pricing, it’s not hard to imagine a personalized price based on a customer’s attention span and spending behavior.
Perhaps most importantly, Amazon had a lock on low-friction e-commerce with its original patent for one-click checkout, which has expired this year. The question is, with the shift to video-enabled e-commerce, is dynamically priced, attention-incentivized video advertising the next big thing that secures Amazon’s advantage for years to come? |
Publishers want their own ads and sponsorships on Facebook Watch | Publishers want to sell their own ads and sponsorships on Facebook's video platform Watch, citing unhappiness with the current levels of revenue. Sources at four publishers, including one media conglomerate and three digital publishers, said they have put pressure on the social media giant to let them sell mid-roll ads and sponsorships. But Facebook prefers to sell mid-roll ads based on user targeting rather than through contextual placements, and could lose out if they let publishers sell sponsorships, according to publishing sources.
| https://digiday.com/media/publishers-seek-to-apply-pressure-on-facebook-to-improve-ad-monetization-issues/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=daily&utm_content=171201 | 2017-12-01 14:45:42.327000 | Facebook’s ambitions to produce TV-like content has a problem: Creators still aren’t happy with the money they’re making off commercials and sponsorships Facebook sells. As a result, show makers are pushing Facebook to let them do the selling — and say they’re willing to take their shows to other platforms if the terms don’t improve.
Sources at four companies that have sold shows to Facebook, including one major media conglomerate and three digital publishers, said they have pushed Facebook to make it easier for them to sell mid-roll ads. They’ve also pushed Facebook on being able to sell sponsorships for Facebook Watch shows. Facebook has been hesitant to open up these opportunities, these sources said. “The response is always: ‘We’re considering it, but we’re not there yet,’” said one Facebook-funded shows partner.
Facebook is selling mid-roll ad breaks programmatically, according to two ad buyers. The company is hesitant to open up these slots to publishing partners because it prefers to sell ads based on user targeting, rather than contextual placements made through direct buys, publishing sources said. Facebook has also been out pitching advertisers on show sponsorships, but they’re pitched as part of broader Facebook media buys, according to an ad buyer. If Facebook gave publishers the ability to sell sponsorships for funded shows, it could lose out on some ad revenue, some publishing sources speculated.
Right now, Facebook takes 45 percent of all ad revenue generated from video ad breaks (though, in many cases, this revenue split only comes up after Facebook has recouped the money it gives to publishers to make shows and other videos every month.) It’s unclear how the revenue split might be affected if publishers are given access to the ad slots, though many publishers would expect it to remain at the current revenue share — which is the same as YouTube’s. With show sponsorships, Facebook could request the same share.
It’s a crucial time for digital media as many digital publishers that placed bets on building big businesses by focusing on advertising revenue and video distribution on Facebook are still struggling to grow revenue. The hope that the reach provided by Facebook would eventually translate into consistent ad dollars is still largely unproven — and it’s creating more urgency inside these companies to turn their Facebook video efforts into viable businesses.
“Facebook has been pretty good about trying to create monetization opportunities for us: We were part of the live deal, we’re part of the mid-roll deal,” said one Facebook Watch and mid-rolls partner. “But when they don’t work, they need to help us come up with other answers on how we can make this into a business — that’s how we’re trying to put pressure on them.”
Multiple publishers said they’re increasingly pushing Facebook to improve its monetization products by pointing out that other social platforms have friendlier monetization terms. While Snapchat does not provide production funds for its shows, it does allow companies to sell ad slots inside the shows and evenly split the revenue. Twitter, meanwhile, is offering its Amplify video partners 70 percent of the ad revenue their videos generate on the platform.
“We’re at a point now with our Facebook strategy, where we’re thinking in some cases it makes more sense to get the second season of one of our [Watch] shows sponsored by an advertiser and then run it on Facebook or other platforms — and not have the show exclusively licensed by Facebook,” said one Facebook Watch partner with multiple shows. “Right now, Watch is not delivering a huge audience — the shows that do are because the publisher has built up a huge audience on their pages. As a result, it’s becoming increasingly clear that, where six months ago it wasn’t a question that we wanted to bring shows to Watch, now we’re questioning if we even should if [Facebook isn’t] bringing audience or monetization in any sort of efficient way.”
Facebook declined to comment on its future plans for selling into mid-roll ad breaks.
For publishers, Facebook’s rules have limited how much money they can make with Watch shows that are funded by the platform. Facebook’s original content partners, for the most part, have not been allowed to sell sponsorships and integrations for the programs, three sources said. Even when these sources had sponsors willing and ready to spend on their shows, Facebook rejected the deals.
“We’re barely making any money off of [Watch shows] — it’s all off the minimum [production] guarantees,” said one Watch partner. “From a money perspective, Watch could be good if you can sell sponsors on top of it; otherwise, it’s pretty meager.”
It’s important to note that while Facebook is subsidizing well over a hundred programs inside Watch, it’s not funding every show. Publishers can independently set up Facebook Watch show pages to distribute serialized programming inside the section. Facebook has previously said that publishers are welcome to create Watch show pages for branded series they’ve made for advertisers, but these are not shows directly funded by Facebook.
The big issue for Facebook’s Watch partners is the ability to sell into the mid-roll ad breaks that can appear inside shows. So far, Facebook’s ad breaks monetization program has yielded scant revenue for publishers.
“We have argued to Ricky [Van Veen] and others that they have to let us sell [some of the mid-roll ad inventory; our own sales team can sell our own product better than they can,” said one Facebook Watch original content partner.
“There are brands now who have seen these shows who want access to this type of programming,” said another partner. “At some point there has to be an answer to how am I going to make money on your platform.”
Some are optimistic that Facebook will eventually loosen its grip on mid-roll ad inventory and Facebook Watch show sponsorships. Of course, this will happen when publishers apply greater pressure on Facebook to do so.
“Facebook is very much long-term when it comes to how they plan to monetize video,” said one Facebook Watch and mid-roll partner. “That’s fine for Facebook, but publishers don’t have the luxury of being long-term in how they monetize their content today. That’s where Snap and Twitter are being rightfully aggressive with publishers.” |
Facebook partners with Meetrics on viewability | Facebook has partnered with the German analytics company Meetrics, which will provide the social media giant with data on the viewability of adverts. This marks the first time the Facebook has commissioned a company outside of the US to provide the service since it began collecting such data in 2008. The deal will help Facebook advertisers to gauge how many display ads reach their intended audience. The company plans to build on the service in future by verifying other forms of content, including video.
| http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/12/01/facebook-brings-meetrics-first-international-viewability-partner | 2017-12-01 14:42:52.557000 | Facebook has chosen Meetrics as its first viewability partner from outwith the US as it continues to work on improving advertiser confidence in its figures following revelations that it had claimed an adverts reached more people than official census data.
Facebook counts on Meetrics as first international viewability partner
The verification firm will furnish advertisers with viewability metrics for Facebook display ad campaigns across desktop and mobile with a view to introducing video viewability measures in the ‘near future’. |
Commercial carriers urged to adapt to deliver on-demand insurance | On-demand cover in the commercial insurance has largely been limited to events insurance, purchased through agencies, however, commercial carriers risk being left behind if they don’t adapt to cater to the on-demand model, writes Ted Devine in Property Casualty 360, as these policies, and opportunities in project-specific professional liability or contractor's liability areas, could easily be sold online. He suggests carriers need to rework processes of selling and binding insurance to compete with firms like Cuvva and Verifly, which are unencumbered by legacy systems and cost structures, like the annual cycle that underscores insurance procurement and servicing of commercial policies.
| http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2017/12/01/the-future-of-business-insurance-is-on-demand?t=agency-technology&ref=rss&slreturn=1512134111 | 2017-12-01 14:32:09.620000 | Our culture is rapidly evolving into one of instant gratification. As services like Uber, Amazon Prime Now, and TaskRabbit continue to grow in popularity, consumers expect to be able to order almost any product or service and have it delivered instantly.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center found that 72% of American adults have used some type of shared or on-demand online service — a number that will continue to grow. In other words, it’s time for businesses to embrace on-demand products and services, including commercial insurance carriers. |
German publishers taking data protection rules in their stride | German publishers and media companies are unflustered by the forthcoming European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as many are behaving as though the rules are already being enforced. Germany has long been a wide adopter of data transparency, including the soon-to-be-overhauled ePrivacy Directive. Its companies have been implementing measures such as signing data-processing agreements ahead of GDPR, while the UK and other European Union countries have lagged behind in drawing up plans to meet the directive's requirements.
| https://digiday.com/media/german-publishers-arent-worried-gdpr/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=171201 | 2017-12-01 14:11:37.213000 | Germans are privacy fiends, but when it comes to the highly anticipated General Data Protection Regulation, they’re treating it as business as usual.
The reasons for this vary, including cultural differences and the country’s attitude toward different business threats like the ePrivacy Regulation. Germany’s stance on data privacy is singular in Europe due to its time under Stasi rule. Consequently, data transparency in media and advertising is highly valued and incorporated earlier into business practices than in other countries.
For German marketers, transparency in data use is the top concern, with 66 percent of marketers citing this as the area in which they expect transparency from ad tech vendors, according to a recent report from independent media-buying platform Iotec, which polled 250 senior marketers. By contrast, the top focuses for U.K. marketers are ad fraud and transparency on ad tech vendor pricing, according to a corresponding Iotec report that polled 500 U.K. senior marketers.
“There’s an air of calmness and pragmatism in Germany compared to elsewhere,” said Paul Wright, CEO of Iotec. “They’re used to this approach.”
Preparing for the GDPR hasn’t been easy in Germany, though. But transitioning to being GDPR-compliant has been less of a jolt for media and advertising companies there than it has in the U.K., for example.
While the majority of the U.K. market is awaiting final direction on how to obtain consent and share data from the Information Commissioner’s Office, German publishers are conducting business as if the law is already being enforced. Some U.K. data specialists at publishers have already pointed out that waiting on the ICO’s final guidance is naive — there are plenty of other ways to prepare, given the fundamentals of the regulation are set. Yet many have paused strategy changes until the final guidance arrives in December.
“In Germany, we’re [Iotec] signing data-processing agreements, which clarify what we do with data and is signed by us and the client. We put pixels on publishers’ sites, and they want to know how we use that data,” said Wright. Having those terms written into contracts makes it clear to the publisher who is liable for the sharing of customer data, which will be critical under the GDPR, given the severity of the fines. “We’re not as used to that in the U.K., where we’re less clear who is liable,” he added.
Another reason German media businesses seem way ahead of the rest of Europe in their readiness for the GDPR is because the ramifications of the regulation have been major topics in the press there for nearly two years, unlike in the U.K., where widespread coverage has only happened recently.
Added to that, Germany took a firmer approach to enforcing the ePrivacy Directive (due to be overhauled into the ePrivacy Regulation next year) than the U.K. and other European markets. Users that visit a publisher website in Germany are opted out of having their data stored by default. Only once they opt in do publishers store their data. In the U.K., it’s the other way around.
Internal GDPR workshops are common at German publishers, during which long lists of ad tech suppliers are vetted with the aim of crushing any risk, and contracts are adjusted accordingly to ensure suppliers or ad networks are accountable for their own sharing of data.
“There’s still a way to go on that,” said Oliver von Wersch, a publisher consultant and former managing director of growth projects and strategic partnerships at German media house Gruner + Jahr. “Many publishers here now have a more clear picture and are addressing vendors with new contracts. I expect in the first quarter we will start seeing the active removal of vendors from the supply chain.”
Businesses have been advised to appoint data protection officers to get in line with the new law. In the U.K., these roles are still rare, whereas in Germany, most publishers already have them, according to von Wersch. “Publishers [in Germany] understand there is a lot of homework to do around [GDPR] documentation, having the right security guidelines in place and defining data processes,” he added. “Many of them are well underway.”
That’s not to say the Germans are immune to anxiety. Rather, their energy is firmly directed to the ePrivacy Regulation due to be enforced next year. The terms of this law are still being determined in Brussels, but if the current proposal for the law stands, the potential ramifications are far more alarming than those of the GDPR, according to German publishers. Axel Springer is among those lobbying against the changes.
“The [GDPR] itself is balanced in terms of what the rights of the publisher are and what the rights of the user are,” von Wersch said. “But if you look at ePrivacy, it becomes very different — it’s very much on the side of the user and opposes many things publishers are reliant on for monetization.” |
Poorer children have 5 times higher exposure to takeaways | Pupils in the most socially deprived areas in England are exposed to five times as many fast food outlets as their wealthiest peers, according to data from Cambridge University. Over 400 schools in the country have 20 or more takeaways within 400 metres, and an additional 1,400 have between 10 and 19 within the same radius. Health experts warn that such heavy exposure results in greater risk of childhood obesity, heart disease and stroke in adulthood. In September 2017, the average school had 2.6 fast food outlets within 400 metres, up from 2.3 in June 2014.
| https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2017/dec/01/schoolchildren-poor-areas-exposed-fast-food-takeaways | 2017-12-01 14:11:33.833000 | Increasing numbers of fast food takeaways are springing up close to schools in England, with pupils in the most socially deprived areas exposed to five times as many outlets as their richest peers.
Data provided to the Guardian by Cambridge University’s Centre for Diet and Activity Research (Cedar) shows more than 400 schools across England have 20 or more fast food takeaways within a 400-metre radius, while a further 1,400 have between 10 and 19 outlets within the same distance.
Public health experts have warned that heavy exposure of children to fast food outlets and increased consumption of high-fat nutrient-poor food leads to greater risk of childhood obesity, as well as heart disease and stroke in later life.
The number of fast food shops close to schools is increasing in all English regions, the Cedar data reveals, with growth highest in the north of England. In June 2014 the average English school had 2.3 takeaways within 400 metres. By September 2017 it had risen to 2.6.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, this week highlighted the problem when he published draft planning rules designed to prevent new takeaways opening within 400 metres of schools in the capital, part of a package of measures he said would “tackle the ticking timebomb of childhood obesity and help us all lead healthier lives”.
But the Cedar figures show that the areas around schools in many parts of London are already saturated with fast food outlets. Of the 20 English local authorities with the highest average number of takeaways near schools, 17 are in the capital.
Schools in London have an average of six fast food outlets within a 400-metre vicinity, although this rises to more than eight in the poorest areas and falls to fewer than two in the wealthiest.
According to Public Health England (PHE), a third of children aged two to 15 are obese or overweight. In London, 40% of children are overweight or obese when they finish primary school, the highest proportion in England.
Before the mayor of London’s announcement, only about 20 local authorities in England had adopted planning regulations designed to limit the number of fast food outlets. While some have succeeded in capping numbers, there is no clear evidence it has delivered public health dividends.
Seven of the 10 schools with the highest density of nearby fast food outlets are in London. At the top of the scale is the Soho Parish primary school in the heart of the West End, which has 94 fast food restaurants within a 400-metre radius, up from 82 in 2014, a rise of 15%.
Outside the capital, schools surrounded by dense clusters of fast food outlets include Middle Street primary in Brighton, which has 67 outlets within a 400-metre radius, St Anne’s in Blackburn, with 46, Hope House in Barnsley (42), and Grafton House in Tameside (42).
Martin Caraher, a professor of food policy at City, University of London, welcomed the mayor’s plans, but warned that they may be undermined by cuts to local council public health budgets. “All credit to Sadiq Khan, this is a brave move,” he said. “But it comes with a cost, and council public health budgets have been squeezed and staff are leaving. Who is going to monitor and implement this plan?”
The mayor’s draft plan, which came into force on Wednesday, bans new takeaways within a 400-metre walking distance of a primary or secondary school. There are no powers to operate planning rules retrospectively, meaning the measure will stop additional outlets opening but will not close existing ones.
It also requires new takeaways to sign up to a healthier catering commitment, which encourages owners to make simple changes to food preparation methods, such as grilling rather than deep frying, and using less salt.
Soho Parish primary in central London has 94 fast food outlets within a 400-metre radius, according to Cedar. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian
However, the restrictions will apply only to shops classed under planning laws as A5 use, which applies to outlets selling hot food for consumption off the premises. This does not include chains such as McDonald’s, which operate as restaurants with takeaway capacity and are classified differently.
Nor does it include operators such as Greggs bakeries whose primary business is not as a hot food takeaway. The Cedar figures do include such shops as well as McDonald’s-style outlets.
A Guardian investigation in July revealed that the fast food retail industry was booming. Cedar analysis found that there were 56,600 hot food takeaways in England in 2017, an 8% increase in three years. The heaviest concentrations of fast food outlets were to be found in the most economically deprived areas, such as the north-west.
PHE called this year for all councils to introduce planning restrictions on fast food into their local planning schemes. Currently, about 20 local authorities in England have implemented planning strategies to limit takeaway numbers. While some claim the new rules have kept a lid on overall A5 outlet numbers, it is not clear if any of the councils have managed to stop the rise of obesity.
Experts have warned that planning restrictions may be of limited use, partly because they do not stop the expansion of other shops selling high fat, low nutrient food, such as supermarkets or newsagents.
The restrictions may also be bypassed by developments in the hospitality industry such as the rise of online ordering of fast food, often prepared in “dark kitchens” off the high street not covered by A5 class planning rules. |
Singapore scientists develop ethylene using solar energy | Scientists at the National University of Singapore's Department of Chemistry have developed a low-cost, energy-efficient way to produce ethylene from carbon dioxide and water. In an article published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, the team simulated photosynthesis using benign chemical reagents at room temperature and pressure, achieving an unprecedented 1.5% solar-to-ethylene energy efficiency. The team said its work would further the development of "a scalable artificial photosynthesis system to produce clean fuels sustainably". | https://www.pv-magazine.com/2017/12/01/singapores-nus-researchers-develop-alternative-ethylene-production-using-solar-energy/ | 2017-12-01 14:07:02.693000 | An artificial photosynthesis device developed by a team of of scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) could provide a greener alternative to current ethylene production, employing a completely renewable energy source, while simultaneously converting CO2 with the help of copper catalysts.
According to the findings published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, NUS achieved an unprecedented 1.5% solar-to-ethylene energy efficiency (the total solar-to-carbon-fuels energy efficiency is 2.9%).
Current industrial production of ethylene employs steam cracking of saturated hydrocarbons at 750°C to 950°C, which translates to an enormous consumption of energy, emitting about two tons of carbon dioxide for every ton of ethylene produced.The process, developed by the NUS team, takes place at room temperature and pressure, with only the use of benign chemical reagents.
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The researchers have also added a battery to store excess solar energy, thus ensuring stable and continuous production of ethylene, and are now developing suitable catalysts that can be used in similar systems to produce liquid fuels such as ethanol from CO2 and H2O.
“We believe that our work, which is a product of efforts for the last two years, will play a crucial role to address key challenges in the realization of a scalable artificial photosynthesis system to produce clean fuels sustainably,” said assistant Professor Jason Yeo Boon Siang. |
Agtech start-up FBN raises $110m for farm analytics platform | US agriculture technology start-up Farmers Business Network (FBN) has raised a further $110m in a funding round led by Singapore sovereign-wealth fund Temasek and asset management firm T. Rowe Price. FBN, which also raised $40m in March, enables farmers across 42 US states to find and purchase products including seed, fertiliser and pesticides online, as well as gain access to credit. The latest funding will be used to build out FBN's platform and expand into Canada and potentially Asia.
| https://agfundernews.com/farmers-business-network-raises-110m-series-d.html | 2017-12-01 13:46:27.670000 | Farmers Business Network (FBN), a farmer-to-farmer digital network offering data insights, input procurement, and crop marketing services, has raised $110 million in Series D funding.
FBN is one of just a few farmtech startups that have raised rounds larger than $100 million: vertical farming group Plenty and biological inputs startup Indigo are two recent examples. This latest round brings FBN’s total fundraising to $200 million.
The round attracted new, lead investment from two large institutional investors: global asset management firm T. Rowe Price and Singapore state fund Temasek. These lead investors typically invest in later stage, private equity deals, highlighting how far FBN has come since its founding three years ago, argues Charles Baron, cofounder and VP of product.
“These are blue chip investors who are investing in the growth and proven track record FBN has built,” he told AgFunderNews. “We’ve built a phenomenally high-growth business with membership doubling year-on-year to nearly 5,000 farms around the US across 16 million acres, taking on another million acres each month.”
To put this in perspective, there are about 50,000 large-scale farms growing commodity crops like corn and soy in the US where FBN has focused most of its attention.
Existing investors Acre Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, GV (Google Ventures) and DBL Partners also participated in the round.
The company has grown in other ways too: its input procurement business has expanded from selling 170 products initially to over 1,200, it launched a crop marketing business earlier this year, it is expanding into Canada, and its team is now 200-strong, with plans to increase by another 100 in the next 12-18 months.
This growth puts an exit for the founders and investors in FBN in the cards within the next few years, and while most agrifood tech startups plan to exit their businesses through a trade sale to one of the large agrifood corporates, FBN has always planned to remain an independent company, according to Baron.
“We’d like to be a public company that farmers can invest in; that’s the best way for us to realize the vision of an independent company,” he said, adding that a public listing and IPO is likely in the next two to five years.
What is FBN?
FBN started life as an ag data platform with the intention of helping farmers manage their data and gain insights from each other on areas such as seed selection, compare productivity, and benchmark field performance over time. The platform predominantly collects data extracted from farm equipment but also aggregates farmers’ manually recorded data.
It later launched a seed finder app to share seed performance results and research with farmers to help them make better purchasing decisions.
Using data collected and crowdsourced from farmers about their seed and other input purchases, FBN was able to bring transparency to an otherwise opaque input pricing system.
“Prices are rarely listed online, and zone pricing is incredibly common where input suppliers will divide up the country into zones and charge different prices: a farmer in northern Illinois can pay a totally different amount to a farmer in southern Illinois,” said Baron.
FBN has also used its network to crowdsource genetic information about seeds, and revealed that the exact same genetic variety of seed could be sold by as many as 12 different companies under different brand names and at different prices.
“That’s been a total black box for farmers, but we were able to build up a database from thousands of seed label pictures of the exact seed varieties uploaded by our farmers,” said Baron.
An Input Procurement Business
So the natural progression was for FBN to start selling inputs to farmers with this transparent pricing and it now sells over 1,200 seed, pesticide, fertilizer, and other input products from a variety of suppliers including direct from the manufacturers.
“The way to think about FBN Direct is as an open marketplace; we welcome anyone that wants to supply our farmers from the major agrochemical companies to smaller distributors. Many companies have been blocked from reaching farmers as they can’t get into the highly consolidated retail market that works predominantly with the agrochemical majors; we’re creating more competition,” said Baron.
The input procurement business FBN Direct is now an e-commerce platform enabling farmers to discover and purchase supplies completely online — FBN Direct launched as an over-the-phone service initially — which also offers farmers credit on their purchases through flexible payments or loans via third-party providers. This part of the business, that enables farmers to share their farm data with financial providers, could naturally develop into a more general farm loans marketplace in the future, added Baron.
“The farm economy is not set up to meet the needs of farmers, but to meet the needs of the supplier,” said Baron. “FBN puts farmers first in the system and closer to the consumer by helping them to get the benefit of industry aggregation via the network and the scale of e-commerce.”
Industry insiders tell AgFunderNews that FBN’s business model does pose a threat to ag retailers and the large agrochemical companies: “There is enough money and energy behind FBN for it to be something big ag needs to keep an eye on, especially if you look at how other industries have been disrupted,” said one insider from a large agribusiness.
“Any startup that can successfully harness technology to drive network effects is going to be a huge threat to the incumbents,” said Rob Leclerc, CEO of AgFunder. “Like we’ve seen time and time again in other industries, the incumbents usually don’t get it until it’s too late.”
But some insiders are also critical of FBN’s approach and rhetoric around the role of the retailers.
“You don’t have to demonize the retailer to be still creating value. Retailers provide much more than prices and product sales; they provide a service including consultancy,” said the insider.
He added that the retailer and agrochemical majors are also starting to move some of their sales online in some geographies so will adapt to the online trend FBN is taking advantage of.
“FBN is trying to disrupt ag retail and grain brokers, not directly the suppliers. In essence, they are attempting to raise more capital than anyone to brute force a business model,” said another industry insider.
A Crop Marketing Platform
FBN last raised funding in March of this year with a $40 million Series C and raised the Series D preemptively “to capitalize on its new businesses, particularly crop marketing,” according to Baron.
The company will use the latest proceeds to build out this crop marketing platform with the intention of enabling buyers from all over the globe to buy directly from US farmers.
“This is where an online, digital network can be so transformational; now a food company from anywhere in the world can work with FBN and the best farms in America to avoid going through multiple middlemen,” said Baron. “It also allows farmers to use data to market their crop better, yield them better prices, but also bring them production contracts in advance so that they can know their price and costs before the season has even started to a much greater level of detail.”
FBN will also provide them with cash advances for working capital, “taking the risk with them” said Baron.
FBN has hundreds of thousands of acres under contract for the 2018 growing season, according to Baron.
Moving into New Territory
FBN serves farmers growing 25 different crops across 42 states. The majority still grow the major commodity crops, corn, soy, and wheat, but the company’s footprint is growing in large specialty crops like lentils, and chickpeas as well as orchard crops and vegetables on the west coast, according to Baron.
The company’s offering is slightly different for these farmers as they aren’t capturing the same data from machinery as the broadacre farmers are; it’s more focused on pricing intelligence and input benchmarking, according to Baron.
FBN will also use the proceeds of this round to expand into Canada where it’s opening offices shortly. New territories globally are also in the pipeline, and with investment from Singapore’s Temasek, it’s likely Asia will be a target in the medium term. |
Redrow Hiring spree sees 2017 trainee recruitment surge to record | Housebuilder Redrow has hired 19% more trainees this year, recruiting a record 353 from 297 in 2016. It's taken on staff across departments including construction, civil engineering, quantity surveying and designing. More than a fifth of trainees are female, higher than the 13.5% average for the industry, and comprise graduates and apprentices.
| http://www.showhouse.co.uk/news/record-number-of-new-trainees-for-redrow-this-year/ | 2017-12-01 13:15:49.493000 | Redrow, the multi-award-winning housebuilder,has reported a 19% increase in the number of trainees it has taken on this year, achieving a record 353 such recruitments in 2017 compared to 297 in 2016.
The trainees work across many disciplines across the company from general construction tradesmen and civil engineers to quantity surveyors and designers. With 22% of Redrow’s trainees being female, the proportion is significantly higher than the 13.5% of women reported as the industry’s workforce average.
The range of trainees includes a significant proportion of those undertaking construction trade apprenticeships, there are also many graduate trainees. There is a wide spectrum of qualifications available, from NVQ to degree, and the opportunity, over time and funded by the housebuilder, to join respected professional organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Building, the Institute of Civil Engineers or the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
Part of the company’s approach to training is the way that apprentices are encouraged to undertake projects in the community, as a way to develop leadership and management skills.
“Redrow’s work in the community gives our trainees a holistic experience that allows them to develop soft skills such as communication, leadership and problem solving, alongside their on-the-job experience, through working with local schools and charities,” says Karen Jones, HR director at Redrow and also trustee of the Construction Industry Training Board. “We feel that this rounded approach to development sets up our trainees for a successful future and ensures the next generation of housebuilders are the best they can be.”
Among current examples are graduates working on Considerate Constructors project, the Big Build Challenge, engage with local schoolchildren and get them thinking creatively about the environment, and a dozen graduate trainees from the area recently completing a project in partnership with Help Bristol’s Homeless in converting an empty shipping container into somewhere the city’s homeless population could inhabit.
Jones adds: “Redrow has a strong history of giving young people the skills they need to succeed in the housebuilding industry. This year we welcome another record intake of new trainees who will have the best possible start to their careers. The construction industry faces a looming skills gap that will only be exacerbated by Brexit. Housebuilders like us are investing in the next generation of construction industry talent and the government’s Autumn Budget contained a set of additional commitments to support more young people into the sector which we warmly welcome.”
Redrow is a member of the 5% Club, where a company commits to at least 5% of its workforce comprised of apprentices, graduates or sponsored students over the next five years. Redrow already exceeds this aim by far, with 17% of the total workforce as trainees.
One example of Redrow’s current graduate trainee team is Matthew Finch, who joined in September this year as part of the rotational graduate scheme. The 26-year-old gained a Bachelor of Science degree, a PGCE and an NVQ Level 6 in Construction Management before joining, and had also already worked on site as an assistant site manager.
Matthew says: “Although I knew I wanted to work in the housebuilding industry, I want to gain a holistic view of the business. The rotational scheme is allowing me to rotate in all the different departments before going into the department which is most suitable for me and the business. Thanks to the grad-scheme, I now know I will have the expertise and foundations to be successful within the business.
“I am looking forward to spending time scoping out new developments and like the thought of being able to take a scheme from the very beginning to completion with residents moving in and communities forming. I think that will be incredibly rewarding.”
His ambitions are strong and he already feels ‘at home’ with one of Britain’s biggest housebuilders: “I’d like to progress up the corporate ladder in the future and become more involved with not only building the best homes, but building them in the best locations. Since joining Redrow, I have really enjoyed the atmosphere and company culture. Everyone here is so accommodating and helpful. Despite being extremely busy, senior members of staff are always willing to take the time to set me tasks, ensuring that I fully understand and are genuinely interested in my personal development.”
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Regus Regus opens fourth office centre in Bulgaria | Regus, the workspace provider operating from Luxembourg, has launched its fourth office facility in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-biggest metropolis. Regus also has three office centres located in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, with plans to open further locations in the country.
| https://seenews.com/news/workspace-solutions-provider-regus-opens-new-office-centre-in-bulgaria-593033 | 2017-12-01 13:05:06.250000 | November 30 (SeeNews) - Luxembourg-headquartered provider of flexible workspace solutions Regus said on Thursday it will open its fourth office centre in Bulgaria’s second largest city of Plovdiv.
"[...] our plans are to continue to grow in the country." Luydmila Uzun, general manager of Regus Bulgaria, said in the statement.
Regus operates three office centres in Bulgarian capital Sofia. |
US retailers fall short of consumer expectations | Big US department stores are falling short of customer expectations in the digital age, with 86% of consumers preferring "experience stores" to traditional outlets, according to a survey by GPShopper. 85% of the 1,200 US adults surveyed bought products based on online recommendations, while more than one third said they felt nothing when shopping in traditional stores. Retailers such as Warby Parker, Ulta and Apple, which offer the chance to "experience the brand" instead of simply selling products, are the sector's big winners, according to GlobalData Retail Managing Director Neil Saunders.
| https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/20/retailers-efforts-to-lure-shoppers-to-stores-with-experiences-still-misses.html | 2017-12-01 12:30:55.627000 | Retailers are still coming up short on winning shoppers over with in-store experiences.
More than one-third of shoppers said they "feel nothing" when asked about their initial reaction after shopping in stores, GPShopper found in its latest report, "Reality of Retail: Consumer Connection."
GPShopper's study, which was conducted with research firm YouGov, asked roughly 1,200 U.S. adults what innovations — both digital and physical — they want retailers to incorporate in stores.
The survey found:
86 percent of shoppers like "experience stores," where they can test products in stores but buy on mobile or online, similar to the Samsung store concept.
85 percent like the idea of product recommendations based on ratings, similar to what Amazon
80 percent like buying items online and picking purchases up in stores, as Wal-Mart Target
78 percent like stores that were first online and then developed physical storefronts, similar to Warby Parker.
"We believe in retail but also think [stores] need to evolve to meet the modern consumer," said Maya Mikhailov, CMO and co-founder of GPShopper.
"The modern consumer is connecting to retail digitally. ... The most important device for them is the mobile phone."
Mikhailov added that traditionally brick-and-mortar retailers are now "stumped" about what to do with excess square footage amid the age of digital. And as evidenced by GPShopper's latest survey, many retail companies have yet to hit a high note with consumers' emotions.
Following "feeling nothing," many shoppers appear to be "anxious." |
Dubai's Abraaj to build natural gas power plant in Mexico | Dubai-based Abraaj Group plans to build a 111 MW natural gas-fired power plants in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua. The project is the first phase of investment for a 500 MW natural gas power generation platform in Mexico. It will be financed by local banks Banorte and Nafinsa, and is expected to commence operations at the beginning of 2019. | http://gulfbusiness.com/abraaj-group-build-power-plant-mexico/ | 2017-12-01 12:29:05.157000 | Dubai-based Abraaj Group has invested in a 111 MW natural gas-fired power plant in Mexico – the first phase of the company’s plan to develop a 500 MW power generation platform in the country.
The investment in the Chihuahua plant was made through an Abraaj-managed fund focussing on opportunities in Mexico, and the company has partnered with Emerging America – a Mexican firm that develops natural gas-fired projects. No price was mentioned in the announcement by the group.
The 500 MW platform is being financed with debt from local banks Banorte and Nafinsa, and is expected to commence operations at the beginning of 2019.
Saad Zaman, partner at The Abraaj Group, said: “This plant represents the first of many investments that Abraaj intends to carry out in the Mexican energy infrastructure sector.
“We have an advanced pipeline of attractive projects and will leverage our global energy expertise to develop complementary natural gas-fired and renewable energy platforms.
“Buoyed by a strong regulatory framework, the Mexican energy infrastructure sector is a long-term and sustainable investment opportunity for Abraaj. We are delighted to partner with Emerging America to deliver efficient and more affordable power to the country.” |
GM aims to roll out commercial self-driving cars in 2019 | General Motors plans to launch autonomous vehicles for the commercial urban market in 2019, with a focus on ride-sharing functionality. The automaker is currently testing its fully autonomous Chevrolet Bolt in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Detroit, with plans to expand into Manhattan in 2018. Human reserve drivers are still accompanying the cars at present, but the vehicles have reportedly demonstrated the capability to navigate complex traffic. | https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/30/16720776/gm-cruise-self-driving-taxi-launch-2019 | 2017-12-01 12:23:34.593000 | GM says it will have a ride-sharing service featuring its line of self-driving Chevy Bolts ready to go by 2019. That would place the No. 1 US automaker ahead of its main rival Ford, which has said it plans to unveil its own self-driving car without pedals or a steering wheel by 2021.
GM’s top executives made the announcement today during a call with investors. The company recently allowed reporters to take rides in its autonomous test cars through the congested streets of San Francisco. Most reported that the car handled most situations proficiently, with a few hiccups.
GM is obviously feeling pressured to fast-track its self-driving taxi service
But GM is obviously feeling pressured to fast-track its self-driving taxi service, especially in light of recent developments like Alphabet’s Waymo deploying its fleet of autonomous minivans in Arizona without a human driver behind the wheel.
Waymo’s technology may be more advanced than GM’s, and its cars may have racked up more miles of experience, but GM has been on a buying spree as it seeks to shore up its position in both autonomous and electric vehicle development. Last month, Cruise, the self-driving unit of GM, said that it would buy Strobe, a startup that makes LIDAR sensors that help autonomous vehicles “see” their surroundings. Cruise itself was acquired last year for over half a billion dollars.
The race to deploy a commercial, self-driving product pits GM against untraditional players like Waymo and Uber. Uber has self-driving vehicles ferrying passengers in Pittsburgh and Phoenix, but has yet to say when it plans to start monetizing its service. Waymo plans to start shepherding passengers in its fully driverless minivans (no safety driver) within the next few months, but that will only be available to a very limited group of passengers. GM is unique in its position that it will have a scalable commercial product in just two years. |
60% faster, cheaper, cover 45x more alerts: CS’ compliance bots | After three years, tech investment, including the deployment of big data analytics and software robots, is starting to positively impact compliance costs at Credit Suisse, which claims to be 60% faster and much more cost efficient resolving alerts from monitoring transactions, even though the number of alerts has increased 45-fold compared to 2016. The bank’s bots have reportedly made KYC checks on international transactions 80% faster and roughly 40% cheaper. They are also being used for fraud detection and reducing risk by executing repetitive tasks like suitability and appropriateness checks around 200 times faster than they were manually.
| https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/31396/big-data-and-software-robots-crunch-compliance-costs-for-credit-suisse | 2017-12-01 11:01:56.647000 | Credit Suisse says that a new big data platform and the intelligent deployment of software robots is reversing years of rising compliance costs.
Since deploying an advanced data analytics and technology platform earlier this year, the Swiss bank says it has generated a 45-fold increase in the number of productive alerts from its predictive monitoring of transactions compared to last year. Resolution of the alerts is 60% faster despite the volume of data, and the result comes at a fraction of the historical cost of such monitoring.
The shake-up in the compliance function follows the creation in 2015 of an independent Compliance and Regulatory Affairs organisation (CCRO) reporting directly to the CEO.
Lara Warner, who heads up the unit says: "Over the past two years we have gone from a human-led approach to compliance, where we were carrying out periodic checks, to a technology-led approach in which we are continuously monitoring activities across the bank to enable earlier prevention and detection."
The pool of data and advanced analytics accessible to compliance teams via the platform comprises some four billion records. Thanks to a combination of real-time processing and on-the-money monitoring, the bank is now able to perform KYC checks on international client transactions 80% faster at approximately 40% lower costs.
Initially designed to spot patterns of money laundering, the algorithms deployed on the platform are now being adapted to detect fraud and monitor transactions, says Warner.
Credit Suisse has also been deploying an army of software robots to carry out certain repetitive compliance tasks. One of them, dubbed 'James the Robot', is used for suitability and appropriateness checks - to ensure clients are invested in the right products. James conducts these checks 200 times faster than when they were done manually, representing a significant reduction in risk for the bank.
In a statement, the bank says: "After three years of rising compliance costs at Credit Suisse, due both to new regulation and investment in technology, the deployment of the new platform and the use of data analytics in 2017 has turned the tide." |
California's largest solar plant to inject steam in oil wells | Aera Energy and GlassPoint Solar have announced plans to construct California's largest solar energy facility. The solar thermal site will produce 12 million barrels of steam per year to be injected into the Belridge oilfield for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The system will replace natural gas in EOR and save more than 376,000 metric tons of carbon emissions. | https://electrek.co/2017/11/30/largest-solar-power-plant-to-extract-oil/ | 2017-12-01 10:43:54.523000 | Yesterday, Aera Energy and GlassPoint Solar announced plans to build California’s largest solar energy project. Located at the Belridge oilfield west of Bakersfield, the project will be used to generate steam to inject into the ground to help extract oil.
The site will produce 12 million barrels of steam per year, replacing 4.8B ft3 of natural gas that would have been burnt to generate the steam. The oil-producing solar project is projected to save more than 376,000 metric tons of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to the emissions of 80,000 cars per year.
Belridge Solar will consist of two power plants, a solar thermal plant and solar electric plant. The solar thermal facility will output 850 MW of thermal energy, producing 12 million barrels of steam per year via reflecting sunlight from large mirros on a centrally located tube. The solar electric plant will produce 26.5 MW of electricity.
Aera and GlassPoint plan to break ground on the Belridge Solar plant in the first half of 2019 and expect to be producing steam and electricity as early as 2020.
An explanation for the purpose GlassPoint’s solar thermal project was provided:
Heavy oil is produced by injecting steam into the reservoir to heat the oil so it can be pumped to the surface. This process, known as thermal Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), typically generates steam using natural gas. By harnessing the sun’s thermal energy to replace the combustion of natural gas, GlassPoint is enabling Aera to reduce its energy consumption and carbon footprint at Belridge.
A patent was given for ‘solar augmented geothermal energy‘ that looks very similar to this oil extraction method and was actually referenced by GlassPoint in its own patent filings. The image below gives a rough description of the flow of steam in the power plant:
Five other plants have been built globally with this technology. Glasspoint has been involved in three of them. The first pilot plant for the technology was built in California in 1983 by Arco Solar. Early in November, Glasspoint finished construction on Phase 1 of the same technology in Oman. The Oman plant will be 1GW in size.
The technology is deployed in 28MW blocks that cover 14 acres:
A gorgeous collection of images mostly from the Oman site:
A video of the Oman project:
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Finserves seek computational edge via quantum computing start-up | Quantum computing start-up 1QBit Information Technologies has raised CAD45m in a series B round featuring Royal Bank of Scotland, Allianz and CME Group. The hardware-agnostic 1QBit platform is expected to help clients stay ahead of the computational curve in solving complex business challenges, said Paul Daugherty, CTO at Accenture, which also participated. In addition to development, the latest round will see Fujitsu, which led the round, and Accenture, offer the technology to clients. Boasting a team of over 50 researchers, software developers, and industry experts, 1QBit creates software for quantum and classical computing, focusing on optimisation, simulation and machine learning.
| https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/31395/rbs-and-allianz-join-c45m-funding-round-for-quantum-computing-startup-1qbit | 2017-12-01 10:18:58.567000 | A host of financial services firms, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, have joined a C$45 million Series B funding round for Vancouver-based quantum computing startup 1QBit Information Technologies.
Led by Fujitsu, the round, comprising equity and revenue contracts, was also joined by insurance giant Allianz, CME Group's venture arm, and Accenture.
Over the last four years, 1QBit has built up a team of over 50 researchers, software developers, and industry experts who specialise in developing algorithms and software for quantum and classical computing, focused on machine learning, optimisation methods, and simulation.
The firm works with clients in areas such as finance, energy and life sciences, helping them tackle "computationally intensive problems". The latest round will not only pump money into the company as it builds up its hardware-agnostic software platform, but also see Accenture and Fujitsu offer the technology to their clients.
Paul Daugherty, chief technology and innovation officer, Accenture, says: "The 1QBit platform accelerates our client’s ability to leverage the most advanced quantum and classical processors available to solve their most complex business challenges, and gives them a hardware-agnostic solution that enables them to stay ahead of the computational curve." |
Bitfinex, Tether deny mismanagement as links come under scrutiny | Bitfinex, the largest cryptocurrency exchange, and dollar-linked cryptocurrency issuer Tether have denied claims of mismanagement weeks after a $30m hack of the platform. Both condemned the allegations as being made by "questionable actors" and said Bitfinex aims to be "the most transparent crypto exchange in the industry". However, the exchange provides no information on management and it has only just acknowledge its links with Tether after the connection was revealed in the leaked Paradise Papers.
| https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/21/technology/bitcoin-bitfinex-tether.html | 2017-12-01 10:01:05.127000 | SAN FRANCISCO — As the price of Bitcoin has soared, the virtual currency has edged toward the mainstream.
Square, the fast-growing payments company run by the Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has begun selling Bitcoins to ordinary consumers, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange will soon allow banks to trade on the value of Bitcoin.
But if you want to see where the price of Bitcoin is actually determined in round-the-clock bidding, you have to go to a number of unregulated exchanges that often fly in the face of American and European laws.
These days, no exchange is bigger than Bitfinex, an opaque operation that provides no information on its website about where it is or who operates the company. |
No Isolation uses avatar to overcome loneliness in ill children | Norwegian start-up No Isolation has developed a small robot device that helps chronically ill youngsters combat loneliness by offering an avatar-like link to the outside world. The AV1 sits on a classroom desk and is activated via a smartphone. Its camera, speaker and microphone enable children to answer questions in class and interact with others from home, while a blue light reveals when they are present but unable to participate. The company has sold 700 AV1 units, costing £1,800 ($2,412) per year's rental, including 4G subscription and support, and is planning to develop a similar device for the elderly.
| http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/indyventure/no-isolation-robot-loneliness-children-chronic-illness-fatigue-cancer-karen-dolva-a7973211.html | 2017-12-01 09:01:33.483000 | For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the
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The hardest thing about the hereditary syndrome Jade Gadd developed at the age of 13 wasn’t the pain, even though that could be hard. Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome affects every system in the body, but not at the same time, so Jade never knows when she might lose her speech, or when her fragile bones might break, or when her skin might become so sensitive that she can’t bear being touched.
At 17, Jade has become accustomed to the changing nature of the disease. But she has always struggled with the loneliness that comes from long periods of isolation.
“I felt like I was disappearing from the world,” she says of the time after her diagnosis. “I used to go to after school clubs and have friends that felt like family. But when I came out of hospital they disappeared and I was devastated.”
Now Jade has a new social life through a robot called AV1 that she has nicknamed Bee. The robot is the creation of No Isolation, a Norwegian company founded two years ago with one big goal: to end loneliness.
The NHS estimates that there are more than a million children in the UK who have a long-term or lifelong illness and need medicines for the foreseeable future. Schools and other local authorities have a responsibility to make sure children with chronic illnesses receive a full education, but in practice, services can be slow and expensive. It took Jade a year to get a science teacher at home.
AV1 costs £1800 to rent for one year, which includes a 4G subscription and unlimited support. That sounds a lot, but it quickly earns its keep when a school has to pay for home tutoringin sever al different subjects.
Karen Dolva, the 26-year-old co-founder of No Isolation, describes AV1 as “a phone wrapped in a robot”. It is a small, white avatar, designed to sit on a desk with its head down until a remote user signs on at home through their tablet or phone. Then the head comes up and lights go on behind the the eyes, where there is also a camera, speaker and microphone. Unlike a phone, however AV1 has no screen.
“You’re not having your best day when you’re ill at home in bed. So we took away the screen,” Karen says. “The kids get it instantly, but they are more used to playing games and having avatars represent them than we are.”
AV1 is not only a pair of eyes and ears in a classroom. It also allows the user to respond to questions and hold conversations. One afternoon at the No Isolation office in Oslo, Karen shows me the iPad interface. It includes options to raise your hand, which is signalled by flashing lights. There’s a button to whisper, which brings the volume on the robot down so low that only someone with their ear pressed to the speaker can hear. Finally, there’s the option to signal that you are present, but tired and unable to talk much or answer questions.
“You can set a blue light so you don’t have to say, ‘Today I’m not feeling well,’ because that’s not always an easy thing to say,” Karen says.
No Isolation came out of a friendship between Karen, who had trained in user experience design; Marius Aabel, who specialises in electronics and hardware; and Matias Doyle, a software designer. They all worked at Startup Lab, an incubator and early stage investor, in Oslo around 2012. No Isolation was founded in the summer of 2015. The trio set out on months of research, talking to parents who cared for sick children and some whose children had passed away.
During the research, they became especially close with Anne Fi Troye, a Norwegian woman who lost her daughter to cancer 12 years ago. Since that time, Anne Fi had been doing whatever she could to help children with illnesses battle loneliness. The feedback helped the founders realise that children needed an avatar that could be present not just in the classroom, but in the breaks, so they can keep up their friendships and develop socially with their peers.
“The telepresence robot goes out on your behalf,” Karen says. “You have a presence every day so that you don’t miss anything. So the day you are there in the classroom, it’s not a big deal, because everyone spoke to you yesterday.”
Jade, who lives in the North East, was the first UK user of AVI, though there are about 700 AV1s in use across the world. She got used to using it in the holidays, when her dad would take it to the shops so that Jade could pick out her own fruit and toiletries.
Jade says: “It sounds trivial, but when life doesn’t have days or nights and you can count the people you see in an average week on one hand, being able to see Tesco is like traveling to the moon.”
Her maths teacher, Steve McArdle, said the difference to Jade’s wellbeing is huge.
“The maths and further maths programme is intensive and fast paced,” Steve says. “Jade has been attending lessons when well but through the link and our wider support programme she has so far missed nothing.”
The reaction from fellow students has also been positive. “[They were] excited at first and keen to be involved in the support programme,” McArdle says. “The avatar uses her normal desk and they see it as her, if remotely rather than a machine.”
AV1 cannot record sessions, just as a pupil could not record a lesson in class. No Isolation have worked with the Norwegian Government to make sure that the robot won’t breach privacy of teachers and students. Karen says: “That’s a big part of it, the teachers should not feel like they are being monitored or that the parent might be watching.”
No Isolation has had two rounds of funding. The first round raised €850,000 last February and then a seed round raised a further €2 million last November. The team is already onto its next business idea: a simple interface to combat loneliness in the elderly.
This so-called compassionate computer, or KOMP, is in the trial phase. It is designed to receive videos, links, photos and text and display them in a readable format, with no pop ups or clicks that might confuse older users.
“You have so many different types of loneliness: chronically ill adults, seniors, even city loneliness,” Karen Dolva says. “We can make a difference, we know we can.” |
Olam looks to boost smart farming in Asia and Africa | Singapore-based Olam International is using artificial intelligence and big data as part of its smart farming initiative, the Olam Farmer Information System (OFIS). It aims to boost production and value for smaller cocoa, coffee and nut growers in Africa and Asia, as well as improve efficiency, quality and traceability across the global supply chain. The company also plans to launch an online platform under its Olam Direct programme, where farmers can sell crops, purchase fertilisers and access insurance and other financial services. Olam is a major provider of foodstuffs such as nuts and cocoa beans to world agriculture businesses.
| https://asia.nikkei.com/Markets/Commodities/Singapore-s-Olam-spreads-smart-farming-in-Asia-and-beyond | 2017-12-01 09:01:33.483000 | SINGAPORE/LAMPUNG -- On a sunny day in late July in Lampung, a rural farming town in the southern part of Indonesia's Sumatra Island, an employee of agricultural-goods trading company Olam International was busy making the rounds of cocoa farms, collecting data from farm owners.
"How old are your cocoa trees?" he asked. "What is your crop yield?" |
Factory production will be affected by global warming | Global warming will make industrial facilities less efficient, according to research into the production rates of half a million Chinese manufacturing plants between 1998 and 2007. The study suggests that factories throughout the country would see a 12% fall in output by the middle of the century without action to tackle climate change. The research found that, as well as human productivity, rising temperatures would also affect the productivity of machines. Unexpectedly, the study found that high-tech industries, which tend to have air-conditioned environments, would also experience the effects.
| https://www.technologyreview.com/the-download/609618/a-warmer-world-will-dent-the-productivity-of-factories/?utm_source=MIT+Technology+Review&utm_source=newsletters&utm_campaign=7505bdfe9f-The_Download&utm_campaign=the_download&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_997ed6f472-7505bdfe9f-&utm_content=12-04-2017&utm_source=MIT+Technology+Review&utm_campaign=7505bdfe9f-The_Download&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_997ed6f472-7505bdfe9f-154403165 | 2017-12-01 00:00:00 | As the mercury rises, industrial facilities will become less efficient. That’s the finding of a new study, which crunched data about production rates from half a million Chinese manufacturing plants from 1998 to 2007.
The research, published in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, suggests that factories across China will see their output fall 12 percent by the middle of the 21st century if they don’t adapt to climate change. That would be equivalent to a loss of $39.5 billion in 2007 dollars.
There would be two major effects at play. The first, which we’ve described in the past, is that humans are affected by extreme temperature. When it’s hot, they work less, and they are less productive when they do manage to work.
But the new analysis shows that both light industries, such as food manufacturing or timber processing, and heavy industries, like chemical refining or metal smelting, find their productivity dented by the heat. Because light industry is more reliant on humans and heavy industry is more reliant on equipment, that suggests high temperatures are taking a toll on the productivity of both labor and capital.
In other words, the machines themselves are less productive in the heat.
Perhaps even more intruiging, thought, is that high-tech industries, such as production of medical supplies or manufacturing of computer parts, appear to feel the same effects. “This is striking, as firms in high-technology industries tend to operate in air-conditioned environments,” the researchers write.
The findings are, of course, limited to China. But they are likely to apply to the rest of the world. Either way, the global economy is interconnected. As the authors point out, “any climate change damage to the Chinese manufacturing sector is likely to affect global prices and thus welfare around the world.” |
Three Chinese life insurers ordered to stop introducing new products | The China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) has issued bans on the issuance of new products for three life insurance firms, the Bank of Communications Life Insurance, Greatwall Life Insurance and ABC Life Insurance for violation of regulatory provisions. The regulator found that the companies' product design management was flawed, leading to defective product recalls. The CIRC plans to strengthen its supervision and be more stringent against financial risks. | http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-11/20/c_136766599.htm | 2017-11-30 18:15:40.363000 | Source: Xinhua| 2017-11-20 19:55:32|Editor: Xiang Bo
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BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- China's insurance regulator said Monday that it has banned three life insurance firms from issuing new products in the next six months.
The three companies, the Bank of Communications Life Insurance, ABC Life Insurance and Greatwall Life Insurance, have violated certain regulatory provisions, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) said on its website.
Investigators have found serious problems in the companies' product design and management, the commission said, ordering the companies to recall the defective products and rectify the problems.
CIRC said it will continue to tighten regulatory supervision and punish irregularities.
This came amid the country's efforts to intensify financial regulation and supervision to contain financial risks. |
Website crypto-miners run scripts after exiting browsers | Security researchers have discovered that some cryptocurrency websites have found a way to keep crypto-mining Java script running on users' computers even after they have closed the site. Experts from Malwarebytes have reported that the technique involves opening a new pop-up window that hides on the desktop and uses the machine's processing power to run crypto-mining code until the user notices the window and closes it. Anti-virus software can be used to block cryptocurrency miners on webpages, and there are also browser extensions available including No Coin, which can be used with Chrome, Firefox and Opera.
| https://thehackernews.com/2017/11/cryptocurrency-mining-javascript.html | 2017-11-30 17:27:27.873000 | How Does This Browser Technique Work?
"This type of pop-under is designed to bypass adblockers and is a lot harder to identify because of how cleverly it hides itself," Jérôme Segura, Malwarebytes' Lead Malware Intelligence Analyst, says in the post. "Closing the browser using the "X" is no longer sufficient."
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How to Block Hidden Cryptocurrency Miners
Some websites have found using a simple yet effective technique to keep their cryptocurrency mining javascript secretly running in the background even when you close your web browser.Due to the recent surge in cryptocurrency prices, hackers and even legitimate website administrators are increasingly using JavaScript-based cryptocurrency miners to monetize by levying the CPU power of their visitor's PC to mine Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.After the world's most popular torrent download website, caught secretly using, a browser-based cryptocurrency miner service, on its site last month, thousands of other websites also started using the service as an alternative monetization model to banner ads.However, websites using such crypto-miner services can mine cryptocurrencies as long as you're on their site. Once you close the browser window, they lost access to your processor and associated resources, which eventually stops mining.Unfortunately, this is not the case anymore.Security researchers from anti-malware provider Malwarebytes have found that some websites have discovered a clever trick to keep their cryptocurrency mining software running in the background even when you have closed the offending browser window.According to a blog post published Wednesday morning by Malwarebytes, the new technique works by opening a hidden pop-under browser window that fits behind the taskbar and hides behind the clock on your Microsoft's Windows computer.From there (hidden from your view), the website runs the crypto-miner code that indefinitely generates cryptocurrency for the person controlling the site while eating up CPU cycles and power from your computer until and unless you notice the window and close it.Researchers say this technique is a lot harder to identify and able to bypass most ad-blockers because of how cleverly it hides itself. The crypto-miner runs from a crypto-mining engine hosted by Amazon Web Servers.To keep itself unidentified, the code running in the hidden browser always takes care of the maximum CPU usage and maintains threshold to a medium level.You can also have a look at the animated GIF image that shows how this clever trick works.This technique works on the latest version of Google's Chrome web browser running on the most recent versions of Microsoft's Windows 7 and Windows 10.If you suspect your computer CPU is running a little harder than usual, just look for any browser windows in the taskbar. If you find any browser icon there, your computer is running a crypto-miner. Now simply, kill it.More technical users can run Task Manager on their computer to ensure there is no remnant running browser processes and terminate them.Since web browsers themselves currently are not blocking cryptocurrency miners neither does the integrated Windows Defender antivirus software, you can use antivirus programs that automatically block cryptocurrency miners on web pages you visit.For this, you can contact your antivirus provider to check if they do.Alternatively, you can make use of web browser extensions, like No Coin , that automatically block in-browser cryptocurrency miners for you, and regularly update themselves with new mining scripts that come out.Created by developer Rafael Keramidas, No Coin is an open source extension that blocks Coin Hive and other similar cryptocurrency miners and is available for Google Chrome , Mozilla Firefox , and Opera No Coin currently does not support Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, and Internet Explorer. So, those using one of these browsers can use an antimalware program that blocks cryptocurrency miners. |
Land Registry aiming to digitise 95% of transactions by 2022
| The UK's Land Registry is aiming to digitise 95% of its daily transactions over the next five years in order to speed up services for customers and simplify property transactions. The public agency holds records of ownership for 25 million properties in England and Wales, accounting for 84% of the land mass. The project, called Digital Street, will create a machine-readable digital register that can update instantly. A pilot using a small number of properties will be in place by the end of the year.
| http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/land-registry-announces-new-plans-to-speed-up-home-buying-and-selling/ | 2017-11-30 17:19:26.807000 | Post navigation
The Land Registry yesterday announced a new business strategy, aimed at speeding up the buying and selling of homes in England and Wales.
The new strategy is also aimed at making the process cheaper and simpler.
The Land Registry aims to digitise 95% of its daily transactions within five years, and to create a more definite record of property ownership.
A pilot digital register for a “small selection” of properties will be in place by the end of next month.
Called Digital Street, this will be “machine readable” and capable of being updated instantly.
The Land Registry said: “Digital Street will contribute towards a property industry where people will buy, rent, sell, finance, build and manage property with ease.”
The new five-year plan is aimed to make it the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.
The Land Registry currently contains over 25m titles showing evidence of ownership of some 84% of the land mass of England and Wales. |
Irish Stock Exchange to be bought by Euronext for €137m | Euronext, the pan-European stock exchange group, has offered to buy the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) for €137m ($162m). The offer came as Ireland makes attempts to deepen ties with Europe as Brexit uncertainty continues, and Europe tries to take on London as a financial centre. If it obtains regulatory approval the deal is expected to conclude early next year. Last year ISE made revenues of €29.4m and had a net income of €8m.
| http://www.tradersmagazine.com/news/ecns_and_exchanges/euronext-to-acquire-irish-stock-exchange-116982-1.html | 2017-11-30 16:57:45.210000 | Euronext to Acquire Irish Stock Exchange
Euronext announced the acquisition of 100% of The Irish Stock Exchange plc (ISE), for 137 million.
ISE is currently owned by five Irish financial institutions, J&E Davy, Goodbody Stockbrokers, Investec Capital & Investments, Cantor Fitzgerald and Campbell OConnor that have all committed to sell their shares.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in Q1 2018.
A strategic venue to join Euronexts federal model
Headquartered in Dublin, ISE is Irelands incumbent stock exchange operator and a global leader in the listing of debt and funds securities. ISE is the first pool of liquidity for Irish equities (51 listed companies, c. 122bn total domestic equity market capitalisation[3]), the first debt listing venue globally (30,000+ securities and listings1 from 90 countries) and the first fund listing venue globally (5,242 Investment Funds Securities and 227 ETFs1).
ISE generated revenue of 29.4m, EBITDA of 9.6m and a net income of 8.0m in 2016. For the first 9 months of 2017, ISE generated 24.2m of revenue, up +13.3% compared to the same period in 2016, and an EBITDA of 8.5m, up +22.4% compared to the same period in 2016.
The combined group pro forma 9 months of 2017 revenue would amount to 416.9m and an EBITDA of 227.7m before synergies.
ISE to join Euronexts federal model for further growth opportunities and increased efficiency
The transaction brings together two highly complementary businesses with significant growth opportunities and expands Euronexts federal model to a new attractive European country. It creates a leading global player in debt and fund listings, combining the listing expertise of ISE with the traded markets expertise of Euronext.
Euronext will benefit from ISEs leading global positions in debt and fund listings as well as its unique product and listing expertise. The acquisition will also enhance Euronexts growth outlook thanks to ISEs embedded core businesses growth, complemented by the additional strategic growth plans for ISE, which will be reinforced with the full support of Euronext.
Ideal positioning of ISE in a dynamic environment, to take advantage of post-Brexit opportunities
The acquisition of ISE by Euronext, combined with Irelands very competitive economic environment, will further strengthen Irelands position as a strong European anchor to take advantage of Brexit opportunities. This transaction will also develop the Irish capital markets ecosystem within a European context and as part of Euronexts core mission to power the real economy.
ISE is at the centre of Irelands highly competitive financial ecosystem. The country provides a recognized finance-friendly environment, with a highly educated workforce, and a business-oriented mind-set, as well as an attractive economy within the Eurozone, with forecast GDP growth of c.3.8%[4] 2017e-18e. Ireland is in a strong position to seize opportunities arising from Brexit since it is both close to the UK business culture and strongly rooted inside the Eurozone.
Dublin will have a strong group-wide position within Euronexts highly inclusive federal governance structure, notably as the global centre of excellence for all Euronexts group-wide activities in the listing of debt, funds and ETF securities.
ISE will then benefit from a strong European anchor to support and develop the Irish listed companies ecosystem within a European context and as part of Euronexts core mission to power the real economy.
Integrated federal governance at the core of Euronexts federal model
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Luxembourg signs fintech partnership with Japan | The financial technology sectors of Luxembourg and Japan will work together closely, following the signing of an agreement between industry bodies in the two countries. The leaders of both organisations expressed hopes that the partnership will lead to mutual investment opportunities. Nasir Zubairi, CEO of the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology Foundation, added: "this cooperation agreement with the Fintech Association of Japan is the confirmation of the strong and trusted relationship between Japan and the Luxembourg financial centre".
| https://www.finextra.com/pressarticle/71755/luxembourg-and-japan-fintech-groups-sign-mou | 2017-11-30 16:54:59.253000 | Source: The LHoFT
As part of the Luxembourg State visit in Japan and following the Luxembourg-Japan Business Forum in Tokyo highlighting the future of financial relations between Japan and Luxembourg, the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology Foundation (LHoFT) is pleased to announce the signature of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Fintech Association of Japan (FAJ) on Wednesday, 29 November.
This MoU was signed by Nicolas Mackel, CEO of Luxembourg for Finance, on behalf of the LHoFT, and witnessed by H.E. Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg Finance Minister, as well as other distinguished guests from the Luxembourg official delegation.
Nasir Zubairi, CEO of the LHoFT commented: “This cooperation agreement with the Fintech Association of Japan is the confirmation of the strong and trusted relationship between Japan and the Luxembourg financial centre. The agreement confirms that Luxembourg is becoming a core hub for Fintech and for corporations looking for Fintech investment opportunities across Europe.”
Shirabe Ogino, Director of the FAJ added: “Through this MoU, we believe members of the Fintech Association of Japan will have better access to the European Union and receive up-todate information on trends or policies in the EU. We are also welcoming European Fintech startups to explore the financial sector in Japan.” |
Coinbase reaps the rewards of bitcoin surge | Bitcoin wallet and exchange site Coinbase has benefited from the soaring price of bitcoin, with the company seeing registered user numbers rise by more than 780,000 in November alone. Coinbase's app is ranking 53rd on the App Store in the US, skyrocketing from 1,264th place in September this year. The company's popularity has led to more than $200m in investment since 2012, with a present valuation of approximately $1.6bn. Coinbase reportedly holds 45 million wallets.
| https://qz.com/1139524/bitcoin-price-nears-10000-as-coinbase-pulls-in-millions-of-users/ | 2017-11-30 16:50:15.643000 | Bitcoin is a whisker away from the $10,000 mark, as it continues its spectacular run this year. It has gained 900% since January. One company in particular is benefiting from this bull run. The startup “unicorn” Coinbase is adding thousands of bitcoin-curious users daily and now has more registered users than the number of active accounts at the stock brokerage Charles Schwab, CNBC reported.
Coinbase, which operates one of the biggest consumer-facing bitcoin wallets and exchanges in the business, added 100,000 users yesterday alone. Over 780,000 new users have signed up so far this month. That’s according to data it publishes on its website, and which was collated by cryptocurrency fund manager Alistair Milne.
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Coinbase’s rise is also apparent in its App Store rankings. It’s ranked 53 out of all apps in the US App Store, up from 1,264th place in September. Yesterday it claimed the third spot among finance apps, behind only Square’s Cash and PayPal’s Venmo. Square Cash has long held the top spot, and it’s perhaps no coincidence that it is also experimenting with a feature that will let customers buy and hold bitcoin.
Coinbase appears to be far more popular among consumers than other cryptocurrency firms that have raised comparable amounts of venture funding. It has raised over $200 million since 2012, at an estimated valuation of $1.6 billion. While Coinbase has nearly cracked the top 50 most popular apps among US iOS users, the rival wallet service Blockchain.info, which has raised $70 million to date, is ranked 760th. Blockchain claims 19 million wallets have been created on its platform, while Coinbase claims 45 million wallets. Circle, which once allowed users to buy and hold bitcoin within its app, has raised $137 million, and is ranked 1,036th. Circle no longer lets users buy and sell bitcoin directly, but it still uses the cryptocurrency in the background to settle transactions.
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Company US App Store ranking Funds raised Coinbase 53 $217 million Circle 1,036 $136 Blockchain.info 760 $70 Source: Crunchbase, Sensor Tower
If the oft-quoted analogy that bitcoin is like the internet of the 1990s is taken seriously, then Coinbase is the AOL of the bitcoin world, acting as a user-friendly, on-ramp for millions to a weird and wonderful new network—while collecting a healthy chunk of fees. No matter how bitcoin trades in the coming days, Coinbase has already reaped the rewards of the cryptocurrency’s bull run. |
AI helps Facebook combat terrorist content | Facebook is using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to detect and remove pro-terrorist content from the site. Facebook claimed the system enables it to remove 99% of propaganda content before it is flagged by users, and 83% of it is removed within an hour of being uploaded. However, the company has not released figures for how many posts these percentages represent. The company has a team of more than 150 staff working on its counter-terrorism effort, and is part of a joint project with other technology firms called the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. | https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2017/11/28/facebook-says-artificial-intelligence-has-sped-up-removal-terrorist-content/903615001/ | 2017-11-30 16:48:31.750000 | SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook says it's able to remove 99% of Islamic State and Al Qaeda terrorist content before it's flagged by users thanks to advances in artificial intelligence that are helping stop the spread of terrorist content.
Once Facebook is aware of the terrorist content, it removes 83% of it within an hour of it being uploaded, the company said Tuesday.
"We are encouraged by these numbers but we know we have to work to do and we are working on getting better and faster," said Monika Bickert, who runs global policy management. She would not say how much terrorist content — how many posts, images, videos and the like — is removed from Facebook.
"The 99% and 83% that are removed are pretty impressive on the surface but the question is: Are we talking about 1,000 videos or 10,000, or 100,000?" says Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the program on extremism at George Washington University. "What's glaringly missing are the actual hard numbers."
Attacks on Western targets and sharp criticism from European officials have intensified pressure on Facebook to crack down on terrorist activity. European officials are calling on technology companies to take more responsibility for the content on their networks and to provide more information to authorities that could help them foil or investigate attacks.
Terrorist groups use popular Internet services such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook to spread propaganda, attract and train new recruits, celebrate terrorist attacks and publicize executions. They also use messaging services to communicate.
Facebook says it's rooting out and removing extremists' propaganda and messages by using sophisticated algorithms to mine words, images and videos.
Artificial intelligence can't do the job alone, so Facebook has a team of more than 150, including counterterrorism experts, who are dedicated to tracking and taking down propaganda and other materials. It's also collaborating with fellow technology companies and consulting with researchers to keep pace with the ever-changing social media tactics of the Islamic State and other terror groups.
Facebook is part of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, which was formed in June with companies such as Google, Microsoft and Twitter. The companies share a database of "hashes" — essentially digital fingerprints — to track and take down videos and images that appear on their services.
More:Facebook taps artificial intelligence in new push to block terrorist propaganda
More:Russians used Facebook the way other advertisers do: By tapping into its data-mining machine
More:Zuckerberg: We're responsible for halting violent content on Facebook
Facebook says it has prioritized going after Isis and Al Qaeda because it believes they pose the greatest threat globally but it plans to expand to terrorist content posted by other extremist groups.
The challenge: When chased from Facebook, terrorists set up shop elsewhere. Terrorism experts say extremists have decamped to smaller outfits such as messaging service Telegram, which use end-to-end encryption.
Some of the techniques being developed by Facebook to combat terrorism can be deployed in other areas including Russian propaganda, Bickert said.
A Russian organization linked to the Kremlin targeted unsuspecting Americans with Facebook posts and ads to stoke outrage over polarizing issues from gay rights to gun rights in the tense political climate surrounding the 2016 presidential election.
Executives from Facebook, Twitter and Google were recently summoned to a series of hearings on Capitol Hill to answer questions about election interference by Russians on their platforms. Russia has denied any meddling in the election.
"Facebook is having conversations with Capitol Hill at a higher clip than before," Hughes said. "It's going to raise the question: If you can do this on terrorist content, then why can't you do this on fake news and Russian propaganda?" |
Google accused of data protection breach in UK class action | Google is facing a class action lawsuit that could entitle more than five million people in the UK to compensation if the company is found to have harvested their personal data unlawfully. The Google You Owe Us group pursuing the action, which alleges Google unlawfully collected the data by bypassing default privacy settings on iPhones between June 2011 and February 2012, is led by a former executive director of consumer group Which?, Richard Lloyd, and advised by City law firm Mischon de Reya. Lloyd said Google's actions were a "massive breach of trust". Google is contesting the action.
| https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/30/uk-class-action-accuses-google-of-unlawfully-harvesting-personal-data | 2017-11-30 15:13:09.523000 | More than 5 million people in the UK could be entitled to compensation from Google if a class action against the internet giant for allegedly harvesting personal data is successful.
A group led by the former executive director of consumer body Which?, Richard Lloyd, and advised by City law firm Mischon de Reya claims Google unlawfully collected personal information by bypassing the default privacy settings on the iPhone between June 2011 and February 2012.
They have launched a legal action with the aim of securing compensation for those affected. The group, called Google You Owe Us, says that approximately 5.4 million people in Britain used the iPhone during this period and could be entitled to compensation.
Google is accused of breaching principles in the UK’s data protection laws in a “violation of trust” against iPhone users.
The lawsuit was unprecedented and represented “one of the biggest fights of my life”, said Lloyd, who has led legal actions against companies before.
“I believe that what Google did was simply against the law. Their actions have affected millions, and we’ll be asking the courts to remedy this major breach of trust.
“Through this action, we will send a strong message to Google and other tech giants in Silicon Valley that we’re not afraid to fight back if our laws are broken.
“In all my years speaking up for consumers, I’ve rarely seen such as massive abuse of trust where so many people have no way to seek redress on their own.”
He added: “This is … the first case of its kind in the UK against a major tech company for misusing our valuable personal data.
“I want to spread the world about our claim. Google owes all of those affected fairness, trust and money. By joining together, we can show Google that they can’t get away with taking our data without our consent, and that no matter how large and powerful they are, nobody is above the law.”
A Google spokesperson said: “This is not new. We have defended similar cases before. We don’t believe it has any merit and we will contest it.” |
SocGen to cut 900 more staff, close 300 branches in savings drive | French bank Societe Generale plans to cut 900 jobs as it closes 15% of its network of branches over three years in a bid to make annual savings of €1.1bn ($1.3bn). The company is reducing high street stores from 2,000 to 1,700 and back office centres from 20 to 14, while 80% of front-to-back processes will be automated. It follows cuts of 2,550 staff last year. SocGen will also invest €150m ($178m) into "disruptive innovation" initiatives by start-ups.
| https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/31383/societe-generale-to-cut-900-staff-close-300-branches | 2017-11-30 14:53:30.737000 | French bank SocGen is taking the axe to its business once again, announcing plans for a further 900 job reductions and the closure of 15% of its branch network.
The three-year plan will involve a further rationalisation of the branch network, cutting the number of high street outlets from 2000 to 1700 stores, a consolidation of back office centres from 20 to 14, and the automation of 80% of front-to-bck processes.
The bank is also dedicating EUR150m to "disruptive innovation projects", which will be achieved through equity investments in startup businesses..
The overhaul could lead to a headcount reduction of approximately 900 employees, in addition to the 2,550 already announced at the beginning of 2016, taking the total number to around 3,450 by 2020.
The reorganisation will result in the bank recording an exceptional charge of around EUR400 million in Q4 17, with the aim of generating EUR1.1 billion in annual savings. |
Marketers look to institute strict whitelist strategies after scandal | Marketers are likely to establish proper whitelist strategies themselves in the wake of the YouTube brand safety crisis. Brands including Diageo and Adidas recently froze spending on YouTube after ads were found against content that exploited children. The Google-owned platform has since deleted hundreds of accounts and 150,000 videos. But marketers are unlikely to threaten to pull ad spending altogether and are instead likely to work with platforms to address the problems. Stéphane Bérubé, L'Oréal's CMO for Western Europe, said it was the responsibility of all advertisers to help find solutions to control environments where ads are served. | https://digiday.com/marketing/brands-talk-tough-youtube-arent-likely-walk/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=171130 | 2017-11-30 13:59:00.583000 | The fear and disappointment that gripped brands in the wake of the brand-safety crisis on YouTube in March has been replaced with pragmatism and caution in the latest one.
Last week, investigations by the BBC and The Times of London found ads that ran against content and comments that exploited kids, which pushed brands such as Adidas, Mars and Diageo to freeze spend on YouTube. The platform has since deleted hundreds of accounts and removed 150,000 videos. British advertisers’ trade body ISBA called Google execs to a meeting with top marketers to dress them down over the problems. But despite the tough talk, marketers for the most part aren’t threatening to pull ad spending, unlike the previous brouhaha. Now, marketers are more likely to take the onus on themselves to institute proper whitelist strategies.
“We [L’Oréal] can’t say we’re not going to use this channel because of certain issues [like brand safety]. At the end of the day, consumers are there,” said Stéphane Bérubé, L’Oréal’s CMO for Western Europe. “I can tell you we’re working very closely with Google and Facebook [on ad placement] and have seen a lot of improvement in this area. It’s our responsibility as advertisers, not just L’Oréal, to be able to find solutions that let us control the environments where our ads are served.”
Bérubé discussed the importance of brands acknowledging the nuances of content on the site. The cosmetic brand won’t advertise on certain YouTube channels even if they are brand-safe because they are at odds with its own values. While most big brands would agree with Bérubé, preferring to adopt stricter whitelists, some are happy to display ads next to safe but edgier YouTube channels because this is where their audience is, according to Aydin Moghaddam, head of paid search at digital agency Roast.
The safety or suitability of other content is subjective, added Andrea Ching, CMO at OpenSlate, a video analytics firm specializing in YouTube. Marketers must continue to balance maintaining suitable environments for their brands and staying current with the “changing content landscape and shifting social norms,” she said.
It comes down to advertisers knowing what they’re buying, said one media expert who consults with marketers on media strategy, speaking on condition of anonymity. During the first brand boycott of YouTube, the source’s client took advantage of the cheaper rates and bought more ads on the site. “When everyone else pulled out, the marketer said, ‘As long as you know what you’re buying and you’re chasing an audience, you can go deeper into the platform,’” the source said. “There will be more of that same pragmatism from brands toward YouTube because for all the fear and complexity, marketers are saying they have to get on with it.”
YouTube is too big for most global advertisers to refuse even if they don’t have full confidence in it. In the U.K., 18- to 34-year-olds watch an average 55 minutes of YouTube videos a day, according to comScore data cited by Google. What’s driving the attention to YouTube is the content, much like it is for TV, according to Ronan Harris, Google’s U.K. managing director.
YouTube’s pitch to brands, however, has left many demanding more from the video giant. As proactive as Google has been at addressing some of the industry’s trust issues, the perception is it’s still struggling to get to the root of the problem. Take Google Preferred, for example. In the wake of the initial brand-safety crisis, YouTube moved some advertisers to its Preferred lineup of the most popular channels, which were also sold as advertiser-safe content zones. Yet videos that brands don’t want to be associated with still slip through the net. Google Preferred combined with greater monitoring still doesn’t offer 100 percent protection, said Matt Bushby, Just Eat’s head of growth marketing.
Speaking to Digiday prior to the latest brand boycott of the video platform, he said: “There’s a lot of gamer content in there [Google Preferred], which might be a good audience for us, but actually is it premium content? That’s a conversation we’re having with YouTube because while we have lightened our spend there, we’re still on the platform, and it’s a challenge that we have to work together to solve as an industry.”
Neither Jellyfish nor M/Six believe Google Preferred is the most cost-effective or efficient way of buying media on YouTube.
Digital agency Jellyfish uses a system that plugs into the YouTube application programming interface to select each individual video its clients appear against at scale. “No one can say 100 percent of their activity will always be brand-safe, but we’re pretty confident our technology, in conjunction with Google’s approach, is better than relying only on Google Preferred,” said Daniel Wilkinson, head of paid media at Jellyfish.
YouTube will remain consistent with past behavior, proactively working to resolve the content problem, argued Todd Krizelman, CEO and founder of ad sales insights platform MediaRadar. But for those keeping score, he said, “the perception is that YouTube is struggling to solve this problem.” |
Facebook allocates more of budget towards series for Watch | Facebook is allocating bigger budgets for individual episodes while scaling back the total number of series on its Watch video site. The social media giant launched Watch in August in a bid to attract TV-like programming to its site. Funding for its early short-form shows were between $10,000 to $40,000 per episode. But for long-form TV-length original series, Facebook was reportedly ready to spend between $250,000 and over a $1m per episode. It is also apparently willing to spend up to $1bn on content next year, including live sport deals, the Wall Street Journal has reported. | https://digiday.com/media/facebook-watch-deals-changing/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=171130 | 2017-11-30 13:56:29.313000 | Facebook is spending more on individual shows for its Watch video-viewing section as the company scales back the total number of deals it signs with content partners. In doing so, the company is also looking for longer periods of exclusivity for the programs it funds.
Facebook launched Watch in August in an effort to bring more TV-like video programming to its platform. Instead of short, 60- to 90-second clips that work well within the news feed, Facebook wants more long-form material for Watch — and is willing to pay for it. Budgets for the first batch of “spotlight” (short-form) shows for Watch, which totaled in the hundreds, were roughly $10,000 to $40,000 per episode. For “hero” shows (TV-length original series), Facebook was willing to spend anywhere from $250,000 to more than $1 million per episode, according to sources.
While Facebook is no longer using the “spotlight” or “hero” labels for shows in conversations with original content partners, multiple sources said Facebook is spending two or three times the money it previously allocated for individual short-form series. Three sources that have recently sold shows to Facebook, including several renewals from Facebook’s first batch of original series, said Facebook is spending between $50,000 and $70,000 per episode for their short-form programs.
Facebook’s original content team has also told media partners in these conversations that it’s looking to spend more per show, while buying fewer shows overall, with one source describing the approach as “bigger budgets, fewer shows.” Overall, Facebook is willing to spend up to $1 billion on content through 2018, which could include live sports deals, according to an earlier Wall Street Journal report.
“They went out and did what a lot of the digital platforms do when they want original content,” said one Facebook Watch original content partner. “They made a bunch of different deals with different kinds of content companies and populated their platform.”
“It got more producers and publishers thinking about Watch,” added a second Facebook Watch original content partner. “If they had greenlit only 10 shows from their top publishers, yeah, we could direct a lot of traffic, but it would not be part of the Hollywood conversation that it currently is. Because they have hundreds of partners doing it, there are now Hollywood agents telling clients to take their ideas to Facebook.”
Now, Facebook is focused on renewing shows that drive repeat viewers, as well as new projects that look and feel more like YouTube and TV than news-feed videos.
“Since we launched Watch, we have learned a lot. We want to work closely with our partners to develop strong communities around their shows, with compelling storylines and characters that drive conversation. We are encouraging partners to experiment with different formats and the limited shows that we are funding are lighthouse examples of this type of engaged storytelling,” said Nick Grudin, vp of media partnerships at Facebook, in a statement.
The second Facebook Watch partner, which has had series renewed by Facebook, said Facebook has an internal repeat-viewers metric it uses to benchmark the success of shows. If a show can get at least 10 percent of its total audience to watch every episode, Facebook considers it a success and is likely to renew the series for additional seasons, according to this partner. So far, Facebook has confirmed that it has renewed four shows, including “Returning the Favor,” “Ball in the Family,” “Loosely Exactly Nicole” and Refinery29’s “Strangers.”
“They want more sophisticated, premium content — which will cost more money,” said a third Facebook Watch partner. “Based on what they’ve bought from us, it has the look and smell of TV-type formats, not Facebook-type formats.”
Facebook is also pushing media partners to make longer episodes — which naturally require bigger budgets.
“One of their notes to us was that our show was great, but instead of doing seven-minute episodes, we could have made them 20-minute episodes,” said the second Facebook Watch partner. “We told them we could, but it would cost us more.”
As Facebook is willing to spend more on shows, it’s also asking for longer periods of exclusivity for them, according to sources. Previously, the “spotlight” shows Facebook ordered were exclusive to Facebook for about two weeks, after which the content partners could distribute and make money off the shows elsewhere. While the terms vary by project, Facebook is now asking for anywhere from three months to a year of exclusivity on the shows it funds, these sources said.
“It’s all negotiable, and we build it into the budget,” said the third Facebook Watch partner. “The longer they want to hang on to content, the more money we need. It’s a math problem.”
Facebook also wants more long-form, TV-size shows that it can own outright. In these deals, the content partner essentially works as a hired production company but does not have any rights to the content after it’s produced. Here, Facebook still plans to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars or more per episode, sources said. (The Hollywood Reporter previously reported that content partners expect Facebook to focus more on bigger-budget projects.)
“That’s a matter of ease; they’re not trying to build some massive library [of TV shows] that they can claim residuals off of,” said the first Facebook Watch partner. “It’s just easier when you don’t have to deal with rights issues for big properties that you’ve poured a lot of money and resources into.” |
South Africa's Sasol looks to sell Canadian shale gas assets | Johannesburg-based energy firm Sasol has decided to sell its Canadian shale gas assets, described as "non-core" following a review of the company's holdings. Sasol said most of its holdings would be retained and it will begin a structured sale process alongside Canadian asset partner Progress Energy. The company also revealed it will not be investing in any more greenfield gas-to-liquids schemes or crude oil refining capacity.
| https://www.bnn.ca/south-africa-s-sasol-to-sell-off-canadian-shale-holdings-1.923746 | 2017-11-30 13:55:07.653000 | JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's Sasol is pulling out of all of its gas-to-liquids (GTL) greenfield projects including one in Louisiana project expected to cost US$13 billion to US$15 billion, the company said on Thursday.
Walking away from the project, which would have been the biggest investment abroad by a South African company, underscores the headwinds the industry is facing in a volatile market with generally depressed prices.
"While our current GTL assets are generating good returns and cash flows, the value proposition for Sasol to build new GTL projects is uneconomic against a volatile external environment and a structural shift to a low oil price environment," the company said in a statement.
The company had previously delayed its final investment decision on the project because of low oil and gas prices.
Sasol will also divest from its Canadian shale gas assets on which it took a 9.9 billion rand (US$715 million) impairment on its 2016 earnings.
"There will likely be further write-downs on it," Bongani Nqwababa, Sasol joint CEO and president, told Reuters. He cited prices and accounting requirements related to the pending sale as the main reasons.
But the company is forging ahead with its Louisiana ethane cracker project, which is now estimated to cost $11.13 billion to complete and will be the biggest foreign investment by a South African company. It is now 79 percent complete.
The plant will take ethane, a component of natural gas, and turn it into ethylene, used in the manufacture of plastic products.
Sasol said it had completed reviews on more that half of its global assets and they "have confirmed that the majority of the company’s assets will be retained".
The company, which pioneered the conversion of coal to fuel when South Africa was subject to sanctions under apartheid, also said it saw no need to boost its crude oil refining capacity, which currently stands at 270,000 barrels per day in South Africa.
Sasol also said it had increased its revolving credit facility to US$3.9 billion from US$1.5 billion and extended its maturity to five years.
The syndication closed oversubscribed with 17 banks committing to the transaction which allowed the company to increase the facility from its target size of US$3.0 billion.
The company said it aims to raise its dividend payout ratio to 40 per cent of earnings per share by 2022 from 36 per cent currently, and later to 45 per cent. |
Facebook works with publishers to test breaking news feature | Facebook is letting some publishers test a breaking news feature for developing stories. Publications including ABC News and Vox Media will be allowed to have a bright red "breaking" tag beneath a post's image, which highlights how long ago the story was published. Publishers can mark a post as breaking for between 15 minutes and six hours, once every 24 hours, according to reports. The tag will currently not be used to determine a post's ranking within Facebook's algorithm, but whether a breaking news story should have priority over others is thought to be part of the test.
| https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/29/facebook-breaking-news-test/ | 2017-11-30 13:54:21.837000 | Facebook will set a cookie to keep you logged in, but it won't set one to remember whether you want to stick with a chronological News Feed. That sort of thing makes it hard to tell at a glance how old a story from a media outlet in your Feed might be. To counter that, the social network is giving certain publications access to a "breaking" tag for their posts. The bright red tag sits below a post's image and highlights how long ago it was published. Recode writes that publishers will be able to flag a story for between 15 minutes and six hours, and that it can be used once every 24 hours.
For now, the list of publishers who can use it is small and includes ABC News and Vox Media, and Facebook is keeping the full list of media organizations involved close to the chest. The breaking tag won't weight a post's ranking within Facebook's algorithms. At least not yet. A spokesperson told Recode that part of the test was to decide whether or not a breaking news story should have preference over other posts in the News Feed.
Facebook has been working with news organizations on different ways to post, host and promote their stories for awhile. Instant Articles, for example, were fast-loading versions of news stories hosted by Facebook, made their debut a few years ago. Then there's the split News Feed that keeps posts from Pages and friends siloed off from each other, and the Explore Feed. We've reached out to Facebook for more information and will update this post should it arrive. |
Intel, Warner Bros team up for AR, VR entertainment in robo-cars | Intel has partnered with Warner Bros to develop augmented and virtual reality (AR and VR) entertainment systems for autonomous vehicles. "As driverless cars become a reality, we must start thinking of the automobile as a new type of consumer space", said Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. The partnership will focus on a proof-of-concept vehicle in which it tests new experiences, layouts and advertising, as part of what the companies’ call their AV Entertainment Experience project. Intel and Warner Bros have also hinted at the creation of smart office products for use in self-driving cars. | http://www.zdnet.com/article/intel-eyes-in-cabin-experiences-for-autonomous-vehicles-partners-with-warner-bros/ | 2017-11-30 13:35:55.777000 | Video: Intel's self-learning AI chip aimed at autonomous machines
Intel said it has formed a partnership with Warner Bros., to create in-cabin and immersive experience within autonomous cars.
The chip giant, which acquired Mobileye for a play in the autonomous vehicle market, also threw a jab at Nvidia, a key rival.
Speaking at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich outlined the Warner Bros., partnership. While the focus on autonomous vehicles has revolved around mapping, vision, sensors, and the Internet of Things, Krzanich argued the in-cabin design and entertainment systems will be just as ground breaking.
Read also: Intel's Mobileye purchase may really be about thwarting Nvidia's car to cloud, data center connection | Intel buys Mobileye for $15.3 billion, eyes autonomous driving market, computer vision
In a post that went with Krzanich's keynote, he said:
So much of the discussion around autonomous driving has naturally focused on the car as a mode of transportation, but as driverless cars become a reality, we must start thinking of the automobile as a new type of consumer space. In fact, we have barely scratched the surface in thinking about the way cars will be designed, the interaction among passengers, and how passengers will spend time while they are riding and not driving. In this respect, autonomous driving is today's biggest game changer, offering a new platform for innovation from in-cabin design and entertainment to life-saving safety systems.
Intel and Warner Bros., will develop new experiences and layouts for autonomous vehicles. The effort, called the AV Entertainment Experience, will revolve around a proof-of-concept car that will be added to Intel's 100 autonomous car test fleet.
Although Intel is initially focusing on the entertainment experience in autonomous vehicles rest assured that smart office applications will follow. Intel and Warner Bros., will feature virtual and augmented reality tools as well as advertising. But freeing up humans who spend hundreds of hours behind the wheel driving will also create opportunities for mobile offices.
Intel noted Mobileye's advanced driver assistance technology, advances in safety systems, and autonomous decision-making and said efficiency will matter. Enter the Nvidia dig.
Krzanich's post noted:
And finally, safety systems of the future will rely on technologies with maximum efficiencies to handle the enormous amount of data processing required for artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, we closed our deal with Mobileye, the world's leader in ADAS and creator of algorithms that can reach better-than-human-eye perception through a camera. Now, with the combination of the Mobileye "eyes" and the Intel microprocessor "brain," we can deliver more than twice the deep learning performance efficiency than the competition. That is a huge difference and one that matters. More than two times the deep learning efficiency leads to better fuel economy and less expensive cooling solutions.
The Intel-Nvidia efficiency argument rhymes with benchmark wars with AMD years ago. When benchmarks are touted it usually makes sense to go right to the footnotes.
Here's Intel's footnote on Nvidia:
The comparison is based on Mobileye EyeQ5 TOPS performance expectations vs. NVIDIA claimed Xavier platform DL Performance of 30 TOPS at 30W. Source:http://www.nvidia.com/object/drive-px.html Deep learning Tera Operations Per Second (DL TOPS) - Typically 1 multiply-accumulate operation = 2 DL OPS. The widths of the integer matrix multiplication vary by architecture, dedicated hardware and supported topologies. Any claimed DLTOPS number depends on several assumptions such as frequency, number of MACs and various other hardware specifications. Performance tests and ratings are measured using specific computer systems and/or components and reflect the approximate performance of Intel products as measured by those tests. Any difference in system hardware or software design or configuration may affect actual performance. Buyers should consult other sources of information to evaluate the performance of systems or components they are considering purchasing. For more information on performance tests and on the performance of Intel products, visit Intel Performance Benchmark Limitations. Results have been simulated and are provided for informational purposes only. Results were derived using simulations run on an architecture simulator. Any difference in system hardware or software design or configuration may affect actual performance.
Previous and related coverage
Intel: We've found severe bugs in secretive Management Engine, affecting millions
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Intel: We're ending all legacy BIOS support by 2020
Intel will drop BIOS support as part of a plan to boost UEFI adoption. |
Redrow Residents express concerns about plans for a new school | Residents of the Leckhampton area of south Cheltenham have raised concerns that a new school will increase traffic problems. Kit Braunholtz, founder of the LEGLAG community group, said that the new school, combined with Redrow's residential development on Farm Lane, would cause "terrible" traffic issues.
| http://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/that-cause-absolute-mayhem-residents-851753 | 2017-11-30 13:30:05.453000 | The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel
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The news that a £30million school could open in Leckhampton has stirred up some strong opinions.
We revealed earlier that Gloucestershire County Council has earmarked land off Kidnappers Lane as the preferred location for a new secondary school, in a bid to ease Cheltenham's shortage of places.
The land was previously identified by developers for housing, but the county council has now expressed an interest in the land for a school.
Some residents have expressed concerns that the move will only add to Leckhampton's traffic problems and spoil its countryside.
But there is also excitement from parents who are hopeful of more options for their children.
Balcarras School, in Charlton Kings, will launch a bid to run the new school.
Dominic Burke, headteacher at comprehensive Balcarras, has said the school is needed to provide extra capacity for Cheltenham pupils.
(Image: Bing)
Kit Braunholtz founded the LEGLAG community group, which campaigns to protect Leckhampton green land.
He said: "I don't think the south of Cheltenham is the right place for a new school because of the traffic problems it would generate.
"Anyone who uses Shurdington Road already finds themselves queuing up for hours to get past the traffic lights.
"The land is part of the view from Leckhampton Hill. I think we all agree that should be protected."
Mr Braunholtz believes the new school and Redrow's development of more than 300 homes on Farm Lane will together create "terrible" traffic problems.
He added: "A lot of people will be extremely unhappy."
Other residents took to social media to vent their frustrations over the possible development.
Roger Merrett wrote on Facebook: “First Tewkesbury Borough Council allow Redrow to build houses in the fields off Farm Lane and now Gloucestershire County Council want to plonk a school off Kidnappers Lane.
“Why do the local authorities seem intent on ruining the countryside around Leckhampton?”
Marina Mason commented: “Glad I don't use Shurdington Road to get to work.... That will cause absolute mayhem in the morning!”
And Sarah Abbott added: “Would need a late start, my husband can take up to 30 mins some days to get down that small stretch of Shurdington Road!”
Mr Burke outlined plans to set up a trust to run both Balcarras and a new comprehensive school.
He said: “Balcarras is still in the process of preparing a bid to sponsor a new school for Cheltenham.
“The motivation is that we do think Cheltenham needs extra capacity. We have been under pressure for some time.
“We want to be part of the solution. The answer to that is not just to keep expanding schools.
“There comes a point when you can’t do that any longer. We are absolutely crammed. We are already over capacity by about 50 children on our site.”
Mr Burke described today’s announcement from the county council as “very welcome”.
He said: “During our consultation recently we stressed that we didn't have control over the site and that we awaited news from other parties as to where the location might be.
“Wherever the school is sited we want it to be an outstanding school in every sense.
“The prospect of being chosen to sponsor the school is exciting but we realise what a great responsibility it will be.”
Cheltenham Bournside School has previously expressed an interest in sponsoring the school.
Mum Marti Toth-Norris, from Up Hatherley, who has two children aged three and two, thinks the news is “very exciting”.
She added: “Cheltenham has such good schools, hopefully this will be another great one.
“The location is certainly wonderful. Hope they will make it accessible though as that area is infamous for those awful narrow roads.”
There was also support from Councillor Max Wilkinson (Lib Dem, Park).
Bournside, Gloucestershire County Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council have been approached for comment. |
US falling behind China and Russia in AI race: Report | The US military risks falling behind China and Russia in the artificial intelligence (AI) race, according to data and analytics firm Work and Govini. The US government needs to determine its commitment to research and development in AI technologies, as well as a national strategy for developing systems that exploit AI advancements in warfare, to avoid falling behind its rivals, according to the report. Russia is already developing military robots and anti-drone systems, while China hopes to lead the world in AI by linking defence and commercial development.
| http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/29/politics/us-military-artificial-intelligence-russia-china/index.html | 2017-11-30 13:14:08.150000 | Story highlights Both China and Russia have recently highlighted the importance of artificial intelligence to the future of the global economy and military power A new report warns that the US military must now decide if it wants to "lead the coming revolution or fall victim to it"
Washington CNN —
More than 60 years after a space race rivalry with the Soviet Union ushered in a new era of ballistic missile development, the US is facing another “Sputnik moment” amid a rapidly escalating international competition over artificial intelligence, according to former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work.
The idea that rapid advances in artificial intelligence will define the next generation of warfare – a concept known as the “Third Offset Strategy” – was first articulated by former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel in 2014.
Possible AI applications for the military include: creating more nimble systems, possibly at lower cost; developing more effective training systems; software that processes mountains of data from surveillance systems or for “pattern-of-life” surveillance; improved facial recognition capabilities; war games support and automated combat in so-called manned-unmanned operations, according to a September report from the RAND Corporation.
But a new report published Wednesday and provided exclusively to CNN by Work and Govini, a data and analytics firm that conducts government analysis, warns that the US military must now decide if it wants to “lead the coming revolution, or fall victim to it” amid emerging challenges from China and Russia.
“This stark choice will be determined by the degree to which the Department of Defense (DoD) recognizes the revolutionary military potential of AI and advanced autonomous systems,” the report said.
Specifically, the White House and Pentagon must determine the extent to which the US will ramp up research and development in technologies associated with artificial intelligence – including advanced computing, artificial neural networks, big data, machine learning, unmanned systems and robotics, it said.
The US must also determine a national strategy for how aggressively it will develop new systems, operational concepts and organizational constructs that exploit artificial intelligence advancements in warfare, according to the report.
An important part of that strategy relates to “autonomy” which results “from delegation of a decision to an authorized entity to take action within specific boundaries,” Work told CNN.
The technology
While critics have often warned against the development of autonomous offensive weaponry for fear of losing operational control, Work told CNN that the US pursuit of “narrow AI” will always prioritize human control but allow the machine to “independently compose and select among different courses of action to accomplish assigned goals based on its knowledge and understanding of the world, itself, and the situation.”
Musk, Zuckerberg feud over future of AI 05:05 - Source: CNN
“They are worried about the Terminator, but the US view is more like the Iron Man,” Work said in reference to the Marvel superhero who is a man equipped with a powerful and adaptable suit of armor.
The US has already begun to apply elements of AI to military platforms and strategy – a move perhaps no more evident than in its investment in the $400 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Combining an array of sensors and software used to quickly collect data and interpret data, the F-35 “is the key example of human elaboration,” Work told CNN.
“It sucks up data and portrays that to the pilot in a way they couldn’t have done on their own,” he added, calling the aircraft a “perfect example of human-machine collaboration” that should be applied to other military platforms.
But despite some success in implementing AI technology to date, Work told CNN that he does not “don’t believe our national response is nearly good enough to this point.”
The race
Both China and Russia have recently highlighted the importance of artificial intelligence to the future of the global economy and military power.
Speaking to students during a national “open lesson” in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country that takes the lead in the sphere of computer-based artificial intelligence will rule.
“Artificial intelligence is the future not only of Russia but of all of mankind,” said Putin. “There are huge opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to foresee today.”
The words of the Russian President echo what scientists in Russia and around the world have been mulling over for quite some time.
Work on developing drones and vehicles for military and civilian usage is well under way in Russia, according to state media.
The Russian military is also developing robots, anti-drone systems, and cruise missiles that would be able to analyze radars and make decisions on the altitude, speed and direction of their flight, according to state media.
And in July, the Chinese government published a detailed road map outlining a national plan to prioritize the development and application of AI – a move Work said he considers a “Sputnik moment.”
“Artificial intelligence has become the new focus of international competition. Artificial intelligence is the strategic technology that leads the future,” the Chinese government publication said.
“The major developed countries in the world regard the development of artificial intelligence as a major strategy to enhance their national competitiveness and safeguard their national security,” it added.
China’s hopes to lead the world in AI technologies by directly linking defense and commercial development.
The funding
While DOD and Silicon Valley have recently invested in AI research and development, relying on American commercial research and development is not going to be enough, according to Work.
The US has lacked a clear plan to keep pace with foreign rivals despite predictions that AI “has the potential to be a transformative national security technology, on a par with nuclear weapons, aircraft, computers, and biotech,” according to a recent study by Greg Allen of Harvard’s Belfer Center for Science and International studies.
But according to Work and Govini, Wednesday’s report aims to help build the foundation of a national response to, what they view, as a clear challenge by foreign powers.
By providing an analysis of government spending on key components of AI between 2012 and 2017, the report provides guidance for defense leaders and the White House on how the US should respond to challenges from China and others, Work said.
A full breakdown of Govini’s analysis can be viewed here.
And while the report generally concludes that DOD is “putting its money where its mouth is” when it comes to the Third Offset Strategy, Work told CNN that there is still “a long way to go.”
The report’s analysis of unclassified government spending on AI over the last five years indicates that DOD is focusing on collecting data and applying it to two primary components of the offset strategy: virtual reality (simulations and training technology) and computer vision (the data that tells a system what to strike and not to strike).
While important foundational elements of artificial intelligence, the US must begin to prioritize measures toward applying those advancements toward mission concepts, according to Matt Hummer of Govini.
DOD should increase its investment in “advanced computing” technology – which represents the lynchpin for broader application – and analytical technology – which is used to display information to a human operator, he said.
Further development of the Cloud – a critical part of increasing processing speed – is also an area the US should emphasize, he said.
Ultimately, an emphasis on prioritizing artificial intelligence spending is going to “require a national response led from the White House,” according to Work.
“This is designed, I hope, to not only help DOD leaders to think about what to invest in but help the White House to think about broad contours of a national response,” he said. |
Litter and waste on UK beaches increase by 10% this year | The amount of rubbish washed up on UK beaches rose by 10% in 2017, according to the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) annual beach clean. The event enlisted 7,000 volunteers who cleaned 339 beaches, collecting an average of 718 pieces of litter for every 100 metres. Most of the rubbish was small fragments of plastic, but 20% was packaging for takeaway food and drink. As a result, the MCS is calling on the government to impose charges on single-use items including cups, cutlery and straws. In his recent budget, chancellor Philip Hammond announced that he was considering such charges.
| https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/30/shocking-rise-in-rubbish-washing-up-on-uk-beaches | 2017-11-30 13:10:08.583000 | The rubbish washing up on the UK’s beaches is continuing to increase, rising by 10% in 2017, the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) annual beach clean has revealed.
Much of the waste is plastic, leading the MCS to call on the government to urgently introduce a charge on single-use plastic items, such as straws, cups and cutlery. The chancellor, Philip Hammond, recently announced the government is considering such action.
About 12m tonnes of plastic litter enters the oceans every year, killing millions of marine animals. People are also believed to be inadvertently eating the plastic, potentially contaminated with toxic chemicals, via seafood.
The MCS beach clean in September saw 7,000 volunteers scour 340 beaches and collect an average of 718 pieces of rubbish every 100 metres. The survey uses a standard methodology and data from the last decade and shows a rising tide of litter along the coast.
Most of the litter is small, unidentifiable fragments of plastic, broken down in the sea from larger objects and often mistaken for food by fish and birds. But 20% of the rubbish is packaging from “on the go” food and drink, such as cups, bottles, cutlery, stirrers and sandwich packets.
“Our beach clean evidence shows a shocking rise in the amount of litter this year,” said Sandy Luk, MCS chief executive. “Our oceans are choking in plastic. We urgently need a levy on single-use plastic as a first step.”
“We are concerned we are continuing on this upwards trend,” said Lizzie Prior, beach and river clean project officer at the MCS. “Plastic never goes away – it does not decompose. It just goes to smaller and smaller pieces and becomes much more harmful for our marine environment.”
She said the tax on plastic bags introduced in 2015, which has seen their use drop by 85%, had a rapid impact, with the number of bags found on beaches down by 40% since 2014. “It is really fantastic to see that small charge completely changed people’s behaviour,” she said. “A levy [on other single use plastic] would be a fantastic next step.”
The populous south-east of England had the highest amount of litter, with 1,092 items per 100 metres of beach, a jump of 46% from last year. South-west England was second, with 1,036 items per 100 metres.
A spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We are taking significant steps to tackle plastic waste including plans to introduce a ban on plastic microbeads and a call for evidence around deposit reward and return schemes for plastic bottles. We recognise there is more to do in this area, and we will be working with industry to explore how we can further reduce the amount of single-use plastic waste.”
Iceland and the Co-op announced on Thursday that they would back a UK-wide bottle deposit return system (DRS), while the Natural History Museum in London has said it will stop selling single-use plastic bottles to the 4.5 million people who visit each year.The MCS 2017 survey found the second highest amount of litter in the 10 years for which there is comparable data. The peak in 2014 is thought likely to be the result of unusually severe storms early that year, which washed up more rubbish.
The MCS also found a big leap in wet wipes litter in 2017, up 94% on the previous year, though the cause is unclear. Most wet wipes contain plastic and Prior said she knew of no wet wipes on sale today that meet water company standards for degradability.
She said people should not flush them down the toilet and that labelling on wet wipes needs to improve: “If they don’t meet the water company standards, they should say ‘non-flushable’ very clearly on the front of the packet.”
Prior said only three things should be flushed down toilets: “If you remember the three Ps – pee, poo and paper – you’re doing the right thing.” |
Redrow Redrow finishes construction at Devonport in Plymouth | Redrow has completed construction at the £70m ($94m) Vision development in Devonport, Plymouth. The 464-property project, in the former Royal Navy South Yard Enclave, is home to over 1,100 people and includes homes, offices, shops and a 42-flat extra care housing block. Redrow also invested £700,000 towards the restoration of the local market hall and clock tower, which is to become a digital hub, and donated more than £3.7m towards education, transport and roads in the area.
| http://www.devonlive.com/news/business/ten-multi-million-pound-projects-827604 | 2017-11-30 13:08:11.817000 | Something went wrong, please try again later.
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The budget would have been a disappointing blow to anyone hoping for major investment in the South West - the exception was a very welcome £79million for the A30 St Austell link road.
Speaking at the recent Western Morning News’ Business Awards, held in St Mellion, Cornwall on November 16, Gary Streeter, MP for South West Devon said the region had three priorities: “Infrastructure, infrastructure and infrastructure.”
And we agree. A key aim of the #BackTheSouthWest campaign is to secure investment so the region can reach its potential.
And there could be good news in the budget, if you scour the small print.
For example, the region could tap into the £316billion National Infrastructure Productivity Fund, extended for another year, £500million for AI, 5G and Full Fibre Broadband, half of the £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund designed to improve transport links and £1billion being made available of discounted lending for high value infrastructure projects.
For Back The South West campaigners, the link between investment and prosperity is clear.
Michael Beadel is chairman and a partner in the real estate team at Stephens Scown. The firm is a partner in the Back The South West Campaign.
He said: “History has shown that regions which continue to invest in their infrastructure, even in uncertain times, are more likely to prosper. The South West has so much to offer, but to reach our full potential it is crucial for public spending and private investment in our big infrastructure projects to continue.”
Let's take a look at the big projects currently under way that are transforming the region.
Inward investment is unlocking hundreds of jobs for Exeter in the shape of the Ikea store, set to open next year and the vast regional distribution centre for Lidl that has opened just in time for Christmas.
The vast investment at Exeter and East Devon Growth Point, Skypark and Exeter Science Park is creating a cluster for innovative businesses and housing for its relatively well-paid workers.
In Plymouth, Oceansgate is showing how the region can turn its seascape into a specialism with the UK’s pioneering marine hub and in Newquay, Cornwall’s bid to become a UK spaceport is creating huge opportunities for like minded businesses.
These developments are widely welcomed but there is still so much more we need to do to secure the investment we need to create the Great South West.
Chairman of the Heart of the South West LEP, Steve Hindley CBE DL, said: “We are passionate about our area; the Heart of the South West and the wider Great South West region, and we will continue to strive fervently to get our true potential recognised.”
(Image: Kier)
A30 – Temple, Cornwall
Value: £60million
Completion: Current phase completes this winter but next phase of the A30 dualling could start in 2020.
The three-mile section of road over Bodmin Moor and Preeze Cross Bridge was formally declared open for business on July 14, bringing to an end two years of roadworks misery. Cardinham Bridge opened to traffic three days later.
The first major benefit of the new road was the fact that on the first weekend of the school summer holidays, traffic on the A30 was flowing freely.
In previous years, tailbacks of over 10 miles would have been witnessed in the switch from dual to single carriageway on the approach to the original road or the roadworks.
The A30 road was completed ahead of a revised schedule after a project which suffered delays when an exceptionally wet winter undermined some of the initial work.
During its busiest time, the road carries around 40,000 vehicles a day, meaning that roughly 280,000 cars, lorries, camper vans, caravans and motorbikes could have trundled along the new stretch in the first week.
The horrendous congestion caused by the previous road layout - a dual carriageway narrowing to a single lane - was estimated to have cost businesses, residents and visitors £235 million a year.
However, the successful completion of the scheme is expected to bring more than £134million into the Cornish economy - meaning that in just seven days the new road could have provided a £2.5million boost.
Around 70% of residents in Cornwall and more than 80% of workers are based to the west of Temple, with more than three quarters of businesses surveyed at the start of the scheme predicting that it would have a positive impact on their business.
The construction on the new dual carriageway involved the cutting of 300,000 tons of earth, equivalent to filling 226 Olympic sized swimming pools, and 130,000sqm of asphalt, the equivalent of surfacing 18 Wembley-sized football pitches and 15,000 metres of vehicle safety barrier equivalent to the distance between Chiverton Cross to Mitchell.
The contractors have also built 5,500 metres of Cornish hedge as part of the environmental works, and planted 15,000 trees and shrubs and 95,000 square metres of seeding, equivalent to seeding 13 Wembley-sized football pitches.
Aerohub – Newquay Airport : Phase 1
Budget: £7m
Completion: 2020.
As part of the diversification strategy for Cornwall Airport Newquay, Cornwall Development Company working on delivering the Aerohub Enterprise Zone project based at Newquay airport.
A designated Enterprise Zone, Aerohub offers the largest planning free development site in the UK, with over 348 acres of development land.
Combined with uncongested and unrestricted airspace, one of the UK’s longest runways, direct maritime access, and an unparalleled aviation environment, Aerohub is the best location in Europe for aerospace businesses.
Work on the Aerohub Business Park at Cornwall Airport Newquay started this year, and will be completed in early 2019. The first phase of the project will include a three-storey landmark office building and a further eight business and light industrial units.
The Aerohub Business Park is located on the south side of the airport and falls within the UK's only aviation-focused Enterprise Zone. Enterprise Zones were created by the Government in 2011 to boost business investment and job creation. Once fully developed the business park could support up to 1,000 jobs.
The new £7.4million project will address the lack of high-quality employment space that is perceived to be a real barrier to growth in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Of that figure £4.3 million is coming in the form of a grant from the current round of European funding and will be matched by £3.1 million of investment from Cornwall Council.
Aerohub is now home to 14 businesses employing more than 450 people at an average annual wage of £33,400 - almost twice the average wage in Cornwall.
The business park will become the gateway to the 850-acre site Enterprise Zone, which is a focus for future flight technologies and aims to become a future UK Spaceport.
The Aerohub is also hoping to host the UK’s first spaceport and tap into the £25bn spaceflight launch market by 2020.
Aerohub Enterprise Zone manager Miles Carden and the man behind Cornwall's spaceport bid to the government, said: “There's something intangible about space flights and space travel. We all relate to the Apollo programme and the Man on the Moon. It's right there in people's psyche.
“Becoming Britain's first spaceport is a 25-year project which could create 5,000 highly paid jobs in Cornwall. But it won't happen overnight. It will happen in phases and the first phase will still deliver hundreds of jobs.”
In the summer it was announced that Orbital Access Limited (OAL) has teamed up with Spaceport Cornwall – the group which includes Cornwall Airport Newquay and Goonhilly Earth Station, on the Lizard peninsula.
News of the partnership was announced at the UK Space Conference in Manchester. It means OAL will work alongside Spaceport Cornwall as its principle operator on the dream to develop a system where aircraft can be used to launch satellites into orbit.
Anchorwood Bank, Barnstaple
Value: £60million
Completion: Retail units by 2018 and residential development in 2019
One of the biggest commercial developments in recent years in North Devon, Anchorwood Bank in Barnstaple, formerly home to Shapland and Petter, will host 172 houses and a retail area with shops and restaurants.
An Asda store opened on site in November last year, the first spade has gone in the ground for the residential development and a large steel structure which will house the shopping district has been erected.
The development is headed by social housing provider North Devon Homes with partners Wessex Investors and Pearce Construction.
It is hoped that the housing development, shopping and restaurant area, will transform a derelict site into a vibrant, waterside space.
(Image: Paul Slater Images)
Beckley Point, Plymouth
Value: £30.79million
Completion: January 2018
What is the tallest building in the South West, this 505-bed student accommodation block, in the centre of Plymouth, is managed by The Student Housing Company, part of leading provider Global Student Accommodation (GSA).
Construction on the project started on the August 15, 2015, and is being delivered by developer Kier Group.
All internal work was completed in September 2017, and completion of the external works is expected by the end of January 2018.
With the tip of the tower reaching 78 metres high, the 23-storey tower will be the region’s tallest building.
With students already living in the tower, more than 100 have already rebooked for the 2018/19 academic year.
Rooms cost about £8,000 for a 45-week tenancy, but enjoy spectacular views.
Students are housed in a combination of single en-suite studios, double bedroomed “twodios”, and “clusters” where six bedrooms share a kitchen and living area.
There are communal study and common rooms, games and “chill-out” spaces, and even a cinema.
The skyscraper is staffed around the clock, with a team of 10 full-time workers including managers, cleaners and maintenance roles.
And topping the pile is the 23rd storey Sky Lounge, which has panoramic views and will be available to the public for hire.
The pioneering technology behind the £60million Mayflower Water Treatment Works In March next year South West Water will publish its business proposals for 2020-25 for public consultation as part of the water industry price review, which occurs every five years. The flagship project for the current 2015-20 period is the Mayflower Water Treatment Works. This £60m infrastructure project means that by this time next year Plymouth and the surrounding area will be enjoying tap water treated using advanced technology found nowhere else in the UK. Around two and a half years in construction, the Mayflower Water Treatment Works is designed to deliver high quality drinking water to the area in a more efficient and environmentally sustainable way than ever before. The existing water treatment works at Crownhill was built in the 1950s and is reaching the end of its useful life. Water treatment technology and standards have improved dramatically since it was built, the city’s population has grown significantly, and, as a result of urbanisation, the site’s location would make further expansion difficult. Work on its replacement began back in 2013, with the setting up of a research facility to trial ‘ceramic membrane filtration’ - an innovative treatment process which is less chemical and energy-intensive than traditional methods. Ceramic membranes are durable, have a long working life (they have been operating in Japan for more than 20 years) and require minimal support and maintenance, making them a cost-effective alternative. Over the course of 18 months, a dedicated team from South West Water worked in close collaboration with Dutch water treatment specialists PWNT to trial the process with water from a range of local sources including Burrator reservoir, the River Tavy and River Tamar. The pilot proved successful and planning began for the new works. A 24-acre site on the edge of Roborough was identified as the location for the build – this already had the benefit of planning approval, granted in 1991, for a new water treatment works. Ahead of construction, South West Water enlisted a team of specialist ecologists to ensure there would be minimal impact on wildlife and habitats. Slow worms, adders, grass snakes and lizards were among the animals safely captured and re-homed, one-way badger ‘gates’ were installed, and the initial site clearance was carried out using hand tools under the careful supervision of the experts. By carrying out the clearance over winter there was no danger of disturbing any nesting birds. Trees with the potential to support roosting bats were carefully inspected and ‘soft-felled’ to minimise disturbance. In addition to the works itself, construction has also involved the laying of seven kilometres of water mains pipeline and the addition of a hydro-electric plant and solar panels which will provide a proportion of onsite energy, thereby helping reduce carbon emissions. Delivery is on schedule by South West Water’s H5O engineering delivery alliance (including Arcadis, Pell Frischmann and Balfour Beatty as the main construction contractor alongside Interserve) and PWNT. During the construction phase, the project has sustained more than 150 jobs. The new works will be capable of producing up to 90 million litres (megalitres) every day and will ensure a sustainable supply of high quality drinking water to homes and businesses for decades to come.
Hinkley Point C Nuclear Plant, Somerset.
Value: £19.6bn
Completion: First nuclear reactor scheduled for completion in 2025
On our doorstep is Europe’s biggest construction project with 2,000 workers every day currently on site.
The construction will provide 25,000 jobs and is set to have a major impact across the region with opportunities in the construction, supply chain and associated businesses.
Around £435 million worth of contracts have been signed so far with businesses in the region.
There are a number of initiatives under way to ensure the region has the right skills to meet the demand that is predicted to drain workers across Devon and Cornwall. At its peak, 5,600 people will work on site and the finished power plant will employ 900 people.
Built by EDF and its partner, costs over the coming years will rise to around £19.6bn after an announcement earlier this year that the project is likely to be over time by 15 months and over budget by £1.5billion.
The French state-controlled energy firm is funding two-thirds of the plant with China investing the rest.
In return, EDF will receive a guaranteed price for Hinkley's electricity for 35 years in a complex subsidy arrangement.
The construction has not been without controversy.
The level of subsidy has been criticised by experts and the National Audit Office because it guarantees the company a revenue of £92.50 per megawatt-hour of power, well above current market prices.
The reliance on nuclear energy has also been criticised by environmental campaigners who argue that the Government should instead be investing in solar and wind energy.
(Image: Neale Abbott/aeroplaneviews.co.uk)
Ikea, Exeter
Value: £80million
Completion: Summer 2018
The wait for an Ikea west of Bristol is almost over.
It will be the Swedish chain’s 21st store and will employ around 250 staff.
The development off the A379 also includes plans for 220 new homes at Newcourt.
The cash contribution to the city's Community Infrastructure Levy amounts to £3,921,002.
Lidl Regional Distribution Centre, Exeter
Value: £55million
Completion: November 2017
The new, 50,000 m² hub in the Exeter Gateway business park close to Junction 29 of M5 comes as part of Lidl’s wider investment and modernisation programme across the South West. Lidl was given planning approval in June last year after Sainsbury's scrapped a plan to build a depot there.
Creating 500 jobs, the Regional Distribution Centre will serve Lidl stores from Penzance to as far as Burnham-on-Sea and across to Weymouth, with 1,700 pallets of products projected to go through its premises every day.
It is phase one of a scheme with planning permission for a further 110,000 sq m of logistics and distribution space in phase two of the development secured this September.
The massive development on land at Hayes Farm would create between 1,530 and 1,817 new jobs and contribute an extra £90 to £105m to the regional economy, the applicants, the Church Commissioners For England claim.
Infrastructure will take a step forward post Brexit As the region weighs up what life may the look like in the region post Brexit, infrastructure features largely on the horizon, says Richard Walford, Foot Anstey Partner and Head of Property, Infrastructure and Construction The good news is that, as we all know, the South West is an attractive place for people to live and work. The challenge is to encourage potential movers to follow up sentiment with action and take the steps to actually relocate and build a life in the region. For some parts of the South West the promotion of our region is working. I recently attended a meeting of the Property Chamber at Exeter City Council and was impressed truly with the success of the City. Relatively well connected by roads and rail and with a forward thinking, pro-development Council, Exeter claims the 4th highest rate of housing growth of any city in the UK. Alongside this it has made gains in productivity, jobs and population growth. Exeter's good fortune is a cause for celebration but it is important to understand what underlies the growth in order that the region's politicians and businesses don’t overlook, or even worse, kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Being an attractive location set in the midst of a region blessed with great natural beauty helps but it is Exeter's comparative success compared to the rest of the region that is interesting. In my role I deal with a range of businesses daily, both those already within as well as those looking to relocate to the region. For all of these businesses Exeter's transport infrastructure at the end of the M5 and the more navigable part of the high speed rail network are decisive factors that make Exeter the place of choice to locate a South West hub or headquarters. Businesses that are based or choose to develop there have fared very well. Burrington Estates, for example who moved to Exeter in 2011 has very quickly established itself as a high quality developer of commercial and residential sites. Looking ahead to a post Brexit world, the region's authorities are recognising the need to come together and combine their efforts to stand up for the peninsula. The Greater Exeter Strategic Plan and Great South West are two such initiatives. It is great to see the willingness to cooperate and lobby on behalf of the whole region. But what cannot be ignored is what these bodies lobby for. Whilst politically it may be pragmatic to spread the jam, all the evidence on the impact of infrastructure points to the importance of focussing on central growth hubs; be that London, Manchester, Bristol or perhaps even Exeter. Infrastructure projects on the scale required to truly unlock the full potential of the South West economy (think A303 upgrade or fast rail link to Plymouth) cannot be fully funded by the private sector. They will require public funding from both the region and Westminster. Garnering that support will require close cooperation and targeted campaigns of the regions decision makers. The sooner the region can set aside its local concerns and differences and fully throw its weight behind those campaigns, the better.
The huge chunk of land is earmarked for more storage and distribution warehouses, offices and business space as part of the Exeter and East Devon Growth Point.
As for Lidl, it says it is continuing to invest in the South West region, with half of its stores being refurbished in the next year.
The retailer has also confirmed contracts with 14 suppliers, including Wyke Farms, County Confectionery , Kanes Foods and Crediton Dairy in the region, which will be worth over £100million across the next five years with extensive export opportunities to Lidl markets.
Lidl's regional director Mark Henry said: “The South West is an important region for Lidl and it’s an area where we’ve experienced particularly strong growth.”
Lidl says it has ambitious expansion plans across the UK, with an investment aim of £1.45bn by 2019. Regional Distribution Centres will make up a significant part of this objective, with this latest RDC opening becoming the 12th in the Lidl portfolio.
And it is good news for workers too. Lidl has made a pledge to pay the Living Wage Foundation’s Real Living Wage, now £8.75 an hour.
How Cornwall is being transformed by its mining future Cornwall is on the brink of a transformation into a world class centre of excellence in modern mining and a potential return to the glory days of mining in the county, writes Michael Beadel is chairman of Stephens Scown LLP. This renaissance couldn’t have come at a better time. As a supporter of the Back The South West campaign, I am a passionate believer in the need for the region to pull together and get behind the sectors and industries that are going to secure jobs for the future. The demand for lithium is set to soar, driven by the need for lithium-ion batteries for the growing electric car market. The price of lithium has tripled in the past 18 months, rising to US$16,000-18,000 per tonne. Recent studies have suggested that the price could increase by 16% year on year until at least 2025. If this happens, the price of lithium will have grown the fastest of any commodity in the last 100 years. And Cornwall could be at the centre of this development. Cornish Lithium’s exploration is being focused on the underground hot springs of Cornwall, where lithium is dissolved in liquid brines. What makes this development all the more exciting is that it comes on the back of several years of good news for mining in the South West. Whilst china clay extraction, led in Cornwall by Imerys Minerals, continued to be an important part of the local economy, metal mining started again in 2015 with Wolf Minerals’ major tungsten and tin project, the Drakelands mine in Devon, going into production. This was an historic achievement: the first metal mine to open in the UK for 45 years. The heavy lifting on the Wolf Minerals project by all those involved has very greatly advanced the viability of metal mining in the UK. The benefit to the locality has been very real – more than 200 people are permanently employed at Drakelands, many of them local people, and including some who had previously emigrated in search of mining work but have now been able to return to their home country. Additional indirect UK jobs created are estimated at approximately 1,000. Then, in the summer of 2016, Strongbow Exploration achieved another momentous step for Cornwall, in saving the third largest tin deposit in the world from extinction. A deal was signed to buy the mineral rights and assets necessary for South Crofty to become a producing mine again. Other significant operators in the sector include Cornwall Resources Limited (the JV between Strategic Minerals plc and New Age Exploration Limited), which started its exploration drilling programme at Redmoor, near Callington in Cornwall, in March 2017. There will be many who hope, like me, that there is a new dawn for mining in the South West, supported by local and central government, which brings much needed jobs for Cornwall.
(Image: Penny Cross)
Oceansgate Marine Hub, Plymouth
Value: Phase 1: £7.8million
Completion: Phase 1: End of 2017
Work on two rows of industrial units and a three-story office block only began in January 2017.
But by March the team from Midas had dug foundations and even begun assembling the steel skeleton for the office building.
The area, once the heart of Devonport, had been destroyed and was then turned into the post-war South Yard naval site.
But now it will become offices, labs and light industrial units.
The Enterprise Zone marine hub is expected to give Plymouth’s economy a mighty shot in the arm, providing world class facilities for marine manufacturing and engineering companies.
With two more phases to follow the project has already attracted so many firms the overall scheme could be completed within five years creating thousands of jobs.
Midas, which has about 60 staff working on the patch, is expecting to hand the Phase One buildings back to Plymouth City Council in December 2017, to be rented out to firms.
The initial phase of Oceansgate will deliver 1,270sq m of office space, over the three floors, which will be leased to one firm, or several, by Plymouth City Council.
Up to 14 firms could move in – or one company could take the entire space.
The entire site is 35 hectares – five times the size of Royal William Yard.
Skypark, Exeter
Value: £210million
Completion: Current phase completes this Autumn with work continuing over the 20 years
Skypark is being billed as the South West’s most significant Business Park development combining office, industrial and distribution space with hotel, local facilities and a biomass and gas combined heat and power plant in a landscaped environment of over 100 acres.
Over the next 20 years, this £210 million development is predicted to create up to 6,500 new jobs with a significant impact on the local economy as part of the wider Exeter and East Devon New Growth Point initiative.
The first tenant in the first office building, which offers 17,142 sq ft of employment space, is due to move on site in December.
Software development company Oneserve is marking a new era for the company in the move with plans to increase its workforce to 60 in the coming years.
Work on the flagship DCH headquarters is well underway and the Ambulance Special Operations Centre (ASOC West) and DPD UK’s new 60,000 sq ft distribution centre will be located there.
The development, spearheaded by regeneration specialists St Modwen and Devon County Council, follows £3.5million of investment in road and services infrastructure at Skypark and the five-acre public realm area, including trim trail exercise stations.
Ian Guy, senior development manager for St Modwen and Devon County Council’s development partner for the £210m Skypark development, said:
“Skypark reflects demand for good quality commercial space in the South West through the development of the Enterprise Zone which will further enhance the site’s commercial appeal and help to attract more inward investment and business occupiers to the area in the long term.
“The new office available at Skypark is part of our ongoing programme of speculative building for the South West , which currently comprises over 180,000 sq ft of new commercial space, providing a solid platform from which to generate sizeable income and long term value right across the region. When the development completes, in the next 20 years, Skypark will provide up to 1.4 million sq ft of industrial and office space with potential for up to 6,500 jobs.”
STEM Regional Centre of Excellence is a game changer New in 2017, City College Plymouth’s Regional Centre of Excellence for STEM is the most significant investment in the city’s skills infrastructure for many years. The £13million state-of-the-art facility, which has been shortlisted for the Best New Building at this year’s Abercrombie Awards, provides a flexible learning environment that simulates ‘real work’ scenarios with industry-standard workshops, science and sport laboratories and media studios. It is equipped with high-tech resources to support a broader and more relevant STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) curriculum. The centre will have a huge impact on the training and education of STEM-related subjects for the city and the wider region. It will focus on the city’s priority STEM sectors to promote and provide growth and investment in skills development, connectivity and innovation. This will include support for job creation, particularly in high-growth sectors, to drive productivity and promote enterprise. These aspirations are an integral part of the STEM Plymouth Strategic Plan, helping to ensure Britain’s Ocean City is recognised as a world leader in STEM development. The success of the new centre will depend in no small measure on the continued involvement of more than 200 employers who are working with the College to create Plymouth’s future workforce. The College’s commitment is to train and develop those young people and adults required by local employers and the city’s economy, to ensure a bright future ahead for all. Phil Davies, Principal and Chief Executive of City College, said: The £13million facility is the greatest investment in skills training in Plymouth for many years. It is the College’s direct response to the skills shortages that have been identified in the region’s economic strategies and planning over the past decade. With a greater emphasis on STEM skills, the College is now perfectly placed to support young people and businesses who need the next generation of students to be equipped with STEM-related skills and knowledge. “I extend my thanks to our funders, the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, Plymouth City Council and the Regional Growth Fund, and to all our employer partners for making this Regional Centre of Excellence a reality.” Chris Garcia, Heart of the South West LEP Chief Executive, said: “This was one of our first Growth Deal projects to get off the ground, helped by our funding of £5.43m. In the early days of the LEP we recognised that our area’s labour market would benefit from a significant injection of skills in the subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths to meet the demands of the growing economy. “This new centre offers students state-of-the-art facilities to encourage young people to take up STEM subjects and enable those already in work to upskill and take on higher value careers.” The STEM Regional Centre of Excellence is just one of a number of capital projects recently completed or under way at Devon’s four principal further and higher education colleges. Together, City College Plymouth, Exeter College, Petroc and South Devon College make up the Devon Colleges Group (DCG), launched a year ago with a shared vision focussed on enhancing skills, raising aspirations and driving regional economic growth and productivity. Through their collaboration, the Colleges are backing the region’s future and supporting its strategies for growth and prosperity. The Group has pledged to analyse the skills needs and gaps in the region, respond quickly to emerging trends in order to deliver Devon’s growth ambitions and continue serving their local communities by providing high quality and relevant education and training.
The Skypark is a key part of the East Devon Growth Point initiative, designed to unlock the economic potential of East Devon.
Already on the ground is Exeter Science Park with long term plans is to deliver 20,000 new homes, including the new town at Cranbrook and over 25,000 jobs up to 2026.
Vision, Plymouth
Value: £70million
Completion: October 2017
This is the biggest city regeneration scheme in the South West and the firm behind it has vowed it is not done building in Plymouth.
Developer Redrow has finished construction at the vast 464-property project in what was once the Royal Navy South Yard Enclave, in Devonport, surrounded by Plymouth’s “Berlin Wall”.
The immense estate is now home to more than 1,100 people living in a mixed-use development of one- and two-bedroom apartments alongside two-, three- and four-bedroom houses, shops, offices and a 42-flat extra care housing block for older people.
Vision has also contributed to the South West economy by employing 50 contractors at any one time and on average, 80 jobs were sustained and supported on a daily basis.
Redrow directly employed 10 apprentices during its 10 years, leading them all into construction industry jobs.
NFU Mutual is investing in its local offices to protect South West businesses To protect the South West’s farmers and businesses, insurer NFU Mutual is investing heavily in its network of 45 local offices across the region whose expert teams know their customers and are on hand to step in when fires floods strike. “At a time when many financial institutions such as banks and insurers are closing local offices and offering services only by ‘phone or online, we’re investing in our local offices,” said Tim Price, Rural Affairs Specialist at NFU Mutual. “We know that customers really value having a local office with staff who know them and their business – and that’s why we’re investing millions to ensure we have modern offices across the countryside with expert staff on hand and sophisticated IT systems. “That means that we have the expertise and products to insure a wide range of businesses from farms to hotels and shops and major food processors who make some of the South West’s finest dairy and meat products. “We use our expertise to ensure that customers have the right insurance in place to protect their businesses – and keep them running if an incident like a serious fire means they need alternative premises to stay in production. Business Interruption “In today’s highly competitive business environment, it’s often not the damage a fire causes to a firm’s premises and equipment that puts its future at risk, but any failure in its ability to continue supplying goods and services. “That’s why business interruption insurance is a vital protection measure. When disaster strikes in the form of fire, flood, storm and accident, NFU Mutual’s local infrastructure enables it to come to the aid of customers quickly. Our fast response helps keep the wheels of the economy turning and maintains jobs in the local community. “We pride ourselves on getting on scene very quickly when a serious incident happens. Our local offices and specialist back up claims handlers can quickly provide emergency funding, help arrange alternative accommodation and get the claims process underway.” This philosophy is part of our ethos as a mutual insurer. Our customers are members of the organisation, with a say in how the business is run – and are our first priority. Managing risks Today, keeping modern businesses up and running isn’t just about insurance. Well-run businesses use risk management as a key principle to help them work efficiently. This means expert analysis of all the potential risks in its activities, changing procedures and equipment to remove as many risks as possible and then putting in place measures to manage the remaining risks. NFU Mutual’s own Risk Management Services company provides this consultancy service to farmers and businesses.
Redrow also donated more than £3.7million towards education, transport and roads, including new buses, and supporting public areas such as Granby Green.
The house builder also invested £700,000 to support the restoration of Devonport Market Hall and Clock Tower which is to become a digital hub for Plymouth.
Nigel Palmer, managing director for Redrow West Country, insisted: “The completion of Vision is not the end of Redrow in Plymouth – we have not finished in the city by any means.” |
Australian banks Bendigo and Adelaide offer Apple Pay | Australian banks Bendigo and Adelaide Bank are now supporting Apple Pay. For Bendigo customers, it means they can use Apple Pay with their Bendigo Blue bank cards as well as their Bendigo Mastercard while retaining the existing benefits linked to the cards. Bendigo and Adelaide's support comes reluctantly, however, as they had previously fought unsuccessfully to be granted access to the NFC chip used by Apple in order to offer their own competing digital wallet service.
| https://www.macrumors.com/2017/11/28/apple-pay-bendigo-bank-australia/ | 2017-11-30 12:50:32.377000 | Starting today, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank in Australia is offering support for Apple Pay. The announcement means account holders in Australia can now use Apple Pay with their Bendigo Blue Bank cards.
People who use Apple Pay with their Bendigo Bank MasterCard will continue to get the rewards and benefits that their Mastercard credit and debit cards provide.
Eligible cards also include:
Act. Mastercard® debit
Basic Black Mastercard credit
Blue Mastercard debit
Business Mastercard credit
Business Mastercard debit
CSB b-entertained Mastercard
CSB b-packaged Mastercard
Low Rate Mastercard
Low Rate Platinum Mastercard
Platinum Mastercard
Pokitpal Mastercard debit
Qantas Platinum Mastercard
Ready Red Mastercard credit
RSPCA Mastercard
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was one of several banks that lost a fight in March to gain access to the NFC chip used in iPhones so they could offer their own integrated digital wallets to customers.
They also unsuccessfully lobbied the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to be allowed to collectively bargain with Apple and boycott Apple Pay.
(Thanks, Adam!) |
Co-op and Iceland support plastic bottle deposit return schemes | The Co-op and Iceland have become the first UK supermarkets to back a bottle deposit scheme, following a government consultation on reducing plastic pollution in the oceans. The two companies support the creation of a mandatory deposit return scheme (DRS) in England and Wales. In the UK, just 57% of plastic bottles are recycled, compared with up to 90% in countries such as Australia, Denmark and Norway that use DRS. The Scottish government has pledged to introduce a DRS for drinks containers but has not yet disclosed details of the proposed scheme.
| https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/30/co-op-iceland-bottle-deposit-scheme-uk-reduce-plastic-pollution | 2017-11-30 12:38:26.757000 | Iceland and the Co-op have become the first supermarkets to support a bottle deposit scheme after the government sought views on the idea to reduce plastic pollution in the oceans.
The retailers came out in favour of setting up a mandatory deposit return scheme (DRS) in England and Wales as the environment secretary, Michael Gove, began to review the results of a seven-week consultation on whether to introduce a system to increase recycling rates of plastic bottles and reduce leakage into the oceans.
Other leading supermarkets, in a survey carried out by Greenpeace, were non-committal over whether to support a deposit scheme, but none appeared openly hostile. Morrisons said: “With mixed views in the industry, it may be that the government will have to decide which way to go.”
Pressure is growing on the government, retailers and consumers to increase rates of plastic bottle recycling, reduce plastic littering and cut marine pollution.
Recycling rates in the UK have flatlined for five years and last year fell to 44%, according to Keep Britain Tidy. Just 57% of all plastic bottles are collected for recycling, compared with levels of up to 90% in countries that have deposit return schemes. It comes as plastic usage across the globe is surging.
Richard Walker, the director of sustainability for Iceland Foods, responding to the Greenpeace survey, said the failure in Britain to recycle up to 16m single-use plastic bottles every day was causing untold damage to oceans and wildlife.
“This cannot carry on … deposit return schemes work. In Norway theirs has led to 96% of all bottles being returned, with similar results in other countries that have adopted a DRS. Britain urgently needs to do the same.”
At the Co-op, Jo Whitfield, the retail chief executive, said the company was a firm supporter of initiatives to boost recycling rates.
“The Co-op is in favour of creating a deposit return scheme which increases the overall recycling of packaging and significantly reduces litter and importantly helps tackle marine pollution,” she said.
The environment secretary believes a DRS could improve the recycling rate of plastic bottles and cut leakage into the oceans.
The Scottish government has said it will introduce a deposit return scheme for drinks containers but has not yet released details of how it will operate.
More than 8m tonnes of plastic are discarded into the oceans each year, putting marine wildlife under serious threat. The first global analysis of plastic use found humans have produced 8.3bn tonnes since the 1950s, with the majority ending up in landfill or polluting the oceans and other ecosystems.
In its call for views on a DRS, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs cites far better recycling rates in South Australia and Denmark for bottles and cans (90% and almost 80% respectively), where a form of deposit return scheme operates.
Louise Edge, an oceans campaigner for Greenpeace, welcomed the backing from the two supermarket chains.
“It is possible to prevent throwaway plastic polluting our rivers and oceans, but to do this we really need companies to step up to the plate,” she said.
“Iceland and Co-op have shown some vision and set the standard – now it’s time for other companies to follow suit and start publicly backing deposit return schemes.”
In February, Coca-Cola in Europe came out in favour of a DRS and in evidence to MPs last month, Nick Brown, the company’s head of sustainability, said such a scheme needed to be UK-wide.
He said: “We have seen that other countries which have a deposit scheme have improved recovery rates of packaging and reduced littering, which is important to us.
“We understand that things need to change both with household waste collection and packaging on the go. We think a deposit scheme can work in that context.”
Meanwhile, the Natural History Museum in London has announced it will end the sale of single-use plastic water bottles at its sites to help reduce the pollution of the oceans.
Prof Ian Owens, the director of science at the museum, said: “Our plan to stop selling single-use plastic water bottles is about becoming part of the movement towards a refillable culture and doing our part to encourage a mass lifestyle change that will help reduce the deluge of plastic into our seas.”
Supermarkets’ responses to Greenpeace survey
Tesco is not hostile to changes to the current system, if the scheme is “as easy and accessible for consumers as possible” and “ensures good quality” for end use.
Waitrose believes kerbside recycling is the most effective solution but if a DRS was introduced would work with the government to consider how it would operate in a supermarket setting.
Sainsburys says drinks containers are only a small part of the broader waste and recycling challenge, and a more holistic approach is needed.
Morrisons is concerned about the cost of a DRS, and says government will have to decide which way to go.
Aldi supports the British Retail Consortium position, which is against a DRS and argues for a more holistic approach.
Lidl admits return schemes have potential benefits but need to be fully analysed and evaluated and will require significant investment.
Marks & Spencer agrees there is a need to increase recycling rates for plastic bottles. It says a mandatory DRS is “an important solution to consider” but may pose challenges. |
MIT engineers create 3D printer that works 10-times faster | A laser-assisted 3D printer that works 10-times after than other models has been developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers. While lasers are common in many 3D printers, the most common – fused deposition modelling (FDM) printers – use heater cartridges in the printheads to melt plastic. MIT engineers have now developed a FDM printer that uses a screw mechanism to feed through plastic filament at high force and then a laser to rapidly melt it. The speed improvement means that 3D printing will be viable for production as well as prototyping, researchers said. | https://www.3ders.org/articles/20171129-mit-engineers-develop-10-times-faster-desktop-fdm-3d-printer.html | 2017-11-30 12:16:05.937000 | Nov 29, 2017 | By Benedict
Engineers at MIT have developed a laser-assisted FDM 3D printer that prints around 10 times faster than average desktop machines. The new 3D printer’s unusual printhead uses a laser and novel screw mechanism to increase flow rate.
MIT researchers Jamison Go and Anastasios John Hart have developed a novel 3D printer printhead
Lasers are a common component in many 3D printers. Stereolithography (SLA), selective laser melting (SLM), and selective laser sintering (SLS) all have a laser at their core that is used to turn their respective base materials into 3D printed objects.
But the most common type of desktop 3D printer, the fused deposition modeling (FDM) printer, doesn’t usually come with a laser, instead using a heater cartridge in its printhead “hot end” to melt plastic.
But could a laser improve your average FDM 3D printer? MIT researchers Jamison Go and Anastasios John Hart have just developed a desktop 3D printer that is reportedly 10 times faster than most commercial counterparts. And the secret to this speed, the researchers say, is a laser-assisted, screw mechanism printhead.
These two new mechanisms are not common features of FDM printheads, yet both serve to increase material flow rate. The screw mechanism feeds the plastic filament through a nozzle at high force, while the laser rapidly heats and melts the material.
A tenfold speed increase is definitely food for thought, and Hart thinks this new kind of printhead could make FDM 3D printing a more viable production technique—as opposed to a tool for prototyping only.
It’s easy to see why: a one-hour print job could be shortened to five or 10 minutes, which means skilled workers like repair technicians could use such a 3D printer on the job, quickly printing a new spare part after diagnosing a problem.
Even emergency medicine applications could benefit from a simple yet speedy 3D printer like the one developed at MIT.
Selection of objects 3D printed on the new MIT printer
(Image: Chelsea Turner)
But the new 3D printer wasn’t made for any particular end task; rather, its development was an attempt to overcome three problems associated with FDM 3D printing: slow printhead speed, low extrusion force, and slow heat transfer.
“Given our understanding of what limits those three variables, we asked how do we design a new printer ourselves that can improve all three in one system,” Hart says. "And now we've built it, and it works quite well.”
The screw mechanism replaces the standard "pinch-wheel" mechanism of FDM printheads, which can only go so fast without losing grip of the filament.
The new device, which turns within the printhead, is able to process a specially developed textured filament, which increases grip and allows the printhead to feed the filament through at much higher speeds.
The laser, on the other hand, serves to heat and melt the 3D printing filament before it passes through the nozzle. It ensures the filament is more quickly and thoroughly melted than is possible using the conduction heating of standard FDM printheads.
The heat of the laser can be adjusted by quickly turning it on and off.
Another speed-increasing feature of the new 3D printer is its new gantry design. An H-shaped frame is powered by two motors and connected to a motion stage holding the printhead. The system is fast enough to keep up with the increased flow rate of the printhead.
To prove the power of the new 3D printer, the MIT researchers printed several complex parts, each of which took only five to 10 minutes. These included a miniature chair, a simplified model of Building 10 at MIT, eyeglasses frames, a spiral cup, and a helical bevel gear.
Unfortunately, the machine isn’t yet perfect. While attempting to print at such high speeds, the researchers found that the printed layers, being subject to such high force and temperature, sometimes haven’t cooled down and hardened by the time the next layer is applied.
This means the researchers have had to actively cool a part as it prints—a challenge they will continue to address as they refine the printer over time.
The MIT team also plans to try printing with high-strength polymers and composite materials, as well as attempting to tackle large-scale 3D printing.
The research, “Fast Desktop-Scale Extrusion Additive Manufacturing,” has been published in Additive Manufacturing.
Posted in 3D Printer
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kr_ wrote at 12/2/2017 3:23:36 PM:It's quite easy to extrude 10 times faster... The real challenges, as many found out before, are to obtain accurate prints with sharp corners and layer adhesion.Chris wrote at 11/30/2017 6:35:23 PM:I wonder if Jim Combs and Stratasys will have anything to say about this. He invented this years ago.RepRapper wrote at 11/29/2017 6:19:43 PM:Unfortunately, the machine isn’t yet perfect. While attempting to print at such high speeds, the researchers found that the printed layers, being subject to such high force and temperature, sometimes haven’t cooled down and hardened by the time the next layer is applied. Yes... all the RepRappers have known this for years..Maave wrote at 11/29/2017 2:59:16 PM:Thankfully Mr Hart has also posted this research paper on Cornell's ArXiv reposity, so it's not locked behind a journal paywall https://arxiv.org/abs/1709.05918Banker Overlord wrote at 11/29/2017 2:55:30 PM:At those kinds of speeds, it's a game changer.
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Redrow Construction lorries spreading mud hazard, neighbours complain | Neighbours have accused construction lorries used in the conversion of a former Bristol hospital of creating a safety hazard on nearby roads. They say the trucks are spreading slippery thick mud over a crossing near Frenchay Hospital, which Redrow is turning into 500 new homes. Redrow said it's increased "road and vehicle cleaning to ensure the crossing remains in use".
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Residents living near the former Frenchay Hospital say nearby roads have been left in a dangerous state by construction lorries driving out of the site.
The B4058 Bristol Road was left thick with sticky red mud outside the entrance to the site, which is being developed into 500 new homes.
Resident Tony Williams called on South Gloucestershire Council to make developers Redrow Homes clean up the roads, and stop making the situation worse.
He said he feared there would be an accident soon, given the slippery state of the road – especially as the weather gets colder.
Mr Williams said all the roads around Frenchay were thick with the red mud, going from the entrance to the site and up to the north where the B4058 meets the A4174 Avon Ring Road.
Redrow began work at the start of this year on the huge redevelopment of the site, which will provide 500 new homes in that corner of north Bristol.
A spokesperson for the developer said they had acted after seeing the state of the road.
"Redrow strives to keep its sites and their surrounding areas as clear and orderly as possible for the safety and convenience of local communities," she said.
"We are aware that the movement of our vehicles can sometimes cause discolouration of roads due to the type of debris being transported off site.
"As such we have a strict policy of vehicle wheel washing and road brushing to ensure as little staining occurs as possible.
"Unfortunately, due to the marl ground conditions at this site some discolouration has occurred. In response we have increased both the road and vehicle cleaning to ensure the crossing remains in use.
"In addition, we have applied to the council to bring forward the repainting of the crossing lines so that they are more prominent," she added.
"This exit is only used by vehicles when there is an increased load to remove that would be too disruptive for us to send through the main exit. We are investigating other solutions to help keep this exit clear when it is in use.
"We are committed to building quality, and much-needed, new homes in Frenchay and will continue to listen to and engage with local residents in the area at each stage of the development," she added. |
Scientists design translation AIs that can learn languages | Two research papers have highlighted the promising potential of artificial intelligence (AI) systems capable of teaching themselves languages without human supervision. The studies by computer scientists at Facebook and University of the Basque Country describe AI systems that can teach themselves to translate by searching for connections between languages. The researchers said some supervision could enhance the systems' capabilities.
| https://futurism.com/researchers-created-ai-system-teaches-itself-new-languages/ | 2017-11-30 12:10:58.240000 | Language-Learning AI
Computers have become much more adept at translating from one language into another in recent years, thanks to the application of neural networks. However, these AI systems usually require a lot of content translated by humans for the computers to learn from, while two new papers demonstrate that it's possible to develop a system that doesn't rely on parallel texts.
Mikel Artetxe, a computer scientist at the University of the Basque Country (UPV) and the author of one of these papers, compares the situation to giving someone various books in Chinese and various books in Arabic, without any of the same texts overlapping. A human would find it very difficult to learn how to translate from Chinese into Arabic in this scenario, but a computer might not.
In a typical machine-learning process, the AI system would be supervised. This means that it would make its attempt at the right answer for any given problem, a human would tell it whether or not that's correct, and it would amend its activity as needed. That isn't the case with these two papers.
Instead, they hinge upon the way that words are connected in similar ways across different languages – for instance, 'table' and 'chair' are frequently used together, no matter the dialect. By mapping out these connections for each language and then comparing them, it's possible to get a decent idea of which terms relate to one another. This process is not supervised by a human.
The systems can be used to translate full sentences, rather than just individual words, using two complementary training strategies. Back translation sees a sentence written in one language roughly translate into the other, then back to the first, with the system tweaking its protocols if the result isn't exactly the same. Denoising is a similar process, but with words being removed or added to the sentence for different translations. Working in sync, these methods help the machine get a greater understanding of how language actually operates.
Vocabulary Test
The two systems – one developed at UPV and the other by Facebook computer scientist Guillaume Lample – are yet to be peer-reviewed, but they have shown promising results in early testing. Click to View Full Infographic
The only way to make a direct comparison between their capabilities is by gauging their ability to translate between English and French text that comes from a shared pool of around 30 million sentences. Both managed to score a bilingual evaluation understudy score of around 15.
Google Translate, which uses supervised machine learning, scores around 40 by this measure, whereas human translators can score 50. However, the unsupervised scores are a significant improvement over basic, word-for-word translation.
Indeed, the researchers behind both papers agree that they could each enhance their system by drawing on the other's work. They could also be made more capable if they were semi-supervised, by introducing a few thousand parallel sentences to their training program – which would still cut down on the time and data required to learn the ropes. |
Redrow Site manager wins National Residential Site Agent of the Year | Redrow site manager Martin Caldwell has won the National Residential Site Agent of the Year award. The award adds to Caldwell's already impressive list of industry accolades, including LABC Site Agent of the Year and two NHBC Pride in the Job Seals of Excellence. Redrow construction director for Lancashire, Keith Collard, commented on the news, saying: “Martin has never given anything less than 100% to Redrow, and that’s at the heart of everything we do".
| http://www.buildingconstructiondesign.co.uk/news/martin-builds-on-success-to-win-top-national-award/ | 2017-11-30 11:46:37.360000 | Redrow site manager Martin Caldwell has cemented his place at the top of the construction trade after taking the title of National Residential Site Agent of the Year.
The 35-year-old won the coveted award at the Grand Finals of the LABC Building Excellence Awards, held at the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel in London.
Boss of the builder’s Ricksby Grange development in Wrea Green Martin, from Lytham, had already secured the North-West accolade of LABC Site Agent of the Year earlier this year.
But his latest victory, hotly contested across 10 regions, sees him declared the best in the whole of the country.
“I am absolutely delighted – although the news hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” says Martin. “As I sat around the table at the awards ceremony I didn’t think, for one moment, I was going to win. I am only 35 and there was a lot of competition from site managers with many more years’ experience than me. “So, yes, I was immensely proud but, as I always say, while it might be my name written on the award, it should really have all those of every person I work with, every member of my team, because they have won it too. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
The LABC (Local Authority Building Control) Awards recognise outstanding working relationships between building companies and their managers with the local authorities and their surveyors; as well as build quality, control on site for technical awareness, good communication and management of safety.
The awards event is one of the most well-known and prestigious within the building industry. At the Grand Finals – attended by more than 800 building professionals – the winners were announced by writer, broadcaster, actor and former conservative MP Gyles Brandreth.
Martin, who already has two NHBC Pride in the Job Seals of Excellence – the first of which he won at just 23 – among a host of other awards, went on:
“The industry has changed. It’s not just about building houses these days, but about looking after the people you work with, your clients, health and safety rules, the cleanliness of the site, and so much more … and with Redrow rightly running such a tight ship, all of that becomes second nature. “It does make my job more difficult of course, but it’s also helped me become national champion!”
Though he also added:
“I became a dad five months ago. To be honest my baby boy William was the best and biggest ‘award’ that either myself or my wife Lauren could have been given.”
Redrow construction director for Lancashire, Keith Collard, said:
“Martin has never given anything less than 100% to Redrow, and that’s at the heart of everything we do. “Site managers like Martin make sure that the people who buy our homes can have absolute confidence in us from the moment they reserve a house to the minute they put the key into the door – and beyond. “We are proud of him and all our site managers.”
Martin hopes to continue his career ever upwards with Redrow, aiming for project manager and contracts manager, meanwhile striving always for the next award. |
TalkTalk TalkTalk suffers major outage affecting thousands of customers | Abstract: TalkTalk's broadband service suffered a major outage which left thousands of UK customers without internet. On Wednesday 29 November, the Broadband outage monitoring service Down Detector received 6,164 outage reports at around 3pm. TalkTalk said it had resolved a "Web Page Browsing Issue" by 3:30pm and apologised for any inconvenience caused. Users took to social media to complain about the service, with one describing TalkTalk's products as "awful" and another stating that similar instances occur "at least twice a month".
| https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/talktalk-down-thousands-report-internet-problems-after-major-outage-a3705481.html | 2017-11-30 11:43:26.953000 | T housands of TalkTalk customers were left without broadband after the internet giant suffered a "major outage".
Broadband outage monitor Down Detector experienced a spike of 6164 reports of TalkTalk broadband outages at around 3pm on Wednesday.
The problems are believed to have been caused by a "major" outage.
TalkTalk said it had resolved the issue within an hour but outraged customers said on Twitter that they were still experiencing problems.
Paul Saunders said it seemed like "almost total UK blackout" and tweeted an image of Down Detector's live outage map.
Others said TalkTalk products were "awful" and said they often experience similar incidents.
Annabella wrote: "This happens at least twice a month."
In an update, TalkTalk tweeted: "We're aware that some customers are having intermittent browsing issues.
"We have our engineers investigating this as a matter of priority. We apologise for any inconvenience whilst we investigate the cause of this."
TalkTalk said it had resolved the "Web Page Browsing Issue" on its status dashboard at around 3.30pm.
A TalkTalk spokesperson said: “Technical issues led to some customers experiencing disruption to their service for a limited period this afternoon.
"Our engineers resolved this quickly and all services are now restored. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.” |
RWE faces compensation claim over climate change | Energy giant RWE will face legal action in Germany over claims by a Peruvian farmer that, as a leading carbon dioxide emitter, the firm must share the cost of protecting his home town from flooding resulting from melting ice. Saul Luciano Lliuya argues that emissions from RWE’s power plants contributed to global warming, which led to rising temperatures and increasing flood and landslide risks in the Andes. Lliuya is calling for RWE to pay €17,000 ($20,000) towards flood defences in Huaraz, and for €6,384 in personal compensation.
| https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/nov/30/german-court-to-hear-peruvian-farmers-climate-case-against-rwe | 2017-11-30 00:00:00 | A German court has ruled that it will hear a Peruvian farmer’s case against energy giant RWE over climate change damage in the Andes, a decision labelled by campaigners as a “historic breakthrough”.
Farmer Saul Luciano Lliuya’s case against RWE was “well-founded,” the court in the north-western city of Hamm said on Thursday.
Lliuya argues that RWE, as one of the world’s top emitters of climate-altering carbon dioxide, must share in the cost of protecting his hometown Huaraz from a swollen glacier lake at risk of overflowing from melting snow and ice.
RWE’s power plants emitted carbon dioxide that contributed to global warming, increasing local temperatures in the Andes and putting property at risk from flooding or landslides, Lliuya argues.
“Even people who act according to the law must be held responsible for damage they cause to property,” the judges said.
Now the court must decide whether “the accused’s contribution to the chain of events depicted here is measurable and calculable,” they added.
“This is a major success not just for me, but for the people of Huaraz and everywhere in the world threatened by climate risks,” Lliuya said in a statement circulated by NGO Germanwatch.
He wants RWE to pay €17,000 ($20,000) towards flood defences for his community in Peru’s northern Ancash region.
The 37-year-old also wants the German company to reimburse him for the €6,384 he himself has spent on protective measures.
Lliuya bases his claims on a 2013 climate study which found that RWE was responsible for around 0.5% of global emissions “since the beginning of industrialisation”.
The court said in a statement that it will choose experts to evaluate the claim in cooperation with both plaintiff and defendant, with Lliuya paying about €20,000 in fees up front.
“It will be up to the experts to quantify [RWE’s] role, which could be different” from the amount he claims, the judges said.
After an initial hearing in mid-November, the court in the north-western city of Hamm gave both sides until Thursday to provide further arguments to help them decide whether the case should go ahead.
The decision to hear the case is a “historic breakthrough with global relevance,” Germanwatch, which has backed Lliuya’s claim, said in a statement.
“Major emitters of greenhouse gases can be held responsible for protective measures against climate damage.”
RWE could not immediately be reached for comment.
But the firm has insisted that the complaint was “not admissible” and was even “unjustified”, arguing that a single company cannot be held liable for specific consequences of climate change.
A lower court in the German city of Essen, where RWE is based, initially found that the lawsuit against the energy giant was unfounded.
The company has in the past said it did not understand why it has been singled out for legal action, stressing the efforts it had made to become more environmentally friendly.
In this Aug. 12, 2016 photo, a group of tourists walk past a photo featuring an image of the Pastoruri glacier before its retreat, during a tour called “The Route of Climate Change” in Huaraz, Peru. Benjamin Morales Arnao, the head of Peru’s National Institute for Glacier Research, said that while the country’s glaciers “are a source of life, due to their water resources and biodiversity ... these glaciers are also a source of glacier glacial catastrophes.” (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) Photograph: Martin Mejia/AP
As well as modernising its coal-fired power plants to reduce CO2 emissions, RWE has invested billions in renewable energy as part of Germany’s move away from fossil fuels, it says.
Shares in RWE fell on the news, losing 0.31% in Frankfurt against a DAX index of blue-chip German shares up 0.52%.
The Peruvian’s case comes at a time when German politics is sharply divided over how to balance climate action against economic growth.
A government-directed “energy transition” to renewables, rather than nuclear power and fossil fuels, is making only halting progress, while environmentalists are pushing the country’s powerful auto industry to produce less polluting vehicles after a series of scandals.
Climate and energy policy was among the most bitterly disputed issues in three-way coalition talks between chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives, the pro-business Free Democrats and the ecologist Greens before they broke down this month. |
Commercial spaceport proposed in Georgia, US | Proposals have been drawn up for the first exclusively commercial spaceport on the American East Coast, called "Spaceport Camden". The Spaceport's strategic coastal location would allow rockets to largely launch east over open ocean, while proximity to the Kennedy Space Centre and Wallops Flight Facility would encourage resource sharing, according to the head of the Spaceport Camden Initiative, Steve Howard. The launch site is currently awaiting approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
| https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/28/16645130/spaceport-camden-georgia-faa-commercial-rocket-launch-license | 2017-11-29 17:54:32.860000 | On the southeast coast of Georgia, around 20 miles north of the Florida border, a few concrete slabs and a handful of roads lie on 4,000 acres of luscious green land. They are the remnants of a now-defunct manufacturing plant. The area hasn’t seen much action in 50 years, but soon, it could be teeming with activity again — as the site of future US rocket launches.
The new proposed commercial spaceport, the first one ever for Georgia, is known as Spaceport Camden. Local government officials have big plans for the area over the next few years: they hope to build a launchpad to support rocket launches to orbit, as well as a landing area that would allow rockets to touch down after takeoff. Built through partnerships with private companies, the area could become the first exclusively commercial spaceport on the East Coast; the others in Florida and Virginia are operated by or associated with federal agencies.
“I think we have the opportunity to build the first exclusive non-federal range on the East Coast.”
The county thinks the project could be a smart way for Georgia to enter the booming commercial spaceflight economy, which was valued at $329 billion in 2016, according to the Space Foundation, a nonprofit advocating for spaceflight. Spaceport Camden is strategically located on the coast, which would allow rockets to launch east over mostly open ocean, posing little risk to populated areas on land. So far, many commercial space companies have shown interest in the place, according to county officials. Once the site is up and running, it could also serve as a hub for business and tourism, as well as an educational outpost for local schools.
There’s still a long way to go before that happens, though. Camden County, which the spaceport is named after, is currently working to get the site licensed for launches by the Federal Aviation Administration. It’s a lengthy process that involves analyzing the property to see how the site will affect surrounding areas. But if Spaceport Camden is cleared, officials hope that major structures of the spaceport can be built as soon as possible. “I think we have the opportunity to build the first exclusive non-federal range on the East Coast,” Steve Howard, the Camden County administrator and head of the Spaceport Camden initiative, tells The Verge.
An aerial view of what the Spaceport Camden layout could look like. Image: Camden County
Spaceport Camden already has a unique connection to spaceflight. The old plant that once sat on the site was actually used in the 1960s to build rocket engines that ran on solid propellant for NASA. In 1965, the most powerful rocket engine at the time was fired up during a test at the plant. NASA even considered the area as an alternative launch site for its Apollo missions to the Moon, according to documents declassified in 2005. Florida was ultimately chosen, and NASA also wound up relying on liquid fuel rocket engines instead, rendering the engine plant somewhat obsolete. So for the last half century, the site has been mostly dormant.
Then, a little less than five years ago, a space company reached out to the state of Georgia, looking for a new location to launch its rockets. (Howard wouldn’t say which company that was, but SpaceX considered Georgia for a new launch site between 2012 and 2014 before settling near Brownsville, Texas.) That initial meeting prompted Camden County officials to meet with other private spaceflight companies to gauge interest in a Georgia spaceport where the booster plant once lived. “When they visited they all came to the same conclusion: that it’s a great site,” Howard says. “Obviously there was a reason why the site was chosen back in the ’60s.”
“Obviously there was a reason why the site was chosen back in the ’60s.”
Along with its prime location on the coast, Spaceport Camden is pretty far south in the US, putting it relatively close to the equator. That makes it easier for companies that want to launch rockets into orbit from the US. The equator is the widest section of the planet, as well as the fastest spinning part of the Earth's surface. That means launching closer to the equator actually gives rockets an extra boost of speed that helps them achieve orbit more easily.
Plus, Howard touts the site’s location between two well-established NASA spaceports along the East Coast: Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. “I think there is synergy opportunity there,” says Howard. The spaceports could work together or share resources, he says.
For a while, the Spaceport Camden initiative was just a promising idea, but now the state of Georgia has shown it’s serious about the project. In May, Georgia governor Nathan Deal signed a bill called HB 1, or the Georgia Spaceflight Act. The bill helps to limit the liability of spaceflight companies that launch people into space from the state. HB 1 was a signal to the industry that Georgia welcomes commercial space.
Space startup Vector’s prototype rocket launching from Spaceport Camden in August. Photo: Vector
Since then, Spaceport Camden has even seen its first launch... sort of. In August, a spaceflight startup named Vector launched one of its test rockets from the site — though the vehicle didn’t reach orbit. The rocket, which Vector wants to use to launch small satellites someday, was only a prototype, originally meant to reach an altitude lower than 10,000 feet. Because of this, the launch didn’t require the same kind of licensing that the FAA demands for missions that achieve orbit. “Overall it was an A-plus experience,” Jim Cantrell, CEO and co-founder of Vector, tells The Verge. “We hope they get approval for orbital launches soon so we can go back.”
Currently, 10 sites throughout the US hold FAA licenses to operate as commercial spaceports
Currently, 10 sites throughout the US hold FAA licenses to operate as commercial spaceports. These sites have undergone environmental impact reports, to see how the spaceports might affect surrounding wildlife and property. Camden County is currently funding a third-party researcher to conduct that report, and the analysis has been ongoing for a couple of years. The process involves conducting numerous public hearings and scientific studies, but Howard is hopeful that report will be complete early next year.
Once that’s finished, Spaceport Camden can start to grow. Howard says the plan is to partner with commercial companies to get the various structures of the property built. These companies would lease parts of the property, similar to how SpaceX leases launchpads and a landing site at Cape Canaveral, and even build their own launchpads (and landing zones, if necessary) for their specific vehicles. Howard says he has a number of operators already interested, and he’s confident the county will be able to make substantive construction deals.
A conceptual rendering of what a landing zone at Spaceport Camden could look like. Image: Camden County
Aerospace technology is already Georgia’s biggest export, but a spaceport could help bring even more spaceflight business and educational opportunities to the area. A report done by space consulting firm Astralytical found that Spaceport Camden could be a great home for businesses that not only launch from the site, but also design their vehicles there. “Launch is only one small component of the entire space industry,” Laura Forczyk, the owner of Astralytical, tells The Verge. “When you’re looking at the future growth of a spaceport, you look at the whole process — from research and development, to design of spacecraft, to launching... The whole process could happen from start to finish within Spaceport Camden.” |
Galaxy Resources jumps on Asian lithium deals | Shares in Galaxy Resources jumped on 29 November after it said it had signed a series of long-term lithium off-take agreements with customers in Asia. The five-year deals cover are for a minimum of 200,000 tonnes per annum of lithium concentrate, guaranteeing buyers for all the output of Galaxy's Mt Cattlin mine in Western Australia as far ahead as 2022. Galaxy also said it would be paid a higher "headline" price for its product in 2018 than 2017. | http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/shares-in-lithium-miner-galaxy-resources-spark-up-20171129-gzv5ww.html | 2017-11-29 17:54:08.283000 | Shares in the lithium company Galaxy Resources jumped 8.6 per cent (31¢) on Wednesday, making it the best performed stock in the ASX 200 after investors welcomed news that it had signed a series of long-term off-take agreements with customers in Asia.
The binding agreements cover five-year terms and are for a minimum of 200,000 tonnes per annum of lithium concentrate. They mean that lithium concentrate produced at Galaxy's Mt Cattlin mine in Western Australia as far ahead as 2022 already has a guaranteed buyer.
Charging cables connect to a row of electric taxis in Shenzhen, China. Credit: Bloomberg
Galaxy Resources, which is headquartered in Perth and also has projects in Canada and Argentina, did not name the customers in its ASX statement but said they were "all key suppliers of lithium products and materials throughout Asia".
Galaxy also said it would be paid a higher "headline" price for its product in 2018 than 2017. |
Snapchat allows users to separate friends from brands in update | Snapchat has announced a feature allowing users to view friends and publisher content in separate feeds. Messages and photos from friends will now be partitioned off from the brand content, with friends' Chats and Stories sitting on the left-hand side of the interface, and the brand-centric Discover page located on the right. The move is intended to "separate social from media" and address the criticism that users too frequently see unwanted content from publishers and brands mixed up with that of their own social network. | https://www.snap.com/en-US/news/post/introducing-the-new-snapchat/ | 2017-11-29 17:12:02.327000 | An Update On Our German Community: 15 Million And Growing! |
The Republican Tax Plan Could End Up Hurting Seniors | The proposed Republican tax bill could result in issues for senior American citizens, as the “pay as you go” rules risk causing severe cuts to federally-funded programs such as Medicare. The tax bill has been passed as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act through the House by Republicans through a 227-to-205 vote. The bill represents the new hope for the Trump administration, which aims to gain a legislative victory after the healthcare defeat of recent months. The bill’s aim is to cut taxes for the middle-class, as well as businesses. However, the cuts proposed could cause a negative impact on healthcare for seniors. The Paygo, or pay-as-you-go, budget regulation requires all tax cuts to be covered by tax increases or mandatory spending cuts. In this case, if the 10-year cost is larger than $0, it will trigger sequestration, or spending cuts for mandatory spending programs. At present, the GOP tax plan cost stands at $1.5 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office believes that sequestration will cause $136 billion worth of cuts to mandatory spending in 2018, if capital is not raised through another method. The $136 billion in cuts is likely to be made through a decrease in spending to Customs and Border Patrol operations, agricultural subsidies, Student Loan Administration funding and some health funding for the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. It would also be made from a $25 billion cut to Medicare, which covers approximately 58 million Americans, of which five out of six are aged over 65. Though Paygo cannot cut Medicare by more than 4 percent in one 12-month period, it will likely be triggered in 2020 if the deficit has not been cleared by 2019. This could cause a 4 percent cut to Medicare every year until the deficit has been paid. The move would, however, cause President Trump to break his campaign promise to leave “entitlement programs” such as Medicare out of cuts. The GOP had been seeking to cut Medicaid funding by $800 billion with their previously proposed reforms, and the tax bill may provide a legal way to do so. The present tax bill also includes a link between tax provisions and the Chained Consumer Price Index (CPI), which could mean less money for Social Security recipients for the cost of living as smaller annual inflationary increases may allow the government to save money.
| http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-republican-tax-plan-could-end-up-hurting-seniors-2017-11?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=referral&r=US&IR=T | 2017-11-29 17:01:46.370000 | The Republican tax bill comes with a price.
According to "pay as you go" rules, the tax bill could trigger sudden and severe cuts to federal programs, including Medicare.
One of President Donald Trump's biggest campaign promises was to preserve Medicare and Social Security, and these cuts could break that promise.
Big changes are afoot in Washington. After more than 10 months in the White House, tax-reform momentum is building for President Trump after House Republicans passed, by a 227-to-205 vote, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Following the failure of Congress to come to an agreement on healthcare reforms earlier this year, Trump is looking for his first major legislative victory as president, and he views tax reform, a key campaign pledge, as a means to get it.
While you can read a more thorough summary of what the House GOP tax bill entails, its primary focus is on cutting taxes for middle-class families, as well as corporations. Individual taxpayers would see a notable simplification of the U.S. tax code, with fewer income-tax brackets, a beefier standard deduction, and far fewer deductions and credits.
As for corporations, the peak marginal income-tax rate would be lowered to 20% from 35%. The thinking here is that putting more money into the pockets of businesses will lead to job creation and higher wages. Since the U.S. economy relies on consumption for about 70% of GDP, both lower taxes on the middle class and corporations should help boost spending, as Republicans see it.
The GOP tax plan comes with a price
But there's a price to be paid for this massive overhaul to the U.S. tax code. According to an analysis conducted by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the GOP tax plan would add about $1.5 trillion to the deficit over the next decade. Yes, that figure includes the positive impacts of lower tax rates on consumers and corporations. It means that the GOP needs to find ways to boost revenue and/or cut expenses to bridge this gap. Otherwise, the results could be disastrous.
Should Republicans pass the House GOP tax bill in its current form but fail to reduce the long-term (i.e., 10-year) deficit, the paygo budget rule, which was introduced in 1990, would be triggered. Paygo, which is short for "pay as you go," is a budget rule requiring that tax cuts, as well as increases in entitlement and mandatory spending categories, be covered by tax increases and/or cuts in mandatory spending -- though it doesn't apply to discretionary spending.
In other words, if the 10-year cost of a program is greater than $0 -- in the case of the GOP tax plan, it's close to $1.5 trillion -- as determined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), it would trigger sequestration.
What's sequestration? It's the process of applying across-the-board spending cuts to mandatory spending programs. According to estimates from the CBO, sequestration would require $136 billion worth of cuts in mandatory spending in 2018 if the GOP doesn't find a way to raise additional capital or make further cuts in spending.
President Trump might be forced to break a key promise on entitlements
Where would this $136 billion come from? Glad you asked. Most of it -- say, $85 billion to $90 billion -- would be derived from cuts to agricultural subsidies, Customs and Border Patrol operations, Student Loan Administration funding, and some of the health funds for the Affordable Care Act, according to The Hill. It's possible the OMB may not be able to scrape enough from these mandatory programs to cover the entirety of the $136 billion.
More importantly, $25 billion would need to be cut from Medicare, the healthcare program that covers about 58 million Americans, of which five out of six are senior citizens aged 65 and up. If there's a silver lining here, paygo can't cut Medicare by more than 4% in a year.
But here are the two issues at hand. First, if the deficit remains in 2019, 2020, and beyond, paygo would kick in and continue to reduce mandatory spending to counter the increase in the deficit caused by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Thus, a 4% cut to Medicare spending could become the norm year after year until the deficit is resolved.
Second, it would require Trump to break perhaps his most important campaign promise: the pledge that he wouldn't cut funding to so-called "entitlement programs" like Social Security and Medicare. Seniors are the primary beneficiaries of these programs, and they'd be none too pleased if their funding was cut to pay for tax reforms.
Trump has broken a promise before
However, Americans should keep in mind that Trump's pledge to leave entitlement programs alone has technically already been broken. Back in May, the president released his outline for the fiscal 2018 federal budget, and in that proposal was a $72 billion cut over the next 10 years to the Social Security Disability program. Even though this failed to make it into the final budget, the mere fact that Trump attempted to pass along a cut to any part of Social Security goes against his pledge to leave these vital programs alone.
While I don't believe we'll see Medicare subjected to paygo-induced sequestration, the GOP tax plan and previous attempts at health reform do lay down a few clues on where Republicans are looking to save money. Within healthcare reform, the GOP had been looking to slash Medicaid funding by up to $800 billion over the next decade.
Meanwhile, the current GOP tax bill contains a provision allowing the federal government to tether tax provisions to the Chained Consumer Price Index (CPI). Unlike the standard CPI, the Chained CPI takes into account something known as substitution bias. This is the idea that consumers will trade down to cheaper goods or services as others become more expensive.
Switching to the Chained CPI would result in smaller annual inflationary increases. Though it doesn't specifically mean that the Chained CPI would be used as a measure for Social Security or Medicare, it certainly opens the door for that to happen. And if it did happen, it would mean smaller cost-of-living adjustments for Social Security recipients that'd save the federal government money.
The GOP looks to expedite tax reform, but questions remain
Another factor that comes into play is that the GOP is hard-pressed to pass tax reforms, given that one of their 52 seats in the Senate is up for election in Alabama. Without any expected Democratic support, they can only afford to lose two votes at present and still have tax reform pass in the Senate. If they lose their seat in Alabama, the margin for error becomes just one GOP Senator. They couldn't pass healthcare reform with a two-seat majority in the Senate, so a one-seat majority for tax reform could be impossible if they're looking to approach things unilaterally.
What taxpayers and especially seniors should keep in mind at the moment is that tax reform often means compromise, either within a party or with the other political party. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act probably won't look the same once it's been voted on in the Senate, which means there's a chance of no sequestration whatsoever to Medicare and other mandatory spending programs in the years that lie ahead.
Only time will give us more answers. |
China's overseas trade policy changing cargo insurance landscape | China's "One Belt, One Road" policy is transforming the insurance landscape for project cargo, the shipping of oversized and specialist consignments for major infrastructure schemes. The demands of the nation's overseas trade and development initiative is requiring new approaches to cargo risk profiles and surveying as insured values reach $1bn. Delay in Start-Up (DSU) loss risks are surging due to the nature of the cargo, transport logistics and the strict timeframes.
| http://www.seatrade-maritime.com/news/asia/china-s-belt-and-road-initiative-impacting-project-cargo-risk-profile.html | 2017-11-29 16:22:08.523000 | "As a rule, we will always use a marine warranty surveyor where Delay in Start-up (DSU) is concerned on the load out and load in of critical items oarticularly from the sea fastening aspect... but once you've got it off and on to a trailer everything changes," said Munich Re Syndicate Singapore regional marine underwriter Tony Betteridge.
He added that from a project cargo perspective he is finding the largest losses are on the inland transit section and as a result is looking at surveyors that have a mechanical background for aspects of the job such as hydraulic systems, and perhaps civil surveyors for things like bridge loading.
"In the project cargo field we're moving more and more away from a pure marine warranty surveyor to surveyors with skills in all sorts of different classes," Betteridge said.
Meanwhile project cargo is seeing larger values of risks, not just on the conveyance limit but also the DSU values at the back end which can see sums insured of as high as $1bn now.
Project-critical equipment is routinely shipped around the world and high levels of risk are associated with these shipments due to the nature of the cargo, transport logistics, and tight timeframes.
Failure of a shipment to arrive intact can balloon a simple cargo loss into a multi-million dollar Delay in Start-up (DSU) loss when factors such as re-fabrication, shipping, expenses, lost profits and other operational costs are considered.
This is being compounded by the fact that BRI projects are increasingly coming to the fore and these are going to places with very different infrastructure from that traditionally expected in places such as Southeast Asia.
Noting that almost any project on BRI will involve putting cargo on trailers, especially larger items on very sophisticated hydraulic module trailers, Betteridge reiterated "like a ship they have to be properly maintained and properly underwritten".
"When you're handling this sort of cargo the distances involved, particularly in BRI projects potentially are going to be very long inland transits," he emphasised and so therefore with some of the extra long trailers, some with up to 24 axles, there needs to be extra attention paid to overland issues.
"You're moving away more from a traditional marine survey to a route survey as well," Betteridge said. |
CFTE targets re-education of finance workforce | Edtech start-up The Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE) plans to retrain financial workers, who may be at risk of losing their jobs to artificial intelligence (AI). "15% of the finance industry’s jobs are at risk of being lost to AI-driven alternatives", according to Greenwich Associates. Bankers need "the right skills to take advantage of the technological changes that are transforming their industry", said CFTE co-founder Huy Nguyen Trieu. The CFTE's first course covers topics including P2P lending, cryptocurrencies, key fintech figures, and cloud computing. | https://qz.com/1131275/an-online-education-startup-thinks-it-can-save-bankers-from-losing-their-jobs-to-machines/ | 2017-11-29 15:49:43.157000 | Ten years on from the global financial crisis, bankers are facing another dilemma destined to destroy tens of thousands more jobs. New technologies, particularly automation, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, are disrupting the world’s banking centers.
The attack on banking jobs has been relentless. British banks are set to close almost 800 branches this year, after shutting nearly 600 in 2016. The CEO of Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank, warned that the company could afford to lose half of its staff to automation. Swiss bank Nordea announced at the end of last month that it was cutting a tenth of its staff, and its CEO said the banking industry could cope with half its current number of personnel. Consultancy Greenwich Associates estimates that 15% of the finance industry’s jobs are at risk of being lost to AI-driven alternatives.
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“Everything that can be automated, will be,” says Huy Nguyen Trieu, a former managing director at Citi and lecturer in financial technology (fintech) at Oxford University. But widespread financial job losses aren’t inevitable, he adds. Right now, he argues, the problem is that not enough people working in finance—particularly older people—have the right skills to take advantage of the technological changes that are transforming their industry. At the same time, bank CEOs are too quick to fire people.
With his wife, Tram Anh Nguyen (a former capital markets trader), Nguyen Trieu created the Centre for Finance, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CFTE), which provides online courses in fintech. The first course, “Around Fintech in 8 hours,” costs £299 ($397) and is taught by people who have lectured in the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore. It is split into four chapters, each with four 30-minute modules within them. The sections cover everything from challenger banks and cloud computing to peer-to-peer lending and cryptocurriences, as well as explaining the key people and companies in the burgeoning fintech world (some of whom make appearances as part of the course). The second session begins on Dec. 11.
In addition to teaching, Nguyen Trieu is leading by example with the launch of an AI-enabled mobile savings app, which is in the early planning stages. Quartz spoke with him at his office in London about how urgently the finance industry needs to prepare for a machine-led future. The conversation has been edited and condensed.
Quartz: After working at big banks for more than a decade, what led you to try out teaching instead?
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Nguyen Trieu: Banking was my day job but I also had a night job mentoring entrepreneurs and writing my blog Disruptive Finance. Two years ago, I met Peter Tufano, the Dean of Oxford’s Saïd Business School, and I was talking about trying to hire people at Citibank but a lot of the students weren’t properly prepared. Peter said, “why don’t we do something about it?” I became a resident expert at Oxford and so we started to do fintech lectures.
In early 2016, it all became too much. I was telling entrepreneurs you have to focus on something but I was doing a lot of different things. The reality is I couldn’t really tell everybody, “finance is being transformed, big things are happening,” and still do the same thing I’d been doing for the past 10 years. I left and launched The Disruptive Group with the objective of building the next Google of finance.
What does that mean?
Ten years ago, no one would have expected Google to be one of the biggest players in advertising. I think the same is happening in finance. There will be companies creating new products and services, which we can’t even imagine today. The Disruptive Group had three pillars: building businesses, advising entrepreneurs, and education. I thought education would take up just 10% of time. But when I was trying to build businesses, I found that one of the big issues I was facing was talent—people who could combine finance and technology. Everyone’s struggling to find good talent.
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Who should take this course?
Initially, I thought my ex-colleagues in finance who are missing the boat and don’t realize what’s happening. But it’s also for those who realize but don’t know where to start. Fintech is going to impact their careers very quickly.
What was also especially important for my wife is the potential social impact. Fintech is having a huge impact, especially in emerging markets, where suddenly you can create companies that provide finance to people in a way you couldn’t before. That’s why we wanted to do something that was accessible for people beyond London.
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But there’s a big difference in fintech scenes across the world.
The mindset and the way people use technology and fintech is very different. If you’re in Hong Kong, you have WeChat on your phone and you use it on a daily basis. Here, you don’t use fintech on a daily basis. Some people might use Revolut but they still have a traditional bank account. Here, fintech is seen as innovations on top of existing financial services whereas in Hong Kong, fintech is finance.
So the course is for everyone, everywhere?
And not just for people in finance. When we did the beta test only 40% of the users were from the finance industry—the rest were from tech, or were entrepreneurs or consultants.
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Did you find it surprising that finance take-up was so low?
I talk to a lot of students and most of them still expect to enter the world of finance in the same way we entered it 10 or 20 years ago. They still think they will join banking, stay there for the next 15 years, and if they do well become managing directors. Only after a while do they realize it’s not going to happen because those jobs might not exist at all.
So automation, AI, machine learning, and the like are all coming for your job if you don’t retrain?
Banks are thinking today about cutting thousands of jobs and increasing their technology budgets. To me, it is is absurd for a CEO of a bank to think this way. What is the value of the service being provided to clients? They’re still providing the same service as 10 or 20 years ago, but instead of having people you have machines. There is an opportunity for all of these people working in large banks to provide better and different services by using tools we have at our disposal today. We are trying to change this mindset, particularly in the western world, which is about just using automation to protect your bottom line.
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How do you get execs at the top of finance firms to understand the impact of fintech? Do they need retraining, too?
We’ve had feedback from senior people who say it’s interesting but they didn’t say for themselves. They say it’s interesting for their staff. We’re starting to see a change in mindset but there’s a lot of convincing to do.
What about policymakers and regulators? How many of them should take a course like yours?
All of them.
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So, what finance jobs most at risk right now?
In general, anything that can be automated will be automated. But right now, compliance is at risk. Over the past few years there’s been a lot of investment in compliance and KYC [know your customer], because regulators wanted the investment and it was a way for banks to demonstrate they were doing their part after the financial crisis. Now, that has totally changed. It’s starting to cost a lot and regulators have said we want you to show that you are being efficient, not just hiring a lot of people.
What is going to be the most transformative force in the finance industry?
The big change for me doesn’t even come from tech, it’s enabled by tech. It’s invisible finance. Finance is very boring. Everybody knows a pension fund is very important, but if you ask me how much I have in it, I have no idea. What we’ve seen over the past 20 or 30 years is that as the finance world has become digitalized, the level of customer service we have has gone down. My situation versus your situation is totally different but when we go to the HSBC site, we have the same kind of information.
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What will make it happen is APIs. I used to be in the telecom industry and 10 or 15 years ago if I wanted to launch an app I could spend a week developing the app and then three months making the same app for Samsung, Ericsson, Nokia, etc. There was no standardization. What was very successful were the ringtones. When you had standardization of iPhones and Androids, you had millions of apps because it was simple. In the world of APIs it will be the same in finance. It’s going to be very easy to create a financial service just for you.
Is that the thinking behind your launch of an AI-driven savings app?
It’s a project from The Disruptive Group, which is a business builder. We’re currently working on the bank project, and CFTE was also launched out of it. So they are sister projects, although most of the focus is on CFTE at the moment, if only because our timing for the bank is longer. |
Change Healthcare and Zebra Medical partner for AI radiology | Change Healthcare and Zebra Medical Vision have partnered to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into radiology solutions. Change Healthcare aims to incorporate Zebra's algorithms into its existing imaging services, hoping to "optimise workflow and access to clinical data for our medical imaging customers" and speed up the diagnosis of serious conditions, according to senior VP and manager at Change Healthcare, Ashish Sant.
| http://hitconsultant.net/2017/11/28/change-healthcare-zebra-medical-vision-partner/ | 2017-11-29 15:39:33.003000 | Change Healthcare and Zebra Medical Vision today announced an agreement to create solutions that deliver artificial intelligence solutions to complex radiology reporting environments. Change Healthcare’s proven radiology solutions, along with Zebra Medical Vision’s algorithms, will benefit radiologists and other imaging specialists by improving the efficiency of routine tasks and the effectiveness of workflow in the radiologist reading environment.
By working together on the pragmatic integration of artificial intelligence algorithms into radiology solutions, Change Healthcare and Zebra Medical Vision are innovating to transform the radiology readflow environment. In parallel, Change Healthcare will continue to work closely with its forum of clinical and academic leaders on leveraging the integral insights inherent in imaging and clinical information so that solutions developed truly help imaging specialists identify critical conditions more quickly.
“For artificial intelligence to be truly valuable, it must be integrated into radiologists’ routine, daily readflow,” said Ashish Sant, senior vice president and general manager, Radiology & Infrastructure, Change Healthcare in a statement. “Pragmatic, artificial intelligence solutions such as the All in One (AI1) offering from Zebra Medical Vision are essential. We see a strategic fit as Change Healthcare pursues solutions that optimize workflow and access to clinical data for our medical imaging customers.” |
Revolut rolls out duty-free payment alternative | Revolut is rolling out its app-based alternative banking service to airports across the globe. Revolut's service allows users to transact abroad, in over 130 currencies, with no fees. The app can hold and exchange 25 currencies at any given time. “By distributing our cards to airline passengers and duty-free store consumers, we can help them avoid rip-off fees whenever they try to transfer, spend or withdraw money abroad”, said Revolut founder & CEO Nikolay Storonsky.
| https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/positive-disruptors-app-based-banking-alternative-revolut-enters-global-duty-free-market/ | 2017-11-29 15:36:54.017000 | This article is the latest in our popular new series in association with Tito’s Handmade Vodka, which examines travel retail and airport sector ‘disruptors’ – focusing on companies and individuals challenging established models through innovation.
UK/INTERNATIONAL. An app-based banking alternative called Revolut is being rolled out in the global duty free and airlines market.
Advanced Software Systems will begin distributing the Revolut cards with immediate effect. Premier Portfolio International will handle sales to travel retailers.
Revolut allows users to open a prepaid current account in 60 seconds. There they will receive instant spending notifications, spending categorisation and can set weekly or monthly budgets.
The app also allows users to hold and exchange up to 25 currencies with the real exchange rate. They can also send free domestic and international money transfers and spend abroad in over 130 currencies with no fees via a contactless MasterCard.
London-based Revolut has already launched in Middle East travel retail. The launch was planned to coincide with the original date of the MEADFA Conference (now postponed until January).
Airport or airline customers can receive their Revolut card instantly upon purchase. Revolut aims to partner with additional airlines in the coming months, providing cards to travellers looking to spend money abroad without fees.
The company plans to expand into North America in early 2018, followed by launches in Australia and Asia in the near future.
Revolut is also launching a pay-per-day travel insurance service. It will use a customer’s geo-location to provide instant medical and dental cover, starting at less than £1 per day. Pay-per-day travel insurance will sit alongside Revolut’s new device insurance as the company looks to assemble a suite of smart insurance products.
“We are excited to be able to help even more customers save money abroad by entering the global duty free and airlines market,” said Revolut Founder & CEO Nikolay Storonsky. “By distributing our cards to airline passengers and duty free store consumers, we can help them avoid rip-off fees whenever they try to transfer, spend or withdraw money abroad.”
Advanced Software CEO Howard Amor, a well-known figure in the travel retail sector, commented: “As a software house with 40 years of management experience of the airlines and duty free market, we wanted to find new and traveller-specific ideas with real financial and logistical benefits for the market.
“Revolut stood out as a market leader compared to currently available travel money cards, so we are delighted to partner with such an innovative company. Revolut takes up no space in the duty free bar and is a new and exciting product area for airlines and duty free. Its FX rates and fee-free card will save travellers a huge amount.” |
Head of Apple News monetisation and strategy quits after a year | Apple News has lost its director of monetisation in the latest in a string of senior-level departures from the service this year. David Kang, who joined Apple in 2014 and has overseen Apple News's monetisation and strategy since November 2016, is said to be taking on a different role within Apple but it is unclear why he is moving. Publishers have had a mixed relationship with Apple News; while they value the traffic and exposure the service brings, Apple has been resistant to proliferating ads on the service and many publishers have reportedly not seen the revenues they expected.
| https://digiday.com/media/apple-news-loses-director-monetization/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=digidaydis&utm_source=uk&utm_content=171129 | 2017-11-29 15:01:58.123000 | Publishers hoping to make money off Apple News can’t be cheered by this: David Kang, who became senior director of Apple News monetization and strategy in November 2016, is leaving after a year in the position.
It’s unclear why Kang is leaving the Apple News role, but it can’t be easy running monetization at a company that’s been notoriously indifferent, if not hostile, to advertising, given that it makes most of its money selling phones and prizes its users’ privacy. |
Samsung buys AI firm Fluently to refresh voice-assistant Bixby | Samsung has bought artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot firm Fluently to boost its voice-assistant Bixby. Fluently's chatbot integrates with messaging services to offer natural, contextually relevant automated responses. The acquisition follows Samsung's previous purchase of US-based AI firm Viv, which was co-founded by the team that created Apple's Siri.
| http://mashable.com/2017/11/29/bixby-fluently-samsung/#tAxpUOFgDiqE | 2017-11-29 14:44:44.920000 | Samsung's not giving up on Bixby, despite initial lukewarm responses to its AI assistant.
Bixby is the South Korean firm's answer to other voice assistants like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa. But when it debuted, fans found it just wasn't as smart as the competition.
To buff up Bixby's brains, Samsung has now acquired Fluently(opens in a new tab), which makes an AI chatbot that can compose smart replies in English and Korean.
Fluently produced an app that plugged into messengers like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, and offered natural-sounding contextual responses.
Respond to friends with a tap. Credit: fluently
Similar to Gmail's auto responder, Fluently reads an incoming message, and tries to offer you a selection of appropriate reactions.
The Fluently acquisition adds onto Samsung's 2016 buyout of US-based AI platform Viv, which was co-founded by the team that created Siri.
To be fair to Bixby, it's a lot younger than the competition. And the Viv team didn't contribute to the current version of Bixby either, so it's safe to say that the injection of all this new expertise will help Bixby close the gap a lot sooner. |
US researcher builds AI system that can create new video games | A US researcher has built an artificial intelligence-driven system capable of independently imagining new video games without human input. While AI has been tasked with configuring enemies, terrain and minor story elements, the Angelina AI built by Michael Cook at the University of Falmouth has created hundreds of experimental games since its earliest form in 2011.
| https://www.technologyreview.com/s/609482/ai-is-dreaming-up-new-kinds-of-video-games/ | 2017-11-29 14:41:05.350000 | The goal for Angelina is that it will dream up completely new elements of games—a form of computational creativity. On the surface, Angelina works with striking simplicity: Cook presses a button labeled “Play,” and it boots up. The AI then describes a new game in a unique description language that outlines both the game’s rules and its levels. It can make games from images that it pulls from license-free depositories such as Wikimedia Commons, and it can flesh out the premise and rules with characters and ideas lifted from online newspapers or social media (think U.S. presidents or Brexit, for example). This information is written to a text file that can then be run by a stand-alone application, in the same way that a game cartridge is read by a game console.
In its early years, Angelina was limited to developing platform games, in the style of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. But in the software’s current iteration, which has been designed for further expansion, its repertoire has expanded to other genres, such as puzzle games and adventures.
“Angelina doesn’t set out to make a game in a particular genre—instead, it tries to build games that match its notion of what a good game is,” says Cook. This notion of quality currently comes from Cook’s own ideas about game design (such as ensuring that the game is not impossible to win or lose, and offering players a number of interesting choices at each step), but in time, he says, the system will learn from the feedback of players, as well as the AI’s experience of playing games made by human designers.
In most cases today, semiautonomous game-making systems are supported by human designers. “There are two types of content in video games: ‘throwaway’ content, such as terrain, common enemies, quests that don’t add to the overall plot that make very little lasting impact on the player, and ‘memorable’ content, such as boss monsters, major plot points,” says Mark Riedl, a 42-year-old associate professor at Georgia Tech. “While the automated creation of ‘throwaway’ content has been used for decades using simple rule-based algorithms, generating ‘memorable’ content is a human-level AI problem.”
Despite the challenges, it’s an area that could, Cook believes, reap major rewards in unlocking new game concepts and mechanics. Recently, he fed Angelina a game outline about exploring a dungeon as an adventurer. Instead of designing basic levels for an adventure game, Angelina designed levels in which a player controls multiple adventurers simultaneously and must get some of them killed in order to rescue the remainder. “It frequently does things like this—looking beyond the assumptions I have, and finding interesting things I would not think to look for,” says Cook. |
Business models of many US universities are unsustainable | Almost half of the financial planning staff at US universities have said their current business model is unsustainable in the short term, according to a survey by management consultancy Kaufman Hall. Among 183 US higher education professionals, 66% said they couldn't respond quickly to changing financial circumstances, while 64% believed the education sector was lagging behind other industries in the adoption of "modern financial planning practices and tools". Kaufman Hall's Tony Ard said he could foresee universities merging or closing because of financial pressures, though institutions with "very strong brand names" would be unaffected.
| https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/us-universities-business-models-unsustainable-planners-warn#survey-answer | 2017-11-29 14:35:20.277000 | Almost half of financial planning staff at US universities believe that the current business model at their institution is “not sustainable for the next five to 10 years”, according to new research.
A survey of 183 US higher education professionals who are involved in the financial planning and budgeting process at their institution found that 47 per cent of respondents thought that their business model was unsustainable.
This figure rises to more than 50 per cent when just based on respondents from two-year community colleges and for-profit universities, and drops to about 45 per cent for respondents from both public and non-profit private four-year universities, according to Tony Ard, vice-president of higher education software at Chicago-based management consulting firm Kaufman Hall, which conducted the study.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of respondents (66 per cent) said that they are not able to respond quickly to changing financial circumstances or are unsure if they could, based on existing tools and processes at their institution. A similar proportion (64 per cent) believed that higher education was behind most other industries in terms of “adopting modern financial planning practices and tools”.
More than two-fifths of respondents (43 per cent) said that the current length of the budget cycle limits their ability to make informed decisions and react to changing circumstances; 82 per cent of respondents said that their budgeting cycle takes more than three months to complete from initial rollout to board presentation, while 34 per cent said that it takes more than six months.
The survey was conducted in August and September 2017.
Mr Ard said that the findings confirm that there is a “growing recognition from people within higher education, and specifically in finance offices, that at the micro-level we probably can’t grow our way out of these financial challenges”.
He said that the unsustainability of universities’ business models was because of “flat demographic trends around high school graduates”, a drop in state appropriation to public universities and the “challenges with growing tuition revenue”.
“There has been a lot of scrutiny on published tuition rates” and there have been questions over the “average family’s ability and willingness to pay what it perceives as a high tuition rate”, Mr Ard said.
He added that it is “not that easy” for universities to “influence their costs in the short run because it’s pretty much tied up in people and facilities”.
Mr Ard said that while institutions with “very strong brand names will be fine”, there are risks that more universities will close or merge as a result of their financial challenges.
[email protected] |
P2P property finance start-up Proplend joins UK brokers group | The P2P property lending platform Proplend has joined the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB), which provides access to more than 1,600 commercial finance brokers nationwide. “Our member brokers have warmly received Proplend as they offer further diversity in the property lending space,” said NACFB MD Norman Chambers.
| http://www.p2pfinancenews.co.uk/2017/11/29/proplend-nacfb/ | 2017-11-29 14:33:18.327000 | PROPLEND has joined the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB) as a patron.
The peer-to-peer property platform said on Wednesday that it received positive feedback from the trade body’s broker community, prior to its membership being approved.
“Brokers play a significant role in the UK finance market, particularly within our commercial property funding sector,” said Brian Bartaby (pictured), chief executive of Proplend.
Read more: Proplend embarks on equity fundraising to scale up the business
“It’s important to know what you’re looking for as well as where to look. This is where specialist commercial brokers come in.
“Increasingly their market awareness and due diligence point them in the direction of P2P lending platforms like Proplend, who are rapidly becoming a larger slice of the lending ecosystem.
“We can help when high street banks and secondary lenders have been unable to – often providing finance quicker and with more flexible, bespoke terms.”
Read more: Proplend’s Brian Bartaby on the IFISA
The NACFB provides access to more than 1,600 commercial finance brokers nationwide.
“Our member brokers have warmly received Proplend as they offer further diversity in the property lending space,” said Norman Chambers, managing director of the NACFB.
“We encourage all our members to engage with Brian and explore Proplend’s services to see how they may help their commercial property clients find bridging and mortgage finance solutions.”
Proplend connects individual and institutional investors with creditworthy borrowers looking for secured commercial property loans. The platform has lent out more than £28.5m to date, on commercial property worth over £57m, with an average loan-to-value of less than 60 per cent.
It is fully authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority and launched its Innovative Finance ISA earlier this year. |