Electric Vehicles today are considered to be more expensive to purchase than their Internal Combustion Engine counterparts. But the purchase price of EV’s versus ICE vehicles tells an incomplete story about the comparative costs. While none of the EV’s on the market today are cheap, they are competitively priced for their class of vehicle. The… Keep reading →
I recently had the opportunity to test drive the Tesla Model S P85, the high-performance version of the highly acclaimed all-electric luxury sedan. Like many drivers of the Model S, I was thoroughly impressed by the performance of this machine and after examining the engineering I am increasingly convinced that electric vehicles (EVs) are the… Keep reading →
Siemens is acquiring gas equipment manufacturer Dresser-Rand for $7.6 billion dollars in a move meant to help the German conglomerate capitalize on the US energy boom. Earlier this year Siemens bought “most” of Rolls-Royce’s civil energy operation for $1.3 billion. The acquisitions are also likely motivated by a desire to remain competitive with rival GE, which… Keep reading →
News broke on Wednesday that Nevada had apparently won the five-state competition to land Tesla Motors’ vaunted Gigafactory. A boost in manufacturing prestige and 6,500 jobs are expected to result – but is it possible this giant battery plant of the future could turn out to be a white elephant? OK, Lux Research didn’t go… Keep reading →
It’s not quite full-steam ahead on a Reno “Gigafactory” for Tesla – but the electric car company did confirm that it has pushed around a lot of Nevada dirt, while also keeping its options open in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. This revelation came in the company’s second quarter 2014 shareholder letter [PDF], issued… Keep reading →
When throwing a party, or even attending a party, everyone knows that ice is essential. Normally about 1lb of ice is needed per guest, which means that you either have to make ice overnight and store it for the party or run out to the corner store to purchase it. You would never consider making… Keep reading →
A European court ruled former Russian oil company Yukos’ shareholders are entitled to $50 billion because the Russian government illegally expropriated assets and orchestrated the firm’s demise. Collecting the money, however, will be no easy task. “It is the tribunal’s view that Yukos was the object of a series of politically-motivated attacks by the Russian… Keep reading →
The same GPS technology that guided smart bombs during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 is now in your smart phone and there are numerous additional examples of technology borne from US Defense Department innovators – Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) – that exploded (pardon the pun) into mainstream commercial applications. Well, if it worked… Keep reading →
The EPA’s newly-announced rule to limit carbon emissions from existing power plants would appear to set the stage for non-carbon emitting technology like nuclear, but historically low-priced natural gas has rendered many of the nation’s smaller nuclear facilities economically uncompetitive. “Already, five nuclear units have either shut down or have announced that they will do… Keep reading →
The giant Groningen natural gas field in the Netherlands’ northeastern countryside supplies much of Europe’s natural gas, but earthquakes in the region have been occurring more frequently as the field ages. The Dutch government ordered Shell and ExxonMobil to cut back production to 80% of the volume produced in 2013 – which amounts to an… Keep reading →
