Category: News

September 19 2017

Toyota Offers Souped-Up Prius as Part of High-Performance Line

Kevin Buckland Toyota Motor Corp. is introducing a high-performance series consisting of souped-up staples as it accelerates efforts to jazz up its image. The “GR” series made its debut in Japan with seven variants including the Prius plug-in hybrid and Vitz subcompact at an event in Tokyo on Tuesday. Toyota will expand the lineup later this […]

September 19 2017

Little-Known Lender’s Stand Threatens a $29 Billion Solar Market

Joe Ryan A little-known Wall Street lender with a background financing dump trucks and helicopters is bankrolling a trade case that’s threatening the $29 billion U.S. solar industry. SQN Capital Management typically finances and leases crucial, if prosaic, business equipment: think cement mixers, office furniture, honey-production machines, farm equipment. A $50 million loan to Suniva […]

September 18 2017

In Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Contests, Students’ Main Goal Is Scoring a Job

Ben Lippolis flew across the country to take part in a student hyperloop competition hosted by Elon Musk. This was no science fair. At the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. headquarters on the outskirts of Los Angeles, engineers from some of the world’s top universities loaded 2,000-pound hunks of metal onto a tubular track and, one by one, raced their pods to […]

September 18 2017

Utilities Line Up to Profit From ‘Slowest Trainwreck’ in History

The unrelenting plunge of power prices will benefit companies that can withstand new challenges from upstart wind and solar newcomers, according to two of Europe’s biggest utilities. Only large companies with diverse portfolios and resources will have the weight to compete against renewable projects that sell subsidy-free power to markets, Enel SpA’s Chief Executive Officer […]

September 18 2017

GE Working on Robot That It Says Can Save $200 Billion of Power

General Electric Co. is working on a way to use artificial intelligence in electricity grids, a technology that it expects will save $200 billion globally by improving efficiency. “We’re also putting a lot into the machine learning side, a lot,” said Steven Martin, chief digital officer at GE’s energy connections business, at an interview at […]

September 18 2017

Race to Make Robots for China Spurs ABB to Double Capacity

ABB Ltd. is accelerating expansion in China with a plan to double robot production capacity as part of a bid to become the biggest provider worldwide of the industrial-automation equipment, said Chief Executive Officer Ulrich Spiesshofer. The blueprint includes doubling the number of robotics research employees in China, where a close rival Kuka AG — […]

September 18 2017

Garbage From Irma Will Fuel Florida’s Power Grid

When it comes to garbage, geography is destiny. Look at Texas and Florida, recovering from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Homeowners and businesses not incapacitated by the storm have begun the arduous and emotional work of separating destroyed possessions and materials by type and placing them curbside. Cities have begun the intimidating logistics of picking it up and transporting it […]

September 18 2017

London’s Black Cabs Going Electric Spurs Aluminum Restart

London’s black cabs going electric shows the new wave of automobile technology is already reshaping the metals industry. After being closed for three years due to a weak market, Sapa SA’s aluminum plant in south Wales will reopen this week to supply lightweight parts for automakers such as London Electric Vehicle Co., the maker of […]

September 18 2017

EU Tilts to China in Climate Fight Amid Signs of Trump Softening

Europe and China are stepping up their coordination in the battle against global warming, a top EU official said, as the U.S. mulls re-engaging in a landmark Paris agreement to cut greenhouse gases. The 28-nation European Union will press ahead with efforts to protect the environment by shifting to a low-carbon economy and reducing dependency […]

September 18 2017

Big Oil Becomes Greener With Progress in Cutting Pollution

It’s no secret that oil majors are among the biggest corporate emitters of pollution. What may be surprising is that they’re reducing their greenhouse-gas footprints every year, actively participating in a trend that’s swept up most corporate behemoths. Sixty-two of the world’s 100 largest companies consistently cut their emissions on an annual basis between 2010 […]