Category: Report

November 8 2019

Volvo to Use Blockchain to Ethically Source its Cobalt

Volvo Car has entered into an agreement with CATL and LG Chem to implement traceability of its cobalt after a successful blockchain pilot.

November 5 2019

China invests $29 billion to beat U.S. semiconductors

China introduced a $29 billion state-backed fund to build its own domestic semiconductor industry. 

October 28 2019

Uber Beats Lyft in San Francisco’s E-scooter Permit Battle

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's (SFMTA) latest issuance of permits for shared e-scooters brought good news for Uber at the expense of Lyft. Uber's JUMP subsidiary and its partner Lime, both received permits valid for one year starting from October 15.

October 28 2019

Will the Real Lithium Demand Please Stand Up? Challenging the 1Mt-by-2025 Orthodoxy

Lithium prices have halved since 4Q 2017, driven by perceptions of oversupply in the market and, as a result, major producers are pulling back and re-assessing expansion plans. This boom-bust cycle is not healthy

October 14 2019

Planned Retirements Poised to Rattle Mexico’s Power Grid

Mexico’s grid planners expect 10GW of capacity (13% of the current install base) to retire in the next decade.

October 8 2019

Amazon Spurs Competition in Logistics Robots

Amazon.com Inc.'s autonomous warehouse robots are one of the reasons it is so strong in logistics.

September 26 2019

Mexico City Cleans Up Act With $200 Million for Zero Waste

Mexico City has committed close to $200 million in public funds to be spent on recycling infrastructure by 2024. The Mexican capital also plans to co-finance additional infrastructure through public-private partnerships.

September 25 2019

Taj Mahal Trick Helps India Cool Buildings Smartly

India’s old palaces and forts used water channels to cool the air inside. A modern version of those water channels could slash the energy cost for cooling buildings by up to 35%.

September 23 2019

Japan’s Solar Auction Shows Price Trumps Experience, Scale

Japan’s latest solar auction saw many of the winning bids consisting of small projects backed by bidders who aren’t necessarily established market players, showing that economies of scale don’t always work and experience may not be crucial in Japan.

September 16 2019

Hardware Startups See Revival From VC

After record year for venture capital last year, 2019 could be the best yet for hardware startups.